Chapter 35

He had run that fast not just because of the poisonous mist.

When he had blocked those senbon just now, the web between his thumb and forefinger had split open from the shock. The hidden weapons that old bastard Sasori fired had absurd force behind them.

Going head-to-head with Sasori of the Red Sand at his current level?

That was pure suicide.

But no matter how fast Sasuke ran, he still could not shake Sasori off.

That old man who looked hunched and stooped had, in truth, a fully modified puppet body stuffed inside him. His limbs folded and flipped, and he moved as fast as some mutated insect as he chased all the way after him.

The magatama on Sasuke's chest had only just brushed his fingertips when he forced his hand back again.

If he counted on Susanoo to save his life every time, how was he supposed to climb higher?

He formed seals at top speed, turned, and spat out a giant fireball.

The raging flames slammed into Sasori as he lunged over and exploded with a boom.

Sasori was blasted backward. Sasuke seized the opening, turned, and ran, heading straight for Uchiha Fugaku.

All he needed was to charge out of Sasori's hunting ground.

A child who had not even gone to the battlefield yet, a brat not even six years old, had managed to escape from Sasori of the Red Sand's hands—just thinking about it was enough to make one's blood surge.

The smoke gradually dispersed. Sasori walked out unhurriedly, stared in the direction Sasuke had fled, and a smile appeared on his face.

This brat was interesting.

He wanted to turn Sasuke into a puppet.

With talent that high, he would definitely make a fine collection piece. The more Sasori thought about it, the more excited he became, and his speed suddenly increased.

A rustling sound suddenly rang out in the forest.

Kunai shot in from every direction, rushing straight at Sasuke's face.

Right after that, a group of ninja charged out with blades raised. Sasuke's pupils shrank—there was not the slightest trace of a living person's aura on them. They were all already dead.

Chakra strings.

Transparent fine threads hung from their necks, and every movement they made was controlled by Sasori. "Why aren't you running anymore?"

Sasori's hoarse voice came from behind him, carrying a hint of amusement. "Actually, you can't get away. Be good and come with me, and maybe those people won't want you dead. If you keep resisting..."

Killing intent wrapped around his words and pressed down like something solid. Sasuke understood. That was not a threat. It was the truth. "I'm not going with you."

He raised his kunai and took a stance.

One minute?

No need.

Thirty seconds. As long as he held on for thirty seconds, it would be enough.

Sasori lifted his hand slightly. Those dead men instantly pounced.

The sound of kunai clashing exploded through the forest. Sasuke blocked while retreating, his mind rapidly calculating his chakra consumption and the distance to Fugaku.

Ten seconds.

Twenty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

His body was already close to its limit. Lightning God Mode, while withstanding so many attackers at once, drained his stamina to a lethal degree.

His vision went dark in waves.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and forcibly squeezed out the last bit of chakra in his body. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Flames spewed out again, but his vision had already begun to blur.

Was it still not enough?

A surge of unwillingness welled up in his heart. He reached out and gripped the magatama on his chest.

Sasuke was just about to summon Susanoo when several figures suddenly flashed before his eyes.

The puppets that had been chasing and biting at him were cleaned up in an instant. "Uncle Natsume!"

"Uncle Nagasawa!"

"Dad!"

After seeing who had arrived, Sasuke collapsed straight to the ground, his legs going weak.

Nagasawa Uchiha spoke first, his gaze landing on that black cloak with red clouds. "Wearing this thing again... Akatsuki, right?"

The three tomoe in his eyes slowly revolved, and astonishing chakra fluctuations surged in his pupils.

With just a sweep of his eyes over the surroundings, he had the situation figured out.

His son had held off an opponent of this level alone.

As expected of Uchiha blood. "Akatsuki?"

Uchiha Fugaku's voice was low as he narrowed his eyes. "Looks like the Shinobi World has had peaceful days for too long in this era."

"For an organization as powerful and reckless as yours to actually appear."

He paused, and his Mangekyo Sharingan abruptly opened, crimson patterns spinning in his eye sockets. "But daring to touch our Uchiha people is probably the stupidest thing you've done in your life!"

That pressure was like a mountain crushing down.

Sasori of the Red Sand's pupils constricted slightly, and his brows furrowed.

At the same time, sharp presences surged in from every direction.

