Chiyo chuckled softly and swiftly flicked all ten fingers. "Naturally, the best gift is needed to welcome the Hidden Leaf Alliance!"
As she spoke, three of the ten white figures swiftly flew to the front of the Hidden Sand puppet forces, arranging themselves in a triangular formation, one atop another. Then, the mouths of the three puppets split open, revealing red characters within.
"Buddha," "Dharma," "Sangha"!
Seeing this, the puppet forces promptly retreated from the puppets' positions in a neat line, their movements crisp and decisive.
"Puppet Technique: Three Treasures Vacuum Destruction!"
Chiyo shouted, and the three puppets instantly raised their hands in seals. Then, a terrifying suction force erupted from the gap at the center of the triangular formation!
"Waaah—!"
"W-What is this?!"
"Wasn't the enemy supposed to be puppet users? Why is there such a powerful Wind Release ninja too?!"
"..."
The ninjas remaining within Hidden Leaf were a mixed bunch. Chiyo's sudden attack instantly threw them into disarray. They could only desperately clutch the surrounding rocks to avoid being sucked away. But under such an assault, they likely would not hold out for long. Their collapse was only a matter of time.
At that critical moment, a not particularly tall figure suddenly leaped over the peak. He paid no heed to his body being buffeted by the powerful suction force, rapidly forming hand seals before him.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
With a low shout, he spat out a massive fireball! Drawn by the Wind Release's suction, the fireball's speed surged, and its size nearly doubled in an instant!
"Not good!"
Chiyo's expression changed. She pulled her right hand back, attempting to control the puppets and stop their chakra output, but it was clearly too late!
"Boom—!"
The massive fireball instantly blasted a huge crater into the ground, sending the three white puppets flying!
"Ah... we're saved!"
"That scared me to death. I thought we'd be done for before even seeing anyone."
"..."
"Tap!"
The figure landed steadily and turned back with an excited smile. Then, amid a series of swishing sounds, black-haired young men with Uchiha Crests tattooed on their shoulders appeared behind Shisui.
"Not bad, Shisui. You haven't disgraced the name of the Uchiha Clan."
"As expected of Mo's younger brother, Shisui. Even I can't match the power of that Fire Release..."
"..."
"Hehe!" Shisui scratched his head, the smile on his face growing even brighter.
"Whoosh!"
Uchiha Mo suddenly appeared beside Shisui. With his arms folded, he looked down expressionlessly at Chiyo below, who was gathering up her damaged puppets.
"Brother!" Shisui cried excitedly.
Mo turned and glanced at him, replying blandly:
"Not bad."
Kill! No Trace Activated! (Please Keep Reading)
Shisui nodded in satisfaction, opening his mouth to speak, but Mo immediately spoke again:
"Pay attention to the battlefield yourself."
As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Mo drew the long blade at his waist and dove toward the Hidden Sand forces below.
"Red Scorch: Flame Thunder Blade!"
Mo swiftly poured chakra into Futsunomitama, and a dense black glow immediately stained its gleaming blade!
This was the technique Uchiha Mo had modified from Red Scorch: Blood Blade based on Dark Release compatibility. As for its power...
"Whoosh—!"
Before Mo had gone far, a black-robed puppet spun the two steel blades in its hands and charged toward him at high speed!
"Uchiha Style: Flame-Leaping Sword!"
With a twist of his wrist, Mo swung his blade through the air, and a dense black slash shot forth in an instant!
"Slash!"
The puppet swiftly raised its Twin Blades to block in front of itself. Yet in an instant, the black slash cut through both steel blades as easily as a hot knife through tofu, then passed through the puppet's body without any resistance!
"Crack! Fwoosh—!"
The puppet split into two smooth halves and fell toward the ground without strength. Yet before it could land, two white flames suddenly burst forth, instantly reducing the puppet to ash. Even the steel blades melted into molten iron...
"W-What kind of sword technique is that?"
The Sand Ninja controlling the puppet looked terrified. He frantically searched through his Ninja Tool Pouch, intending to take out a spare puppet from a sealing scroll.
The pinnacle of orthodox puppet users was someone like Chiyo, capable of controlling ten powerful puppets with all ten fingers. Yet clearly, most puppet users could already be considered skilled if they could control even one puppet as fluidly as a limb.
However, Mo had no intention of giving him that chance.
A flash of black light passed by, and the puppet user fell to the ground with his head severed from his body, beginning to burn fiercely. In no time, he had been reduced to a pile of ashes.
Mo did not even look back. With a turn of his body, he continued charging toward Chiyo!
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A fierce gale suddenly struck from the side, about to slam solidly into Uchiha Mo. Yet he abruptly bent his legs, pushed off with his toes, and flipped into the air, gracefully evading it.
"What quick reactions!"
Ebizo was inwardly startled and quietly raised his guard.
He stared intently at Uchiha Mo as he landed safely. When Mo slowly raised his head to look over, Ebizo abruptly lowered his gaze again, fixing it on Mo's torso.
"Uchiha brat, this old man is your opponent!"
Mo remained calm. He shook his blade with a flick and glanced to the side.
