The next day, Uchiha Ken and his companions encountered ten Chakra Samurai and immediately engaged in battle. After defeating six Chakra Samurai in a row, the remaining Chakra Samurai turned and fled. With no intention of letting them escape, everyone quickly gave chase.
Unexpectedly, these four Chakra Samurai were very skilled at escaping, making full use of the terrain and their strong physical fitness. Although they couldn't completely shake off Uchiha Ken and the others, they also made it impossible for everyone to catch up to them.
Initially, everyone planned to temporarily give up, but to their surprise, when they rested, these Chakra Samurai would launch sneak attacks, preventing them from getting any proper rest. These Chakra Samurai seemed tireless and could utilize their stamina to the maximum. Trying to outlast them in terms of energy consumption was clearly impossible, so there was only one choice left—fight!
However, while pursuing these Chakra Samurai, Uchiha Ken and Fujimura Yuuki keenly sensed something unusual: ordinarily, Chakra Samurai were dull-witted. Although they possessed basic combat skills, their agility was far inferior to that of normal people. Yet, these particular Chakra Samurai displayed increasingly flexible tactics, making them incomparable to past Chakra Samurai.
Chakra Samurai were all believed to have taken a secret medicine secretly researched by Uchiha Kokuya, which allowed them to quickly gain Chakra power in a short period. The Daimyo might have thought these Chakra Samurai would remain loyal to him, but the secret medicine not only stimulated human potential but also muddled the mind. When too much secret medicine was consumed, the Chakra Samurai gradually began to obey Uchiha Kokuya.
Because the mind-muddling effect of this secret medicine was too strong, it led to the dull-witted state of the Chakra Samurai, as if they were in a dream. Rather than humans, they were more like puppets with human exteriors.
And for a mere puppet to display combat skills indistinguishable from a normal person, there could only be one possibility: a commander was nearby, giving them orders, allowing them to execute complex and varied tactics. Otherwise, the only other possibility was that the Chakra Samurai had suddenly regained their senses—but that outcome was impossible, because the Chakra Samurai's tactics showed a thorough understanding of ninja skills, and even if the Chakra Samurai regained their senses, they couldn't possess such knowledge.
In other words, these four Chakra Samurai must have been guided and commanded by someone from behind, and that person could only be Uchiha Kokuya.
Upon realizing this, Uchiha Ken and Fujimura Yuuki exchanged glances, understanding that their greatest challenge was imminent. They tacitly chose to conserve their strength. While going all out might indeed eliminate the Chakra Samurai, it would first cause a certain degree of stamina loss for both of them. If Uchiha Kokuya were to suddenly attack, they might not be able to react in time. Secondly, if they eliminated these Chakra Samurai and Uchiha Kokuya didn't lead them into an ambush, they would have wasted an opportunity to take him down.
Therefore,
No matter what, Uchiha Ken and Fujimura Yuuki intended to follow the opponent's plan. However, convincing their companions was no easy task. They weren't fools either and could see the subtleties involved, but they were eventually persuaded by Uchiha Ken and Fujimura Yuuki's senior status and various excuses—this was also deliberately arranged. If the members of the two-person squad were all powerful, independent, and had status, it wouldn't be possible for the two of them to completely disregard danger and command others to act.
As night slowly fell, the Chakra Samurai also seemed to be pushed to their limits. Three of them were quickly eliminated, while the last one struggled desperately. The other four couldn't subdue him, so Fujimura Yuuki used Earth Release to restrict his dodging space and then eliminated him in one swift move.
Just then, Fujimura Yuuki felt a faint, unusual movement from the ground. His expression slightly darkened, and he turned to glance at Uchiha Ken.
To others, this might have seemed like a normal exchange of glances after the battle, but Uchiha Ken understood that Fujimura Yuuki was hinting at something.
