Battle erupted, and the newly promoted Genin became the targets.
More than thirty Rock Ninja used Earth Release techniques to approach underground.
Their intentions were clear: strike from the center, disrupt the formation, and spread the fighting over a wider area to inflict greater casualties on Konoha's Genin.
Watching the Rock Ninja rapidly approach, Yechen's lips slowly curved upward. Killing a Chunin aboveground would not be easy. Underground, other Genin might have few ways to deal with them.
But Yechen was different. Three shuriken appeared in his hand. He locked onto three positions and sent them blasting out like cannonballs.
Space trembled in their wake. The instant they struck the ground, dirt exploded. The Rock Ninja using Earth Release had never imagined a Genin could be so terrifying, punching straight through the ground to strike them.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Three sounds of blades piercing flesh echoed underground. Then fresh blood seeped up through three spots on the surface. With a thought from Yechen, three balls of light sank into his body.
Ding! Evolution points +60+60+60
Yechen was delighted. Converting Chunin into energy yielded this much? This was far more profitable than any mission.
He had thought war was cruel, but now he had changed his mind. This was practically his playground.
The Genin beside him stared at the three raised spots, dumbfounded. How could this Uchiha Ye Chen be such a monster? Could a ninja really throw shuriken like that? Had a machine fired them?
Even a machine wouldn't be as terrifying as you!
It was hardly surprising. Yechen's explosive strength was approaching two thousand jin. Combined with his throwing technique and the way he applied it, the resulting power was only greater.
The Rock Ninja hiding underground naturally moved slower than they could aboveground, and dodging was even harder. They were practically moving targets. Running into a powerhouse like Yechen was simply their bad luck.
After losing three Chunin in an instant, they stopped hiding underground and launched their attacks directly. Some leaped out of the soil, while others used underground ninjutsu.
The Double Suicide Decapitation Technique, for instance, was ideal for a surprise attack: drag the opponent underground, then finish them with a single slash.
"Protect yourselves."
Sensing movement underground, Yechen pushed off with both feet and sprang into the air.
The ninja attacking with ninjutsu missed, but reacted extremely quickly, bursting out of the ground with a kunai in hand.
Clang!
In midair, Yechen's blade collided with his opponent's, producing a sharp metallic ring.
One above and one below, both figures exerted their strength. Their kunai ground fiercely against each other, throwing off a shower of sparks.
Clang!
The Rock Ninja's pupils contracted sharply as the kunai was knocked from his hand. Yechen gave him no opening. Using the recoil, he twisted in midair and lashed out with a vicious kick, striking the Rock Ninja squarely in the abdomen.
Boom!
The ground shuddered. The Rock Ninja smashed a shallow crater into the earth. His internal organs ruptured, blood poured from his seven orifices, and he died on the spot.
Yechen landed lightly. He had used Space Compression in that kick, unleashing power roughly equivalent to the third stage. Even a Chunin could not withstand it.
Evolution points +65
Yechen grinned. The slaughter had only just begun.
By now, the battlefield was in utter chaos, with sounds of fighting everywhere. Konoha had the advantage in numbers, but those same numbers prevented its Chunin from fighting freely.
The valley floor was not particularly spacious, and the Rock Ninja had clearly come prepared. They avoided confronting Konoha's Chunin head-on. Whenever an opportunity arose, they slipped into the crowd, using Konoha's Genin as cover to launch deadly surprise attacks.
As a result, Konoha's forces did not dare use wide-ranging ninjutsu. They could only watch as Genin fell one after another.
The Rock Ninja, on the other hand, had no such concerns and kept launching ambushes.
With one side hamstrung and the other acting without restraint, the outcome was easy to imagine.
Yechen drew his kunai. He had no intention of changing the course of the battle. All he cared about was his own gain.
Slaughter them, Uchiha Ye Chen!
At that moment, he became a shadow. Behind his sunglasses, his two eyes-one red, one white-snapped open.
The chaotic battlefield was crystal clear to him. Every person's next move lay exposed beneath his gaze.
With the combined vision of the Sharingan and Byakugan, Yechen felt as though he could see the very essence of the world.
He moved, gripping several shuriken in his left hand, and casually flung them out.
The shuriken seemed to have eyes of their own, curving through the air toward their targets.
Several Rock Ninja sensed the threat of death and immediately countered, knocking away the incoming shuriken.
But they were still too slow. Yechen's Void Flash Evasion Technique allowed him to teleport.
At level 3, the Void Flash Shield Technique allowed him to teleport within three meters. The instant an enemy made a move, he appeared beside him, his kunai piercing a Rock Ninja's neck without hesitation.
"Ichiro!" another Rock Ninja cried. His comrade had been killed by a single, silent strike.
He wanted to kill the enemy before him, but the moment he moved, his vision blurred, and another figure appeared behind him.
Yechen smiled. The kunai he extended paused for 0.1 seconds. Under the gaze of his two eyes, what use was the Substitution Technique?
He hurled the kunai in his hand. The Rock Ninja, whose true body had just appeared, stared at his chest in disbelief.
Bang!
The substitute dissolved into smoke, and his real body fell as well. His eyes remained wide open. Even in death, he could not understand how his opponent had seen through his Substitution Technique and struck him down with such precision.
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