Chapter 238: Kaito Shirogane's Weakness
Uchiha Chikata suddenly felt a tremor run through his entire body. A violent, tyrannical killing intent erupted from the smoke. The next moment, it swept out like a hurricane, clearing the scalding dust. He saw Uchiha Dou breathing fire, but the tall man was already in a different stance.
In an instant, the man's body seemed to appear from nowhere, right next to Dou. A sky full of fists instantly bloomed.
It was a terrifying technique, surpassing any taijutsu he had ever seen or heard of.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
There wasn't even time for a Substitution Jutsu. Uchiha Dou's body, as if struck a thousand times, burst apart.
Pfft!
Blood and limbs exploded everywhere. Uchiha Chikata touched the warm blood on his face. He smelled the thick scent of gore and finally confirmed that Uchiha Dou... had been beaten to a pulp.
[You have killed Uchiha Dou. You have gained 500 Dimensional Points.]
[Satsui no Hado has increased.]
[Your reputation with the Uchiha Clan has decreased. Current: Hatred (35/100)]
"You..."
Kaito Shirogane smelled the blood, and his Satsui no Hado began to surge again. He turned his gaze toward Uchiha Chikata, who was less than thirty meters away. But suddenly, he heard a cry of pain from behind him.
Kaito's figure vanished. He reappeared, grabbing Hana Hiranaka, who was holding a blade. Catherine had been stabbed in the back. The wound wasn't deep. Her eyes were rolled back, and her hands were stretched out. The other Uchiha ninja was frozen in place, his Sharingan spinning.
Clearly, one side was casting a Genjutsu, and the other was trying to counter with a mental attack. Catherine had been maintaining her barrier to block the ninja's shuriken, but she never expected Hana Hiranaka to be controlled by Genjutsu.
Kaito pointed a finger.
Vmm~ Pfft!
The golden ki, like a laser, pierced the frozen Uchiha ninja. His head was instantly perforated. He trembled twice, fell to the ground, and went still.
Hana Hiranaka's eyes also rolled back, and she collapsed. Catherine casually pulled out a spray bottle and treated her wound. The bleeding stopped immediately.
Although she was a Reincarnator specializing in mental power and support, her build was quite suitable for fighting these ninjas. Her high Spirit attribute gave her strong resistance to Genjutsu, and her barrier arts were effective at defending against their various attacks.
If she was prepared, she was confident she could kill a Jounin who wasn't a taijutsu specialist.
"I'm fine. Should we chase that last one? I can lock onto his position!"
Catherine had already seen the notification that her reputation with the Uchiha clan had dropped. She was a little worried about [Rampage], who was now in Konoha. If their understanding was correct, the current timeline was around Konoha Year 54-56. At this point, the Uchiha clan was still extremely powerful. Uchiha Shisui was renowned, and Uchiha Itachi was already a recognized prodigy. If they were determined to kill [Rampage], he wouldn't have much chance of escaping.
Kaito shook his head. The purple intent in his eyes flared, but he successfully suppressed his killing intent.
He stepped forward, crouched, and dug the eyes out of the corpse.
[Bio-Armor: Sharingan]
[Quality: Purple (Exquisite)]
[Description: The eyeball of the Uchiha Clan from the Naruto and derivative worlds. Has high transplant compatibility and powerful abilities.]
[Effect: Insufficient information. Cannot be taken from this world.]
Of course, an item like this couldn't be obtained so easily. Neither of the two dead ninjas had produced a drop card, but this did advance his Milestone.
[Milestone: Thousand Eyes (Rare) progress updated. Current: 1/3]
"No need to chase him. He'll take the information back, and that will make more, more valuable people come after us. Heh."
Kaito knew his Special Trial wouldn't be this simple. Shinobi tracking skills were powerful. Toting an ordinary person like Hana Hiranaka around, he couldn't hide.
But, compared to being hunted by Konoha's ANBU or Danzo'sRoot, he much preferred the Uchiha clan. The people he killed would be far more valuable.
