Escape, Selflessness, The Pinnacle of Perfection

Konoha encampment.

Countless ninjas moved in a rush, some injured, others completely unscathed.

Medical ninjas treated the ninjas carried back.

"Report, intelligence received. Munashi Jinpachi, a current member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from Kirigakure, has disappeared from the battlefield. Also missing are Kirigakure Jonins Hoshi Kaguya, Hozuki Longyue..."

Inside the large tent, Fugaku Uchiha had just finished assigning tasks to the troops when an Anbu ninja appeared before him, reporting a mission that made him frown.

Fugaku asked, "Do you have any specific details on their whereabouts?"

"Judging from the time of their disappearance, the location, and intelligence from our spies in Kirigakure, there is a high probability that they are in our sector. Their objective... is most likely Shisui Uchiha, Uchiha Goenji, and the others." The Anbu ninja shook his head and spoke.

After he finished, Fugaku spoke, "It seems Shisui and Goenji have been drawing a bit too much attention lately."

He then frowned. "Go tell Shisui to come here."

For now, Goenji had already been sent out on a mission, leaving only Shisui behind. It was very likely that the enemy had sent people to ambush Goenji, and that possibility was extremely high.

Moreover, the location of Goenji's current mission had very few Konoha personnel nearby.

"Understood, Lord Fugaku."

Kirigakure.

Council hall.

"Hah, have we finally seized the opportunity? Ao, dispatch troops to launch a harassing strike. We are going to make Uchiha's geniuses vanish."

Karatachi Yagura held a piece of intelligence and looked at Ao off to the side as he spoke.

Ao wore an excited expression. "Understood, Lord Mizukage."

As expected, it still took Lord Mizukage to take action. They had managed to pin down the enemy's geniuses in such a short time.

Those two Uchiha geniuses were finally going to disappear.

That cyan-green chakra, that fiery red chakra—they still lingered in his mind.

He quickly withdrew from the room.

Karatachi Yagura muttered to himself, "Eyeball-killer Fugaku... The Uchiha really are blessed with an abundance of talent. I hope Mei Terumi can lead the troops to stall them for a while."

He felt a high degree of confidence in the success of the assassination by the four people he dispatched. Those four were among Kirigakure's peak combat strengths.

Either they possessed special abilities, or they wielded a Kekkei Genkai.

Even when dealing with Uchiha, facing the encirclement of those four without a large force for support meant that whether it was Shisui Uchiha or Uchiha Goenji, they were going to die.

A battlefield of ice and snow.

An ice egg that tore through the sky was about to hit Aburame Fuzei.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

A huge fireball rushed in from afar, the exploding flames directly impacting the ice egg. After melting it, the fireball continued to advance toward Fubuki Shiro.

Under the intense flames, the ice and snow melted.

Wherever the attack passed, roaring infernos raged.

BOOM--!

"Captain..." Aburame Fuzei's eyes watered as she looked at the suddenly appearing flames and felt that wave of warmth.

She knew her captain had freed himself up to save her.

A wave surged within her heart.

SWISH!

Goenji's figure descended from the sky, spitting flames from his mouth as he said to Aburame Fuzei, "You're heavily injured, you need treatment as soon as possible. What a powerful Ice Release ninjutsu!"

BANG--!

At that very moment, the enemy made a new move.

A blizzard clashed against Goenji's flames.

On one side was a world of ice and snow; on the other, a blazing inferno.

A contest between ice and fire.

It was only after a short while that the two simultaneously stopped maintaining their ninjutsu.

"Uchiha's Fire Release truly lives up to its reputation. To think you can use Fire Release to match my Ice Release tit-for-tat."

Fubuki Shiro stopped using the Eternal Blizzard, looked at Goenji who had suddenly appeared in the distance, and offered praise.

This was the first time he had seen someone use Fire Release to fight him to a complete standstill. What a fine young man.

Why did he think so?

