Outside the wooden cabin.
In the distance.
Within the forest.
A masked man stood atop a tree branch, arms crossed. Through the hollow eyeholes of his mask, he watched the movement around the cabin and let out a sigh.
"So the Konoha ninja finally show some competence.
Otherwise, they wouldn't even qualify to serve as cannon fodder.
Let them test things for me.
With only twenty to thirty percent of his Mangekyō chakra left, what other cards does Uchiha Yinyue still have?
Still… that chanting is truly unbearable."
…
In the open ground before the cabin, several torches were planted.
Under the cover of night,
the firelight flickered dimly.
Nono Yu knelt halfway on the ground, releasing medical ninjutsu chakra as she treated Tamo's injuries from head to toe.
Compared to Dr. Nake, she was treating him while enduring the mental interference of the Buddhist chanting—without even removing the bandages.
Nearby stood Izumi and Mikoto.
The rest of the Uchiha were nowhere to be seen.
Originally, when Yinyue suddenly decided to turn back with the group, no one knew why.
But now they understood.
Yinyue had intended to lie in wait for this female medical ninja. Unfortunately, upon returning, they ran straight into a Konoha pursuit squad.
This encounter ignited the Uchiha's fighting spirit. Without needing Yinyue's orders, they resolved to wipe out this Konoha unit.
"Wind Release of this level… there are very few in the ninja world who can wield it,"
Nono Yu murmured, staring at Tamo's wounds in shock.
She was shocked not only by the power of the Wind Release,
but also by the fact that Tamo had endured its sustained damage without making a sound.
"How long until he's healed?"
Uchiha Nanpu asked impatiently.
Izumi and Mikoto glanced at the monks chanting on the roof, then at Yinyue standing alone inside the cabin.
For some reason, the solemn chanting tugged at their minds, stirring agitation in their thoughts.
"With injuries like this across the whole body, even if I treat him personally, it'll take at least thirty minutes.
To heal him within ten minutes… only the legendary Lady Tsunade could manage that."
Sweat beaded on Nono Yu's forehead as she resisted the chanting and continued pouring out medical chakra.
Her original mission was to assassinate someone here, so she had been conserving her strength.
But now she understood clearly—this was the Uchiha, a great clan of Konoha.
If she refused to help, no matter which side won, she'd be doomed.
Moreover, the Uchiha youth leading them had promised her a peaceful resolution if she tried to save the injured man.
The person she needed to kill could be entrusted to these Uchiha later—no matter how she calculated it, she wouldn't lose.
As for siding with the Konoha pursuers?
From their first meeting, she had already felt instinctive resistance toward them.
Not far away, Kurenai Yūhi watched the scene with her heart pounding, fists clenched.
If Yinyue lost, she would intervene without hesitation—doing everything she could to help him escape.
What would happen to her afterward… she didn't dare think about it.
Inside the cabin.
"ROOOAR—!"
A gigantic wolf resembling a three-headed hellhound let out a furious howl. Its claws smashed into the floor, reducing it to splinters.
Its powerful limbs erupted with strength as all three bloody maws lunged toward Yinyue in a tearing assault.
Yinyue's Mangekyō had already captured the wolf's trajectory.
In one fluid motion, he appeared beside Jäger, grabbed him, and retreated.
Dodging the strike,
he hurled the still-dazed Jäger out the side window.
Now, he faced Asuma and the others alone.
At the same time—
Around the cabin.
Six black figures shot into the air, three-tomoe Sharingan blazing red.
Their bodies twisted midair as ninja blades slashed toward the monks chanting atop the roof.
These were the Uchiha lying in ambush.
Steel flashed.
Yet the chanting did not stop.
From among the monks, the abbot of the Fire Temple—Jiriku—rose.
With thick brows and furious eyes, he raised his right hand and lowered his left, chanting softly:
"Welcoming Descent: Thousand-Handed Slaughter!"
