Whoosh—
A flash of cold light streaked through the air.
Illusion Sword Technique was unleashed.
The Mist Jonin before Uchiha Haruki was momentarily dazed, his attention caught by the gleam on Haruki's blade. His movement faltered.
However, as a Jonin skilled in genjutsu, he quickly recovered and leaned backward to dodge.
The blade swept past, slicing off several strands of hair.
"Hmm?"
Haruki let out a quiet murmur, slightly surprised the opponent had shaken off the illusion so quickly.
Still, that was the end of it.
With a flick of his wrist, Haruki changed the sword's trajectory from a downward slash to an upward strike, aiming directly at the man's carotid artery.
A powerful sense of danger surged through Mizuguchi Hideo's body. Without thinking, he instinctively leaped backward.
Slash—
The blade grazed across his chest, leaving a deep gash. Blood gushed out, soaking his clothes.
"Ugh—!"
Hideo groaned, but had no time to dwell on the pain. He opened his mouth and unleashed the jutsu he had prepared during his dodge.
A visible soundwave erupted from his mouth, rapidly spreading outward.
Haruki, being the closest, bore the full brunt of the attack.
Though not technically a genjutsu, the effect of the soundwave was nearly identical.
Haruki's eardrums vibrated violently, throwing off his balance. He staggered, his insides aching terribly—as though struck by a massive invisible hammer. He felt a surge of nausea.
"Resonance?"
A concept from his past life's science classes suddenly surfaced in his mind.
He couldn't remember the exact details—only that every object had its own frequency, and when struck at the same frequency, resonance occurred.
Usually, resonance was harmful, causing damage to the object involved.
Just like now—his internal organs had been damaged by Mizuguchi Hideo's sound-based resonance jutsu.
But unlike in his previous life, this world had supernatural ways to resist such effects.
With a thought, Haruki erupted his chakra outward. A formless surge of energy burst from his body, cleansing the invasive soundwaves from within.
In the next instant, a faint blue glow sparked—Instant Sword Technique was activated again.
He took a step forward and appeared right in front of Mizuguchi Hideo.
The enemy had only just retreated a few steps and hadn't gotten far.
Whoosh—
Another slash came.
Cold light shimmered faintly on the blade. Haruki was half a heartbeat away from fully triggering Illusion Sword Technique.
Mizuguchi Hideo's expression turned panicked. He didn't dare make eye contact or even look directly at the incoming blade—he could only rely on instinct to dodge.
But his taijutsu was weak.
After only a few exchanges, Haruki capitalized on an opening. He landed a clean, deep slash across the enemy's chest.
Unlike the earlier shallow cut, this one went straight to the bone.
Blood gushed out violently. Hideo's breathing faltered, his chakra plummeting.
Haruki's feet flared with chakra, boosting his speed. In a flash, he appeared at Hideo's side.
His long blade swung.
Wind-style chakra surged along the edge, forming a razor-sharp blade of energy.
It cut clean across Hideo's neck—leaving a thin, nearly invisible gash.
But that single gash was enough.
Hideo froze in place.
He looked at Haruki, trying to speak. He managed only one word—"You…"—before his head slid off his neck.
A geyser of blood followed, spraying several meters into the air.
Haruki stood unmoved, his face expressionless. His gaze left Hideo's corpse and turned toward the others nearby.
All of this, though long to describe, had happened in just a few seconds.
At that moment, the surrounding Mist ninja finally broke free from the indiscriminate genjutsu soundwave Mizuguchi Hideo had unleashed.
They saw his headless body—and Haruki, still standing tall with blade in hand—and their expressions turned grim.
"Kill him!"
A shout rang out—who said it wasn't clear—but immediately, the Mist ninja launched another assault.
Battle resumed.
Haruki showed no intention of backing down. This chaotic battlefield was ideal for someone like him—where his Sharingan and swordsmanship could shine.
Focusing his mind, Haruki tried to recall the deep state of clarity he'd reached earlier—and before long, he once again entered that zone of perfect awareness.
And once again, the Mist ninja witnessed a nightmarish sight.
One man. One blade. Haruki cut through them like a whirlwind—heads rolling in his wake.
Naturally, there were those among the Mist who tried to use ninjutsu or genjutsu to sneak attack him—but Haruki's senses caught them every time.
And then, the only thing they received in return was his unrelenting blade.
At the cliff's edge, the remaining Konoha ninja—watching the chaotic battlefield and the tangled skirmishes between ally and enemy—hesitated for a moment before finally charging down to join the fray.
This relieved pressure on Uchiha Tekka's squad, allowing them to press their assault even harder.
Minutes passed. Then dozens.
More than half an hour slipped by.
The sky dimmed. The sun was nearly gone beyond the horizon when, from the Mist warship in the distance, a loud horn suddenly sounded.
Instantly, the Mist shinobi seemed to awaken from a trance. They all abruptly stopped fighting.
Turning toward the warship—which had already turned around—they made a quick decision.
They pulled away from the Konoha shinobi and withdrew to a safe distance.
Then, without hesitation, they turned and ran toward the retreating vessel.
Seeing this, only a few blood-crazed Konoha shinobi tried to give chase. Most simply watched them go.
Not because they wanted to let the Mist escape—but because they no longer had the strength to stop them.
Though the battle hadn't lasted long, in terms of intensity, it was equal to—or even more brutal than—any large-scale war.
After all, it had been two hundred against four hundred.
Even with Haruki disrupting the Mist formation twice and attracting the strongest enemies, the Konoha side had still fought desperately.
During the battle, they hadn't noticed their exhaustion.
But now that it was over—their strength collapsed with their adrenaline.
Haruki, too, didn't try to stop the retreating Mist.
Even though he knew that if he held them just a bit longer, Black Marsh Seijuro's reinforcements would arrive—and those Mist ninjas would never escape alive.
Still, he made no move.
The reason was simple.
If he could think of that plan—so could the Mist.
If he tried to block their retreat, they'd surely launch a desperate counterattack.
And he would be forced into a brutal battle.
Haruki was already targeted by Kirigakure. If these Mist ninja all died here because of him, the retaliation would only get worse.
He wasn't afraid of being targeted—thanks to "Heaven's Dominion", he had an edge no one could match.
But as the saying goes: "If you walk along the shore often, you're bound to get your shoes wet."
Trump cards should remain secret.
If Kirigakure's pressure forced him to constantly rely on "Heaven's Dominion," sooner or later, someone would discover its pattern.
And once that happened—if someone found a way to counter it—he'd be in real trouble.
So, if he could keep it hidden, he would.
Besides, when the Mist genin and chunin were retreating, Haruki himself was being closely watched by several Mist Jonin.
He had no way to intervene, even if he wanted to.
So in the end, he could only let them go.