The death of Juzo Biwa

Clang, clang, clang.

Just then, Juzo Biwa suddenly swung his great sword behind him, accompanied by the clash of metal.

In the space of a few breaths, Uchiha Douyang exchanged over a dozen blows with Juzo Biwa, the impacts leaving his arms numb.

Then he used Sukunahikona again, his figure swiftly vanishing.

"What...?"

Juzo Biwa narrowed his eyes and warily surveyed his surroundings, then quickly formed hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

"Water Release: Water Whip!"

Amid Juzo Biwa's fierce, murderous shouts, three masterful water release ninjutsu were unleashed in succession.

In an instant, a roaring water dragon, a water formation wall rising from the ground, and a water whip as nimble as a snake rampaged around Juzo Biwa.

Yet faced with this all-around assault from an elite jonin like Juzo Biwa, Douyang merely used Sukunahikona to shrink his body and easily slipped free.

After a while, Juzo Biwa had expended too much chakra and was panting heavily.

Clang, clang, clang.

Just then, another series of metallic clashes rang out. Juzo Biwa failed to parry in time, and a Black Chakra Rod pierced his shoulder, sending him crashing heavily onto the water.

"Cough, cough..."

Coughing up blood, Juzo Biwa looked at the Black Chakra Rod in his shoulder with lingering fear.

He could clearly feel the chakra inside him descending into uncontrollable disorder.

Uchiha Douyang did not approach immediately. Instead, he stood a safe three meters in front of Juzo Biwa. "Stop pretending. I know you can still fight."

A single Black Chakra Rod could not completely suppress a long-established elite jonin like Juzo Biwa.

At those words, Juzo Biwa stopped pretending and slowly stood up. His face full of apprehension, he looked at Douyang and asked, "I never expected the Uncanny Physician to have a talent for combat, too. What was that move you used?"

Uchiha Douyang chuckled. "Why should I tell you?"

"Sigh!"

Juzo Biwa sighed softly and pulled the Black Chakra Rod out of his shoulder. As though he were completely uninjured, he planted his feet on the water and bounded into the distance at tremendous speed.

"Trying to leave?"

Uchiha Douyang looked briefly taken aback, then murmured, "I absolutely can't let him escape alive."

Information about the Kokugan could not get out, or it would mean serious trouble.

Douyang took a deep breath and sprinted across the water.

He wielded the Black Chakra Rod in his hand in an impenetrable flurry, every strike aimed at a vital spot, utterly determined to eliminate the grave threat that was Juzo Biwa.

Clang, clang, clang.

The clear ring of clashing metal spread across the water.

The Kubikiribōchō was flashy but impractical.

The Black Chakra Rods, on the other hand, were formidable weapons capable of suppressing even Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi.

Every time Juzo Biwa made contact with the Black Chakra Rod, the chakra inside him fell into varying degrees of disorder.

Thus, his attacks gradually grew disorganized.

After over a dozen exchanges, Uchiha Douyang seized an opening and thrust his arm forward.

A Black Chakra Rod pierced Juzo Biwa's chest, and he fell backward onto the water.

Glancing at Juzo Biwa, who had died with his eyes still open, Uchiha Douyang put his corpse directly into the Daikokuten space to prevent any possibility of information leaking.

Then Douyang carefully checked his bearings and sprinted toward Shisui's location.

After he had run some distance, a violent explosion suddenly sounded ahead.

With his experience, he could naturally tell that it was no explosion caused by ordinary ninjutsu.

"An explosion like that... good thing it was Shisui who encountered it..."

Still shaken but also feeling somewhat fortunate, Douyang sprinted onward even faster.

Elsewhere.

After Kakashi finished off the last Stone Ninja with Chidori, he ran over to deliver a finishing blow, plunging the kunai in his hand through the enemy's chest.

Over a dozen corpses lay scattered around him.

Besides Stone Ninja and Mist Ninja, there were also some wandering ninja among the dead.

They were all wandering ninja whom Iwagakure had secretly cultivated in the Land of Grass.

Kakashi took a deep breath and was about to look for the others when a deafening explosion suddenly sounded nearby, making his pupils contract.

"That kind of commotion..."

Startled, Kakashi swiftly sprinted toward the source of the explosion.

In the distance.

Might Guy panted heavily, his expression grave as he looked at the dozen or so attackers surrounding him.

He was not particularly worried about himself, but rather about Kakashi and the others.

Because, as Guy saw it, since the enemy had sent ten attackers against him, they would only have sent more against Kakashi and the others.

Boom, boom, boom!!

The explosions suddenly rang out, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

Guy's brow twitched slightly.

The dozen or so attackers around him seemed to have realized something. No longer concerned with Might Guy, they shot toward the source of the explosions like arrows loosed from a bow.

Guy looked briefly taken aback, then followed close behind.

Douyang was the first to reach the center of the explosion.

He saw a row of green Susanoo ribs surrounding Shisui, who was panting heavily.

"Are you all right?"

Douyang leaped over to Shisui, green chakra emerging from his palms as he used the Mystical Palm Technique to treat his injuries.

"I won't die."

Shisui glanced around with lingering fear and let out a soft breath.

The ninja who had attacked him was Yan Luoya, the jonin leading Iwagakure's team.

Although Shisui had expended too much of his ocular power over the past few days, he was still not someone a mere jonin could handle.

However, Shisui had underestimated his opponent's determination to take him down with him.

Yan Luoya was different from Juzo Biwa.

His purpose in ambushing Team Kakashi here was to snuff out Konoha's geniuses.

Thus, unlike Juzo Biwa, he did not flee the moment he saw things going badly.

Yan Luoya had been prepared to die. After suffering serious injuries, rather than escaping, he had tried to take Shisui down with him.

"That man modified his body. His flesh was packed with Explosive Tags, and the chakra flowing inside him interfered with the tags' chakra. My Sharingan didn't detect them right away, so I suffered a little for it."

Shisui spoke in a low voice.

At his words, the corners of Douyang's mouth twitched slightly.

Shisui's strength was beyond question; he simply was not cautious enough.

That was also part of the reason Danzo had gouged out one of his Sharingan in the original story.

The Uchiha and the Hokage's upper ranks were at daggers drawn, and Danzo openly distrusted the Uchiha. For Shisui to dare meet Danzo alone under those circumstances showed just how careless he was.

Fortunately, Yan Luoya, who had launched this sneak attack, was not strong enough. Shisui had used Susanoo at the critical moment to block the blast's shock waves; otherwise, he would probably have been left half-dead.

Yan Luoya had died in his self-detonation, his body blown to pieces, leaving only half an Iwagakure forehead protector on the ground.

Just then, the dozen or so attackers closest to the fighting arrived.

The leader of this band of ninja was an Iwagakure jonin, while all the others were wandering ninja from the Land of Grass.

The Iwagakure jonin glanced at the wrecked battlefield and shouted sharply.

"What happened? Where's Captain Yan Luoya?"

Having stabilized Shisui's injuries, Uchiha Douyang stepped forward and said coldly, "Blown to pieces. He died a pretty gruesome death."