Do You Want to Dance Too?

Root.

"Hiruzen! Hiruzen! You'd rather believe some Uchiha brat than me? Fine! I'll make you regret it!"

Danzo had barely returned before he flew into a rage.

He gripped the corner of the desk, breathing hard.

A long while passed.

Danzo lowered his head and peeled back a corner of the bandage on his arm. The skin beneath was as dry as tree bark, a horrifying sight. "Uchiha... Uchiha..."

"Someone, come!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A group of Root ninjas appeared without a sound and dropped to one knee. "Lord Danzo!"

"Tell them to prepare another experiment at once. And bring me Aburame Torune!"

"Yes, sir!"

Creak.

Creak.

The land the Uchiha Clan had moved to was nominally within Konohagakure, but in reality, it lay a fair distance away.

Frankly, the two could have passed for neighboring villages.

A small forest stood between them.

Only the Uchiha children came here to train or play ninja when the adults occupied the training grounds.

It was practically deserted.

Shinji walked beneath the Gekko. It filtered through the leaves in scattered patches, lending the path a certain charm...

Suddenly, he stopped.

He narrowed his eyes and looked around.

This would make a surprisingly good place to bury a body...

The bitter wind of the deep winter before New Year rustled the leaves and howled through the trees. But those natural sounds...

Could not hide the man-made "noise"!

A shoe scraped faintly against a branch. The soft rasp grated on his ears...

"If everyone I'd met on the battlefield had been this skilled, I might've killed a few more and earned a few more Gold Coins..."

He spoke with genuine regret.

"Attack!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The hidden ninjas knew they had been exposed. Shuriken flew from deep in the forest like a violent storm!

"Boring test."

Shinji opened his eyes slightly, a smile tugging at his lips.

Shing!

His short sword left its sheath, flashing cold and bright.

Its blade swept like spilled mercury. Metallic clangs rang out without pause.

Not a single shuriken broke through the wall of steel his sword had raised.

Sparks flew through the dark forest!

Then came the rapid, undisguised sound of footsteps behind him.

Surrounded. They're all elites.

ANBU? Root?

Who sent them?

Did Sarutobi see through the nonsense I fed him like he was a child?

That would make sense.

He is Hiruzen Sarutobi, after all—

An old fox who held the Hokage Position twice.

Or maybe I missed a classic scene of Sarutobi regretting making Danzo his Shadow...

Then it's Danzo?

"Whatever. If you want a fight, you'll get one!"

Vmmm—!

Shinji's eyes snapped fully open. Three Tomoe spun in their blood-red depths.

They almost joined into a single black pattern.

"Don't look into his eyes!"

"You think avoiding my eyes will save you? Naive." Shinji raised one hand before his chest.

He activated the Body Flicker Technique.

Whoosh!

"He vanished?!"

"It's the Body Flicker Technique! Watch your backs!"

Behind a large tree, the ninja warned by his companion whipped his head around. Filling his vision was a spinning, azure sphere the size of a human head...

For an instant, he froze.

As one of Root's elites, he should never have made such a basic mistake.

But...

Shinji had vanished without warning.

A blue sphere had appeared behind him.

Together, those details brought an image of a yellow figure rushing unbidden into his mind!

Bang!

The head-sized Rasengan slammed into his back. His spine collapsed, and a hideous bulge rose from his chest!

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"

"Wind Release: Breakthrough!"

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

"Heh! You'll kill your teammate to get me too? Got it!" Shinji drove the sphere into the Root ninja's back, then vanished with the Body Flicker Technique without waiting to see the result.

The ninja might still have been saved, but his companions' techniques swallowed him.

When the smoke cleared, his body had already been torn to pieces!

Silence settled over the forest.

Everyone concealed themselves.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A ninja hidden among the branches watched three shuriken fly at him from three directions.

He twisted and ducked, avoiding them one by one.

He made no sound, but as a Jonin, he knew how devious the Uchiha Clan's fighting style could be...