Sure enough, in the next moment, a deep purple, flame-like Chakra suddenly erupted from the ground, engulfing Fujimura Yuuki. Although Fujimura Yuuki was mentally prepared, he suddenly felt a certain force penetrate the ground and strike his body. He felt as if a heavy bell was ringing in his ears, and his mind instantly went blank.
As his mind reeled, the deep purple Chakra transformed into a hand-like shape, gripping Fujimura Yuuki tightly, making it impossible for him to escape.
This Chakra naturally came from Uchiha Kokuya's Susanoo. Uchiha Kokuya had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. He personally confirmed that there were no enemies of note nearby, and the Konoha higher-ups were not present. He used the Chakra Samurai to lure Uchiha Ken and his companions here, and then used the last Chakra Samurai to lure Fujimura Yuuki. The moment Fujimura Yuuki dealt with the Chakra Samurai, Uchiha Kokuya struck and captured him.
The Susanoo's Chakra solidified into a tangible form, like a cage, gripping Fujimura Yuuki tightly, preventing him from making any other movements. The immense pressure caused him unbearable pain throughout his body.
Uchiha Kokuya planned to instantly leave. His target was only Fujimura Yuuki; there was no need to attack the others, as this would only needlessly attract the enemy's attention. Although Uchiha Ken had lost one Mangekyo Sharingan, he could still use Susanoo, and dealing with him would still be somewhat troublesome.
To prevent Uchiha Ken and his companions from pursuing, Uchiha Kokuya also used his Mangekyo to set up numerous distorted illusions in front of them, which would at least buy him some time.
However, Fujimura Yuuki had already hinted to Uchiha Ken early on. Uchiha Ken's eyes immediately evolved from Sharingan to Mangekyo Sharingan. His Sharingan spun rapidly, and the Amaterasu that had been sealed by the Transcription Seal was released!
—Kagutsuchi!
Immediately after, Uchiha Ken used his Mangekyo Sharingan ability. The Amaterasu flames rapidly transformed, like a black beam of light, completely engulfing the distorted illusions.
Then, the Amaterasu's shape twisted once again, turning into a jet-black sword light that sliced through Uchiha Kokuya's Susanoo arm. The Susanoo instantly broke—a non-full-form Susanoo was equally vulnerable when facing Amaterasu transformed by Kagutsuchi.
The moment the Susanoo broke, the Chakra that had lost its connection with Uchiha Kokuya rapidly dispersed, freeing Fujimura Yuuki. Although he had been pressed unable to move, he had prepared to leave upon release. As the pressure disappeared, he instantly teleported away.
Fujimura Yuuki appeared beside Uchiha Ken, breathing heavily. Uchiha Ken stared expressionlessly at Uchiha Kokuya, who stood in the distance. After controlling Amaterasu to sever the Susanoo's arm, he cast Amaterasu aside, no longer controlling it with his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Because these Amaterasu flames had been previously sealed into his Mangekyo Sharingan using the Transcription Seal, there was not much burden when releasing them. Kagutsuchi, however, was different; it was a Mangekyo Sharingan dōjutsu and placed a burden on the body.
Uchiha Ken chose not to use Amaterasu to attack his opponent. He still didn't know what Uchiha Kokuya's technique was that could evade a fatal blow. His intuition told him that even engulfing Uchiha Kokuya with Amaterasu would be futile, only needlessly depleting his stamina and Chakra.
After all, Amaterasu flames were fires that would burn for seven days and seven nights before disappearing completely. Throwing them aside didn't mean their power would diminish. He could just use the Transcription Seal again later. Moreover, because Amaterasu's flames were too powerful, they wouldn't cause additional burning phenomena; they would only quietly burn other things. Although they would slowly expand, their speed would be much slower compared to normal flames, so as long as they weren't left unattended for a long time, there was no fear of starting a forest fire.
"Uchiha Kokuya, you've finally appeared," Uchiha Ken said.
