The Battle Against Nawaki

The Senju Clan's Last Stand—Nawaki in the Second Shinobi World War

Puppet Master—Elderly Chiyo

Rebellious Youth—Young Asuma

Beautiful Deadweight—Sakura Haruno During the Chunin Ninja Exams

A faint smile touched Uchiha Yi's lips as he looked at the four choices.

At last, there were a few opponents he could beat.

Sakura Haruno during the Chunin Ninja Exams was deadweight. As long as she hadn't brought her strongest summon, Naruto Uzumaki, Yi figured he could cut loose and slaughter her.

At that point, Sakura had yet to become Tsunade's apprentice. At most, she had excellent chakra control and a little talent for genjutsu.

As for Sakura's genjutsu, the only illusion she had ever cast was on herself: that she had caught up to Sasuke and Naruto.

She had never shown any other genjutsu.

Yi really wouldn't have stood a chance against Sakura during the Fourth Shinobi World War. But during the Chunin Ninja Exams...

Of course, calling Sakura beautiful deadweight was fair enough. Back when Yi watched Naruto in his previous life, nobody liked her, but Sakura had originally been designed as a beauty. Rock Lee had even fallen for her at first sight.

As for Nawaki during the Second Shinobi World War, Yi honestly wasn't sure he could win. Nawaki was Hashirama Senju's grandson and a student of both Tsunade and Orochimaru. His inheritance was even better than Yi's.

If an Explosive Tag hadn't killed him under such strange circumstances, Nawaki could easily have grown into an elite jonin. Going further wasn't out of the question, either.

Against Nawaki as he was now, though, Yi had a real chance of winning. Nawaki and Uchiha Mikoto were in the same year, with comparable strength. Yi shouldn't have much trouble beating him.

Who knew how much Nawaki would grow in the next few years?

Yi didn't even consider elderly Chiyo. She was a Kage Level expert. No matter how old she was, he was in no position to challenge her now.

Young Asuma, on the other hand, might be worth a fight.

He should be able to get something good this time.

After a moment's hesitation, Yi chose Sakura first and entered the Battle Space.

At the sight of the pink-haired girl, Yi hurled three Kunai without a word. Sakura panicked and immediately drew a Kunai to defend herself. Unfortunately for her, she was facing the Uchiha Clan's distinctive Kunai-throwing technique.

She blocked one, but the other two struck her shoulder and abdomen.

Before Sakura could react, Yi rushed in, drew the Short Sword from his back, and slashed her throat.

The next moment, Yi's consciousness left the Battle Space.

Ding! Congratulations, Uchiha Yi, on defeating Sakura Haruno. You have obtained Sakura Haruno's Chakra Control Talent. Fuse it?

Fuse it!

After fusing with Sakura's Chakra Control Talent, a faint smile appeared on Yi's face. He admitted he had underestimated her.

Sakura, whom Tsunade had taken on as an apprentice and trained with all her effort, did have talent.

Yi had thought his chakra control was already excellent. But after fusing with Sakura's talent, it improved by at least a third.

That was a huge gain.

Next, Yi turned his attention to Nawaki. After a moment's hesitation, he decisively started the battle.

Entering the Battle Space, Yi looked at Nawaki across from him. The boy was clearly not yet twelve, and Yi had mixed feelings. This had to be Nawaki shortly before his death, two years older than Nawaki was now.

The chakra Yi sensed from him was greater than his own—roughly a third greater even than Kushina Uzumaki's.

It showed just how gifted Nawaki was.

No wonder some suspected Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had been involved in Nawaki's death. His other talents were impressive too. He really might have reached Kage Level one day.

But an opponent like that made things interesting.

A faint smile touched Yi's lips. He activated his One-Tomoe Sharingan, rapidly formed Hand Seals, and unleashed Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique! In an instant, he spat out a massive fireball that surged toward Nawaki.

Nawaki calmly formed Hand Seals. Just before the fireball hit, he expelled a surge of chakra from his mouth. It quickly became a circular, swirling wall of water that blocked Yi's fireball.

The scorching flames struck the water wall, sending up clouds of steam.

That's Tobirama Senju's Water Release: Water Formation Wall!

Surprise flashed through Yi's eyes. He hadn't expected Nawaki to know it.

Most people formed a water wall by channeling chakra into the ground. Tobirama Senju's version, however, provided protection from every direction.

No doubt he had refined it specifically to counter Uchiha Fire Release.

Sure enough, most of Tobirama Senju's jutsu had been designed to counter the Uchiha!

With that thought, Yi rushed toward Nawaki and formed Hand Seals again. "Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!"

A terrifying current gathered in Yi's hand and touched the Water Formation Wall surrounding Nawaki.

Water conducted electricity. Lightning surged through the Water Formation Wall, forcing Nawaki to drop it and retreat.

After putting some distance between himself and Yi, Nawaki stared at him, shaken. If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, the Lightning Release would have caught him.

Since when did Uchiha boys study Lightning Release instead of focusing on Fire Release?

Yi showed no urgency. He bit his finger and swiped it across the seal on his arm. An enormous Shuriken, as tall as a person, appeared in his right hand, and he hurled it at Nawaki.

"Not good!" Nawaki cursed under his breath, pulled out a Kunai, and braced it against the huge spinning Shuriken.

"Explode!" Before Nawaki could do anything else, Yi barked the command. Only then did Nawaki notice the many Explosive Tags attached to the Shuriken.

Were the Uchiha always this underhanded?

Boom! The violent explosion engulfed Nawaki.

Did he escape with the Substitution Technique? Yi quickly pinpointed Nawaki's position.

The explosion had caught Nawaki. Even though he had used the Substitution Technique in time, the Explosive Tags had still injured him.

He had no time to worry about his wounds. Yi was already upon him, bringing the Short Sword down in a slash.