Who Gave You the Courage

However, how could Uchiha Lan's Phoenix Flower be stopped by a hasty defense?

Boom boom boom boom boom—!

The blazing Phoenix Flower flames erupted violently, and orange-red light instantly swallowed his figure.

The first fireball tore through the dust and slammed into his crossed arms. The immense impact made both arms tremble violently, and his defensive stance collapsed in an instant!

Then came the second, the third... striking him with the precision of a raging storm!

"Urgh—!!!"

His incomparably shrill scream lasted only a brief moment before it was completely drowned out by the successive explosions.

The flames mercilessly licked at his body. His ninja vest instantly charred and split apart under the intense heat, while his flesh sizzled with a hair-raising sound.

A thick burnt stench spread through the air. The scar-ridden face twisted and blackened in the firelight.

Just as the Hidden Sand Jonin staggered backward and fell beneath the explosive impact—

Whoosh!

Uchiha Lan flashed forward like lightning, instantly crossing the lingering flames and smoke between them!

The katana in his hand no longer merely glinted with cold light. It transformed into a frigid silver streak that swept across the Hidden Sand Jonin's throat!

As the blade flashed past, time seemed to freeze for an instant.

That charred, smoking body, still twitching faintly, suddenly stiffened.

Then it hit the scorching sand with a dull thud.

Uchiha Lan held his katana at an angle toward the ground and flicked his wrist, shaking the last drop of blood from the blade.

Rumble—!!!

At that moment, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out!

Not far from Uchiha Lan, an orange-red fireball instantly expanded in an explosion, mixing with the shattered rubble of the Earth Style wall and forming waves of air pressure.

"Boom!"

The blazing flames of the Great Fireball instantly swallowed the burly Hidden Sand ninja.

The scorching blast kicked up the surrounding smoke and dust once more, blowing aside the messy hair over Tekka's forehead. He clearly saw the flames swallow the target and even heard an extremely brief, muffled groan from within.

It worked!

"Ha ha ha! What Hidden Sand Jonin? Nothing special! Cough, cough... remember this—Uchiha... is Konoha's strongest clan!"

The taut string in Tekka's heart abruptly loosened, and overwhelming exhaustion crashed over him like a tidal wave, making him gasp heavily.

After all, he had just used up half his chakra. It felt like he had spent half a day doing that—an exhaustion unlike anything he had ever felt.

The Three-Tomoe in his Sharingan rapidly dimmed and faded, eventually returning to ordinary black pupils. His vision even began to blur and darken.

When he saw that mangled, smoking log, he could hardly believe it.

A log?!

The smile on Uchiha Tetsuka's face instantly froze, and his pupils abruptly constricted in extreme shock and terror!

A bone-chilling cold shot from his spine straight to the top of his head.

"The Substitution Technique... when...?"

His mind went blank, with only that thought screaming through it.

How was that possible? He had clearly seen the other man swallowed by the flames! He had clearly heard the sound! Could it have been... cover from the smoke?

"The most basic Substitution Technique... and you couldn't even see through that? Uchiha's 'genius'?"

A cold voice filled with endless mockery and deep-seated hatred suddenly rang out clearly behind him, like an icy wind from the depths of hell.

The blood throughout Uchiha Tetsuka's body seemed to freeze instantly!

Just as he tried to turn and counterattack, a large, rough hand stained with dirt and blood clamped onto the hair at the back of his neck like iron pincers, violently yanking his entire upper body backward!

Then a heavy backhand strike landed on his waist.

The pain blackened his vision, and a pained whimper escaped his throat.

"Thud!"

Uchiha Tetsuka crashed heavily onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The wound along the back of his body was deep enough to expose bone, and blood rapidly soaked the dirt beneath him like a spring.

The excruciating pain made his entire body convulse, and cold sweat instantly covered his forehead.

He struggled to push himself up, but his injured spine could not exert any strength at all. The piercing pain nearly suffocated him.

Half the burly Hidden Sand ninja's face was covered in burns from the Great Fireball.

He picked up Uchiha Tetsuka's unsheathed katana and looked down at him from above.

With a vicious grin that bared his pale teeth, he said:

"You evil Uchiha brat, you dared ruin my handsome face!"

"Trash Uchiha, this is the price of wasting chakra so carelessly. Remember it in your next life!"

Just as he was about to use Uchiha Tetsuka's own sword to kill Tekka himself, a fierce gale suddenly swept over.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

"Urgh!"

The burly Hidden Sand ninja let out a muffled grunt. He felt as though his internal organs had been viciously compressed, and his entire body was flung away by the violent airflow like a kite with its string cut.

His forehead protector was blasted away. Sharp flying stones instantly cut several bloody gashes across his face and arms, while the shockwave tore several holes in the clothes on his back, exposing the bleeding flesh beneath.

He awkwardly forced himself to adjust his posture in midair, trying to land.

Just as he was about to finish adjusting himself and prepare to land in a relatively safe position—an abrupt change occurred!

An extremely cold chakra brimming with killing intent erupted without warning from the smoke behind and to his side!

The position had been chosen with extreme cunning, precisely catching the burly Hidden Sand ninja at the instant he landed.

"Squelch—!"

The sound of a sharp weapon tearing through flesh was especially piercing amid the fading echoes of the explosions.

"Urgh—!"

This Hidden Sand ninja let out a short scream even more agonized than when the explosion had struck him. A sharp blade had viciously pierced through his chest.

"Your every move is a weakness! Who gave you the courage to judge the Uchiha, Fish Leong?"

Behind him, Uchiha Lan's cold voice spoke unhurriedly.

With a trace of mockery in his tone, Uchiha Lan slowly pulled the bloodstained katana from the Hidden Sand ninja's corpse. Blood dripped from the blade with soft pattering sounds.

He casually flicked the blood from the blade, as though it were nothing.

"Tekka, are you all right?"

"Captain, I think I'm not all right. My spine seems to be broken."

"Good, as long as you're all right. I'll go support Inasui and Daotian first!"

Uchiha Tetsuka: Huh?

Elsewhere.

Although Uchiha Daosui and Uchiha Inada were fairly strong, they still found it somewhat difficult to face six Hidden Sand Chunin.

Moreover, their opponents excelled in puppet techniques and Wind Style. The two forms of ninjutsu worked together, firmly suppressing Uchiha Daosui and Uchiha Inada. Several times, they had nearly taken one of them down.

With victory seemingly within reach, all six Hidden Sand Chunin felt the urge to start celebrating halfway through the match.

That was until their two Jonin squad leaders were killed one after another by Uchiha Lan. Seeing this, the six Hidden Sand Chunin felt a chill run through their hearts.

Even their two Jonin squad leaders had been defeated so easily. How could they possibly be a match for this Uchiha?

With that thought, the six Hidden Sand Chunin no longer cared about anything else and turned to flee.