Outside the cabin.
In the distance.
The forest.
A masked man stood on a tree branch, arms crossed, eyes peering through the mask's hollowed holes as he watched the activity around the cabin. He sighed:
"At last, the Leaf ninjas are showing some competence. Otherwise, they wouldn't even be worthy of acting as cannon fodder.
I'll let them test it for me then—what cards does Uchiha Kuroki have left, with only two or three-tenths of his Mangekyo chakra remaining?
But this chanting… it's unbearably annoying!"
…
Several torches were planted in the clearing in front of the cabin's entrance.
In the dark of night, the firelight flickered dimly.
Nono crouched halfway down, using her medical ninjutsu chakra to heal the numerous wounds covering Tamao's body.
Compared to Doctor Nake, Nono treated the injuries while withstanding the disruptive chanting of the Buddhist sutras, and she didn't need to remove the bandages.
Beside the three stood Izumi and Mikoto.
The other Uchiha were not present.
Kuroki 's sudden decision to lead them back had initially baffled everyone.
But now they understood.
Kuroki had wanted to return to guard the female medical ninja, but unfortunately, they had run into a Leaf tracking squad upon their return.
This confrontation ignited the battle spirits of the Uchiha—without needing Kuroki 's command, they had all resolved to wipe out the Leaf squad chasing them.
"This level of Wind Release—there aren't many in the ninja world who can master it…"
Nono's sharp eyes examined Tamao's wounds, shocked by the power of the Wind Release that caused them.
She was equally astonished that Tamao had endured such continuous damage without a word of complaint.
"How long will it take to heal him?"
Uchiha Naruki asked impatiently.
Izumi and Mikoto stared at the monks on the roof, then glanced at Kuroki , who stood alone inside the cabin.
For some reason, the dignified chanting seemed to tug at their spirits, making their thoughts restless.
"With these full-body Wind Release injuries, even I need at least half an hour to heal him completely. If you want him cured in ten minutes, you'd need someone like the legendary Lady Tsunade."
Sweat beaded on Nono's forehead as she struggled to both resist the sutras and continually release her medical chakra.
Her original mission had been to assassinate someone, so she needed to preserve her strength earlier.
But now, Nono knew this fleeing group was the esteemed Uchiha clan from the Leaf. If she didn't help, it wouldn't end well for her either way.
Besides...
That young Uchiha leader had promised her something that made it worth trying to resolve the situation peacefully.
The target she was supposed to eliminate could be handled by the Uchiha later, making it a deal that wouldn't cost her much.
As for not siding with the Leaf's tracking squad? She'd felt a deep sense of resistance and dislike for them the moment they met.
Not far away, Kurenai Yūhi watched the scene around the cabin, her heart pounding. She clenched her fists tightly.
If Kuroki couldn't hold out, she would intervene, doing her best to help him escape.
What would happen after that? Kurenai didn't know, nor did she dare think too much, fearing her resolve might waver.
Inside the cabin.
"ROAR—"
A giant wolf, like the three-headed Cerberus of hell, let out a furious growl. Its claws slammed into the floor, shattering it into debris.
Its powerful limbs exploded with force as it opened its three enormous, bloodthirsty mouths, lunging first to tear into Kuroki .
Kuroki 's Mangekyo Sharingan had already locked onto the trajectory of the three-headed wolf's attack. Like lightning, he leaped toward Jaeger, grabbing him and retreating swiftly.
Dodging the strike.
Kuroki tossed the dazed Jaeger out of the side window and then faced Asuma and the other three alone.
Meanwhile...
Around the cabin, six black shadows soared into the air. Their eyes gleamed with the red glow of three-tomoe Sharingan as they twisted their bodies, gripping ninja swords tightly, and slashed toward the monks chanting on the rooftop.
They were the Uchiha who had been lying in wait nearby.
As cold light flashed and fell...
The chanting of the monks didn't stop.
The stern-faced head monk, with his thick eyebrows and furious gaze, known as Chiriku, rose from among the monks. Raising his right hand high and lowering his left, he chanted softly:
"Welcoming Fist of a Thousand Hands!"
In an instant, Chiriku's chakra surged, transforming into a radiant Buddha's light that enveloped the monks, coalescing into the form of a benevolent Bodhisattva with hands clasped in prayer.
For a moment, the sky and earth were bathed in golden light, making everything appear divinely pure.
In the next moment...
Before the Uchiha could land their strikes, countless arms sprouted from the Bodhisattva's side, fists clenched, and they smashed toward the Uchiha.
To the three-tomoe Sharingan of the Uchiha, the densely packed fists of Buddha's light appeared endless, making it impossible for their Sharingan to find an escape route.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Buddhist fist rained down like a fierce storm, with muffled explosions echoing as six people were struck by hundreds of punches in an instant, falling to the ground like kites with broken strings.
"Pfft—"
A Uchiha fell to the ground, one hand gripping a sword stabbed into the earth, the other clutching his chest as he coughed up blood. He endured the pain and looked around at his companions.
The others were also severely injured.
All six had numerous fist marks on their bodies; the areas hit were slightly sunken, with cracked skin and blood staining their clothes.
Chiriku descended from the rooftop.
"Amitabha—lay down your arms, and I shall perform a ritual for the deceased."
He stood before the group of Uchiha, reciting a Buddhist chant, his face imposing without anger. He had no intention of sparing these rogue ninjas.
