16. Victory and the Strength of an Elite Jonin

Ninjas generally release ninjutsu directly in front of themselves.

Therefore, Itachi Uchiha chose to dart to the side to attack.

Given the distance between them, Yemu could no longer dodge.

However, it would not be over in an instant.

Finally, the moment Itachi Uchiha's kunai neared Yemu's neck, Yemu finally unleashed his ninjutsu.

The surrounding environment did not change in the slightest.

Yet, Itachi Uchiha was astonished to find that his kunai, upon contacting Yemu's neck, actually sparked, showing no sign of piercing through at all.

It was as if he had stabbed a steel plate.

Likewise, Yemu, who was experienced, would not let such an opportunity pass while Itachi Uchiha was stunned.

With a sudden jerk of his arm, he struck.

Itachi Uchiha was sent flying instantly like a basketball, rolling until he hit a tree stump five meters away.

Yemu's force was immense, as if bolstered by ninjutsu.

Itachi Uchiha could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood. It felt as though his internal organs had been impacted.

His entire body began to ache intensely, but Itachi Uchiha suppressed it with his tenacious willpower.

To suffer such a heavy injury due to a moment of negligence—he was still lacking in experience.

Itachi Uchiha was much like Ye Yuexin; both belonged to that type of "glass cannon" with extremely high damage output but abysmal defense.

After that last blow, Itachi Uchiha's movements were somewhat restricted.

"This is the down payment for the cooperation given to me by Lord Lin Mu: the Petrification Technique. How is this ninjutsu? You are the first person to experience it."

"Pay with your life for my brother!" he shouted, charging rapidly toward Itachi Uchiha once more.

Having witnessed the power of this ninjutsu, Itachi Uchiha had even less intention of engaging in close-quarters combat.

At this moment, Yemu's entire body had turned a brownish-yellow, resembling rock, and his skin was covered in many raised, granular protrusions. He felt just like irregular granite found in nature.

Itachi Uchiha retreated while forming hand seals, "Fire Style: Fire Phoenix Sage Technique!" Several concentrated fireballs shot toward Yemu.

Seemingly very confident in his own ninjutsu, Yemu didn't even consider dodging.

He charged toward Itachi Uchiha regardless, as if he wouldn't rest until he had smashed Itachi Uchiha into pieces.

This Rock Transformation Technique was indeed formidable. Itachi Uchiha's concentrated fireballs exploded against Yemu's chest, but the moment Yemu's body was swallowed by the flames, he charged right back out.

He had clearly tanked Itachi Uchiha's fireballs head-on, still maintaining his imposing momentum. Only the clothes on his upper body had instantly turned to ash.

Although the technique seemed powerful, the observant Itachi Uchiha noticed that Yemu's movements were beginning to grow sluggish. It appeared that this ninjutsu required a high amount of chakra to maintain.

It seemed he would have to fight a war of attrition this time.

Looking at the situation, Yemu couldn't hold on for much longer. Just then, Itachi Uchiha inadvertently glanced at the sky.

One must never lose focus during a battle, but now, while fleeing and dodging, Itachi Uchiha realized that it looked as if it were about to rain.

Suddenly, a new battle plan began to form in Itachi Uchiha's mind, slowly perfecting itself.

After vaulting over a tree branch, Itachi Uchiha began to form hand seals again.

Facing Yemu, who was currently like a bulldozer, Itachi Uchiha felt his Fire Style was somewhat limited. It seemed that after returning to the village, he should learn new, more powerful Fire Style techniques.

The tree trunk he had just jumped over was smashed to pieces by Yemu's hands, who then charged toward Itachi Uchiha once more.

But by now, Itachi Uchiha's seals were complete. Flames immediately began to erupt from his mouth.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" The flames engulfed Yemu once again. At this moment, Yemu was still maintaining his technique, so his body was not afraid of the burning flames, but his eyes could not withstand it. Furthermore, after being scorched by the Great Fireball, the superheated air was inhaled into his lungs, causing Yemu's lungs to be burned.

He roared in agony from within the fireball.

However, in a short amount of time, Yemu charged out. He was completely devoid of any clothing, and his ponytail had been reduced to a bald head.

Even the dense nest between his legs had been scorched bald.

At this moment, Yemu's entire body was radiating an unnatural orange glow. It appeared to be caused by the excessively high temperature from moments ago.

Abruptly fleeing the Fire Style, Yemu began to sway and totter.

Itachi Uchiha felt that he could probably win even without the help of the others.

Just at this moment, several peals of thunder flashed across the sky, and it began to rain quite suddenly.

It looked like a thunderstorm; it wouldn't last long, but the raindrops were quite large.

Just as Itachi Uchiha had expected, when the raindrops hit Yemu's body, it was like water hitting red-hot iron.

They hissed and evaporated instantly. However, as the rain intensified, the area around Yemu filled with white steam.

Due to thermal expansion and contraction, the skin on his body began to slowly crack.

It seemed that Itachi Uchiha wouldn't even need to attack.

The moment Yemu's skin cracked and his ninjutsu was broken, he collapsed to the ground.

Itachi Uchiha had won in a somewhat muddled fashion. He felt that he had thought of the problem too simply.

The greatest reason for Yemu's failure was his insufficient chakra. In order to maintain the defensive power of his Rock Transformation Technique, he had to sacrifice the chakra allocated to his leg speed.

This was also the reason why Yemu did not dodge Itachi Uchiha's ninjutsu; knowing he couldn't evade it, he figured he might as well take the opportunity to close the distance.

However, it seemed he had overestimated himself while simultaneously underestimating Itachi Uchiha.

The battle on Ye Yuexin's side was far more intense.

After all, his opponent was no wandering ninja who lacked mastery over ninjutsu.

The moment Ye Yuexin kicked Lin Mu away, he sensed that something was wrong. The sensation was agonizing, as if he had kicked a solid boulder.

Ye Yuexin's foot began to go numb.

Almost instantly, Lin Mu charged back out from the woods.

Aside from his clothes being slightly torn, he had sustained no injuries whatsoever.

Ye Yuexin's bizarre movement technique had indeed caught him off guard just moments ago.

Although he couldn't dodge, he wasn't at his wit's end either. He had promptly activated his Rock Transformation Technique, blocking the heavy impact of Ye Yuexin's whip kick.

The battle had to continue.

Seeing his opponent emerge unscathed, Ye Yuexin immediately charged forward again.

But Lin Mu was not like the wandering ninja Yemu, who only knew how to fight head-on.

He performed hand seals with lightning speed. Before Ye Yuexin could reach him, he shouted, "Earth Style: Earth Collapse!" Ye Yuexin instantly felt the soil beneath him transform into two slabs of earth, closing in on him from both sides.

A sense of extreme danger gripped his heart.

Realizing the threat, Ye Yuexin quickly leaped into the air, intending to evade the crushing slabs.

However, it seemed that Lin Mu, an elite jonin, had anticipated this all along. He finished his hand seals in an instant: "Earth Style: Earth Rock Lid!"