Hot Springs Town — Konoha's forward base.
Uchiha Yuan sat cross-legged atop a rooftop, silently overlooking the entire settlement.
Below him, eight Konoha ninja were laughing and drinking, surrounded by a few serving girls who poured their sake and kept them company.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the courtyard outside. A Konoha ninja slid open the door, calling out urgently:
"Report! Emergency situation — a large Cloud-nin force has been spotted!"
The laughter and chatter halted instantly.
With a soft whoosh, Yuan's figure flickered — in the next instant, he appeared inside the room.
He raised his hand slightly, and the serving girls quickly bowed and retreated.
The messenger continued, "Just now, the Hot Springs shinobi sent word — a Cloud-nin detachment has been sighted twenty li northeast of the town."
He added quickly, "Lord Yuan, the Hot Springs shinobi request that we keep the fighting as far from the town as possible."
Yuan replied calmly, "Tell them not to worry. The battle won't reach Hot Springs Town."
Then he turned to the eight ninja in the room. "Everyone, prepare for combat."
"Yes, sir!"
Swish, swish, swish!
The eight Konoha ninja's expressions hardened instantly. In the next breath, they vanished, each using the Body Flicker Technique.
Outside the base, Yamanaka Mokuno was already waiting. "Captain," he reported, "the ambush units are all in position."
On paper, Yuan had a garrison of one hundred Konoha ninja stationed in Hot Springs Town. But secretly, another two hundred had been hidden around the surrounding hills and forests.
Under the night sky, countless figures sped across the fields — the faint glow of lanterns from the town already visible ahead.
But when the advancing shadows were still about a li away from the town, the whistling of projectiles filled the air.
A barrage of kunai and shuriken rained down from the darkness — some rigged with explosive tags. A series of deafening blasts erupted amid the enemy ranks.
"Everyone, stay alert!"
"It's an ambush!"
Angry shouts rang out as several figures leapt high, hands flashing through seals. In moments, several Earth Walls rose up, blocking the storm of kunai and shuriken from all sides.
As the Cloud ninja took defensive positions, a calm voice drifted through the night.
"Cloud vermin… I've been waiting for you."
From the shadows emerged Uchiha Yuan, a faint smile on his lips.
With his words, the surrounding darkness seemed to ripple — Konoha ninja appeared one after another, surrounding the Cloud-nin on all sides.
But the Cloud shinobi showed no fear.
One of them, standing atop a wall of earth, drew his long sword and pointed it straight at Yuan, roaring, "Kill them all!"
"Follow me!" Yuan commanded coldly.
The smile vanished from his face, replaced by an icy sharpness. His killing intent exploded outward.
With a powerful step, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, appearing before the leading Cloud ninja in the blink of an eye.
The man was a giant, nearly two meters tall, his bronze skin gleaming like hammered steel — a mountain of muscle and power.
Reacting instantly, he swung his blade down in a fierce arc.
Clang!
Sparks flew as metal met metal.
Yuan caught the blow with his kunai, then used the recoil to leap into the air. Twisting his body midair, he lashed out with a whipping kick toward the man's head.
Thud!
The Cloud giant was sent flying backward, crashing into several of his comrades.
But before Yuan could land, the man roared and sprang back to his feet, charging again with terrifying ferocity.
Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly — impressed.
He actually blocked that? Even after taking my full-strength kick head-on?
He hadn't expected the man to recover so quickly.
So this is a Cloud shinobi… tough as iron.
As the brute charged again, Yuan's body flickered out of sight.
Almost instantly, a flash of lightning streaked through the space he had just vacated — the air sizzled with ozone.
Such powerful lightning release chakra…
Yuan reappeared midair, glancing down at the faintly smoking ground. His eyes locked onto a Cloud ninja below, still holding a handseal position, residual sparks dancing across his arms.
Without hesitation, Yuan hurled a shuriken downward.
Whoosh—whoosh!
But before it reached its mark, two fierce gusts of wind swept in from his flanks — fists wreathed in crackling lightning aiming straight for him from both sides.
Lightning Release: Double Brutal Current!
The combined strike sealed off every escape route. Yuan had no choice but to meet it head-on.
BOOM!
A thunderous shockwave rocked the air, scattering dust and sparks in all directions.
Yuan crossed his arms to block the twin blows. He caught them both — the full force of two elite Cloud jonin's physical strikes.
The three were blown apart by the recoil, each forced backward.
Yuan flipped midair, landing hard — his boots skidding across the ground and gouging two long furrows in the earth.
But before he could steady himself, the giant Cloud warrior from before came charging once again, bellowing as he thrust his sword straight at Yuan's heart.
In that split second of crisis, Yuan's sliding halt came to an abrupt stop. A strange vibration pulsed through his body — the ground beneath his feet cracked and shattered outward.
At the same moment, his left hand shot out like lightning. Two fingers — index and middle — caught the incoming blade.
The Cloud ninja's eyes widened in disbelief. The sword had stopped cold, its tip caught between two fingers.
He roared, muscles bulging as he poured all his strength into the blade — but it didn't budge an inch.
Impossible…!
With a resounding crack, the sword snapped into several pieces.
Before the man could react, Yuan flicked his fingers — sending the broken blade fragment flying forward.
A flash of cold light.
The shard pierced clean through the man's throat.
He stared wide-eyed, disbelief frozen on his face, before the massive body toppled with a heavy thud.
Yuan's gaze swept across the fallen Cloud ninja, then turned toward the rest of the battlefield.
By now, Konoha's and Cloud's forces were fully engaged — the night sky lit with the flare of countless jutsu. Explosions and the roar of battle shook the fields.
"Isaka!!"
A shout came from the distance. Another Cloud ninja charged forward, wind howling around him, his killing intent locked on Yuan.
Heavy Current Strike!
Yuan crossed his arms before his chest, blocking the blow head-on. The impact sent him skidding backward through the air like a leaf in a storm.
But before he even landed, he twisted midair, flipping gracefully and touching down in a crouch — unharmed.
And then—
From the side, a kunai wreathed in an explosive tag came whistling straight toward him.
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