After these two fights, Kaito had a clear grasp of the power gap between himself and these ninjas.
Excluding special ninjutsu and their innate talent for assassination and disguise, he had an overwhelming advantage in a straight fight.
Speed, strength, defense, mental resistance—Kaito was a "stat monster" with no flaws. He also had high-speed regeneration and mid-level immortality. His margin for error was much higher than the "glass cannon" ninjas of this world.
Even a Kage-level ninja could be instantly killed by Kaito's ambush if caught off guard, but Kaito himself had almost no such worries.
After anchoring his power level in this world, his subsequent plans became bolder.
"Let's go. When we get to the next town, we'll leak the information about the Uchiha clan's secret break with the Konoha leadership."
Kaito looked at the unconscious Hana Hiranaka, a cruel smile on his lips.
Shinobi were warriors who lived in the dark. Their shady politics and struggles festered in that darkness. But if someone kept dragging those things into the sunlight... the creatures hiding in the dark would surely be scorched.
And then... a steady stream of "rewards" would deliver themselves to his door.
Catherine watched the surging killing intent on Mercenary Tao. She frowned. With her high-Spirit sensitivity, she felt a slight difference in his thought patterns compared to last night.
More extreme. More cruel.
Perhaps Mercenary Tao isn't as flawless as I thought. Does he have some hidden flaw?
In the world of Reincarnators, diseases, terminal illnesses, curses, and memes weren't the scariest things. The scariest things were those that subtly influenced a Reincarnator's decision-making.
That kind of negative effect would make a Reincarnator gradually lose their meticulous and calculating judgment and unconsciously walk into danger.
Catherine saw Mercenary Tao dig out the eyes, then lift Hana Hiranaka to continue their journey. She followed behind. She actually had a [Magic Carpet] in her inventory, a special magic-tech item that could fly with up to 4 people.
But she didn't take it out. She worried that Mercenary Tao, in his current state, couldn't be trusted to reliably protect her and Hana's safety.
In the last fight, if that Uchiha had used an offensive genjutsu, Hana Hiranaka might already be dead.
Kaito looked at the fragile woman in his arms. She seemed to have in mental damage from the Sharingan genjutsu.
Without a doubt, this woman was his biggest weakness right now.
And, if the people who came next were Root or ANBU, they would likely prioritize killing her without hesitation.
Tsk. How do I keep this woman alive?
Kaito thought of his still-sealed [Cursed Meme - Desire]. He licked his lips, feeling an impulse. The crimson glow on the back of his hand brightened.
Uchiha Chikata used the Body Flicker Technique almost non-stop to rush back to Konoha. He stood with his head bowed before Uchiha Fugaku, reporting what he saw.
Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Yashiro, Uchiha Inabi, and Uchiha Tekka stood silently on either side, all of them with three-tomoe Sharingan blazing.
"You're saying... Dou was killed instantly, without lasting a single exchange?"
Uchiha Fugaku's arms were crossed. He seemed to feel nothing for his clansman's death, but Itachi could hear the anger beneath his father's calm tone.
Uchiha Chikata hesitated for a moment. Though it went against the pride of the Uchiha, he nodded.
"Yes. I observed no hand seals. Dou... was killed by pure taijutsu."
"No hand seals... taijutsu..." Uchiha Fugaku turned to Uchiha Shisui. The short-haired prodigy of the clan nodded and spoke.
"It's likely another one like [Providence]."
Uchiha Tekka couldn't hold back his anger. He stepped forward.
"Let me go. I'll show him the terror of the Uchiha."
Uchiha Fugaku was still thinking, but Shisui spoke up.
"Let Itachi and I handle this mission."
"I'm also very curious. These mysterious people, appearing one after another... what is their origin, and what are their intentions toward our Konoha?"
Shisui didn't see that when he said "our Konoha," everyone except Itachi looked at him with strange eyes.
Finally, Fugaku looked at Shisui and his eldest son. He nodded.
"Then I'll leave it to you. Remember: everyone spreading that rumor must be eliminated!"
(End of Chapter)