Pairs of scarlet eyes lit up in the dark night.

At least thirty Uchiha Clan members, all with Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

The moment this squad appeared, even a veteran ninja like Sasori of the Red Sand felt a chill creep up his back.

--

"Fire Style: Exploding Fire Dragon Technique!"

"Fire Style: Light Lava Technique!"

"Fire Style: Explosive Flame Breakthrough!"

"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"

--

For a moment, the Uchiha Clan members who had arrived formed seals at the same time and shouted out their respective Fire Style ninjutsu.

Some people might have forgotten that back then, Konoha's title of "Hokage" had, to a large extent, basked in the light of the Uchiha's Fire Style.

Today, they would let the name of Fire Style explode across the Shinobi World once more.

Overwhelming flames surged over like a tide.

Even Sasori of the Red Sand could not escape under an attack of that density.

The high temperature warped the air. The flames smashed down hard and swallowed him whole. "Nagasawa, take Sasuke away first."

Uchiha Fugaku turned his head and gave the order, his tone very grave. "Who knows how many accomplices are still hidden behind scum like this."

"It's too risky for Sasuke to stay here."

"For him to have fought to this point is already very good."

For once, he did not keep a stern face. Instead, he directly offered praise.

With Sasori of the Red Sand's strength, he was at least Kage-level.

For Sasuke to have lasted until now was indeed something to be proud of. "Understood, clan leader!"

Nagasawa Uchiha scooped Sasuke up in one motion, and with a flash, vanished into the night.

Sasuke had long since passed out. As for the mission and all that, it was not important now.

--

"Crack, crack, crack..."

After Nagasawa left, the sound of something shattering came from the center of the flames. "Boom!"

With an explosion, a huge wave of air scattered all the surrounding flames.

A slender, upright figure stood on the scorched ground **.

Sasori of the Red Sand lifted his chin slightly, a cold smile hanging from the corner of his mouth. "As expected of the Uchiha Clan."

"But if you think you can ** get rid of me that easily, you're far too naive."

After saying that, he reached out and took down the scroll on his back, then slowly unfurled it.

Inside was his proudest collection—over a hundred puppets, all ready to be released.

They wanted to use human-wave tactics to crush him to death?

Sasori of the Red Sand truly had never feared that. "Tch."

Just as Sasori was about to make his move, he suddenly stopped as if he had received some signal. "I won't play with you Uchiha today."

"Before I go, I'll leave you a memento."

After saying that, Sasori of the Red Sand turned and swept into the distance. "Trying to run? Now—"

"Withdraw!"

Uchiha Natsume had just been about to chase when Uchiha Fugaku grabbed him.

The next second, Fugaku took everyone with him and instantly vanished from the spot. "Caw... caw, caw..."

No sooner had they left than those ** on the ground, who had long since stopped breathing, suddenly stood up one after another.

Immediately after, the ** began to swell wildly. "Boom! Boom! Boom—"

The tremendous ** tore through the dense forest.

Purple poison gas surged outward like a fountain, swallowing the entire forest.

The grass and trees withered in the blink of an eye when they touched the poisonous mist, as if their life had been drained dry. "This person had no name. He was different from the Akatsuki people we ran into before. He had a ring on his hand, and the character carved on it was 'Jewel.'"

"It should be a code name."

"The one we met last time had 'Vermilion' written on his ring."

"As for the batch we just killed, they were at most small fry."

Uchiha Natsume stared at the poisonous mist in front of him and sorted through what they had encountered today. "Akatsuki, huh..."

"Looks like none of the ones with code names are easy to deal with."

"Let's go see how Itachi's side is doing."

Uchiha Fugaku did not delay any longer and headed straight toward Itachi and the others.

Actually, they should have regrouped with Sasuke and the others long ago.

They had just been blocked once by Akatsuki on the way, which was why they had been delayed until now.

Before long, Uchiha Fugaku led the clan's ninja and found Itachi's location.

Itachi and Shisui looked a little battered.

Fortunately, they were still alive. "Father?"

"The department head is here!"

Seeing Uchiha Fugaku appear, Itachi finally let out a sigh of relief.

This boy was only eleven years old right now.

Even if he and Shisui were both geniuses, holding off a siege from a group of experts was still more than enough to wear them down. "We're leaving. Back to the village."

