It was not until half a day later that Yuu saw Uchiha Fugaku and the others return from the coastline.
Compared with when they had first departed, this group of Uchiha looked rather battered. Two of them were seriously injured and could barely remain standing, requiring support from their teammates.
"…So you encountered Kirigakure near the coast and fought them. After inflicting some casualties, you managed to break through their pursuit and retreat?"
Yuu asked.
"Yes."
Uchiha Fugaku's expression was not particularly pleasant.
After all, he had been the one who decided to remain there a little longer so they could clearly observe Kirigakure's situation. He had not expected the enemy to discover them and launch a sudden attack.
Although they had ultimately retreated successfully and avoided being completely surrounded, fleeing back in defeat was still deeply embarrassing for Fugaku.
Especially since they had nearly lost two Uchiha during the mission.
For Fugaku, who wanted to establish military achievements for his clan, this was a major blow.
However…
"I don't understand."
Uchiha Fugaku looked perplexed.
"How were those Kirigakure ninja able to notice us so quickly? Ordinary sensory ninjutsu shouldn't have been able to detect us from such a great distance…"
"Well…"
Yuu gave no definite response.
The answer was probably…
Ao?
Yes, he meant the Kiri ninja who possessed a Byakugan.
The original story never explained exactly when Ao obtained his Byakugan. Theoretically, it could have happened during either the Second or Third Ninja World War. After all, the two wars were not separated by much time—only six or seven years at most.
Considering Fugaku's description of the situation, it was highly likely that Kirigakure had deployed Ao and his Byakugan.
In that case, the traps Yuu had previously ordered Kakashi and the others to establish would probably lose much of their effectiveness.
After all, beneath the Byakugan's penetrating vision, most traps might as well not exist.
However…
it did not matter much.
Even if Ao was there, he possessed only one Byakugan. He could not possibly see through every defensive arrangement Konoha had made.
Furthermore, the traps were merely a backup measure.
If it came down to soldiers fighting soldiers and generals facing generals in a direct confrontation, Yuu was not afraid either.
The only thing that concerned him slightly was…
"Did you discover anything about Kirigakure's two jinchūriki?"
"Jinchūriki?"
Uchiha Fugaku froze for a moment, then shook his head.
"No."
After pausing,
he added, "The Sharingan lacks long-range observational ability. Even if Kirigakure truly deployed their jinchūriki, it would be difficult for us to notice before they personally appeared…
"However, you can rest assured. Sharingan genjutsu is effective against jinchūriki. If the enemy truly sends them out, leave them to us."
"…Alright."
Yuu casually brushed him off.
The Sharingan could indeed affect jinchūriki, but only if it was a Mangekyō. An ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan would not be of much use.
Moreover…
even taking ten thousand steps back, if Uchiha Fugaku truly possessed enough ocular power to forcibly control a jinchūriki, that would probably not be a good thing for him.
Danzō would most likely come sniffing around immediately.
"Senior Fugaku, you all worked hard during this mission. Go back, clean yourselves up, and prepare for the coming battle."
…
Beginning on the second day after Kirigakure's fleet appeared,
Kirigakure's movements along the southeastern border of the Land of Fire once again became obvious. Several Konoha strongholds were attacked one after another.
Although Yuu had sent messengers ahead of time to warn everyone about Kirigakure's arrival, several strongholds still fell into crisis beneath the fierce offensive of the enemy's fresh troops and were forced to launch signal flares requesting reinforcements.
Yuu then led the dozens of ninja under his command and took on the role of a fire brigade captain, constantly traveling between the different strongholds and killing the invading Kiri ninja.
During this process,
Yuu reduced the frequency with which he used swordsmanship and Fire Release.
Instead, he devoted more attention to his other ninjutsu, using actual combat as training to raise their affection.
There was naturally no need to mention Water Formation Wall. Its current affection had already surpassed eighty.
Yuu estimated that once its mission of "automatically defending seven times" was complete, it would directly advance to Hearts in Perfect Accord and unlock its final-stage trait.
The affection of Super Strength, Transparent Escape, and the Binding Seal Formula was also steadily increasing.
One noteworthy development was that the Binding Seal Formula's affection had surpassed fifty, unlocking the [Give Gift] option.
Thus, Yuu tried feeding her the Fire Sealing Method scroll he had previously received from Tsunade.
The Fire Sealing Method was primarily used against Fire-nature attacks. For Yuu, who already possessed the Heavenly Fire Judgment trait and the Substitution Technique, it was not especially useful.
