"BOOM!"
The sharp, flame-wreathed blade collided with the double blades crackling with lightning. The clash echoed through the battlefield, sending a violent shockwave through the air. Uchiha Yoruki, holding his sword in one hand, staggered back a few steps. His opponent, Jinpachi Munashi, who had tried to meet the blow head-on, was knocked back several meters by the force of the explosion.
For a moment, the dust settled, but before either combatant could regain their footing, Uchiha Yoruki spun his blade with practiced ease, knocking away a lightning-infused needle-like blade that had been aimed at him.
His scarlet Sharingan eyes quickly locked onto Kushimaru Kuriarare, who stood nearby, preparing his next attack. But before Yoruki could act, another enemy appeared behind him.
"Boom!"
Jinpachi Munashi materialized behind Uchiha Yoruki, bringing down his Shibuki blade in a heavy arc. The strike hit the ground with such force that an explosion rang out.
"Careful!" Kushimaru Kuriarare shouted, his voice urgent. With a quick motion, he sent a needle sword flying toward Uchiha Yoruki.
The lightning sword soared through the air, and in that instant, Uchiha Yoruki reacted. He vanished from his original position, reappearing in front of Kushimaru Kuriarare, just two meters away.
Before Kushimaru could react, Uchiha Yoruki sneered and, with a swift motion, slashed his blade to intercept the lightning sword, knocking it off course.
This gave Kushimaru Kuriarare just enough time to react. He tugged on the steel wire he had hidden in his hand, and the long needle-like blade shifted back toward him. The wire, barely visible to the naked eye, whipped through the air, ready to bind Uchiha Yoruki.
In that moment, Ameyuri Ringo rushed in with her sword Kiba in hand, while Jinpachi Munashi moved to engage as well. The three of them closed in, forming a tight triangle around Uchiha Yoruki, intent on surrounding him.
But Uchiha Yoruki was faster.
He dodged out of the range just before the three could strike. As he avoided the incoming attacks, his eyes narrowed with precision. With a fluid motion, he reached for the thunder sword Kiba that had been deflected by his earlier strike.
"This kid's strength... it's actually stronger than their leader's," Ameyuri Ringo muttered, clearly surprised.
Uchiha Yoruki was clearly gaining the upper hand, even against the combined might of the three skilled opponents. His reputation as the strongest among the Konoha ninjas present was growing. Yet, he wasn't the leader of the Konoha forces, nor the head of the Uchiha clan. There was another ninja who cast a long shadow over everyone here.
Namikaze Minato.
The mere mention of Minato's name brought a frown to Uchiha Yoruki's face. Minato had always been a reminder of the growing gap between them. During the Second Ninja World War, when they were both under the age of twelve, Minato had already earned a reputation for defeating Sunae with his Rasengan Shuriken. While Yoruki had been training hard to close that gap, Minato's progress had outpaced his own by far.
As the Third Ninja World War raged on, Minato continued to rise in prominence, defeating key figures from the Sand and Cloud villages, while Yoruki remained locked in combat with these three foes—three ninja that, while formidable, were nothing compared to the legends Minato had already faced.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden scream from the battlefield. Uchiha Yoruki's eyes darted to the source of the sound. One of the Uchiha clan's elite had fallen.
Fury flashed in Uchiha Yoruki's eyes as he turned back to face his three enemies. He was done playing defense.
"Bang!" With a swift series of hand seals, two shadow clones appeared beside him. The clones moved in perfect sync, ready to assist him in the fight ahead.
"Here we go." Yoruki whispered to himself, pulling the blade back into its sheath. He crossed his arms over his chest, tugging hard at the white bandages wrapped around his arms.
Two scrolls, each containing summoning ninja tools, unwound and wrapped themselves around his wrists.
"What's he planning?" Jinpachi Munashi murmured, watching as Uchiha Yoruki's movements became a blur of speed. With lightning-fast reflexes, his hands became afterimages, summoning a flurry of ninja tools.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Dozens of shurikens shot forward, streaking through the air toward Ameyuri Ringo, Jinpachi Munashi, and Kushimaru Kuriarare. The three ninjas barely had time to react, their eyes widening in surprise.
"That's all?" Kushimaru Kuriarare scoffed, his expression briefly mocking.
But in the next moment, Uchiha Yoruki's two shadow clones emerged from the flanks, moving with such speed that they seemed like ghosts. Each clone mirrored Yoruki's actions, and within seconds, hundreds of shurikens formed a deadly circle, trapping the three ninja in a nearly impenetrable net of sharpened steel.
The three enemies were now surrounded, their movements restricted by the deadly hail of ninja tools. They began forming seals, their faces grim as they prepared to block the oncoming barrage.
"Fire Style."
"Wind Style."
At that moment, as the three enemies struggled to break free, Uchiha Yoruki's shadow clones quickly completed their seals. Simultaneously, his original body fell back into a seemingly weakened stance, as if drained of strength.
"Swish!"
The clones vanished, but their combined elemental jutsu had already begun to take shape. The wind and fire combined, forming a massive gale of flame that surged toward the encircled enemies.
"Great Fireball!"
"Great Breakthrough!"
The flames ignited, spreading rapidly and wrapping around the thousands of ninja tools suspended in the air. The ensuing explosion was deafening, the fire swirling with shurikens and kunai as they spun through the flames like a deadly vortex.
The battlefield erupted in a violent storm of fire and steel, the heat and force overwhelming everything in its path. Within moments, the trio was engulfed by the inferno, their figures obscured by the smoke and flames.
"What kind of technique is this?" Kushimaru Kuriarare shouted in shock, unable to comprehend the sheer power of the attack.
Uchiha Yoruki's speed and precision, combined with his mastery of both ninjutsu and weaponry, had created a deadly combination that even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen couldn't easily counter. His ability to seamlessly blend Fire and Wind Style with his shuriken skills had elevated him beyond the standard ninjutsu techniques known to most.
And in the distance, the young Shisui, watching the chaos unfold, muttered to himself with admiration.
"Senior Yoruki... you're so strong!"
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