Fierce Battle After Being Separated

Senju Kyogawa and Senju Itama's group were intercepted by over a dozen Uchiha clansmen while transporting supplies to the front lines.

The dozen or so Uchiha ninja surrounded Kyogawa and his companions.

With no other choice, Kyogawa and the others were forced to abandon the supplies, prioritizing their own lives above all else.

After all, no one knew how many of those adult Uchiha ninja had already awakened their Sharingan.

The enemy was many and they were few; it was a truly dire situation.

Taking advantage of a moment when the Uchiha were distracted, Kyogawa fired a signal flare. A brilliant firework exploded in the night sky, signaling for reinforcements.

Then, Kyogawa drew his Nichirin Sword and began to fight.

The Uchiha opposite them were clearly not the type to excel in close-quarters combat; they favored Fire Style, Lightning Style, hidden weapons, and—perhaps most troublesome of all—the Sharingan.

Consequently, with the enemy's powerful long-range offensive, the situation for Kyogawa's group was far from ideal.

In fact, for some reason, several Uchiha ninja kept hounding Kyogawa relentlessly, like hounds refusing to let go of their prey.

The eyes of those Uchiha were fierce, revealing the viciousness and bloodlust honed on the battlefield; merely looking into their dark, heavy eyes felt as though one were being sucked into a world of darkness.

Left with no other choice, Kyogawa was forced to break away from the group.

Kyogawa did not know the ninja sprint, putting him at a significant disadvantage in terms of speed. He simply ran as hard as he could toward the Senju base, hoping to encounter Senju reinforcements along the way.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet Technique!"

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"

The Uchiha ninja used Fire Style to hem Kyogawa in.

Countless flames rushed toward him.

A massive fire dragon formed by the Fire Dragon Bullet Technique lunged at Kyogawa. He could dodge the dragon, but in doing so, he would be struck by the surrounding flames, which were flying out like seeds from a phoenix flower.

They even utilized the Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson—attaching flames to flying Shuriken, causing them to attack Kyogawa with scorching heat, like phoenix flower petals scattered across the sky.

The flames surrounding him, resembling phoenix flower seeds, were controlled by the caster's chakra. Furthermore, several of the fire clusters contained high-speed spinning Shuriken—Kyogawa had nowhere to hide.

There was no other way.

He had to fight back.

Kyogawa stopped fleeing and turned to face the flames drawing ever closer.

The firelight illuminated Kyogawa's young, fair face, the flames flickering within his dark pupils.

In his pitch-black eyes, the fire was the only sign of vitality.

He adjusted his breathing and assumed the starting stance of Sun Breathing—thankfully, Kyogawa could finally hold the Nichirin Sword with both hands without his hands shaking, even if he had yet to master the full power of the techniques.

Kyogawa exerted force with both hands and swung the Nichirin Sword in a wide arc.

This time, he would use his most practiced technique: Sun Breathing: First Form: Waltz!

Not only that, but Kyogawa coated his entire body in the flames within him to serve as a protective layer, channeling the fire into his Nichirin Sword to amplify the power of the Sun Breathing and compensate for his inability to unleash its full potential.

Sun Breathing: First Form: Waltz!

As Kyogawa swung his blade, the silver-white edge gradually shifted to a mix of red and black—matching the color of the bootleg Nichirin Sword he had acquired.

Simultaneously, bright red flames engulfed the blade. As he unleashed a circular slash, the fire coiled around Kyogawa's entire body.

Immediately following this, Kyogawa wasted no time and unleashed another technique—

Sun Breathing: Eleventh Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun!

Kyogawa slashed rapidly, unleashing a flurry of high-speed strikes in an instant, the flames between the blades creating the visual effect of a dancing fire dragon.

At the same time, using the blade as a conduit, he channeled a massive amount of flame into the technique, finally forming a fire dragon comparable in size to the enemy's Fire Dragon Bullet. With a powerful swing, Kyogawa sent the attack hurtling toward the enemy at full speed.

Although Kyogawa's swing speed was not yet sufficient to support this technique, his flames compensated for the lack of power, trading fewer slashes for greater impact.

Thus, flames swirled around the massive, dancing fire dragon, as if a real dragon were performing a waltz, charging toward the enemy with a rapid, rotating impact.

The Fire Dragon Bullet collided with Kyogawa's dancing fire dragon, triggering a massive explosion.

Kyogawa was sent flying over a dozen meters by the shockwave, and he immediately summoned the Ugly Monster.

The Ugly Monster blocked the path in front of Kyogawa, its form expanding as its fleshy wings wrapped tightly around him, shielding him from the incoming Shuriken.

Clang— The Shuriken scraped against the Ugly Monster's body before being swallowed up with a dull thud.

The Ugly Monster's slime was corrosive; the moment the Shuriken touched it, their edges were eaten away. Once enveloped by the creature's slick skin, the Shuriken were dissolved into nothingness.

Thanks to the Ugly Monster's protection, Kyogawa did not suffer any fall injuries.

However, the Ugly Monster was too large a target, so it retreated back into the "fire" within Kyogawa's body.

Now, the most serious wounds on Kyogawa's body were merely the cuts from the hidden weapons earlier and the burns sustained from the shockwave.

However, the most severe issue was the aftermath of Kyogawa using the Sun Breathing slashes—his strength was too low and his control insufficient; swinging the Nichirin Sword so rapidly had strained his wrists and arms.

Furthermore, the high-intensity breathing technique had already damaged Kyogawa's lungs; now, every breath he took was filled with the thick, metallic scent of blood in his nasal cavity.

Kyogawa's Healing Jutsu ran incessantly, quickly mending some of his wounds, but the lingering side effects of the breathing technique could not be healed so easily.

The three Uchiha Clan ninjas were also caught in the shockwave, but it was clear they had no intention of giving up on killing Senju Kyogawa.

Senju Kyogawa's lightning-fast reflexes and the move he had just unleashed—which was easily on par with a Fire Style technique—had instilled a profound sense of crisis in their hearts. If they did not finish him off right here, he would become a grave threat to the Uchiha Clan once he fully matured.

Thus, the three of them ignored their own injuries and continued their relentless pursuit of Senju Kyogawa. Their only goal now was to kill this ninja, who possessed such immense potential that he might one day harm their own descendants.

Senju Kyogawa ducked into the forest, hoping to confuse their senses.

He continued to run forward, struggling to regulate his breathing as he made for the Senju base camp.

But the Uchiha ninjas were far too fast, and before long, they caught up to him.

Senju Kyogawa turned his head and saw the three pairs of red eyes belonging to the Uchiha ninjas, each containing a single black tomoe.

He understood—

Oh, so it's the Sharingan.

Then, Senju Kyogawa's mind drifted into a daze—

Ha, I've been caught.

[Ding—]

[System detected—]

[Host's spirit is under attack by an unknown external force—]

[Initiating defensive functions—]

Whoosh!

A sharp pain pierced Senju Kyogawa's brain, and he snapped back to reality.

He felt a stinging sensation in his left chest...

He looked down.

He saw a hand protruding through his chest.

Ah, I forgot to set my pain sensitivity to zero, Senju Kyogawa thought blankly.

The Uchiha ninja before him still had those ominous eyes wide open.