Boom!
The fireball exploded apart.
From within the blazing flames, a pale hand sliced out like a blade.
In the next instant, that hand slammed down on the mouth of the charging earth dragon. The roaring torrent came to an abrupt halt—then shattered apart with a thunderous crash.
At the same time, three figures burst forward from three different directions.
At this very moment, Uchiha Yuan's body was descending—old force spent, new force not yet born.
The three squad captains instantly seized upon this fleeting opening with the Sharingan's terrifying perception.
Their timing was immaculate.
There was not the slightest gap.
Their coordination was flawless.
Their combined assault formed an airtight net that completely sealed off every avenue of escape around Yuan.
Cold light flashed like lightning.
Kunai and long blades, carrying chilling killing intent, slashed toward him.
Seeing this, many onlookers sneered inwardly.
In their eyes, there was no way Yuan could evade a three-pronged encirclement like this. His defeat seemed inevitable.
—What?!
The next instant, shock rippled through the crowd.
At the very brink of disaster, Yuan suddenly stepped forward.
A ripple appeared in midair.
His falling body halted abruptly, suspended for a split second in the void.
At the same time, the three attackers felt as if the air before them had turned thick and viscous, like water.
The air compressed violently—
Then detonated.
The resulting shockwave blasted the three captains backward several steps.
Meanwhile, Yuan stepped repeatedly through the air, changing direction again and again, his figure darting across the sky like lightning as he charged straight at them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three heavy collision sounds rang out in succession.
Yuan unleashed three hand-blade strikes in a single breath, sending all three captains flying backward.
His figure flashed—
He landed lightly on the ground.
Then he heard a voice.
"That technique you used just now—the one that let you hover in midair. What is it called?"
It was Uchiha Yi.
"That move is called Moonwalk,"
Yuan replied calmly.
Taijutsu was Yuan's defining path.
Back when he had first begun cultivating his physical techniques, his thoughts had immediately turned to a set of skills from a work he remembered from his previous life—the Navy's Six Powers.
Shave. Iron Body. Paper Art. Moonwalk. Tempest Kick. Finger Pistol.
These six techniques encompassed offense, defense, and movement within taijutsu.
Using those memories as a framework, Yuan had successfully developed his own Six Styles of Taijutsu within this shinobi world.
"Moonwalk…"
Yi praised sincerely.
"An exquisitely ingenious technique."
The other squad captains fell silent.
The looks they gave Yuan grew even heavier.
With their three-tomoe Sharingan, they had seen clearly that Moonwalk was not simply "one step in midair."
In that instant, Yuan had kicked dozens of times at extreme speed.
In truth, Yuan was still holding back.
With his level of control over force, Moonwalk had already been refined to effortless simplicity.
A casual step could generate dozens of overlapping shock forces.
Faster movement. Longer airtime.
Uchiha Changsi clutched his left arm as he walked forward, his appearance rather disheveled. Several gashes had torn through his Police Force vest.
The other two who had attacked alongside him were no better off—dust-covered, clothes ripped and in disarray.
They were the very trio who had just launched that ambush.
Changsi looked at Yuan, his expression grave.
"Uchiha Yuan, you are qualified to serve as squad captain.
"But if you think I'll bow my head with just those moves… that won't be enough."
Yuan swept his gaze around.
Eight squad captains stood arrayed in all directions, their auras interlinked, completely enclosing him.
He let out a cold laugh, arrogance and wild pride fully revealed.
"Then I'll get serious now," he said.
"I just hope you don't fall too quickly."
At those words, Yi, Takahiko, and the others all darkened their expressions.
One pair of scarlet eyes after another snapped open.
Terrifying ocular power surged outward.
Whoosh!
A violent gale erupted.
Yuan and the squad captains vanished almost simultaneously.
In the next instant, thunderous impacts echoed through the air as ghostly afterimages flashed again and again.
That kid is absurdly strong…
Is Uchiha Yuan some kind of monster?!
Unbelievable—the squad captains working together still can't suppress him!
Every onlooker activated their Sharingan.
Eyes spun furiously as they strained to follow the blinding clash in the air.
Among the assembled Police Force members, several figures wore extremely complicated expressions.
They were Uchiha Gaozai and the others.
As newly recruited members of the Police Force, their hearts had skipped the instant they'd seen Yuan today—memories of being toyed with like puppets resurfacing unbidden.
They feared Yuan's terrifying strength, yet because of Uchiha Tsukine, they also harbored deep resentment toward him.
When they had first seen Tonghu oppose and challenge Yuan, delight had flickered across their faces.
But the battle that followed shattered all expectations.
Yuan's overwhelming power filled them with dread.
Bang!
A massive explosion rang out.
A body shot backward through the air like a cannonball.
At the same time, the previously flickering figures solidified midair.
There—
Yuan stood with one hand raised.
Two fingers clamped firmly around the downward-chopping blade of Uchiha Yi.
His other hand was braced, blocking a powerful kick from Uchiha Xun.
Behind him, Uchiha Heisuke and Uchiha Mikuma had seized his shoulders from either side.
Above, Uchiha Takahiko leapt high, his leg whipping down toward Yuan's head.
Suddenly—
A crackling thunderclap exploded from within Yuan's body, like beans bursting in a hot pan.
A tyrannical force erupted outward.
A visible ripple swept through the air, instantly blasting Yi, Heisuke, Xun, and Mikuma away in all directions.
Yuan then drove a punch skyward, colliding head-on with Takahiko's descending kick.
The air howled violently.
Yuan dropped straight down, his feet slamming into the stone floor and leaving two deep footprints.
"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
At that moment, surging water erupted beneath Yuan's feet, rapidly forming a sphere that trapped him inside.
"Lightning Style: Ground Flow!"
Blinding lightning flared, flooding straight into the water sphere.
Two figures flashed into view—
Uchiha Changsi and another squad captain.
"Finally—we've got him trapped."
Another figure landed beside Changsi.
It was Uchiha Takahiko.
His face was ashen, breathing ragged. Blood seeped from his mouth and nose, and half his pant leg was shredded, exposing part of his calf.
That was the result of Yuan's punch.
As Changsi stared at the lightning flashing violently within the water sphere, his expression suddenly changed.
He grabbed Takahiko and leapt backward.
The next instant—
Boom!
The water sphere exploded.
Countless arcs of lightning scattered outward.
From within the storm of sparks, Uchiha Yuan's figure emerged.
Seeing him completely unharmed, Changsi's face drained of color.
"How… how can you be completely fine?!"
Some people die… but they don't die completely.
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