Asuma, a Hyūga, an Akimichi, and Chiriku all witnessed the scene.
The four of them stood frozen, pupils dilated, expressions grave, unable to react.
Everything felt unreal.
That was a jōnin of the Inuzuka clan.
One slash!!
With a single strike, a jōnin and his ninja dog were cleanly cut in half.
Until death, neither of them even managed to release their ninjutsu.
This—
was Yingyue's confidence in killing Danzō.
This—
was Yingyue's confidence in defecting from Konoha.
The two jōnin from the Hyūga and Akimichi clans felt their hair stand on end. They had originally attacked together with the Inuzuka jōnin.
The moment they sensed something was wrong, terror surged through them, chills running down their spines, and they immediately retreated to Asuma and Chiriku's side.
Drip—
drip—
Blood fell from the blade.
Yingyue stood expressionless amid the corpse of the giant wolf, white robes soaked red, sword in his right hand, standing solemnly before the four.
Three wolf heads had been severed.
The ninja blade could no longer bear the strain—multiple chips had burst along its edge.
Yingyue's previously dim Eight Thousand Spears Mangekyō now glowed crimson, brighter than blood, radiating an eerie, cold aura. Anyone who met his gaze felt as if they were staring into an abyss.
"Hah—"
Asuma took a deep breath and adjusted himself.
Although he hadn't swung his blade yet, he knew that if he did, the outcome would likely be no better than those three wolf corpses.
At this point, the outcome was already decided.
Asuma and Chiriku exchanged a glance, deciding to fight with their backs to the wall. They stomped the ground, shattering the wooden floorboards, their momentum surging like a flood as they charged Yingyue from left and right.
The Hyūga and Akimichi jōnin attacked head-on—
gentle fists like a torrential rain, and massive fists like cannonballs smashing forward in succession.
The four turned into black shadows, flashing like arcs of lightning.
"So this is the Mangekyō in its peak state."
Yingyue stood unmoving.
The moment the words fell—
The blade-like patterns in his pupils rotated. Blood vessels filled the whites of his eyes. Yin Release chakra erupted violently, and his scarlet gaze swept over the four—just a single glance.
Like an ocean tide, Yin Release chakra surged forth, crushing the mental enhancement granted to them by Buddhist chanting.
This Eight Thousand Spears Mangekyō chakra poured directly into their pupils, causing the Mangekyō imprint to appear in all four of their eyes.
Buzz—
In their hands, everything froze.
Wind-coated chakra blades.
Fists wrapped in Buddhist light.
Gentle Fist strikes capable of sealing tenketsu.
Amplified iron fists.
All suspended in midair.
Clearly…
they only needed to advance one more millimeter.
The chakra blade would pierce Yingyue's heart.
The glowing fist would shatter his temple.
The Gentle Fist would sever the chakra points in his chest.
The iron fist would crush his kidneys.
But this time, Yingyue had complete control over their minds and chakra.
He withdrew his gaze from them, turned around, and walked toward the door.
The four stared at his back, despair flooding their hearts.
When Yingyue took his first step—
Thump—thump—thump—
The Akimichi jōnin's face twisted grotesquely. He remained frozen in a punching posture, yet thunderous drum-like beats echoed in his ears.
His chest began to pound uncontrollably. His chakra surged like streams merging into a river,疯狂 flooding into his heart. It felt as if his heart was about to burst from his chest.
Bang—
Under the immense pressure of chakra accumulation, his heart failed to withstand it and exploded inside his chest cavity.
The Akimichi jōnin fell dead, eyes wide open, face twisted in fury.
Heartbeats had become their countdown to death.
Yingyue took three more steps.
Bang—
Bang—
Bang—
The Hyūga jōnin, Chiriku, and Asuma—
all three suffered the same fate. Their hearts exploded one after another, blooming vivid crimson within their chests.
This was the ultimate control Eight Thousand Spears exerted over another's chakra—
using their own chakra to seize their lives.
Thump—
The three collapsed to their knees.