Ice Release was a Kekkei Genkai, naturally superior to Fire Release. Being able to train Fire Release to such a powerful degree was simply beyond all expectations.

"You're not bad either. Such an impressive Ice Release. It seems Kirigakure really is overflowing with talent!" Goenji said with a solemn expression.

The Sharingan locked its gaze firmly onto Fubuki Shiro.

So this was Ice Release!

When watching anime in his past life, the only displays of it were Haku, who stayed by Zabuza's side, and those people from the Land of Snow arc. His impression of Ice Release was limited entirely to those.

Now that he saw Fubuki Shiro, he felt that Haku's Ice Release was ultimately just a Kekkei Genkai mastered without anyone to teach him, albeit already quite impressive for that.

As for Kirigakure, Ice Release still existed in the world there, and it belonged to a major clan within the village. They had a lineage just like his Uchiha, making them far stronger than Haku's loose, unguided Ice Release, which made complete sense.

Makes sense my ass!

Kirigakure, which had not yet entered the Blood Mist Village era, truly lived up to its name as one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Kekkei Genkai and secret technique powerhouses emerged in an endless stream.

Boar.

He formed a seal with a single hand, his left hand blazing with flames, and pressed it directly onto Aburame Fuzei's body.

The fierce flames eliminated the ice consuming half of Aburame Fuzei's body. "Fuzei, you leave first. I'll hold him off."

"But..." Aburame Fuzei wanted to speak.

Goenji said with resolute efficiency, "No buts. You'll only hold me back."

"Mn." Aburame Fuzei felt her body regain mobility. Even though she knew it was necessary, she still felt a sense of reluctance in her heart.

Forcing herself to endure the pain of her injuries, she took two steps, bit her lower lip, looked back, and threw a couple of extra glances at Goenji.

She found that the opponent had already focused all his attention on the enemy.

SWISH--!

Hailing from Danzo's Root, she ultimately suppressed the surging emotions within her and, mustering her final strength, burst out of the battlefield.

Captain, you better not die! A fleeting emotion flashed through her heart.

Fubuki Shiro paid no mind to this. "It seems your abilities go beyond just that. Truly impressive."

He had already seen the shadow clone in the distance, which was currently stalling Munashi Jinpachi, and understood that this person only had half his chakra left, having already gone through a certain amount of combat.

He grew serious as well.

As for Aburame Fuzei, he did not care about her; Uchiha Goenji was their target.

He formed hand seals.

Ripples spread around Fubuki Shiro as mirror-like shards made of ice appeared, quickly forming a barrier all around him.

CLANG CLANG--!

Blades and bone blades clashed, throwing off sparks.

RIP!

A blade slashed across Hoshi Kaguya's chest, instantly tearing a gap through the covering bone armor.

"Such strong swordsmanship. Are you from one of Konoha's distinguished sword-wielding clans?"

Hoshi Kaguya looked at his bone armor—his strongest defense—which had actually been slashed open by the opponent's blade, and utter shock washed over him.

What shocked him even more was the opponent's state; the situation was already completely under control.

Dance of the Seedling Ferns.

The arrogance of the Kaguya clan drove him into a frenzy.

Abandoning defense, he rapidly formed seals with both hands. Before the others could deal with their opponents, he was going to resolve this Konoha person right here.

Ryoma's brow tightened in a furrow, but his strikes remained utterly merciless. He followed the grain of the opponent's body, sliced through the bone armor, and stabbed straight into the adversary's flesh.

When he tried to pull the blade back, however, he found that the bone armor had extended and clamped down on it, making it completely impossible to pull out.

"Hahahahaha! I'll let you know the terror of the Kaguya clan. Go to hell!" Hoshi Kaguya let out a wild, uninhibited roar that shook the heavens.

An eagle flying through the sky was startled into a fright.

Selflessness: The Pinnacle of Perfection.

Ryoma released the sword hilt, quickly retreated a certain distance, and deployed his ultimate secret technique.

All the chakra in his body condensed, and two chakra-formed blades appeared in his hands.