Asuma, Hyuga, Akimichi, and Jiriku watched the scene, their pupils widening and expressions growing solemn as they struggled to process what had just happened.
It all felt too surreal.
That was a jōnin of the Inuzuka clan.
One strike was enough to cut a jōnin and his ninja dog in half. Until his last breath, neither he nor his dog managed to even dispel their ninjutsu.
This was the confidence behind Uchiha Yu's killing of Danzo!
This was the confidence behind Uchiha Yu's defection from Konoha!
The two jōnin from the Hyuga and Akimichi clans stood with their hairs standing on end. They had originally planned to assist the Inuzuka jōnin, but upon seeing the situation spiral out of control, they were horrified. Chilled to the bone, they immediately retreated to Asuma and Jiriku's side.
The blood dripped from the blade. Uchiha Yu stood motionless in the middle of the giant wolf's corpse, his white clothes stained with blood, holding his sword in his right hand, standing tall before the four.
He had cleaved through the three-headed wolf, but his blade was now damaged, with multiple deep gouges along its length.
Uchiha Yu's previously dull Mangekyō Sharingan now shone with a brilliant red light, far more intense than blood. It radiated an eerie, cold aura, and those who met his gaze felt as though they were staring into an abyss.
Asuma took a deep breath, steadying himself. Although he hadn't drawn his sword yet, he knew that when he did, the outcome would likely be no better than the fate of the three-headed wolf's body.
At this point, the battle was already decided.
Asuma and Jiriku exchanged a glance, both understanding that this was a fight to the death. They planted their feet into the ground, shattering the wooden floorboards as their powerful momentum launched them toward Uchiha Yu—one attacking from the left, the other from the right.
The two Hyuga and Akimichi jōnin, now ready for battle, unleashed their strikes—fast, precise, the Hyuga's Gentle Fist like a rain of strikes, while the Akimichi's giant fists were like artillery shells.
The four of them became shadows, flashing like arcs of lightning.
"Now, this is the Mangekyō Sharingan in its peak state."
Uchiha Yu stood unmoving.
As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes turned into spiraling patterns, his sclerae bloodshot, and the Yin Release chakra surged forth. His crimson gaze swept across the four, and with just one glance—
A tsunami of Yin Release chakra erupted, crashing through the mental influence of the Buddhist chanting, which had been boosting the spirits of the four.
The chakra of the Yasakani Mangekyō Sharingan flooded into the four's pupils, leaving the mark of the Mangekyō in their eyes.
In their hands, chakra-covered wind-blade swords, Buddha-glow-enveloped fists, Gentle Fist strikes with pinpoint precision, and amplified iron fists all came to a halt.
Though they were mere millimeters away…
The chakra blade could have pierced Uchiha Yu's heart.
The Buddha-glow fist could have smashed into Uchiha Yu's temple.
The Gentle Fist could have severed his chest points.
The iron fist could have crushed his kidneys.
But this time, Uchiha Yu held complete control over their spirits and chakra. He withdrew his gaze from the four, turned, and walked toward the door.
The four watched his retreating figure, despair rising in their hearts!
When Uchiha Yu took his first step—
The Akimichi jōnin's face contorted in pain, his features twisted. He still tried to keep his fist in motion, but all he could hear was a booming rhythm like a war drum in his ears.
His chest began to beat uncontrollably, chakra flowing into his heart like a raging river. His heart seemed like it would explode from his chest!
A massive buildup of chakra created a high-pressure effect, and his heart could no longer withstand the strain—it exploded within his chest.
The Akimichi jōnin's eyes bulged in fury, his distorted face falling to the ground in death.
The beating of their hearts became their countdown to death.
Uchiha Yu took three more steps.
The hearts of the Hyuga jōnin, Jiriku, and Asuma all burst in unison, a vivid crimson spreading through their chests.
This was the extreme control of the Yasakani Mangekyō Sharingan over others' chakra, using their chakra to seize their lives.
The three fell to their knees, unable to believe that they hadn't even touched the hem of Uchiha Yu's clothes, yet they lost consciousness forever, their thoughts ceasing as they slipped into eternal sleep.