In an instant, his chakra surged violently, transforming into boundless Buddhist radiance that enveloped the monks,凝aling into a Bodhisattva avatar—hands clasped, face慈悲, radiating salvation.
Golden light flooded the heavens, making the world appear sacred.
The next moment—
Before the Uchiha blades could land, countless arms burst from the Bodhisattva's side, fists crashing down.
In the three-tomoe vision of the Uchiha, the fists were impossibly dense—no evasive route could be calculated.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each Uchiha was struck hundreds of times in an instant, flung to the ground like severed kites.
"Pfft—"
One Uchiha stabbed his blade into the earth to support himself, clutching his chest as blood spilled from his mouth.
The others fared no better.
Fist imprints covered their bodies; skin cracked, blood soaking their clothes.
Jiriku landed before them.
"Amitābha," he intoned calmly.
"Lay down your blades, benefactors. We may yet perform rites for your souls."
The chanting ceased.
The night fell silent.
The remaining monks descended from the roof, standing behind Jiriku, heads lowered, hands clasped.
Except for Jiriku, none dared meet the Uchiha's eyes.
Then—
The chanting erupted again.
From the forest's darkness emerged countless monks—heads bowed, voices unified.
Black-and-white Fire Temple robes filled the night.
One hundred and seventy of them.
Their chanting surged like a roaring river, chakra embedded in every syllable, piercing the mind like demonic sound.
"The entire Fire Temple… they've all mobilized!"
Izumi shouted, covering her ears.
Mikoto turned pale, her head splitting with pain, overwhelmed by the urge to bury her face into the dirt.
Under the deafening chant—
"Someone—kill them for me!"
Nono Yu screamed as she lost focus entirely, her gentle nature shattered by rage.
Even Kurenai and the nearby mother and child staggered in agony.
"BALD MONKS!!"
Tamo roared futilely.
Despair spread among the Uchiha.
The enemy numbers were overwhelming.
Fire Temple monks were renowned throughout the ninja world, each no weaker than a shinobi—and Jiriku himself was undeniably jōnin-level.
Tonight, they might all die here.
Inside the cabin.
Candlelight flickered ominously.
Asuma smirked coldly.
This was his greatest reliance.
The four of them remained unaffected by the chanting.
Before arriving, Jiriku had personally inscribed sealing techniques on them—granting immunity.
Step.
Jiriku crossed the threshold.
"Amitābha."
One against five.
Yinyue's face was pale.
With only thirty percent of his Yin Release chakra left, the chanting made it impossible to focus his Eight Thousand Spears.
If he were at full strength, the battle would have ended long ago.
He steadied his thoughts and smiled faintly, forcing his will against the mental tearing.
He flipped his hand and withdrew a red pill—dragon-eye sized, glowing like fire.
He swallowed it.
This—
Was his reliance.
The same reliance that had allowed him to annihilate the Uchiha Police Force.
Three pills total.
This was the last one.
From the forest, the masked man narrowed his eyes.
"So… this is your final card?"
Inside the cabin.
Fiery curse-mark patterns erupted across Yinyue's skin, spreading over his handsome face, eerie and terrifying.
His life force burned away, converted into pure chakra.
Cells divided at an accelerated rate.
Mangekyō Yin chakra refilled—until the chanting no longer affected him.
Calm.
Cold.
Contemptuous.
The one who gave him the pills had warned him—
Each pill boosted chakra strength, recovery and speed tenfold for ten minutes.
The price?
Life.
Each pill consumed one-third of a lifespan.
Use all three—and only ten years would remain.
Yingyue didn't care.
As long as he escaped Konoha alive, the ninja world had plenty of ways to extend life.
Sensing danger—
The three-headed wolf lunged again.
Yingyue did not dodge.
The curse marks faded into his body.
He grasped his sword, sheathed it, closed his eyes, stepped forward, crouched—
Then—
A single draw.
A blade of moonlight tore through the heavens, splitting the massive body cleanly down the middle.
Only one slash.
The wolf's heads froze in terror—
And then—
BOOM.
Blood mist exploded.