The chanting ceased.
The night returned to stillness.
The remaining monks descended from the rooftops, standing behind Chiriku with their heads bowed and hands pressed together.
None of the monks, except for Chiriku, dared to look directly at the Uchiha. All of them cautiously stared at the ground as they advanced on the Uchihas.
The six Uchiha, on high alert, had underestimated the strength of this Konoha backup force.
As the chanting ceased—
The group gradually regained their composure, but just as Kurenai Yuhi, Izumi, Mikoto, Naruki, and others breathed a sigh of relief, the chanting rose once more around the mountain stronghold, loud and thunderous, as if purifying all the sins in heaven and earth.
Everyone glanced around.
In the shadows of the forest—
Numerous monks emerged with their heads bowed, reciting Buddhist scriptures. Their heads bore the scars of vows, and they wore the black-and-white robes of the Fire Temple.
Their numbers reached as many as 170.
The chanting came from their mouths, flowing like a river, endless and unceasing.
The monks' voices contained chakra that disturbed the mind, and as the volume increased, the chanting seemed like demonic sounds piercing the ears, torturing the intruders.
"This is... the entire Fire Temple mobilizing!" Izumi's eyes widened as she looked around at the surrounding monks. She covered her ears and shouted.
Mikoto's face turned pale, and her head throbbed painfully as the piercing chants drove her to the brink of wanting to bury her head in the dirt.
Amidst the deafening chanting—
"Ah, someone help me kill them!"
Nonou finally couldn't focus enough to use medical ninjutsu. Even someone as kind and gentle as her wished to seal the monks' mouths with mud.
Kurenai Yuhi and the others were also suffering under the auditory assault, feeling dizzy and in great pain.
"Bald monks!!"
Tamayo shouted in agony, trying to drown out the noise with his voice, but his efforts were futile.
He swore that if he could move, he would make these guys taste his unwashed ninja shoes!
The Uchiha felt despair.
Their enemies were too numerous, and the monks of the Fire Temple were famed throughout the ninja world, each one as strong as a ninja. Their leader, Chiriku, was an elite Jonin.
With the entire temple mobilized, it seemed they would perish here tonight.
Inside the wooden house—
The flickering candlelight cast shadows.
Asuma's mouth curled into a slight smile, ignoring Kuroki.
This was his greatest reliance in taking action against this rogue Uchiha squad.
Their four-man team remained composed, unaffected by the chanting.
When they arrived and joined the reinforcements—
They had been marked with seals by Chiriku to grant immunity to the chanting.
Click—
Chiriku stepped over the threshold and entered the house, gazing indifferently at the handsome young Uchiha before him.
"Amitabha!"
And so, it was one versus five!
Kuroki's face turned pale, and the chanting outside disrupted his focus, leaving him with only 30% of his Yin Release chakra available.
If he had a full ten levels of Yin Release chakra—
The battle would have ended long ago.
He steadied his thoughts, his mouth curling into a faint smile as he resisted the chanting's nerve-wracking effects with sheer willpower.
Kuroki flipped his right hand, drawing a dragon-eye-sized, crimson bead from his storage space and swallowed it in one gulp.
This was his trump card!
The very thing that had enabled him to easily annihilate the Uchiha Police Force back then!
Out of three, only one remained.
In the distance, amidst the trees—
The masked man endured the sharp chanting and squinted as he noticed Kuroki taking the pill.
"So, that's your last resort?"
Inside the house—
Kuroki's skin burned like fire, with orange-red curse marks spreading across his handsome face in a strange pattern.
His life force rapidly drained, transforming into pure chakra energy.
His cells rapidly divided and regenerated.
His spiritual power surged higher and higher.
The Mangekyo Yin Release chakra gradually filled him, and he could ignore the chanting outside, his gaze regaining a calm and deep look, filled with contempt for the five before him.
The one who gave him the pills had warned—
This medicine was developed with painstaking effort to perfectly fuse the power of the curse seal.
It could boost the user's chakra strength, chakra regeneration, spiritual power, and physical strength tenfold!
The state would last for ten minutes, and the price was one: sacrificing life.
There were three pills in total.
For each pill consumed, one-third of his lifespan would be forfeited.
If he took all three, he would have no more than ten years to live.
Kuroki didn't mind.
As long as he survived and escaped Konoha, there were ways to prolong life in the ninja world.
Sensing something amiss—
"Roar—"
The Inuzuka Clan Jonin and his wolf, transformed into a three-headed wolf, launched another attack.
Chakra surged.
It leaped forward—
With three gaping jaws filled with sharp fangs, lunging at Kuroki.
Kuroki did not dodge. The curse mark pattern on his skin vanished, merging with his body.
He gripped his sword's hilt with one hand, sheathed the blade, and calmed the gleam of the sword. He closed his eyes, took a step forward, and crouched.
Suddenly—
He drew the blade, concentrating all his power to its peak!
A brilliant sword flash, as radiant as moonlight, sliced through the massive body of the three-headed wolf, cutting right through the middle. Its three gaping mouths abruptly froze.
He... only struck once!
The left and right wolf heads witnessed their body split cleanly in half, the cut surface smooth. Their thoughts faded into eternal darkness, their emotions forever stuck in fear.
Bang—
A burst of blood exploded.