"Earth Release! Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!"
The moment Kakkō heard Fugaku Uchiha's voice behind him, his hands began rapidly forming hand seals. He turned and summoned an earth dragon, which smashed straight through Fugaku Uchiha's Great Fireball Technique.
There was no helping it! No matter how fiercely ordinary flames burned, they couldn't burn dirt.
Faced with the earth dragon Kakkō had summoned, Fugaku Uchiha could only dodge awkwardly for the moment.
"Fire Release! Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
But he knew that if he kept dodging like this, sooner or later he would fail to evade an attack. As he dodged, his hands swiftly formed hand seals, and he spat out three fire dragons in succession, attacking Kakkō from three directions.
"Earth Release! Earth Flow Rampart!"
Facing the three incoming fire dragons, Kakkō had no time to bring his earth dragon back to defend himself. He could only abandon control of it and summon a massive earthen wall instead, blocking Fugaku Uchiha's Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
The earthen wall dispersed. At the same time, deprived of Kakkō's chakra, the earth dragon crumbled into rubble and fell to the ground.
Fugaku Uchiha and Kakkō returned to a standoff, but compared with the unscathed Kakkō, Fugaku Uchiha had very little chakra left.
Casting several ninjutsu in succession, especially a large-scale one like Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, had nearly drained Fugaku Uchiha's already modest chakra reserves. After all, not everyone was Naruto Uzumaki, able to spend chakra freely.
Feeling how little chakra remained in his body, Fugaku Uchiha was already considering retreat.
The Uchiha Clan had always carried out security duties within the village. Aside from the occasional chance to spill blood dealing with bandits, they spent their time handling the village's petty street vendors. When did they ever get a chance to fight for their lives?
Fugaku Uchiha could already feel death looming, and naturally, he didn't want to die here. He had a beautiful wife and an obedient child at home, and his clan had already chosen him as its next leader. He had everything going for him. How could he possibly die here? That would be a loss for the clan.
He was already considering how to make a strategic withdrawal. That's right-in the adult world, there was no running away, only strategic withdrawal. They were preserving their fighting strength and preparing for the next offensive!
"Looks like I'll have to show a little of my real ability to take you down!"
Looking at the disheveled Fugaku Uchiha across from him, Kakkō smiled confidently.
"Hmph! Looks like I'll have to show you the true power of these eyes!"
Although Fugaku Uchiha had made up his mind to make a strategic withdrawal, he still talked tough to keep Kakkō from noticing his intentions.
"Lord Fugaku, leave him to me!"
Chihane returned just then, catching the two of them trading threats! He also noticed Fugaku Uchiha's sorry state. How could Chihane not see that he was completely outmatched by Kakkō? He spoke up to spare Fugaku's pride.
Then he casually tossed Taiseki's head at Kakkō's feet.
"Taiseki! You bastard, what have you done?"
Looking at Taiseki's head beside his feet, Kakkō was overcome with grief. He had already forgotten Fugaku Uchiha standing nearby. Only one thought remained: he had to avenge Taiseki!
"I've killed all your companions. You're the only one left! What are you still resisting for? Surrender! Tell us everything you know, and I'll put in a good word for you with my teacher, Orochimaru. You might even get to keep your life!"
By now, Chihane had completely lost interest in Kakkō. After those last two battles, he had gained a thorough understanding of his own combat strength. Elite Jonin no longer posed much of a threat to him, so he couldn't resist the urge to try a little Talk Release.
As for whether Orochimaru would spare Kakkō once they returned to camp if he really surrendered, that was none of Chihane's business.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
Kakkō was already seething with rage,
and hearing Chihane's insulting words pushed him over the edge. He roared furiously at Chihane. "Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
The enraged Kakkō rapidly formed hand seals. Under the effect of his ninjutsu, the ground beneath Chihane and Fugaku Uchiha flowed as though it had turned to liquid, surging toward them in wave after wave like the sea.
"Fire Release! Dragon Fire Technique!"
Had it been solid rock, Fugaku Uchiha's Fire Release could have done nothing to it. But liquid mud was precisely what his Fire Release could counter.
Fugaku Uchiha formed the snake, dragon, rabbit, and tiger seals in sequence, then unleashed a massive straight stream of flame. The flames dried out the mud before dissipating.
Only wave-shaped ridges remained on the ground, marking where Kakkō had just unleashed his large-scale ninjutsu, Earth Release: Earth Flow River.
"Ah! I was going to spare your life! But if you insist on resisting, I'll just have to send you to join them..."
Chihane, who had already decided to let Kakkō off, sighed when he saw that Kakkō was still putting up a desperate fight! When he raised his head to look at Kakkō again, his gaze was filled with cold killing intent.
"Eight Gates of Death! Gate of Limit, open!"
Chihane activated the Eight Gates of Death, and blue chakra instantly surged out of his body. Since he had decided to act, he would kill Kakkō swiftly with overwhelming force. It would also serve as a warning to Fugaku Uchiha beside him.
Then Chihane activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode as well, and threads of blue lightning instantly coiled around his body. Fugaku Uchiha watched in astonishment.
"Two-Sword Style! Iai: Rashomon!"
Since he had decided to kill Kakkō quickly, Chihane opened with a sword-drawing technique-the form of swordsmanship that placed the greatest emphasis on lethality!
Chihane instantly became a streak of blue lightning, charging toward the Iwa Shinobi Kakkō.
Even with his Sharingan activated, Fugaku Uchiha could only make out faint blue afterimages. That meant Chihane's speed had already surpassed the limits of his perception.
"Earth Release: Earth Shore Return!"
Kakkō, who had kept some distance from Chihane, was shocked by his speed, but still quickly used ninjutsu to summon a massive rock in front of himself.
"Who do you think you're facing? I'm Kakkō of the Iwa Shinobi! Earth Release! Earth Dragon..."
At the same time, he roared furiously, his hands rapidly forming the seals for Earth Dragon Bullet. He planned to use it to kill Chihane while the rock blocked Chihane's slash.
Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, Chihane's Iai Slash had already cut through the rock, cleaving Kakkō in two as he formed hand seals behind it.
Watching from the side, Fugaku Uchiha was too stunned to speak. Just minutes ago, Kakkō, an Elite Jonin of the Iwa Shinobi, had overwhelmed him and left him dodging helplessly. Now, only minutes later, someone had killed Kakkō with a single slash.
He would never have dared imagine this before. If Chihane had told him a few minutes earlier that he could kill Kakkō in one move, Fugaku would probably have looked at him skeptically while privately planning his strategic withdrawal.
But now that he had witnessed it with his own eyes, he still found it hard to believe. He even began to wonder whether he was still trapped in a genjutsu.
Before you continue