On the battlefield, the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Sand armies had already fully engaged. Shisui had followed the Uchiha forces around the battlefield in search of enemies, while Chiyo had taken the initiative to seek out Orochimaru.
"Old man, if you're in such a hurry to hold a funeral, I'll kindly send you on your way."
Mo turned back, and his clean black eyes instantly became scarlet. Three black tomoe slowly spun within the blood-red color.
As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Mo charged furiously toward Ebizo!
"The flames on his blade are strange. We can't let him get close!"
Ebizo had witnessed that puppet user's death from start to finish, so he was deeply wary of Uchiha Mo's Dark Release.
Having made up his mind, Ebizo rapidly retreated while swiftly forming hand seals.
"Wind Release: Sandstorm!"
After completing the seals, Ebizo halted, crouched, and pressed both hands against the ground as chakra surged wildly into it.
In an instant, fierce winds swept up sand and dust from the ground beneath Ebizo's palms, rushing straight toward Uchiha Mo!
The sandstorm moved incredibly fast, reaching Mo in nearly a single breath. Then, the wind and sand circled around him, about to form a violent sandstorm.
Yet Uchiha Mo did not even glance at it. He merely bent his legs and leaped!
Propelled by immense force, Mo's body shot high into the air, flying past the rising top of the sandstorm!
"Hmph! Naive brat, he really is too green!"
Ebizo sneered, suddenly raising his hands and revealing the palms that had been hidden by the sand and dust!
Above them, two shuriken wrapped in rapidly spinning Wind Release chakra could clearly be seen.
"Wind Release: Shuriken!"
Ebizo violently hurled the two shuriken toward Uchiha Mo, who had nowhere to push off in midair. Immediately afterward, his hands began rapidly forming seals again, his aged hands leaving faint afterimages in the air!
In barely half a breath...
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
The shuriken had only traveled halfway when Ebizo brought his hands together, puffed out his chest, and sharply exhaled a narrow, razor-sharp gale at Uchiha Mo!
Wind Release: Shuriken in front, Vacuum Wave behind, and Uchiha Mo was suspended in the air with nowhere to gain leverage. Even if he used his ninja blade or ninjutsu to directly neutralize the Wind Release: Shuriken, the opening afterward would inevitably leave him facing the Vacuum Wave!
And that was Ebizo's killing move!
Though it appeared to be an extremely dangerous situation, Mo suddenly curled his lips into a smile.
"You actually want to show off combat techniques in front of me? I'll let you see the art of the Uchiha!"
The tomoe in his eyes slowly turned. As he stared at the Wind Release: Shuriken that had reached his chest, he suddenly withdrew the Dark Release chakra from Futsunomitama, and the black glow instantly faded.
"Clang—!"
The next moment, the shuriken reached him. Its sharp Wind Release chakra collided with the blade, bursting into a dense shower of sparks!
Immediately afterward, the second Wind Release: Shuriken, positioned before the Vacuum Wave, sliced fiercely toward Uchiha Mo's leg.
Mo rolled his eyes and suddenly tucked in his leg.
As Ebizo continued spewing wind blades, he stared intently at Uchiha Mo in the air. Seeing that movement, a trace of mockery immediately rose within him.
"Heh. The art of the Uchiha? What an ignorant brat. Even if you evade the second shuriken, you'll still surely die to the Vacuum Wave that follows!"
Vacuum Wave possessed extremely powerful cutting force. Danzo had once used this technique to directly break through Sasuke's second-stage Susanoo. Although Ebizo's mastery of Wind Release could not compare to Danzo's, he was completely confident that he could instantly cut through a ninja's fragile flesh.
Yet in the next moment, Ebizo's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.
Just as the shuriken passed beneath Uchiha Mo's foot, Mo suddenly aimed his toes precisely at its core and stepped down!
"Buzz~"
Under Ebizo's shocked gaze, the shuriken actually stopped just like that!
It was the chakra adhesion technique!!!
Uchiha Mo concentrated chakra at his toes and actually used the chakra adhesion technique to stop the Wind Release: Shuriken beneath his foot!
Then Futsunomitama suddenly flared with a dense black glow!
"Slash!"
Mo's reverse-gripped blade swept upward, cutting the shuriken in half. White flames ignited on the severed shuriken, turning it into molten iron in an instant.
Dense black flames ignited without warning on the wind blades surrounding the shuriken beneath Mo's foot, then burned ever more fiercely with the wind!
"Take it back!"
Mo swept his right leg upward, sending it flying toward Ebizo!
"Scorch Release: Shuriken!"
The shuriken instantly cut through the Vacuum Wave upon impact! Then, fanned by the gale, the black flames burned even more intensely!
Ebizo's expression drastically changed. He hurriedly stopped his chakra output and flashed backward.
"The chakra adhesion technique can actually be used like this?!"
Mo merely sneered, a mocking curve forming at the corner of his mouth as his hands rapidly formed several seals.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the shuriken immediately split into two, then two into four. In but an instant, Scorch Release: Shuriken filled the sky, shooting down at Ebizo like a storm of pear blossom needles!
"Stab!"
His arm was severed, and black flames spread across his body. Before Ebizo could scream, even more shuriken came raining down.
"Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!"
"..."
[Wind Release Proficiency +4.21%]
Before you continue