Juzo Biwa and Tobi

By the stream.

The wind suddenly stopped.

The smile on Juzo Biwa's face slowly faded.

The Executioner's Blade on his back trembled faintly, as if it sensed its master's killing intent.

Uchiha You stood by the stream, his black hair stirring lightly in the breeze, the crimson in his eyes having resurfaced.

Three tomoe slowly spun.

Under Juzo Biwa and Tobi's watchful eyes, the three tomoe gradually stretched, twisted, and intertwined, finally becoming a black-and-red biohazard umbrella pattern.

Strange.

Dangerous.

Like a pathogen marker spreading outward.

Tobi's lone eye behind his spiral mask narrowed slightly.

Mangekyō Sharingan.

Sure enough, he had not been mistaken earlier.

This young Uchiha truly possessed a Mangekyō Sharingan.

And its abilities were extremely strange.

The deaths of those three Root ninjas earlier had seemed more like their bodies and chakra pathways had been eroded by something invisible.

"How interesting..."

Tobi spoke in a flippant tone.

"When did the Uchiha Clan produce someone like you?"

Uchiha You ignored him.

His gaze remained fixed on Juzo Biwa.

Juzo Biwa stared back at him.

After a moment, Juzo Biwa grinned.

"Your eyes are pretty good."

"But kid, good eyes don't mean you can win."

He slowly drew the Executioner's Blade from his back.

Its heavy blade dragged a deep groove across the ground.

"Among those useless fools from the Hidden Mist Village, plenty have wanted to kill me."

"But in the end, they all became the blood this blade used to repair itself."

Uchiha You replied flatly,

"That was because they were useless."

Juzo Biwa's eye twitched.

Uchiha You continued,

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist may have an impressive name."

"But when it comes to dying, they're not much harder to kill than ordinary ninjas."

The air turned completely cold.

Tobi stood nearby, taking half a step back with the air of someone watching a show.

"Oh my, it looks like Senior Juzo is angry."

Juzo Biwa said coldly,

"Shut up, Tobi."

The next instant.

He stomped down hard.

Boom!

The ground shattered.

Juzo Biwa charged out like a wild beast, the Executioner's Blade ripping through the air as it cleaved straight at Uchiha You's head.

Before the blade even fell, the powerful pressure of its wind had already pressed ripples into the stream.

An ordinary Jonin facing such a frontal slash would likely lack even the courage to dodge.

But Uchiha You merely stood where he was.

Only when the blade was about to reach him did he tilt his head slightly.

The Executioner's Blade chopped down past his cheek.

Boom!

A deep fissure split the ground.

Rubble flew everywhere.

Juzo Biwa's eyes hardened as he sharply twisted his wrist, sweeping the broad blade sideways.

Uchiha You tapped lightly with his feet and retreated, narrowly evading the blade.

Not too far, just one inch.

Juzo Biwa sneered.

"All you can do is dodge?"

Uchiha You raised his eyes.

"You're too slow."

Juzo Biwa's expression darkened.

He hated that look most of all.

The look in the Uchiha Clan's eyes.

Arrogant.

Cold.

As if everyone they looked at was worthless.

"Then let's see how long you can keep dodging!"

Juzo Biwa gripped his sword with both hands, chakra erupting as he swung the Executioner's Blade repeatedly.

One slash.

Two slashes.

Three slashes.

The flashes of the blade merged into one, nearly sealing off every path of retreat for Uchiha You.

The trees by the stream were cut down one after another, thick trunks crashing to the ground.

Flying rocks and splintered wood filled the sky.

Tobi stood some distance away and exclaimed in an exaggerated tone,

"Senior Juzo is amazing!"

"At this rate, that Uchiha kid is going to be chopped into minced meat, right?"

Yet the next second, his voice abruptly stopped.

Because within the storm of blade light, Uchiha You remained completely unharmed.

He had not even drawn a weapon.

Every dodge was as if he had seen through Juzo Biwa's movements in advance.

The Executioner's Blade looked ferocious, yet it could never touch even the corner of his clothes.

The longer Juzo Biwa fought, the more alarmed he became.

Of course, he knew about the Sharingan's perception.

But this was not ordinary perception.

It was as though the brat could see through even his habits of exertion, muscle contractions, and chakra flow.

Every evasion was so precise that it infuriated him.

"Damn it!"

Juzo Biwa roared and slammed the Executioner's Blade downward.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

The stream instantly exploded.

A massive amount of water gathered into an enormous water dragon, which roared as it lunged at Uchiha You.

At the same time, Juzo Biwa rushed out from behind the water dragon, using the water mist to conceal himself as the Executioner's Blade struck toward Uchiha You's waist and abdomen.

This was the true killing move.

Water Release suppression.

A finishing strike with the blade.

A Hidden Mist Rogue Ninja's battles had never cared about fairness.

But just as the water dragon was about to swallow Uchiha You.

Uchiha You's left eye suddenly focused.

The black umbrella pattern spun abruptly.

Black Umbrella: Pathogen Dominion!

A thread of black-red chakra silently merged into the water dragon.

The once-clear water was instantly stained a dark red.

Like blood.

Or like a source of contamination.

Juzo Biwa's pupils contracted.

Not good!

He instinctively sensed danger and immediately tried to sever the chakra sustaining his Water Release.

But it was already too late.

The water dragon contaminated by Black Umbrella not only stopped attacking Uchiha You, but suddenly twisted around and coiled around Juzo Biwa's body instead.

"What?!"

Juzo Biwa's expression changed drastically.

His own Water Release had been taken from him?

No.

It had not merely been taken.

It had been contaminated!

The dark-red water flowed like living creatures, burrowing into his body through his skin, wounds, and chakra cloak.

Scorching heat, numbness, and piercing pain erupted all at once.

Juzo Biwa's body stiffened, and the Executioner's Blade slowed for an instant in his hands.

In that instant, Uchiha You moved.

His figure flashed, and he appeared directly before Juzo Biwa.

The White Umbrella in his right eye spun.

White Umbrella: Cellular Reconstruction!

Muscle enhancement.

Nerve enhancement.

Bone enhancement.

Chakra burst enhancement.

Uchiha You threw a punch.

Bang!

His fist slammed viciously into the Executioner's Blade.

The heavy Executioner's Blade was actually knocked backward by that single punch.

Juzo Biwa's arms shook violently. The skin between his thumb and forefinger split, blood flowing down the hilt.

"What kind of monstrous strength is this?!"

He was horrified.

Wasn't the Uchiha Clan supposed to rely on genjutsu and Fire Release?

How could this brat's physical strength be so terrifying?

But Uchiha You gave him no time to think.

He grabbed the spine of the Executioner's Blade with his left hand, clenched his right hand into a fist, and smashed down again.

Boom!

The blade trembled.

Juzo Biwa's feet sank into the ground.

Boom!

The second punch.

The bones in his arms cracked under the strain.

Boom!

The third punch.

The Executioner's Blade was forcibly knocked aside, leaving Juzo Biwa's chest completely exposed.

Uchiha You raised his leg and kicked.

Bang!

Juzo Biwa was sent flying, only barely stopping after crashing through two trees.

Tobi stood in the distance, his tone as exaggerated as ever.

"Wow, so scary!"

"Senior Juzo, you're not going to lose, are you?"

Juzo Biwa rose from the splintered wood, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his gaze terrifyingly grim.

"Tobi, say one more word of nonsense and I'll cut you down first."

Tobi spread his hands.

"I'm just worried about you, Senior."