Uchiha Style: Sword Leap Flame

Uchiha Style: Sword Leap Flame

"Ninja Art: Fang Dance!"

Inuzuka Ryo and Tetsu Maru transformed into white whirlwinds at the same time, blasting through the two Rain Ninja before them. Meikyō followed close behind, his wakizashi flashing as it severed two heads.

Other Amegakure ninja nearby tried to launch sneak attacks, but Nami's insects swarmed over their faces. Meikyō then cut them down with a single stroke.

Honestly, although the three of them were only Genin, they were naturally talented and came from major clans. They lacked no ninjutsu, each had Jonin from their clan to guide them, and they had even received instruction from a top-tier expert like Dan Katō. Their ability in direct combat was already quite outstanding, not to mention the tacit coordination between them.

Amegakure, meanwhile, was merely a small ninja village. Other than producing Hanzo, who could contend with the Five Kage, it had no advantages whatsoever. Many of its Genin might have struggled even to graduate in Konoha. Though their ninja ranks might have been the same, there was an enormous gap between them and ninja of the same rank from the Five Great Ninja Villages—let alone Meikyō's group.

This situation was only natural.

But an eye-catching performance would naturally draw enemy attention. Before long, two Chunin came over.

"Ninja Art: Rain Drop Thousand Needles!"

An oil-paper umbrella flew in from above at some unknown moment, scattering countless senbon down at the group.

Meikyō had been about to rely on the Sharingan's formidable dynamic vision and use his wakizashi to knock every senbon aside, but Nami's voice rang out beside him the next moment.

"Secret Technique: Insect Wall!"

Black insects rapidly swirled through the air, gathering into two shields that blocked the senbon.

"Whew..."

Inuzuka Ryo let out a long breath. That sneak attack had been incredibly well concealed. Meikyō would have been fine, but without Nami's help, even if Ryo dodged quickly, he would still have been hit several times.

"Wait... something... isn't right!"

Inuzuka Ryo's expression suddenly changed. His nose twitched as he sensed that what he saw did not quite match what he smelled. He hurriedly formed hand seals, attempting to dispel the genjutsu.

However, Uchiha Meikyō reacted even faster.

"Who gave you the nerve to use genjutsu in front of an Uchiha with the Sharingan?!"

Meikyō gripped his short blade and slashed viciously at the tall Amegakure ninja before him.

"Uchiha Style: Swift Wind Blade!"

However, this Rain Ninja Chunin was clearly not comparable to the useless Genin from earlier.

"Water Style: Water Flow Whip!"

The Rain Ninja Chunin held a white whip formed from flowing water, raising it before the blade. The excellent flexibility granted by Water Style actually prevented Meikyō from cutting through it.

But the next instant, Meikyō drew his blade backhandedly and swung again, chopping toward the Rain Ninja Chunin's neck.

The Rain Ninja frowned and took a small step back, causing Meikyō's attack to miss by a hair as it swept past his neck.

A flaw!

That was the Sharingan's first response to what Meikyō saw.

Taking advantage of his opponent's retreating step, Meikyō wielded his wakizashi in a blur, continuously unleashing Uchiha Style Swordsmanship and forcing his opponent back again and again.

However, as an adult ninja, his opponent's physical abilities far surpassed Meikyō's. That gave him a significant advantage in close combat. As time passed, he gradually regained his footing and began counterattacking with the Water Flow Whip in his hand.

Meikyō deflected the attack with a slash, then swiftly turned his head to avoid several senbon spat from his opponent's mouth, which were aimed at ruining his eyes. He decisively gave up the slight advantage he held and retreated.

"Tch, brat, out of stamina? So what if you're an Uchiha? You'll still die by my hand in the end!"

A cruel smile appeared on the Amegakure Chunin's face, though it was obscured by his gas mask and could not be seen clearly. Still, there was no concealing the savagery in his tone.

"Ah, I only retreated to create some distance, so I could better use my next ninjutsu."

Meikyō shook his head and rapidly formed several hand seals.

The genjutsu he was about to use was difficult. It was the most challenging and strongest genjutsu he had mastered so far. Even with the Sharingan, he only possessed a Single Tomoe, and his ocular power was not yet strong enough to cast it instantly with his eyes alone. He still needed hand seals to assist him.

"Genjutsu: Bubble."

The next moment, the Rain Ninja's whip smashed into Meikyō's body, but Meikyō suddenly transformed into a flock of crows that scattered in every direction.

"Genjutsu: Release... damn it!"

The Rain Ninja only maintained the motion to dispel the genjutsu for an instant before he had to abandon it.

Countless shuriken were shooting out from the flock of crows ahead, flying toward him.

He did not dare gamble on whether this was part of the genjutsu or whether real shuriken were mixed within them.

Just as the Rain Ninja Chunin used Water Style to block the shuriken, the flock of crows in the sky suddenly swooped down upon him.

High in the air, Meikyō leaped upward, concealing himself amid the flock of crows. The tomoe in his Sharingan spun rapidly as they captured his opponent's openings.

"Uchiha Style: Sword Leap Flame!"

A massive, scorching sword wave of flame slashed out from Meikyō's short blade and streaked toward the Rain Ninja Chunin.

Sword Leap Flame was one of the more powerful moves in Uchiha Style Swordsmanship. With Meikyō's current swordsmanship, he still needed time to prepare it. That was why he had used genjutsu for cover.

"Damn it!"

The powerful Chakra fluctuations allowed the Rain Ninja to detect Meikyō's attack even while he remained trapped in the genjutsu.

But even though he detected it, his strength was absolutely insufficient to block Sword Leap Flame.

The Water Flow Whip was swiftly cut apart by the sword wave, then evaporated by the flames. With no more strength to stop it, the Amegakure ninja could only watch helplessly as the sword wave cleaved his body diagonally in two.

"Whew..."

Meikyō let out a long breath. Looking at the corpse before him, whose cut edges had already been charred black, he turned and headed toward the battlefield where Inuzuka Ryo and Aburame Nami were fighting.

Ten minutes later...

"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"

The Rain Ninja Chunin who had launched the sneak attack with Rain Drop Thousand Needles was first injured internally by Inuzuka Ryo's Fang Dance, then had one arm cut off by Meikyō. With his combat ability greatly diminished, his entire body was eventually covered in Aburame Nami's insects, and he died at their mandibles.

After dealing with that Rain Ninja Chunin, Meikyō silently turned around and looked over the entire battlefield.

Shirakumo Tokinobu was still locked in fierce battle with that Amegakure Jonin. The other Konoha Ninja, relying on their prior preparations and their overall abilities that surpassed those of the Rain Ninja, had successfully stabilized the situation and were gradually gaining the upper hand.