Uchiha Fugaku had no intention of wasting more time here.

Danzo's Root Organization, plus that mysterious Akatsuki...

With these two groups coming together, things were very troublesome.

Besides, Uchiha Fugaku did not want his clansmen fighting this kind of unnecessary battle.

This was the rule he had set for himself.

--

Elsewhere.

Nagasawa Uchiha carried Sasuke and was desperately rushing toward the village. "Hm?"

As he ran, he abruptly slammed on the brakes.

His eyes stared fixedly ahead, and his expression turned solemn. "As expected of an elite of the Uchiha family."

"Even like this, you can still discover the trap I laid."

As the words fell, a man wearing a black cloak with red clouds and a bamboo hat walked out from the darkness.

The ring on his finger had the character "Vermilion" carved on it.

Another Akatsuki member. "Why is it you again?"

"You don't really think that just because we forced you back once earlier, you can stop me now, do you?"

When Nagasawa Uchiha spoke, his tone was pressed very low.

He was still carrying the heavily injured, unconscious Sasuke in his arms.

If they really fought, Sasuke could very well get into trouble, or even lose his life.

If he could scare the other party off, that would be the best outcome.

Otherwise, he could only fight with his life on the line. "Yo, yo, yo—"

Vermilion Bird flicked his wrist, a playful smile hanging at the corner of his mouth. "I was just playing with you earlier, and you actually thought you were capable?"

"Next, I'll let you properly taste—"

"What it means to be... Akatsuki!"

As his words fell, he raised his arm.

Steel cables shot out with a swish, crashing down toward the two of them from every direction.

Clang, clang, clang—

Nagasawa Uchiha backhanded several shuriken out, accurately striking the chains and sending sparks flying.

Immediately after, two more kunai followed up, directly pinning the steel cables into a nearby tree trunk. "Lord Nagasawa, focus on your fight."

"I've recovered a bit."

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. His voice was still a little weak, but his gaze had steadied. "Sasuke, don't worry about me."

"The clan leader and the others are nearby. It won't be long before they arrive."

"I've crossed hands with this guy before. Leave what comes next to me."

Nagasawa Uchiha grinned.

Hiss—

He yanked open his own collar, tore the fabric into strips, and quickly tied Sasuke and himself together. "Lord Nagasawa..."

"Don't talk. This is our Uchiha nindo—we don't abandon our own."

"One day, you'll understand what I'm saying today."

Nagasawa Uchiha cut Sasuke off outright, his tone too serious to be a joke.

At the same time, the chakra inside him began to churn.

For the first time.

Sasuke truly felt what it meant to be Uchiha.

Everything he had done before, when it came down to it, had been to find someone to rely on and earn a living, plus the missions issued by the system, and to conveniently reform the clan's atmosphere along the way.

But now, it was different.

This sense of belonging seeping out from his bloodline slammed hard into his chest.

In the Shinobi World, the Uchiha clan cared more about feelings than anyone else.

A clan like this should not disappear. "I understand."

Sasuke nodded hard. "Watch closely. This is real combat instruction."

As soon as Nagasawa Uchiha finished speaking, he gripped his kunai and charged straight out.

Facing Vermilion Bird of the Akatsuki, he did not hesitate at all.

There was only one thought in his mind—protect the boy behind him.

The moment the two clashed, Nagasawa Uchiha's taijutsu and battle awareness made Vermilion Bird frown.

This guy was hard to deal with.

The key was, he had no time to waste.

He had to take down Nagasawa Uchiha as quickly as possible and take Sasuke away. "Enough playing."

Vermilion Bird suddenly spoke, completely ignoring the kunai Nagasawa Uchiha stabbed at him, and raised a finger.

Clink—

The kunai stabbed into Vermilion Bird's body.

It did not pierce through.

Instead, it rang out with the crisp sound of metal striking metal. "This is..."

Bang!

Before Nagasawa Uchiha could think any further, a heavy blow struck him in the stomach.

His entire body was blasted backward.

As he flew back, he never even thought about dispersing the force. He took the impact head-on, stubbornly shielding Sasuke on his back.

When he landed, he forced himself to hit the ground face-first, keeping Sasuke firmly protected in his arms. "My kekkei genkai, Steel Release."