Blades sharp as death and gales like razors swept the land, so fierce they even tore apart the fire dragons Yuhara had summoned moments earlier.
He landed steadily on the ground, behind him nothing but torn-up, dismembered Root operatives.
After executing Waterfowl Dance, Yuhara wasn't even sure if the corpses behind him could be pieced together into a single human being.
But one thing was certain—none of them survived his attack.
Having died to this move countless times in his previous life while playing games, Yuhara had a deep appreciation for the destructive power of this sword technique.
And this wasn't a game. There were no respawns here. In-game, you could get slashed repeatedly and still walk it off. Not here.
These Root members weren't just defeated—they were reduced to chunks. Unless they were secretly Buggy the Clown from One Piece with the Chop-Chop Fruit, there was no way they were still alive.
"The only thing left to worry about is whether someone was just observing from afar rather than joining in—but honestly, even that's not a big deal."
Even if someone had stayed in hiding and witnessed Yuhara massacre the entire unit, it wouldn't matter. He was the victim here.
If he'd been captured or killed, there wouldn't be any fallout. Konoha would move on like nothing happened.
Maybe the Uchiha clan would be pushed further into rebellion—which might be exactly what Konoha wanted.
After all, the village couldn't openly attack a founding clan without consequences. The big clans were what built Konoha. If they struck the Uchiha, who's to say the Hyuga, or the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, wouldn't be next?
Even if tensions with the Uchiha were rising, the clan hadn't been banished. Every other clan leader could clearly see how they were being isolated.
So no, the village couldn't be the one to make the first move. If they had to, it had to be framed perfectly.
For example: if one Uchiha ninja went berserk and wiped out the entire clan… then at least on paper, the village would be in the clear.
But Yuhara survived tonight.
And that meant Root was in deep trouble.
An unprovoked ambush, carried out by men dressed like Anbu but clearly not—who else could it have been?
And just look at the scene. This wasn't some peaceful "come have tea" mission. You don't send a full squad to invite someone for questioning.
"You think I didn't know what I was doing when I made all that noise?" Yuhara muttered, smirking. "I want everyone to come. Let them see I'm the innocent one here."
He didn't just cast that Fire Style jutsu to trap the Root members. He wanted attention.
He wanted to stand on the moral high ground.
And who could blame him? All he did was talk to Naruto—barely—and show him a little kindness.
If that was enough to make them send a hit squad, what would they do if he actually became close to the boy?
"Seriously, where the hell is Shisui?"
Yuhara glanced around. No sign of him yet. Whatever—he decided to use the downtime to reflect on the battle and the current state of his Mangekyō.
This had been his first time using the Mangekyō in a full-scale battle. And honestly, the results exceeded expectations.
'Reversal' worked just as he predicted. Even while using Skywalk, the system-granted flight technique, 'Reversal' enhanced it meaningfully.
And when applied to ninjutsu? The boost was visible and undeniable.
Yuhara was confident: if he kept mastering the Mangekyō, he would absolutely reach a level where even a basic Fireball Jutsu would become untouchable—like Uchiha Madara using Majestic Destroyer Flame to overwhelm entire armies.
And with Skywalk in his arsenal, he was basically turning into a mobile aerial bomber.
"That said, I did notice that using 'Reversal' alongside ninjutsu increases the eye's energy consumption. It's still manageable… but I'd better pace myself."
After this fight, Yuhara learned something important—eye power didn't drain as fast as he feared.
Just having the Mangekyō active without using its techniques barely consumed anything at all.
Sure, over time it would add up. But even so, he had years ahead of him—as long as he didn't act like Sasuke and spam it like a lunatic.
Look at Itachi—his eyes lasted for years. Even Madara, who went head-to-head with Hashirama, held out for a very long time.
So as long as he used it reasonably, he'd be fine.
And if not? Well… he had faith the system would solve that too.
"What's the point of tying me to this cursed clan if you can't even fix something basic like eye damage?"
He trusted the system. After all, it had allowed him to awaken the Mangekyō without emotional trauma—just through overwhelming spiritual stimulation.
That alone earned some respect.
Besides, based on the system's weird pattern, it clearly loved handing out abilities from League of Legends. If that was any indication, then unlocking the Eternal Mangekyō felt completely within reach.
"Plenty of passives in that game let you evolve abilities or boost your body. Some even let you revive—sure, maybe as a glowing egg, but still."
And more importantly—after unlocking the Mangekyō, Yuhara could now sense the presence of his second eye's ability… and the echo of something even greater.
Susanoo.
The ultimate power of the Uchiha. In Yuhara's opinion, nothing else even came close.
Yes, there were flashy abilities that let you warp through space—but in terms of pure destruction and absolute defense, nothing beat Susanoo.
If something else claimed to be stronger, Yuhara didn't know what it could be.
"Looks like I need to start working on developing it. I already have the reduced activation difficulty from Gyokutsume, and 'Reversal' can buff its strength."
"If I don't master this… I'm wasting my damn potential."
He stood quietly, thinking things over.
Then he sensed movement—Shisui, finally sprinting toward him from a distance.
And not alone.
A whole group of Konoha ninja were following right behind him.
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