Until death, they couldn't believe they had never even touched the corner of Yingyue's robe before losing consciousness forever—thoughts extinguished, sinking into eternal sleep.
Asuma slowly closed his eyes.
Yingyue never looked back.
Life and death were governed by fate.
The moment Asuma chose to hunt him down, he should have already considered the consequence of failure.
Yingyue could infer that this pursuit was not an assassination mission officially issued by Konoha.
First, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never send his only remaining son on such a dangerous mission.
Second, Kurenai Yūhi's withdrawal from the mission drew no blame—no one even cared.
For a ninja, missions came first.
If this were a task personally assigned by Konoha's higher-ups, refusal to carry it out would be equivalent to treason.
Thus, it was clear—
This was a self-initiated pursuit and interception, personally led by Asuma, with the sole purpose of capturing this Uchiha squad that had defected from Konoha.
It was a merit of immense proportions!
Its nature was no different from Orochimaru's defection back then.
If one could eliminate Orochimaru for Konoha—
Asuma didn't have the courage to face Orochimaru.
But relying on the entire Temple of Fire, he dared to target an exhausted, not-yet-recovered Uchiha Yingyue.
If Konoha had previously hesitated over whether to issue a full manhunt against this Uchiha squad—
Then after tonight—
Konoha, with Hiruzen Sarutobi at its center, would unleash the most疯狂, relentless, and unforgiving retaliation against the rogue Uchiha.
Yingyue walked out of the wooden cabin and raised his head to the full moon hanging in the night sky. Moonlight washed over his face, outlining graceful contours—and an expression of complete indifference.
Text notifications appeared in his mind.
[Side Quest]: Heavenly Punishment
[Objective]:
Kill Sarutobi Asuma, Hyūga Yū, Akimichi Tu, Inuzuka Akiyama, and Yukimaru.
Mission Complete!
[Reward]: Weapon — Dark Moon
Yingyue raised his brows slightly and focused his mind, pleasantly surprised to find a long, straight black blade standing silently within his storage space.
The black sword looked naturally forged—
hilt and blade pitch-black as ink, the edge sharp, as if refined from night itself.
"So this is Dark Moon…"
Yingyue temporarily closed the storage space, suppressing the urge to summon it.
He slowly lifted his head and looked directly toward a distant section of the mountain range. The Eight Thousand Spears Mangekyō seemed to ignore distance itself, piercing through the dark forest and landing on the masked man.
Yingyue focused and tested it.
Too far.
With his current ocular power, he couldn't remotely control someone who also possessed a Mangekyō from over a kilometer away.
The masked man's watchful presence was precisely why Yingyue had earlier dared to use only thirty percent of his Mangekyō Yin Release chakra.
In the distance—
On a tree branch—
The masked man felt an inexplicable pressure. His pupil patterns rotated, the Kamui Mangekyō emerging. Beneath the mask, his distorted face curled into a cold smile:
"So your Mangekyō can control others… truly dangerous.
If you don't have a second trump card—
Then tonight,
the Uchiha Sharingan you're holding onto for them, as well as your Mangekyō—
I'll be taking them."
As he spoke, the masked man lightly tapped the tree branch with his right foot, as if sending some kind of signal.
…
Outside the wooden cabin, Buddhist chanting still thundered through the night sky over the stronghold.
The Jaeger family, Doctor Naku, and Kurenai Yūhi all collapsed one after another, their minds unable to endure the torment of the chanting.
Only the Uchiha were still barely holding on.
Nono U lay on the ground, hands clamped over her ears, rolling frantically, on the verge of losing consciousness.
But at that moment—
Yingyue stepped out the door.
The entire Temple of Fire's monks stopped chanting and raised their heads toward the cabin.
As the chanting ceased—
The Uchiha slowly recovered from the brink of mental collapse and finally saw the scene inside the cabin.
Utter devastation.
Corpses everywhere.
Yingyue walked to Nono U's side, looked at the pale-faced woman, and handed her a soldier pill.
"Keep saving people."
(End of Chapter)