Business! Flying Thunder God!

"Moral Kidnapping?"

This time, Uchiha Yongye laughed in disbelief.

He fired back with righteous conviction, each word a poisoned blade carving into Uchiha Mikoto's heart.

"If Uchiha Fugaku were just some dog by the roadside, who would go looking for him?

But what is he? He's the head of the Uchiha clan!

He holds a position of power. What was he doing while his clansmen were being slaughtered?

Bowing and scraping! Hiding like a coward!"

Uchiha Yongye took a step forward, his eyes cold as twin flames of Hellfire and Ice.

"When you hold power, incompetence is a crime! Cowardice is worse!

He clings to his position and does nothing while his clansmen are killed one after another, and you still think you're in the right?"

Uchiha Mikoto opened her mouth to argue, only to find she had no answer.

His words stabbed into her like knives, every thrust striking a vital spot. She wanted to defend herself, but she had no shield.

Gritting her teeth, she gave up arguing and held her kunai across her body. Her voice turned forceful, almost unreasonable.

Both her sons had been bullied, and one had even taken a kick that might leave him unable to have children. There could be lasting damage, trouble with marriage later... She was so furious she could barely think straight!

"I'm not arguing about this! You have two choices—let me kick you just as hard, and we're even! Or I kill you!"

Yongye froze for a moment.

The confidence in her voice genuinely surprised him.

A woman known throughout the clan for her gentle, virtuous nature now stood with a blade in hand, talking like a bandit: take a kick, or die.

Where did that confidence come from?

A moment later, Yongye understood.

This was a world of ninja clans, where strength ruled.

How could the woman who married Uchiha Fugaku and gave birth to Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha be some frail housewife?

An ordinary woman would never have been a match for the head of the Uchiha clan.

"Two choices," Yongye repeated. Then he smiled—a cold, dark, wicked smile.

"I choose neither. I choose to kill you!"

Lightning Release Chakra Mode—activate!

Pale blue arcs burst around him, their sharp crackling filling the silent room.

Yongye's hair stood on end as a thin veil of Lightning Release covered his body. His reflexes sharpened to their limit, and explosive power surged through his muscles!

He drove off the floor and became a streak of blue lightning hurtling straight at Uchiha Mikoto!

Fast!

Too fast!

Uchiha Mikoto's pupils contracted.

She had no time to dodge or defend, let alone form hand seals.

She reacted exactly as the elite ninja of Root had: no retreat, no evasion. She attacked in place of defending!

Her kunai swept through a vicious arc, stabbing straight at Yongye's heart!

He would have to pull back or accept a blow that would take them both down!

Then she heard the sharp ring of metal.

Clang!

The instant the kunai's point touched Yongye's chest, a layer of dark golden light stopped it cold!

The tip shattered. Sparks flew. The shock traveled back through the kunai, numbing her hand and robbing her entire arm of feeling.

The dark golden glow filled her eyes, along with utter disbelief.

What kind of defense is this?

She had no chance to think further. Yongye emerged from the lightning, his right hand shaped like a blade, and struck the side of her neck with clean precision.

He judged the force perfectly—not enough to kill her, but enough to knock her unconscious at once.

Uchiha Mikoto swayed twice. Her kunai clattered to the floor, her eyes slowly closed, and her body went limp.

Yongye caught her around the waist before she hit the floor.

He looked down at her face, gentle again in unconsciousness, and fell silent for a moment.

Then he bent, lifted her in his arms, and laid her carefully on the couch.

Uchiha Mikoto was completely out.

A faint red mark had already appeared on the side of her neck where his hand had struck.

When Yongye thought about how the son she took such pride in would one day drive a blade through her heart, he couldn't help laughing.

What a damned irony!

What a damned joke!

What a damned waste!

Still grumbling to himself, Yongye crouched and placed his right hand on Mikoto's abdomen. Chakra flowed precisely into her meridians, laying seals at several crucial points.

The work was quick and clean. Her Chakra was sealed, but she could still move her limbs. She just wouldn't be using any Ninjutsu.

It was no advanced Sealing Jutsu. Clear Sword Heart had given him such precise control that he could put every strand of Chakra exactly where it belonged.

Then he raised a hand and gently pinched the point beneath Mikoto's nose.

Uchiha Mikoto's eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

The moment her awareness returned, her pupils contracted. She remembered at once where she was and whom she faced.

Instinctively, she tried to spring up, summon her Chakra, and snatch the kunai that had fallen onto the couch.

Nothing happened. Her Chakra was frozen in place.

"Don't bother."

Yongye's voice came from above her, full of confidence. "I sealed your Chakra for now. It isn't permanent. It'll wear off in a few hours."

Mikoto looked up and stared hard at him.

She didn't scream, beg, or even look afraid. She simply sat upright and tucked her loose hair behind her ear, moving without haste.

Her voice was calm—unnaturally calm. "If you're going to kill me, do it! Get it over with! I tried to kill you, so you can kill me!"

"Kill you?" Yongye raised an eyebrow. "If I wanted you dead, you'd already be a corpse."

Mikoto fell silent. She knew he was telling the truth. That strike could have knocked her out, or ensured she never woke again. If he hadn't killed her then, he wouldn't kill her now.

"Then what do you want?" she asked.

Yongye smiled at his leisure. "You're not afraid of dying, so why would I kill you? If you want to deal with an enemy, you hit where it hurts. Only children think everything comes down to fighting and killing. Come on. Let's talk business..."

In the end, Yongye's patient persuasion convinced Uchiha Mikoto to accept his investment and give him a stake.

After spending over a billion, Yongye got what he wanted.

[Ding—target Uchiha Mikoto has suffered a severe mental breakdown!]

[Heartbreak points have far exceeded the threshold! Congratulations, host. You have received one Premium Mystery Box. Open it now?]

"Open it." He didn't hesitate.

[Ding—the Premium Mystery Box has been opened!]

[Congratulations, host. Reward obtained: Flying Thunder God Technique!]

Yongye's pupils widened sharply.

The Flying Thunder God Technique!

A Space-Time Ninjutsu created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and perfected by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. It was famed as the fastest technique in the Shinobi World.

Instant movement, regardless of distance: leave a technique mark, and he could cross space in a heartbeat to appear at its location.

Its essence wasn't speed. It wasn't speed at all—it was a leap through space!

Minato Namikaze had once crossed the Shinobi World with this technique, fighting like an army unto himself and terrifying thousands of ninja. The name "Konoha's Yellow Flash" had been etched into the collective fears of the entire Shinobi World.

Countless profound principles of space-time flooded Yongye's mind.

How to inscribe the marks, guide Chakra, sense and lock onto spatial coordinates, and adjust his balance before and after teleporting—every detail, every trick, was branded into his memory.

He slowly raised a hand, gathered Chakra at his fingertip, and traced a shape in the air. A faint technique rune flickered into existence, then vanished.

He could feel it. He could use it. The technique was already etched into his bones.

Yongye slowly clenched his fist, his grin growing wider.

Indestructible Golden Body, the Eight Gates, and Flying Thunder God!

He had more and more power to back up his refusal to play by anyone else's rules!

And in the Fusang World, answering to no one was his ultimate dream!