He was about to abandon his possibly exposed position.

Then his expression stiffened.

"Good instincts."

Shinji's voice came from the dark like the whisper of a death god. His slender hands curled into claws, thin Wire wound around his knuckles like fishing line.

He hooked them and yanked!

Uchiha Style: Manipulated Shuriken Technique!

Screech—!

A faint scrape sounded as the branch was sliced clean through.

Shinji glanced at the dark-red beads of blood sliding down the fine wires, formed a seal with one hand, and vanished again.

The next second.

Ninjutsu saturated the place where he had stood.

They're all elite Jonin. What a waste. How much could they have done on the battlefield? Worse, killing Konoha Ninja doesn't earn me any Gold Coins?

Don't they count as enemies?

Rustle, rustle.

The barely audible sound of running came from his left.

Shinji turned and brought his palms together. "Fire Release: Dust Concealment Technique!!!"

Boom—!

Explosive clouds of dust billowed through the forest, nearly covering half the grove and drastically reducing visibility!

At the same moment, a low voice sounded directly ahead of Shinji!

"Secret Technique: Shadow Imitation Technique!"

A pitch-black shadow raced along the shadows on the ground and wrapped around Shinji's legs.

He stopped, unable to move.

"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"

At the same time, Shinji's Sharingan turned, and he met the Nara ninja's eyes. The Dust barely hindered him.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A ninja leaped between Shinji and the Nara ninja, dropped to one knee, and pressed both hands to the ground in one fluid motion.

The three techniques were cast and completed almost simultaneously.

Root's ninjas worked together seamlessly: one restrained him, while another blocked his Sharingan's line of sight and defended against his attack.

Their timing was excellent, and their reactions were fast.

But...

How could a mere Jonin move faster than Shinji Uchiha's Sharingan could see?

Shinji's lips curved. "Too late!"

The Genjutsu took hold!

The Nara ninja stood frozen.

The Shadow Imitation Technique faded, and Shinji Uchiha vanished again. At that very moment, a massive Fireball Technique came hurtling from behind him, only to scorch the ground.

Amid the thick Dust.

Shinji appeared before the Earth-Style Wall like a ghost!

Bzzzt—! Brilliant lightning burst into view!

"Lightning Blade!!!"

Zzt—!

The sharp blade of lightning cut through the Earth-Style Wall like tofu, then struck the vulnerable body behind it, punching swiftly and precisely through its chest!

But the flash and crack of lightning gave away his position.

He did not hesitate.

Shinji drew his sword with his other hand and swung it hard behind him!

"Uchiha Style: Sword Leap Flame!" Fierce flames instantly sprang up along the Tachi in his hand!

"Uchiha Style: Sun Halo Dance!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three crescent-shaped slashes of flame flew from the blade and collided with three ninjutsu hurtling through the dust.

Smoke and dust rolled outward.

The thick snow was blasted apart.

Black soil and scorched earth lay exposed!

"Three... You're next!"

Clang!

From within the dust.

A Tachi infused with wind chakra and its cutting properties slashed toward him at terrifying speed.

Shinji raised his sword to block it and grinned. "Do you want to dance too?"

"Uchiha Style: Wind Cutter!"

Slash!!!

A fierce gale coiled around the Tachi, sharpening its cutting edge. And...

The flames from Sword Leap Flame were still burning!

Wind fed the fire!

Fueled by an immense surge of chakra, the flames raced along the blade, roaring and blazing with Ki.

Like a fire dragon opening its jaws, they swallowed the ninja before him in an instant!

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"

The roaring flames lit up Shinji's position once more, drawing a barrage of attacks from the hidden ninjas.

But...

They seemed to have forgotten one thing.

Shinji Uchiha was an Uchiha!

Clang!

Shinji twisted at the waist and sheathed his short sword, then kicked the charred corpse away.

He bent forward, his cheeks puffing out.

At the same time.

He held one hand upright before his chest and formed the Tiger hand sign!

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!!!"