"Go! Break his damn legs! Rip his filthy mouth apart! I'll make sure he never forgets this humiliation!"
Uchiha Yūsuke was trembling with rage, his voice cracking into a roar as he gave the order. He had lost all reason; nothing short of Natsume Yō begging for mercy could soothe the pain gnawing at his pride.
Whoosh!
The five Uchiha chunin obeyed instantly, blurring forward to surround Yō.
"Oh? Such a grand welcome." Yō smirked, body flickering out of the encirclement. "Five fully-fledged Uchiha chunin, disguised as examinees just to take me down? I'm honored."
In the next instant, he reappeared over a hundred meters away—already beyond their circle.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
One Uchiha charged in, hands flashing through seals, before spitting five blazing fireballs that tore through the air at Yō.
Yō slid back to evade, but two more Uchiha popped up behind him, seals already complete. Twin Great Fireballs surged forward, hemming him in.
"A pincer attack, huh? Not bad. Truly worthy of the Uchiha name." Yō's lips curled. "But unfortunately… it's still not enough."
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
His hands clapped together, chakra surged, and a sweeping arc of water roared up behind him. The flaming spheres crashed into the torrent, exploding into steam. Yō dashed forward, his steps light and strange, like wind slipping through cracks.
He ghosted past the Phoenix Fire, then in the terrified eyes of the first attacker—
CRACK!
His fist smashed into the man's face, breaking his nose and blasting him into the trees.
"Water Release: Violent Water Arms!"
Yō's fingers blurred again. Chakra boiled through his veins, and behind the two fireball users, torrents of spiraling water condensed into massive arms.
BOOM!
The watery fists slammed into their backs, bones snapping loud as thunder. They flew like ragdolls into the depths of the Forest of Death, vanishing with a crash of splintering wood.
"Three down," Yō muttered, eyes narrowing as he looked up. "That leaves you two."
"Die!"
The last two Uchiha roared, eyes bloodshot. If this strike failed, they'd die trying.
"Wind Body Flicker!"
But just as their blades closed in—Yō vanished. A flicker of movement later, he was behind them.
"Wind Sword Style!"
A cold flash cut through the air. The two chunin froze, eyes wide with disbelief. Blood spurted from their throats in twin crimson fountains, before they toppled lifelessly to the ground.
"No… no way…"
Uchiha Yūsuke's face twisted in horror, eyes bulging as he watched all five of his elite retainers taken out in the span of seconds. These were chunin. His personal guards. When had they become so weak?
And then—
Shhk!Shhk!Shhk!
Like a phantom, Yō's kunai whispered across each fallen throat, ensuring every last Uchiha was dead.
Not a single one left breathing.