The Iwagakure Ninja swarmed forward, surrounding the figure. Confusion and bewilderment filled their eyes.
"Look at that height. Is that a child?"
"Hey, brat! Hurry home and drink your milk. This isn't a place for little kids."
"Wait, that Forehead Protector—it's a Konoha Ninja. Is this brat from Konoha? Did he not see that there are a full sixty of us here?"
"Perfect. Isn't this an intelligence source delivered right to our doorstep? Capture the brat. Don't let him get away. We can just break his arms and legs..."
The Iwagakure Ninja watched him like a pack of tigers. Ōnoki, surrounded by them at the center, changed expression slightly, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen really is getting old. I never expected him to send children who aren't even adults to the battlefield to die. Has Konoha's fighting strength become so depleted..."
"You'd better surrender soon, so Konoha won't be left without anyone to carry on. Then a brat your age might even survive."
With enemies all around, every gaze focused on the boy wearing a Three-Eyed Demon Fox mask, dressed in black robes with a cloak fluttering behind him. They could swarm him at any moment.
"That crest... Are you a brat from the Uchiha Clan? Didn't the adults in your family teach you that the Sharingan isn't much use when you're outnumbered?"
Faced with Ōnoki's challenge, Uchiha Hanazuki chuckled and answered in a clear voice.
"They didn't have time—or, perhaps I should say, they didn't have lives left—to teach me how to use the Sharingan. My mission is just to hold you here and, while I'm at it, experience the legendary Dust Release."
"What? So you're an orphan brat. Then you won't have to suffer. Once we've tortured the information out of you, we'll send you straight off to reunite with your mom and dad!"
In an instant, blades flashed in his hands. The Iwagakure Ninja Hikari lunged forward with reflexes far beyond those of an ordinary Taijutsu ninja. The blades in both hands gleamed coldly as they struck at Hanazuki's arms and legs.
"It's over!"
The next moment, as the blade's empty touch reached his wrist, Hikari froze. He stumbled forward, passing straight through Hanazuki's body.
"Who's finished? You?"
Shing!
A kunai sliced through the air. Drops of blood gathered along its sharp edge, and the crimson beads and pain reminded Hikari that the figure behind him wasn't an illusion.
"Not bad Taijutsu. You'd count as a skilled fighter even among the jonin. Although I really dislike Sarutobi Hiruzen, I dislike rude people even more."
"Since he sent me to hold the Third Tsuchikage in place, why don't we play some ninja games with the old man? Could you all stay right where you are and not move?"
The Iwagakure Ninja exchanged glances. Hikari's attack had definitely landed, but the blade had passed through their opponent's body in a bizarre way.
"So you're no ordinary brat? If you want an old man like me to obey, show me what you can do. But..."
Ōnoki instantly lunged at Hanazuki. A transparent cube formed between his hands, its pure-white core shining brilliantly.
"Even bearing the Uchiha name, you're not the one I first fought who carried that name and was hailed as the God of Shinobi. Die without pain, brat. Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
The transparent barrier expanded abruptly, engulfing the entire area where Hanazuki stood. A terrifying explosion and blinding light flashed. After briefly blotting out the sunlight, wisps of dust and smoke drifted away.
"The Dust Release wielded by the Second Tsuchikage and me can break down any existence into atoms. It's a forbidden technique that reduces everything to nothing. There's no way to resist it."
"Superior to Kekkei Genkai is the even higher-ranking Kekkei Tōta. From your Body Flicker illusion just now, you're a genius brat from the Uchiha Clan."
"But talent that never gets the chance to shine is nothing more than a flower in a mirror or the moon reflected in water. I should at least let you leave your name behind. It's been a long time since I encountered a brat from the Uchiha Clan."
Ōnoki slowly shook his head, his voice brimming with pride, as though he was certain Hanazuki had vanished from the world for good.
"As expected of the Third Tsuchikage. Dealing with a brat like that was effortless. What a shame we couldn't torture any information out of him."
"Tch. If that arrogant brat had awakened his Sharingan, we might've been able to get the eyes from him..."
"Idiot. The Sharingan's abilities require a body compatible with the eyes. Even if you transplant them into someone else, an incompatible body will only be weighed down by the Sharingan."
The Iwagakure Ninja chattered noisily, apparently confident in the Third Tsuchikage's ninjutsu. Some had already started celebrating halfway through, eagerly imagining what they'd gain after capturing Konoha.
"Uchiha Hanazuki. That's my name. The Mist Hidden and Sand Hidden Ninja like to call me Flash Phantom Moon. Want to know why?"
The faint murmur beside him made Ōnoki's pupils contract.
He turned his head with difficulty. Beneath the Three-Eyed Demon Fox mask, those exquisite, intricate Mangekyō Sharingan awakened memories that had long been buried in Ōnoki's mind.
"Those eyes... You..."
"Is it fake or real? Like a flower blossoming in a mirror, or the moon's reflection in the water. How can you tell which is which without experiencing it for yourself?"
The terrifying Immobilization Genjutsu instantly bound more than sixty Iwagakure Ninja. A clear, youthful voice echoed across the empty plateau, its tone detached.
"Sharingan genjutsu isn't limited to being cast when your eyes meet the target's. It seems you once fought someone with similar eyes somewhere. Uchiha Madara?"
His hands and feet went cold, and sweat trickled down his forehead. The terror he had buried for so long was quietly unfolding once more.
Except the boy in his memories had since become the leader of a village. The being who had been so powerful that he could not be looked at directly, like a god, had now become a young boy.
"I can't believe I let my guard down for a moment and fell for your genjutsu. Was the figure in the Dust Release just now an illusion too?"
"No, that wasn't an illusion. As expected of a Kekkei Tōta technique. If these eyes weren't protecting me, a direct hit might really have killed me."
A smile played at the corners of Hanazuki's mouth, while shadows veiled his exquisite Mangekyō and Sage Markings.
He was lucky. Among the random eye techniques available to the Mangekyō Sharingan, he had drawn one that ranked among the SSR-level abilities.
At the same time, he was unlucky. This technique consumed far more than Double Kamui, and he hadn't even transplanted Hashirama Cells.
It was only after he learned Sage Mode in Ryūchi Cave and gained the exclusive trait [Sage (Snake)] that he dared to use it, even slightly, outside his inner world.
"Sounds like my Dust Release isn't entirely useless after all. Your eyes hold a power similar to Uchiha Madara's. What is it?"
"Want to know? Even if you did, you'd have no way to counter it. We're leaving. Our target is Iwagakure."