In the forest.
Ōtsutsuki Urashiki stood gracefully atop a tree branch, holding a chakra fishing rod, a mocking smile on his face.
In front of familiar opponents, he once again regained the confidence of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Just two inferior creatures—there was no way they could be his match.
"Watch this!" Boruto tried to find an angle of attack, moving quickly while forming hand seals.
With nimble Z-shaped footwork, he thought he could confuse his opponent, unaware that such movements were utterly insignificant before the Rinnegan.
"Too weak!"
Ōtsutsuki Urashiki appeared exactly where Boruto was about to emerge and delivered an incomparably precise side kick.
"Bang"
A dull, heavy impact.
Boruto had no time to react—only a sharp pain in his abdomen before he screamed and was sent flying backward.
His body smashed through several small trees before crashing to the ground, dust rising everywhere, leaving him unable to get up for a moment.
Seeing this, Urashiki curled his lips into a sinister grin—indeed, he was the invincible one!
How could a noble Ōtsutsuki ever lose to inferior creatures?!
His earlier severe injuries were merely the result of being schemed against.
Once he defeated the two before him, he would use the Dragon Vein to travel to another spacetime filled entirely with inferior beings. There, he would gather tailed beast chakra, and no one would be able to stop him.
"Boruto!" Uchiha Sasuke's eyes sharpened.
After kicking Boruto away, Urashiki naturally focused his attention on the more threatening Sasuke.
"Inferior creature, die!"
He swung his fishing rod, the chakra line flashing red as it shot toward Sasuke.
Relying on the Rinnegan's insight and his vast combat experience, Sasuke barely managed to hold out—blocking with the Kusanagi sword, maneuvering with Amenotejikara, and attacking with Chidori Sharp Spear.
But Urashiki's abilities were too troublesome.
Time reversal caused Sasuke's carefully prepared killing moves to fail repeatedly, making it impossible to deal direct damage.
The chakra fishing rod clung like a parasite—one moment of carelessness and his chakra would be absorbed, forcing him into defense.
The paper crane Body Flicker kept Urashiki highly mobile. Even when Amenotejikara closed the distance, Urashiki could always leave first.
Moreover, the fish basket behind Urashiki stored previously collected chakra, which he could take out and use at any time during battle.
He could maintain output for a long time.
In contrast, Sasuke's chakra was steadily depleting. If this dragged on, it would only get worse for him.
"Boruto, leave first!"
Uchiha Sasuke looked at Boruto, who was struggling to stand. "Go to the village and find Renya—have him come help..."
"Sasuke-san..." Boruto hesitated, worried that Sasuke would be in danger if he left.
"Don't waste time, go!" Uchiha Sasuke said coldly. "This isn't the time to hesitate!"
"Yes!" Boruto gritted his teeth and quickly left, dragging his severely injured body.
"Trying to run?" Urashiki sneered. "None of you are leaving today to call reinforcements!"
This Konoha in this timeline was strange—he didn't want Boruto bringing help.
If that guy from last time showed up again, wouldn't he be finished?
So no matter what, he couldn't let them leave!
Uchiha Sasuke's expression turned cold, his Rinnegan locked onto Urashiki as his mind rapidly analyzed the situation.
Conventional ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu had little effect against this guy.
His special abilities made him nearly invincible, and a prolonged battle was extremely disadvantageous.
He had to change tactics—buy time so Boruto could successfully bring back reinforcements.
Seeing Boruto leave, Urashiki lost interest in playing around. He suddenly swung his fishing rod, trying to hook Boruto back.
Uchiha Sasuke immediately stepped forward to block.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
Several fire dragons roared out, crashing into the trajectory of the fishing line, creating a large area of flames and steam to interfere!
Taking advantage of the briefly obscured vision, Sasuke pushed his speed to the limit, lowering his body as he rushed out of the steam, aiming straight for Urashiki.
Lightning burst from his right hand as Chidori pierced toward Urashiki's chest.
"The same trick won't work on me."
Urashiki sneered. His blue Rinnegan glowed faintly as time reversal prepared to activate. His body leaned back slightly while retracting the fishing rod, the hook silently appearing behind Sasuke.
He intended to evade Chidori through reversal while simultaneously using the rod to absorb Sasuke's chakra.
However, at that moment—
The lightning in Sasuke's hand dissipated.
He predicted Urashiki's prediction. The force of his charge shifted from a thrust into a grapple!
"What?!"
Urashiki had not expected this and was caught off guard, grabbed tightly.
"Down you go!"
Sasuke let out a low shout, using gravity and the momentum of his charge to slam Urashiki toward the river below.
...
Several miles downstream, at a river bend where the current was relatively gentle.
A three-man squad was moving swiftly along the riverbank.
They wore Uchiha clan attire, the Gunbai crest on their backs especially eye-catching. Though fatigue showed in their eyes, they still maintained a ninja's vigilance.
The young man at the front had a serious expression and a steady demeanor.
It was Uchiha Fugaku.
The two members behind him were also elite clan shinobi.
Suddenly, one of the members on the left halted, his Sharingan activating instantly, crimson eyes fixed on a reed-covered area ahead on the riverbank.
"Captain, there's something ahead on the shore!"
The member reported in a low voice.
Uchiha Fugaku's gaze sharpened. With a raised hand signal, the three immediately entered a state of alert, silently spreading out and approaching the riverbank in a tactical formation.
Pushing aside the dense reeds, their pupils shrank.
On a rock lay a person, face down.
"Not one of ours," another member said. "But the aura feels like an Uchiha."
Uchiha Fugaku had already crouched down, observing the unconscious man's face.
The faint chakra emanating from him was indeed pure Uchiha.
"Uchiha..."
He gently extended two fingers and tapped the man's pulse.
The pulse was stable—he had merely exhausted his chakra, combined with drowning suffocation and minor external injuries causing unconsciousness.
"Captain, what should we do?"
The two members were equally shocked—this unfamiliar person was an Uchiha.
And much older than them, yet they had never seen him before.
That made things strange...
Aside from a certain person who had been expelled from the clan, this was the first time they had encountered another unfamiliar clansman.
"Take him." Uchiha Fugaku stood up, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "He carries our clan's bloodline, and his injuries are severe—we cannot ignore him."
"Yes!"
The two clan members no longer hesitated. One stepped forward immediately and hoisted the unconscious Sasuke onto his back, while the other quickly erased traces at the scene.
Uchiha Fugaku frowned as he looked upstream—something must have happened there.
Forget it. They would return to the village first.
The three quickly departed with the unconscious Sasuke.
His gaze inadvertently swept toward the cliff at the edge of the battlefield—if he remembered correctly, that place led to the river.
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