Asuma slowly closed his eyes.
Uchiha Yu did not look back at them.
Life and death are predestined.
Asuma made the decision to hunt him down, and he should have considered the consequences of failure when they encountered each other.
Uchiha Yu could deduce that their pursuit was not a mission ordered by Konoha's higher-ups.
First, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never send his remaining son on such a dangerous mission.
Second, with Kurenai's withdrawal from the mission, no one criticized it or cared.
As ninjas, the mission came first. If a mission was issued by the village's leadership and someone refused to carry it out, it would be considered a betrayal of the village.
From this, it was clear.
This pursuit and ambush was a self-initiated operation led by Asuma, aimed at capturing the defected Uchiha team and bringing them to justice.
This was a monumental achievement!
It was similar to when Orochimaru defected.
Konoha had dealt with Orochimaru!
Asuma didn't have the courage to confront Orochimaru, but with the support of the entire Fire Temple, he had the courage to deal with the exhausted Uchiha Yu, who hadn't yet recovered his strength.
If Konoha had hesitated before, unsure whether to issue a full-scale manhunt for their defected Uchiha team…
Konoha, under the leadership of Hiruzen Sarutobi, would launch a frenzied, relentless, all-out revenge against the Uchiha defector team!
Uchiha Yu stepped out of the cabin, looking up at the full moon hanging in the night sky. The pure moonlight bathed his face, casting a graceful curve and revealing his indifferent expression.
A message flashed in his mind.
[Side Quest]: Divine Punishment
Kill Sarutobi Asuma, Hyuga Yūto, Akimichi Tō, Inuzuka Akihara, and Yukimaru.
[Reward]: Weapon – Dark Moon.
Uchiha Yu raised an eyebrow slightly and focused his mind. To his pleasant surprise, a long, straight black blade stood quietly within his storage space.
The black blade seemed to be forged by nature itself. The hilt and blade were pitch-black, like ink, and the edge gleamed with deadly sharpness, as if smelted from the night itself.
"So this is Dark Moon..."
Yu temporarily closed the storage space.
Suppressing the urge to summon Dark Moon, he slowly raised his head and stared directly toward a certain section of the distant mountain. The Mangekyō Sharingan seemed to pierce through distance and darkness, landing directly on the masked man hidden in the forest.
Yu focused and gave it a try.
At his current ocular strength, he couldn't remotely control another Mangekyō wielder across such a vast distance.
The masked man's predatory gaze was precisely why Yu, with only thirty percent of his Yin Release chakra left earlier, dared not go all out.
The masked man felt an unexplained pressure. The patterns in his eyes rotated, revealing the Kamui Mangekyō. Beneath his mask, his twisted face curled into a cold grin:
"The Mangekyō's ability is to control others—just as I thought, a dangerous man."
"If you don't have another trump card…"
"The Uchiha clan's Sharingan you've been keeping, along with your Mangekyō... I'll be taking them."
As he spoke, the masked man lifted his right foot and gently tapped the tree branch beneath him—seemingly giving a signal.
Outside the wooden cabin, the chanting of Buddhist sutras still thundered through the mountain village's night sky.
Yega's family, Doctor Nak, and Kurenai Yuhi all fainted one after another, unable to withstand the spiritual strain of the chanting.
Only the Uchiha were still barely holding on.
Nono lay on the ground, clutching her ears and thrashing in agony, on the verge of losing consciousness.
As Uchiha Yu walked through the doors, all the monks of the Fire Temple halted their chanting and looked toward the wooden cabin.
With the sutras silenced—
The Uchiha, pushed to the brink of collapse, slowly began to recover their mental clarity. They looked toward the interior of the cabin.
A scene of utter carnage.
Corpses strewn everywhere.
Uchiha Yu walked to Nono's side, looked down at her pale face, and handed her a military ration pill:
A/N: Reviews and stones are much appreciated!
Hungry for more chaps? Then check out our pătreon!
Link: Påtreon.com/BaphometFiction
I post 20 advanced chapters of this fanfic there.