Still, it was at least a new skin, and the Binding Seal Formula was delighted to receive it.
When he had the opportunity in the future, Yuu planned to feed her the Self-Cursing Seal, the Four Symbols Seal, and others as well.
Then there were the several members of his "new harem."
The affection of the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique and the Hydrification Technique had both increased slightly.
As for the Spirit Transformation Technique, because of its high rank, it was still in the difficult stages of being wooed.
Incidentally,
Yuu had previously asked Honekawa Koo and the others whether any large bird nests existed nearby. After all, he still wanted a flying summoned beast that he could use for transportation.
However, the terrain along the southeastern border was relatively flat and did not suit the living environment of large birds of prey.
Thus, he could only abandon the idea for the time being.
Three days later,
Yuu's group finally encountered one of Kirigakure's main forces.
The location was a forest near Shakuka Town.
The two forces stood facing each other across a distance of more than a hundred meters.
On one side was the small squad led by Yuu, numbering only slightly more than ten people. Most of them were young ninja in their early teens.
On the other side was Kirigakure's surprise-attack force, consisting of approximately thirty people. They silently spread out on the opposite side of the forest, exuding a chilling, murderous atmosphere.
The chakra fluctuations of the people at the front were particularly powerful.
"Hey, brat over there. Are you Konoha's 'White Reaper'?"
The speaker was a middle-aged man wearing a plain white kimono.
He was not especially tall, but his bone structure was extraordinarily thick and robust. His face was as hard and cold as iron.
His eyes remained firmly fixed upon Yuu, filled with undisguised, bone-deep hatred.
"…And you are?"
Yuu tilted his head.
"Clan Head of the Kaguya clan, Kaguya Hiromitsu!"
The middle-aged man spoke coldly.
"Brat, I've been searching for you for several days. Fuguki told me that you personally killed Ryūga, correct?
"I, Kaguya Hiromitsu, will make you repay that blood debt with your own blood!"
"Oh."
Yuu nodded without offering a clear reaction.
"Did you come alone? Where is the head of the Hōzuki clan? Why didn't he come with you?"
"…Arrogant!"
Kaguya Hiromitsu laughed from sheer rage, the muscles on his face twisting slightly.
"I alone am more than enough to kill you! Why would I require anyone else's help?
"I will personally wash away the hatred of Ryūga's death with your blood and offer your bones to the glory of the Kaguya clan!"
"Heh."
Yuu released a contemptuous laugh.
He could not be bothered to listen to such boasting.
After all, it was impossible for any of it to become reality.
That dismissive response was like a spark falling into a barrel of gunpowder.
"You're courting death!"
A vicious light exploded from Kaguya Hiromitsu's eyes. Without the slightest warning, he suddenly exerted force beneath his feet!
Boom—!
With a dull explosion, the rotting leaves and soil beneath Kaguya Hiromitsu's feet burst apart, leaving a shallow crater.
His entire body shot forward like a white bone arrow released from a bowstring, crossing nearly a hundred meters in an instant!
While still in midair, he crossed both arms before his chest. The tips of all ten fingers suddenly pierced through his skin, transforming into sharp finger bones that screamed through the air!
"Dead Bone Pulse: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
"…Careful!"
Kakashi and Shisui shouted almost simultaneously.
Kakashi shifted half a step sideways and drew his blade. The White Fang short blade became a blurred streak of silver light.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
Sparks flew as he accurately blocked and knocked away four or five of the finger bones.
On the other side, Shisui also moved.
Compared with Kakashi's style, Shisui's swordsmanship was lighter and more agile.
The ninja sword in his hand precisely tapped, redirected, and lifted several of the finger bones flying toward him and Yuu's flank, cleverly guiding them away.
The bone bullets buried themselves deeply in the trunk of a nearby tree.
At the same time the two reacted,
Yuu vanished from his original position with a whoosh.
In the next instant, he appeared in midair slightly above and to the side of Kaguya Hiromitsu's charging path, then swung his hand!
The White Fang short blade drew a dazzling silver arc through the dim forest and descended fiercely toward Kaguya Hiromitsu's neck!
This strike condensed the essence of Hatake Swordsmanship.
Moreover, it targeted an extremely subtle, momentary point of stagnation in Kaguya Hiromitsu's chakra circulation revealed by Heart-Blade Domain.
The slash was filled with lethal intent!
"…So fast!"
Although Kaguya Hiromitsu was shocked, he did not panic.
At the critical moment, he suddenly raised his left arm. The skin of his forearm tore open, and several thick, curved, sickle-like bone blades sprang outward, intercepting the deadly slash of the White Fang short blade.
