"Ahhh—!"
Agonized screams echoed below.
Uchiha Haruki didn't even glance at the Mist shinobi writhing in the flames. After releasing his jutsu, he immediately flew away from the area.
In no time, he located another cluster of Mist ninja.
He was just about to form seals for another technique—
But suddenly, a water dragon shot skyward, lunging toward him.
"Water Dragon Bullet Technique?"
Haruki instantly recognized the jutsu.
His gaze traced the path of the water dragon back to its source—
There stood a familiar figure in a blue dress, her long reddish-brown hair flowing behind her.
Terumi Mei.
Who else could it be?
Without hesitation, Haruki flapped his chakra wings, moving gracefully to the side. The dragon roared past, missing him entirely.
After dodging, he raised his hands swiftly, forming seals in a blur.
Wind Release: Wind Blade!
He had already maxed out his proficiency in this technique—the power now far surpassed what it once was.
In an instant, a wind blade over ten meters long materialized in the air and slashed downward, aimed straight at Terumi Mei.
A chilling sensation crept up her spine.
Without even thinking, she dodged sideways.
She managed to evade, but the Mist shinobi beside her weren't so lucky.
One was sliced cleanly in half by the wind blade and instantly died.
Two others lost limbs and collapsed, screaming in pain.
Haruki didn't even blink. He began forming seals again to cast another jutsu—
But just then, a fine misty rain began drifting in from below.
Though it didn't feel like much on his skin, the moment it touched his chakra wings, it began dispersing their energy.
His body wobbled mid-air.
In that moment, Haruki realized—this rain was no ordinary rain.
Activating his Sharingan, he scanned below and quickly found the jutsu caster.
A black-robed, masked shinobi stood in the distance—a Mist ANBU.
"Mist ANBU?"
Haruki narrowed his eyes as a memory surfaced from his past life:
Water Release: Rain Severing Technique.
A secret jutsu of Kirigakure, capable of weakening all chakra-based ninjutsu except Water Release techniques.
Obviously, Haruki's Wind Release: Wings of Wind fell within that category.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
Haruki quickly switched hand signs and unleashed:
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
A massive water dragon surged forth, plunging toward the Mist ANBU.
Ever since Haruki had advanced to level 6, his water dragons had become significantly larger and more intimidating.
Now, descending from above, the pressure was overwhelming.
But surprisingly, the Mist ANBU didn't move.
He continued channeling his Rain Severing Technique, steadily dissolving Haruki's chakra wings.
Was he seeking death?
No. He had backup.
Just before Haruki's dragon landed, another water dragon of equal size shot upward—a direct counterattack.
Boom—!
The two dragons collided midair, bursting into torrents of water.
Haruki's attack had been successfully blocked.
There was no need to ask—the other jutsu had obviously been cast by Terumi Mei.
She stood below, panting heavily, clearly having exerted herself to the limit.
Haruki narrowed his eyes and pulled out several shuriken from his pouch.
He hurled them at both Terumi Mei and the Mist ANBU.
But before they could reach their targets, over a dozen kunai intercepted them midair with perfect precision.
Some even came flying at Haruki himself.
With a flap of his wings, he dodged easily.
His Sharingan whirred as he looked toward the source of the kunai—
Three Mist ANBU and several elite jonin were rushing in.
It was clear that, after all the chaos, the enemy had finally regrouped.
Now, even if Haruki wanted to leave, it wouldn't be easy.
Still, he didn't panic.
After all, his goal was never to win a duel—it was to disrupt the Mist's advance.
And now, with so many enemies drawn to him, he had already succeeded.
Glancing back toward the base, he confirmed that the Mist's momentum had slowed significantly.
Satisfied, he shifted his attention back to the enemy.
Another wave of misty rain blew in.
One of the three Mist ANBU below had started casting Rain Severing Technique as well.
Feeling his chakra wings weaken even faster, Haruki made a quick decision—
He soared straight upward into the sky.
Then, forming seals and inhaling deeply, he exhaled with force:
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
It was true that Rain Severing could weaken most chakra-based jutsu—
But it had limits.
When Haruki burned through 2,000 chakra points in a single burst, the technique couldn't counter it.
The powerful gust he unleashed didn't just neutralize the rain—it scattered it completely.
Seeing this, Terumi Mei shouted, "Everyone, attack together!"
In an instant—
Kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, and various ninjutsu all came flying at Haruki.
His Wings of Wind, though fast at level 2, still lacked agility.
Even with his Sharingan tracking every trajectory, he couldn't dodge everything.
So, he rose even higher into the sky.
Up there, the Mist shinobi couldn't hit him—but he also couldn't hit them.
After all, none of his jutsu had long-range capabilities.
For a moment, both sides were stuck in an awkward standoff.
Silence filled the battlefield.
Eventually, it was Haruki who grew impatient.
He had no choice—Kirigakure had sent far too many shinobi.
Seeing that they couldn't take him down for now, Terumi Mei had dispatched the lower- and mid-ranking ninja to attack the frontlines, leaving only a few jonin to hold him here.
If this continued, the base would fall.
So Haruki moved first.
But he didn't engage the jonin directly.
Sure, he had the strength to fight them head-on—but now that he had mastered Wings of Wind, he had a better plan.
He simply flew past them, aiming straight for the Mist troops in the frontlines.
Seeing this, the expressions on Terumi Mei and the others turned grim.
This was the true value of flight in the ninja world—
Once airborne, the battlefield was yours to control.
Haruki now had the initiative. Whether he fought or fled was entirely up to him.
Unless the enemy had a specific counter, they were doomed to trail behind him, always one step behind.
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