Bonus Chapter
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However, at this moment, no matter the situation, Uchiha Haru couldn't just sit there and wait for death. He had to seek a change, and he could not allow Kamui to expire after five minutes, leaving him vulnerable and weak.
The masked man shifted from his previous attitude of letting Haru attack freely and launched an offensive of his own.
As a space-time ninjutsu, Kamui's power was not limited to merely rendering the user intangible to evade attacks. It had other, far deadlier uses.
Since acquiring the Mangekyō Sharingan, the masked man had been relentlessly honing his strength to achieve his dark ambitions. Especially after using the Nine-Tails to destroy Konoha, his battle with the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had propelled Kamui to an unprecedented level.
It was no exaggeration to say that he was far stronger now than during that devastating assault.
And this was the first real fight he had engaged in since then.
Uchiha Haru remained tireless, launching relentless attacks while calculating the time in his mind.
Nearly three minutes had passed since the battle began. In just two minutes, the masked man would have to exit the Kamui intangibility mode and fully manifest his physical form.
That moment would be Haru's best chance to strike and defeat the masked man.
He swung the kunai in his hand, piercing through the masked man's forehead, then followed up with a brutal punch aimed straight at the man's heart.
At that instant, the masked man reacted!
He grabbed Haru's wrist clutching the kunai with one hand and, seizing the opportunity from Haru's punch, stabbed the kunai into Haru's chest with the other. Then, he activated Kamui again.
A swirling vortex appeared in midair.
Simultaneously, both their bodies began to phase into the Kamui space.
Haru's mind raced.
Was this the infamous Kamui dimension?
It couldn't be.
The Kamui space was the masked man's domain—his territory. There, he could move freely.
But for Haru, once inside, it was effectively a prison. He wouldn't be able to escape at will and would be completely at the masked man's mercy.
Yet the masked man didn't do this without cost.
Each time he pulled someone into Kamui, part of his hollowed-out body transformed back into a physical entity inside the Kamui space.
At any moment, if Haru seized the chance, he could launch an attack—perhaps even kill the masked man outright.
Therefore, the masked man could not afford to keep Haru trapped inside Kamui indefinitely. There would always be a day he'd release him.
But if that day came after the genocide was complete, then what was the point of all this struggle?
It would be simpler—and far more enjoyable—to just join Akatsuki.
Thus, Haru resolved: he must not be sucked into the Kamui space.
He lightly tapped off the ground and vaulted into the air, delivering a fierce kick to the masked man's stomach.
While attacking, the masked man's main body could not remain intangible.
That meant the masked man was fully physical—vulnerable.
Haru's kick was not a light strike, especially enhanced by his Otsutsuki-infused physique.
Even if the masked man was a shinobi of shadow-level strength, this blow could cause serious injury.
The masked man had assumed he would win easily. After all, Kamui's ability to absorb opponents into its dimension was nearly instantaneous. Most would be stunned and confused at the sight, and by the time they regained composure, they would already be trapped.
But Haru was different.
He had reacted immediately and fought back.
The masked man had to abandon further absorption and return to intangibility to dodge the physical attack.
He certainly wasn't willing to risk testing if his hollowed-out body could withstand such a blow.
After all, Kuroki Raiga, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, had died to Haru's overwhelming physical prowess.
As the masked man's form turned intangible again, the grip of his hands on Haru's wrists and fists loosened.
Haru's kick missed.
The masked man took the moment to use Body Flicker Technique, creating distance between them.
"You are... quite good," the masked man said in a deep voice.
He'd already contemplated fighting Haru, had estimated his strength, and thought he had been generous in those estimates.
Yet he never expected to still be underestimating him.
Haru was simply the strongest opponent he'd faced since the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
In some ways, Haru was even more mysterious than Minato.
While the Fourth Hokage was incredibly strong, his techniques and trump cards were well known—there were no secrets.
But Haru was different. Every time they faced off, he felt a new and unfamiliar threat.
If he had to sum it up in one word, it was unfathomable.
Truly terrifying.
The masked man, accustomed to pulling strings from behind the scenes, clearly disliked confronting someone directly—especially someone as challenging as Haru.
Whether or not he could win was one thing; feeling cornered and embarrassed was quite another.
After all, the one he truly admired was Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Madara would never be so humiliated!