"But… that's all you've got!!"
Clang—!!!
A deafening explosion erupted through the forest!
The instant blade and bone collided, a terrifying, irresistible force surged through the sword, causing Yuu to narrow his eyes slightly.
"Such tremendous strength!"
Without question, as the clan head of the Kaguya clan, this man was far stronger than Kaguya Ryūga.
His strength even faintly surpassed that of a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen like Fuguki Suikazan.
Engaging him in a direct taijutsu contest was not a wise choice.
Seeing Yuu preparing to withdraw his blade and disengage, Kaguya Hiromitsu's eyes flashed with a savage smile.
Then, without giving Yuu any chance to adjust his tactics, he used the rebounding force from their clash and suddenly began spinning at high speed like a top!
"Dead Bone Pulse: Dance of the Willow!"
The enormous centrifugal force generated by his rotation, combined with Kaguya Hiromitsu's monstrous physical strength, instantly hurled Yuu away!
At the same time, more than a dozen pale bone blades of varying lengths erupted around his spinning body—from his elbows, knees, shoulder blades, spine, and other areas.
The countless razor-sharp blades bloomed like flowers of death.
With piercing shrieks that tore through the air, they became a dazzling white net of blades that pursued Yuu!
While flying through the air, Yuu forcibly twisted his body and evaded several bone blades.
At the same time, he repeatedly used the Substitution Technique, flashing through the air several times as he approached Kaguya Hiromitsu's real body and attempted to assassinate him from behind.
However, several consecutive attempts failed.
Kaguya Hiromitsu's reaction speed was extremely fast, while the defenses covering his body contained practically no blind spots.
It was difficult to find an opportunity to kill him with a single strike.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The dense collisions rang out continuously like exploding beans.
Although the White Fang short blade was sharp, after violently colliding dozens of times within a short period against bone blades as hard as refined steel, the weapon began releasing a faint but clear hum of strain.
Yuu could even feel the rebounding force transmitted through its hilt becoming stronger with every collision.
"Tsk… This guy's bones really are absurdly hard."
"By the way, Little Hatake, do the techniques this guy is using count as a 'swordsmanship school'?"
Yuu had been considering that matter since the fight began.
After all, his World's Greatest Swordsmanship mission still required him to defeat practitioners of three additional sword schools.
If Kaguya Hiromitsu could provide one of them, that would naturally be excellent.
Unfortunately…
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Hmph! How could this possibly count as swordsmanship? There is no technique whatsoever—he merely relies on brute force! How is he any different from a reckless fool swinging a spiked club?]
"…"
Fine.
It appeared he could not trigger the mission through this opponent.
Since Yuu could not use Kaguya Hiromitsu to advance the World's Greatest Swordsmanship mission, continuing this direct clash and wasting the durability of his weapon had lost its original meaning.
Thus, Yuu used the rebounding force of another block to send himself flying backward.
While returning his blade to its sheath, he firmly clapped both hands together!
"Great Fireball: Burnout!"
Boom—!!!
It was not orange-red.
Instead, a blinding white-hot fireball appeared like a miniature sun born from empty air. Carrying a terrifying heat capable of incinerating everything, it expanded instantly and descended directly upon Kaguya Hiromitsu, who was still pursuing him!
Even the surrounding air twisted and deformed beneath the extreme temperature!
"Clan Head, be careful!"
A Kaguya clansman behind him shouted in alarm.
Faced with the destructive fireball, seriousness flashed through Kaguya Hiromitsu's eyes, but there was not the slightest trace of fear.
"Fire Release… Hmph! Nothing more than a petty trick!"
As he spoke, Kaguya Hiromitsu roared wildly and crossed his arms in front of himself.
At the same time, dense layers of bone spikes rapidly grew from every part of his body—especially his arms, chest, and back—forming a thick, angular shield of pale bone!
He did not evade or retreat.
Instead, he frantically poured chakra into the bone shield and charged directly toward the several-meter-wide white-hot fireball like a raging bull covered in heavy bone armor!
Hiss—!!!
An ear-piercing sound of violent burning rang out!
For a brief moment, the bone shield created by Kaguya Hiromitsu actually withstood the terrifying heat of Burnout!
However…
he was not having an easy time either.
Only now did Kaguya Hiromitsu realize that the temperature of these flames was extraordinarily high.
The bone spikes he had always taken pride in, whose hardness was comparable to an alloy, began showing strange signs of softening the instant they came into contact with the white-hot fire!
It was something he had never encountered before.
~~~
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