"Kill!"
A few breaths later, the wind vortex dispersed, the raging gale ceased, and the two forces clashed with an earth-shattering roar.
A streak of azure light flashed—Uchiha Haruki had activated Instant Blade Technique, closing in on an enemy. Before the Mist-nin could react, Haruki's blade sliced across his throat.
In the next instant, he twisted his body to dodge a kunai coming from the side. Without turning, he activated Illusory Blade Technique, and in the confused eyes of his assailant, his blade slashed open the carotid artery.
Splurt!
A torrent of blood gushed forth.
Haruki didn't stop. His head snapped to the right where another Mist Chunin was charging. His Sharingan spun, and he unleashed Genjutsu: Sharingan Illusion.
In a flash, a scarlet haze engulfed the enemy's vision. By the time the man broke free of the genjutsu, a sword had already pierced his chest.
Expressionless, Haruki drew out his blade and sidestepped the collapsing body, continuing his assault on another Mist Chunin.
Because the Mist-nin's formation had been broken by his Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, they were forced to fight individually. Within moments, Haruki had slain several more.
However, the Mist-nin were quick to respond.
By the time he reached his sixth kill, a special jōnin finally arrived to block his path. Though not a full jōnin, the opponent could stall him briefly.
And within that short moment, several more Mist jōnin showed up.
Among them was Yukikaze, the strongest—someone who had recently fought Haruki's shadow clone.
His opening move was a stunning show of force.
With a whoosh whoosh whoosh, a barrage of icy needles rained down from above like a blizzard, completely covering the space around Haruki.
Haruki's Sharingan spun rapidly. Realizing he couldn't dodge, he swiftly raised both hands, formed a series of hand signs, and just as the needles closed in, unleashed:
Water Style: Water Formation Wall!
A towering wall of water erupted in front of him.
The ice needles pierced into the wall, some pushing through—but ultimately, none managed to break it fully.
Still, Yukikaze's attack had served its purpose—buying time for others to move.
As the water wall began to fade, Mist jōnin flanked Haruki from both sides and simultaneously released water-style jutsu from their mouths—two pressurized water columns shot toward him.
Meanwhile, from behind, two other Mist jōnin hurled kunai aiming straight for Haruki's back.
In an instant, a three-way pincer attack took form—Haruki appeared to have no room to dodge.
But even in this dire situation, Haruki remained utterly calm.
Suddenly, the sea beneath his feet dipped slightly, as a surge of power propelled him skyward—just in time to evade all three attacks.
However, now airborne, Haruki had lost his footing and became a floating target.
The Mist jōnin would not let this opportunity slip.
Yukikaze struck again, casting his Ice Style technique. Thousands of crystal needles materialized midair, blotting out the sky and zeroing in on Haruki.
It was clear that this attack wasn't meant to kill—it was to restrict Haruki's movement and block every escape route.
At the same time, the other four Mist jōnin also acted, launching either ninjutsu or ninja tools—kunai and shuriken—all converging toward Haruki.
Seeing this, Haruki's Sharingan whirled intensely, analyzing every incoming threat, categorizing them by priority, speed, and angle.
Then, with one hand forming seals at lightning speed, he cast:
Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!
A stream of searing flames burst from his mouth, forming into a flaming dragon. It swept forward, melting a vast swath of the icy needles and forcing Yukikaze to abandon offense and defend himself.
Ignoring Yukikaze, who had erected an ice wall to block the flames, Haruki twisted his torso mid-air at an almost impossible angle, narrowly dodging two simultaneous water-style attacks.
As for the final wave of kunai and shuriken—
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Haruki's blade danced through the air, knocking each projectile aside with unerring precision.
Crisis averted.
All of this, though long in description, happened in mere seconds.
As Haruki's feet landed lightly back on the surface of the sea, he launched a counterattack.
First, he used Genjutsu: Sharingan Illusion again, ensnaring one enemy to his left, drawing another Mist jōnin to aid his comrade.
At that moment, Haruki used Instant Blade Technique to dash toward a different opponent.
This one didn't have time to dodge and was forced to clash head-on.
Clang clang clang!
Their weapons collided furiously—blade against kunai.
The two were entangled in a flurry of strikes. The other Mist jōnin, seeing the tight engagement, dared not attack from a distance for fear of hitting their own.
As they saw their comrade slowly falling into disadvantage, the remaining Mist jōnin had no choice but to join in the melee.
Five against one.
Though Haruki was at a numerical disadvantage, he wasn't afraid.
In fact, this was exactly the situation he wanted.
Only in close-quarters combat could he find openings.
His Sharingan spun faster than ever, while Illusory Blade and Instant Blade were deployed in tandem.
Haruki danced among the five Mist jōnin, weaving between attacks and launching precise counterstrikes.
For a moment, it seemed the fight was deadlocked.
But that wouldn't last.
As the battle continued, Haruki began recognizing patterns in their movements, slowly reading their habits.
Then—his chance came.
He slashed forward, deflecting an attack from the Mist jōnin in front of him.
Then he suddenly ducked, dodging a kunai that was meant to pierce his side.
That single, split-second move disrupted the Mist formation.
Their attacks fell out of sync.
Haruki didn't hesitate.
His left hand shot forward, and a Rasengan formed—a dense, swirling ball of light-blue chakra. He slammed it into the chest of the nearby Mist jōnin.
Sensing danger, the enemy tried to dodge.
But Haruki had anticipated this—his gaze locked, and with a flash of Sharingan, another genjutsu hit.
The enemy froze for half a heartbeat.
From the side, another Mist jōnin lunged forward, aiming a kunai at Haruki's neck, trying to force him to abort the attack.
But Haruki had already predicted this.
Just as the kunai flashed forward—he tilted his head, just slightly.
Slash!
The blade grazed his shoulder, slicing through flesh, drawing a spray of blood.
But it missed the vital point.
And Haruki's Rasengan struck its target, blasting the Mist jōnin away.
Splurt!
The man coughed blood midair, his aura dimming—he was out of the fight.