So, the masked man sneered and immediately used Kamui to teleport himself away.
As for what Uchiha Haru would do next—someone else would take care of that.
Konoha would never allow such a powerful Uchiha to escape.
Gone?
Haru felt a twinge of disappointment.
He had been expecting a grand battle, but the masked man just left without a fight.
How dull.
He strode toward the iron door of the prison.
With the masked man gone, there was no reason for him to remain confined.
It was already late, and Haru suspected that the night of slaughter had begun.
He needed to hurry—save as many Uchiha as possible and train them into his own forces.
It was the most difficult path, but it was the one he chose.
"Wood Release: Sea of Trees Formation!" Haru intoned, unleashing his secret Wood Release technique.
From the earth, massive trees erupted in an instant, growing rapidly and soaring straight into the sky.
The prison where Haru had been held was shattered and overturned by the sudden growth.
Even the entire Konoha Guard Division was instantly razed and reduced to ruins.
This upheaval was not limited to Haru's immediate surroundings.
Across the entire Uchiha clan settlement, a similar transformation unfolded, turning it into an expansive sea of forest.
Uchiha Itachi, who had been silently harvesting intel under the cover of the dark, wind-whipped night—unguarded and unseen—noticed this sudden change and frowned deeply.
Such a large-scale ninjutsu caused immense noise and disturbance, guaranteed to awaken the entire Uchiha population.
This complicated matters further.
"What is going on?"
Danzo and the shinobi of Root approached from afar, their faces grave and confused.
Clearly, this upheaval was far beyond their expectations.
Itachi shook his head, signaling that he was as clueless as they were.
It was obvious that this chaos erupted not long after the mission commenced—an overwhelming shock.
And this was only the beginning.
The trees completely engulfed the Uchiha settlement, destroying all traces of their clan's presence.
At the same time, all surviving Uchiha members were roused from their slumber.
Before they could fully process what was happening, vines and branches twisted around them, sweeping them up and carrying them away.
Of course, these leaders were not captured by sheer force alone.
Although Haru possessed this power, he had no reason to forcibly seize those who could resist.
His aim was to protect those powerless to defend themselves first.
Those who avoided the vines were almost exclusively the clan's backbone and elite warriors.
Unless they faced Kage-level opponents like Itachi or the masked man, other shinobi—even those from Root—could not hope to stop them.
The Uchiha clan was in turmoil; cries and shouts echoed through the forest.
People rushed toward the direction where the vines were sweeping their kin away.
Danzo finally realized what was happening.
All of their carefully laid plans had been ruined, likely in an effort to destroy their opportunity this time.
He recalled the nature of the ninjutsu at work.
Wood Release—Sea of Trees!
Wood Release!
Danzo almost roared inwardly.
Who in this world could wield Wood Release?
Who was this?
"Chase them!" Danzo ordered solemnly.
The Root operatives responded instantly, employing Body Flicker to pursue the fleeing Uchiha.
Yet Itachi remained unmoving.
"Hmm?"
Danzo's eyes shifted toward Itachi, and his face paled.
Not far from Itachi, and near where they had just stood, an unexpected figure had appeared.
Moreover, Danzo recognized him.
It was the Uchiha clan patriarch—Uchiha Fugaku, Itachi's father.
Fugaku's eyes burned with a blood-red glow; the three magatama in his pupils formed an unbroken chain of sharp, sickle-like shapes.
Mangekyō Sharingan!
Danzo's expression darkened.
He had never underestimated Fugaku.
He knew Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and reached Kage-level power, making him the most formidable figure within the Uchiha clan.
But he hadn't anticipated Fugaku's sudden, silent appearance beside them, undetected by anyone.
Did this mean Fugaku could silently end his life at any moment?
Danzo felt a chill breeze sweep across the back of his neck, a cold wind whispering in the night.
"You go. Leave this to me," Itachi said indifferently, facing his father and then turning to Danzo.
Danzo glanced at Fugaku, then at Itachi, before nodding.
With a flash of Body Flicker Technique, he disappeared from the scene.
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This Week Bonus Chapter - 200 Power stones
2nd Bonus Chapter - 400 Power Stones
3rd Bonus Chapter - 600 Power Stones
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Love the story and can't wait to see what happens next?
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Thank you for reading, and I truly appreciate your support! 💖
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