Popping Champagne at Halftime

A crowd of Rock Hidden ninjas swarmed forward, surrounding the figure with eyes full of confusion and bewilderment.

"This height... is he just a child?"

"Hey! Brat, hurry home and drink your mother's milk. This is no place for a kid to be playing around."

"Wait, that headband is... a Konoha ninja? Is this brat really a Konoha ninja? Can't he see there are 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. Just break his arms and legs if you have to..."

The Rock Hidden ninjas glared with predatory intent. Onoki, surrounded by the crowd, wore a subtle expression that seemed to hold a hint of mockery.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen is truly getting old. To think he would send underage children to the battlefield to die; Konoha's combat strength must be truly hollowed out to such a degree..."

"You had best surrender early to avoid leaving Konoha Village without successors. Even a brat of your age might be able to survive that way."

Surrounded by enemies, the crowd's gaze converged on the youth wearing a Three-Eyed Demon Fox mask, clad in black robes with a cloak fluttering in the wind. They were ready to pounce at any moment.

"That family crest... is he a brat from the Uchiha clan? Did your elders never teach you that the Sharingan is of little use when outnumbered?"

Facing Onoki's interrogation, Uchiha Hanazuki chuckled softly and replied in a clear voice.

"They didn't have the time—or perhaps I should say, they didn't have the life left to teach me how to use the Sharingan. My mission is simply to block you here and, incidentally, to experience the legendary Dust Release."

"What's this! So he's just an orphan brat. Well, you won't have to suffer for long. Once we torture the information out of you, we'll send you straight to reunite with your mom and dad!"

In an instant, blades flashed. The Rock Hidden ninja Hikari lunged forward with a reaction speed far exceeding that of an average taijutsu specialist. His twin blades glinted with cold light, instantly reaching Hanazuki's limbs.

"It's over!"

The next second, as the hollow sensation of the blades passing through air reached his wrists, Hikari froze. He stumbled forward, passing directly through Hanazuki's body.

"Who is finished? You?"

Slash!

A kunai swept past, and tiny beads of blood gathered on its sharp surface. The crimson droplets and the sharp pain reminded Hikari that the existence behind him was no illusion.

"Decent taijutsu. You could even be considered an expert among Jonin. Although I despise Sarutobi Hiruzen, I despise those who lack manners even more."

"Since he asked me to stall the Third Tsuchikage, I suppose I'll play this ninja game with the old man. Would you mind staying exactly where you are?"

The Rock Hidden ninjas looked at each other in shock. Hikari's attack had definitely connected, yet the blades had eerily passed right through the opponent's body.

"Not just an ordinary brat, are you? If you want this old man to listen, show me your strength. However..."

Onoki lunged at Hanazuki in a blink, a pure white core glowing with dazzling brilliance within the transparent cube between his hands.

"Even if you bear the Uchiha name, you are not the one I fought in the beginning—the one who carried the Uchiha name and was hailed as the God of Shinobi. Die without pain, brat. Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu."

The transparent barrier expanded abruptly, engulfing the spot where Hanazuki stood. A terrifying explosion and blinding light flashed, briefly banishing the sunlight before wisps of dust scattered into the air.

"The Second Tsuchikage's and my Dust Release can decompose any existence into atoms. It is a forbidden technique that wipes everything into nothingness; it is absolutely impossible to resist."

"A Kekkei Tota, a higher order of power that surpasses the Kekkei Genkai. Judging by that flash-teleportation illusion from earlier, you are also a genius brat of the Uchiha clan."

"But talent that cannot bloom is, in the end, nothing more than a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water. At least I should let you leave your name behind. It has been a long time since I encountered a brat of the Uchiha clan."

Onoki shook his head slowly, his tone full of arrogance, as if he were certain Hanazuki had vanished from this world entirely.

"As expected of the Third Tsuchikage, dealing with a brat like that is effortless. It's a pity we didn't get to torture any information out of him."

"Tch, if that arrogant brat had activated his Sharingan, we might have been able to harvest it from his corpse..."

"Idiot, the Sharingan's abilities require a compatible constitution. Even if you transplanted it, the body would be burdened by the eyes due to incompatibility."

The Rock Hidden ninjas chattered noisily, seemingly confident in the Third Tsuchikage's technique. Some had even begun celebrating prematurely, imagining the spoils of conquering Konoha.

"Uchiha Hanazuki—that is my name. The ninjas of the Mist Hidden and Sand Hidden like to call me Flash Phantom Moon. Do you want to know why?"

The faint, ethereal whisper by his ear caused Onoki's pupils to constrict.

He struggled to turn his head, and beneath that Three-Eyed Demon Fox mask, the pair of intricate, complex Mangekyo Sharingan awakened long-sealed memories in Onoki's mind.

"Those eyes... you..."

"Is it false or real? Just like the flower blooming in the mirror or the waning moon reflected in the water—how can you know if it's true or false without experiencing it yourself?"

A terrifying binding genjutsu instantly shackled the sixty-plus Rock Hidden ninjas. The crisp, youthful voice echoed across the empty plateau, its tone indifferent.

"Sharingan genjutsu isn't only released upon eye contact. It seems you once fought someone with similar eyes somewhere. Uchiha Madara, was it?"

His hands and feet turned cold, sweat pouring down his forehead. The long-sealed fear was playing out once again in this very moment.

Only, the youth in his memories had now become the leader of a village, and the existence that was once too powerful to look upon—like a god—had become this young boy.

"To think I would be careless for a moment and fall into your genjutsu. Was the figure in the Dust Release also an illusion?"

"No, that was not an illusion. As expected of a Kekkei Tota technique; if not for these eyes, I might have truly died had I been hit head-on."

Hanazuki wore a faint smile, his intricate Mangekyo and Sage Markings obscured by shadows.

He was lucky; among the randomly drawn ocular powers of the Mangekyo Sharingan, he had pulled one that could be called SSR-tier.

Likewise, he was unfortunate; the consumption of this technique was far greater than even the Double Kamui, not to mention that Hanazuki had not yet transplanted Hashirama cells.

It was only after learning Sage Mode in Ryuchi Cave and gaining the exclusive trait [Sage (Snake)] that he dared to use it slightly outside of his inner world.

"It seems my Dust Release is not entirely useless. Your eyes contain power similar to Uchiha Madara's. What exactly are they?"

"Want to know? Even if you knew, there would be no way to break them. Let's go. Target: Rock Hidden."