Chapter 33: The Genius Ninja
Border of the Land of Fire.
A deep, artificially carved canyon stretched wide, thirty meters across, and seemingly endless in length. Below surged a rapid river current.
Swish!
A cold glint flashed— a kunai flew from across the canyon, trailing a steel wire from its end.
The kunai embedded itself into the opposite rock wall, and the steel wire pulled taut, forming a wire bridge over the canyon.
Swish!
A figure flitted lightly across the wire like a dragonfly skimming water, crossing the makeshift bridge in just a few blinks and landing safely inside the Land of Fire.
"Phew… I'm safe now."
The man glanced back and let out a sigh of relief. Crossing the border meant the patrol units were within reach—it was much safer now.
Those rabid dogs from Kumogakure likely wouldn't dare chase him past the national boundary.
The Land of Fire's border patrol units were equipped with large chakra detection spheres that could instantly sense any large-scale chakra fluctuations within a wide radius, pinpoint their location, and notify nearby patrol ninja.
Every patrol unit member was at least a jōnin.
Only jōnin could hold off enemy forces long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Chūnin weren't sufficient.
That's why Konoha shinobi operating outside the country always felt a lot safer once they crossed back over the border.
At least they didn't have to worry about being ambushed by multiple enemies with no backup.
So at this moment, Uchiha Keisuke, returning from a mission, finally let his guard down a bit.
"S-Rank mission completed!"
Uchiha Keisuke tossed the mission scroll in his hand with a proud grin. He couldn't wait to see if anyone in the village would still dare to question the Uchiha clan's ability to complete missions.
He had infiltrated the very heart of the Land of Lightning—into Kumogakure itself—and retrieved "highly classified intelligence" on an S-rank mission, then returned safely while being hunted by Kumo's ANBU.
Who else could do that?
Only him—Uchiha Keisuke.
After all, he was the genius of the Uchiha clan!
With a relaxed expression, Keisuke strolled along, basking in his success, until he wandered into a small grove.
Suddenly, a tight feeling struck his chest. Before he could react, the ground beneath his feet gave way—not rising, but falling rapidly.
Within an instant, Keisuke was left suspended in mid-air, no foothold beneath him, plummeting in free fall.
"Ambush!"
In that instant, Keisuke realized he had been caught in a trap.
But he didn't panic. His three-tomoe Sharingan activated immediately.
Swish swish swish!
From above and both sides, six kunai were launched at him, aiming for his head, heart, and other vital points.
Though Keisuke had no footing in mid-air, his hands were nimble. He quickly pulled four kunai from the pouch at his waist.
Utilizing the Uchiha clan's exclusive kunai-throwing techniques, his Sharingan's incredible visual acuity, and his genius-level analytical ability—
Keisuke instantly calculated four angles, four different speeds and trajectories. Using rebounds, he intercepted nine incoming kunai, and planned to dodge the remaining three with a twist of his body.
But just as he was about to throw, he noticed something: wrapped around the hilt of each kunai was an explosive tag—coated in black ink to perfectly match the kunai. Easy to miss unless seen with Sharingan-level clarity.
Any other ninja would've batted away the nine kunai, twisted to dodge the last three, and then been blown to pieces by the hidden explosive tags.
"Too bad you ran into me, the Uchiha genius."
Keisuke's mind raced as he instantly adapted. His body reacted in perfect sync with his mind.
He released his kunai and rapidly formed hand seals.
"Water Style: Water Surge Wave!"
A ring of water instantly swirled around Keisuke, erupting upward in a powerful, explosive stream.
The twelve kunai from either side were blasted back, unable to get close.
The enemy, seemingly aware their hidden attack had been discovered, still detonated the explosive tags.
Boom boom boom…!
Twelve explosions erupted, and the resulting heat instantly generated a massive cloud of steam.
Combined with the sinking ground that had formed a semi-enclosed space of about 200 square meters, the steam now acted like the Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique.
The Sharingan's visual clarity was heavily suppressed. Without direct eye contact, Keisuke couldn't activate his genjutsu either.
Without the effect of Sharingan genjutsu, Uchiha ninja might not lose in strength, but it at least leveled the playing field for other shinobi.
That's how terrifying Sharingan genjutsu was.
Even so, Keisuke remained calm.
While the Hidden Mist Technique did restrict his genjutsu, the Sharingan could still perceive chakra. In this fog, he retained a sensory advantage—not far off from someone skilled in Silent Killing.
Keisuke swiftly drew two more kunai from his pouch.
These were custom-made, each trailing a steel wire at the hilt.
He aimed to throw them at the rock walls on either side, to create anchor points and regain control in mid-air.
He was still falling, after all.
With visibility hindered by steam, he could no longer discern explosive tags wrapped around incoming kunai like he had earlier.
And relying only on sound caused a delay—his reaction time would drop, and he couldn't afford that right now.
His enemy understood the Uchiha well.
They had started with Earth Style: Earth Core Movement to drop the ground beneath him—putting him in mid-air with no support while creating a semi-enclosed trap.
When the explosive tag ambush failed, they used the detonations to generate steam, neutralizing his Sharingan's genjutsu and observation abilities, prepping for the next strike.
Keisuke didn't need to think—he knew what was coming next: another wave of kunai with hidden explosive tags from all directions.
Inside this sealed space, suspended mid-air, he couldn't block all those kunai.
And using another Water Style technique to counter them?
Only a fool would do that.
The enemy clearly anticipated that he'd use Water Style to deflect again—there was likely a follow-up trap waiting.
If he miscalculated, he'd be seriously injured—if not killed.
And if he got hurt, he might not survive long enough for the border patrol to arrive.
So the best counter?
Disrupt their rhythm.
While they expected him to keep falling, he would do the opposite—use the steel-wired kunai to anchor mid-air and rebound out of the trap, just like he did when crossing the canyon earlier.
Once he was outside the trap and back in open terrain, his Sharingan would again become overwhelming.
And then, once the patrol arrived, if his attackers hadn't fled…
They would never leave.
(END CHAPTER)
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