A massive blade of wind swept across, instantly shredding the Sand Village's jutsu along with more than a dozen shinobi who had been preparing to engage in close combat.
"That's impossible!!"
In just two exchanges, nearly half of the hundred-plus Sand shinobi were already dead or injured. The survivors could barely accept it.
"That damn monster… attack range, attack power, insane regeneration—and now even wide-area attacks… probably only Rasa could kill him…"
The leading Sand jonin's expression shifted repeatedly before he finally clenched his teeth and shouted in frustration, "Retreat!!"
At his command, the already shaken Sand shinobi broke into a chaotic escape, not even sparing a glance for their wounded comrades who could no longer move.
Akashō stood in place, holding the evolved blade, simply watching them leave.
Kill half, let half go—that's how you spread Kokushibo's reputation on a larger scale.
But at that moment, another group of around forty to fifty people suddenly appeared not far away.
Akashō narrowed his eyes and noticed the forehead protectors they wore—they were Konoha ninja.
Strangely, aside from the one in front wearing a standard Konoha combat uniform, the rest seemed to be dressed in a different style altogether.
"So the Sand Village really did make a move against him!"
The Konoha ninja sent by Uchiha Fugaku finally tracked Akashō down, following behind the Sand forces.
"From the looks of it, Kokushibo has the upper hand."
"More than that—can't you see the Sand Village is already running?"
"This is the perfect chance to beat them. Everyone, with me!"
Several Uchiha clan ninja looked excited and were about to ignore Akashō and chase after the fleeing Sand shinobi when the Konoha jonin leading them suddenly changed expression.
"Wait, don't chase—get back here!"
But the arrogant Uchiha ninja didn't listen at all. One by one, they activated their Sharingan and dashed forward.
Akashō was momentarily stunned when the Konoha ninja who had been heading toward him suddenly changed direction.
"What the hell—these brats are interested in the prey I just let go?"
With a step, Akashō turned into a blur and rushed forward, directly blocking the Uchiha ninja's path.
The leading trio of three-tomoe Sharingan users stopped, frowning in annoyance.
"Kokushibo, what's the meaning of this?"
They weren't afraid of Akashō at all. Whether he was stronger than Pakura didn't concern them.
In a one-on-one fight, which Uchiha with a three-tomoe Sharingan would lose to her?
"This path is closed."
Akashō's six eyes stared coldly at the leading Uchiha, though his mind was turning.
From what he had learned from the Sand squad earlier, aside from ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu—the three main systems of ninja combat—and niche paths like puppetry, there was also a special kind of power.
Bloodline limits.
Most bloodline limits manifested as unique elemental releases, like Pakura's Scorch Release, though there were also more unusual types.
Among them, the most famous was the Sharingan of Konoha's Uchiha clan.
Looks like some kind of red-eye disease.
"Get this straight, Kokushibo—Sand Village is our common enemy!"
"That doesn't make Konoha my ally."
A vein bulged on Uchiha Keito's forehead, anger spilling from his cold Sharingan. "Don't get cocky, Kokushibo!"
In the next instant, the three tomoe in his eyes began to spin.
Akashō, staring directly at him, suddenly felt his vision blur.
Seeing Akashō's expression grow dull, Uchiha Keito smirked.
"Heh, as expected. A monster like this—not even human—has no way to deal with genjutsu."
Behind them, the pursuing Konoha jonin let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried the two sides would clash directly. The pressure Kokushibo gave him was immense—he didn't believe these Uchiha could win through raw strength.
But just as Uchiha Keito began to laugh, a crimson blur flashed across his neck.
"Splurt!!!"
Blood shot skyward like a fountain as his head was blown several meters into the air before landing on the ground in the distance.
The Uchiha behind him reacted like startled wildcats, their hair practically standing on end.
Through the thick spray of blood, they could vaguely see Akashō's six emotionless eyes.
"You were the ones who made the first move."
In Akashō's vision, the dozens of Konoha ninja before him had transformed from vivid living people into transparent human outlines.
The moment he noticed the change, he activated the Transparent World.
So this is genjutsu. Looks like it's completely countered by the Transparent World.
But seriously—these Konoha brats saw the Sand shinobi fleeing from him and still dared to attack. Did they think he wouldn't strike back?
Stupid Konoha ninja. Today, I'll teach you a lesson.
Gripping the evolved blade, Akashō slashed upward.
"Moon Breathing, Seventh Form: Mirror of Misfortune, Moonlit!"
Five massive purple blades of wind tore through Uchiha Keito's headless corpse and surged toward the Uchiha behind him.
"Dodge!!"
The other two three-tomoe Sharingan users reacted the fastest, retreating at high speed.
The slower Uchiha, however, used their Sharingan to track the trajectories of the incoming blades, attempting to slip through the gaps between them.
Unfortunately, that move was a mistake.
In the next moment, the massive blades split outward into countless smaller ones, and those trying to exploit the gaps ran straight into disaster.
"Splurt!"
Countless jets of blood erupted, accompanied by muffled groans and screams from the Uchiha.
Yet after that strike, Akashō raised an eyebrow in surprise.
There had been at least twenty Uchiha within his attack range, and unlike the scattered Sand shinobi earlier, they weren't far apart. Yet fewer than half had been hit.
That kind of evasion—even Sand jonin would struggle to achieve it.
Is it their bloodline limit enhancing dynamic vision?
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Akashō raised his blade again, preparing to strike and cut down half of them in one blow.
"Wait!!"
At that moment, a man in standard Konoha combat uniform leapt in front of him.
"Honored Kokushibo-sama, please wait!"
"The Konoha ninja came here because we feared you might be surrounded and attacked by the Sand Village. We only wanted to assist you—we mean no harm!"
"That earlier action was just Uchiha Keito acting on his own, trying to use genjutsu to make you step aside so he could pursue the enemy—not to attack you."
"Our Konoha Village has always upheld peaceful coexistence. Please believe me—we can sit down and talk this out."