A Formidable Opponent, a Change of Heart

Chapter Thirty-Three: A Formidable Opponent, a Change of Heart

I knew it wouldn't be that easy. Qian Rou, the Chinoike Clan leader, leaped back to a safe distance. Her eyes narrowed, flashing crimson as she activated some kind of ocular technique.

"Brat! Blame your Uchiha blood!"

There was no holding back in battle, no room for mercy.

If a method killed the enemy, it was the right method.

One by one, prisoners who looked like walking corpses fell under the Ketsuryūgan's special ocular technique. Stripped of their will, they could only obey its user, becoming devastating living bombs.

"Don't waste words on a battlefield. If you can kill me, that's your skill."

"But if I kill you, the price will be the complete disappearance of Chinoike Clan ninja from the Ninja World."

Uchiha Jobu knew full well what an unforgivable crime it was to strike at a country's highest-ranking nobles, let alone its daimyo.

The Warring States Era was defined by slaughter, death, betrayal, deceit, war, hunger, and plague.

To survive in such a brutal age, ninja depended on missions issued by the nobility.

Even in the peaceful era before he crossed over, people said the one footing the bill was God.

The crazed Chinoike Clan ninja had actually set their sights on the daimyo of the Land of Lightning. Whether they did it for their clan or for survival, they had crossed the ruling powers of the Warring States Era.

Jobu believed that even if the daimyo of the Land of Lightning died, the Chinoike Clan's plan would never truly succeed. No country would allow itself to be controlled by ninja.

As the prisoners turned living bombs charged toward him, Shikotsumyaku was of little use.

But so far, apart from the Sharingan, Shikotsumyaku was his most useful ability. The only thing his Embroidery Release could do was turn him invisible, and even that required him to stand still.

Would crouching down and turning invisible stop the enemy from attacking him?

Obviously not.

For one thing, Qian Rou also possessed an ocular Kekkei Genkai. For another, the blast radius of a living bomb rivaled that of the Explosive Tags ninja used in battle.

The more vigorous a person's blood and vitality, the more powerful the explosion when that person was turned into a living bomb.

Boom!

Boom, boom, boom!

Explosions thundered one after another. Flames swallowed a vast area, and the ground shuddered under the blasts.

"Wind Release: Wind-Blowing Technique!"

Jobu formed a hand seal and unleashed a C-rank Wind Release technique with that single seal.

It had little offensive power, but it was perfect now. The wind scattered the smoke and dust from the explosions, restoring his view.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The wind had barely cleared the smoke when several Kunai sliced through the air toward him. A thin thread trailed from each handle, dragging a burning Explosive Tag.

An Explosive Tag was a sheet of paper inscribed with a technique that made it explode. In close combat, a ninja could stick one to an enemy and detonate it with chakra.

Because it was paper, an Explosive Tag could not be thrown effectively.

So ninja had combined Explosive Tags with Kunai to make them useful at range.

Several Kunai bearing Explosive Tags closed in before Jobu's eyes. In an instant, danger seemed to envelop his whole body.

If several Explosive Tags caught him, the blasts would cook him alive. He had no chance of survival.

Even Shikotsumyaku—or a far more outrageous Kekkei Genkai—could not make flesh withstand an Explosive Tag's explosion.

"Body Flicker?"

Crimson light flickered repeatedly in Qian Rou's eyes. More living bombs poured from every corner, an endless, terrifying tide.

"But it's useless. The moment these eyes shine, neither Uchiha nor Qian Rou can stand against the Chinoike Clan."

"Chinoike Clan ninja are the strongest in the Ninja World."

"Uchiha brat, you've already lost."

The prisoners controlled by her Ketsuryūgan gathered about three meters from Qian Rou. It was just far enough that their explosions would not harm her.

Jobu counted silently. More than twenty living bombs in prison uniforms held hands in three concentric rings, shielding Qian Rou.

If he charged in recklessly, he might kill her, but the explosions would swallow him too.

Unless...

Jobu thought of Susanoo. If only he had the Mangekyō Sharingan now. He could summon that Uchiha giant, unmatched in attack and defense, and crush the Chinoike Clan head-on.

"This is trouble."

"No ninja who survived the Warring States Era is easy to deal with."

"The Chinoike Clan ninja barely got a mention in the story. The nobles of the Land of Lightning joined forces to shut them out, and under the Uchiha Clan's watch, they nearly went extinct."

"Back then, I didn't think much of them. I figured their Ketsuryūgan was no better than a Two-Tomoe or Three-Tomoe Sharingan."

"I thought Chinoike ninja would be easy to beat. Only now that I've fought one do I understand how troublesome they are."

Jobu was annoyed with himself. Had his advantage gone to his head? This world held more than its native ninja. There was also an alien clan from outer space that planted trees. He was no stronger than a Special Jonin, yet he had already started looking down on an entire ninja clan.

What would happen when he faced a powerful member of that tree-planting clan?

That attitude would not do. He had to take everyone in this world seriously, famous or unknown. Anyone who stood before him as an enemy deserved his full strength.

That change in outlook transformed Jobu's bearing. His presence grew steadier and more imposing.