The others quickly gathered around Uchiha Ken, cautiously watching Uchiha Kokuya. They understood that this person was the mastermind behind the war, but they hadn't expected to encounter him here. He was a formidable enemy that even the Konoha higher-ups couldn't subdue for a while, yet now they had met him. Even for professionally trained Konoha ninja, cold sweat trickled down their backs.
"You all quickly go and inform the others. Stay far away; we might not be able to look after you when the fight starts," Fujimura Yuuki said to the other four while Uchiha Ken maintained his guard.
"What about you and Captain?" one person asked.
"Right now, only Ken can hold him off. I'm barely adequate," Fujimura Yuuki smiled. "Hurry up and go. It's the responsibility of the strongest in the team to block a powerful enemy."
"...Yes!" The other four were not ignorant. They understood their own abilities and knew that they couldn't offer Uchiha Ken and Fujimura Yuuki any help. They might even get in the way. Instead of staying there, it would be better to go and bring over other teams for assistance.
At this moment, Uchiha Kokuya had already summoned Susanoo and lunged with a punch. Uchiha Ken, without any hesitation, also used Susanoo to counterattack. He used Susanoo's fist, and as the two collided, a massive impact force was generated, causing the surrounding trees to sway.
The distorted shadows reappeared, rushing towards Fujimura Yuuki. Fujimura Yuuki, unlike before, was not caught off guard. He used Water Release to engulf these distorted shadows—according to information provided by Asuna, they seemed to be able to pass through physical matter, but their resistance to things with Chakra was very low.
Fujimura Yuuki, therefore, did not hesitate to use water from nature, directly employing Water Release composed entirely of Chakra, a purely energy-based technique, to eliminate these distorted shadows.
"...Indeed, you can't use your full power," Uchiha Ken said, observing his opponent's performance.
Uchiha Kokuya remained silent, his crimson eyes glowing with a dangerous light. He had initially thought it would be an easy victory, but he was thwarted midway. The opponent's words also made him uneasy.
"You can't kill us. Regardless of the circumstances, you can only attack while ensuring our survival. In that case, we can completely stall for some time," Uchiha Ken said.
Uchiha Kokuya was somewhat surprised. He didn't know why the other party was so confident. Even if he told them about his Indra Reincarnate status, inferring that there was also an Ashura Reincarnate was understandable, but being able to identify it as Fujimura Yuuki—which could be seen from Uchiha Ken protecting him—and other information, seemed a bit unusual.
Uchiha Kokuya vaguely felt that something was amiss.
"Stall for some time? Aren't you overestimating yourselves?" Although he was somewhat worried, he couldn't show his unease in front of others. Uchiha Kokuya chuckled, "It's true, as you said, I can't use a killing blow, but taking you down is still no problem, and it won't take too much time."
"Then come and try!" Uchiha Ken shouted.
Although they said that, the two had no intention of actually fighting Uchiha Kokuya. They immediately put their pre-planned strategy into action. In their ninja tool pouches, there was a uniquely shaped kunai, with a trident-like tip. This was the kunai Minato Namikaze used for his Flying Raijin teleportation.
To quickly reach the two in a short amount of time, there was only one method: the space-time teleportation of the Flying Raijin Jutsu. Therefore, Fumori Masaki had Minato Namikaze give two special kunai to Uchiha Ken and Fujimura Yuuki.
Flying Raijin markings appear similar, but are actually subdivided into different types. Flying Raijin kunai thrown onto the battlefield by Minato Namikaze can only serve as location markers. The Flying Raijin user must actively teleport, and because each Flying Raijin user's mark is unique, even if others obtained those kunai and learned Flying Raijin, they would not be able to use the marks on them. Not to mention teleporting to Minato Namikaze's side, they couldn't even teleport to these kunai themselves.
The kunai given to the two by Minato Namikaze were one of the "cores" of the Flying Raijin markings. In the original Flying Raijin, this type of marking allowed for two-way teleportation. As long as one learned Flying Raijin, they could use this marking to teleport to corresponding one-way markings, and even to its owner's side was not impossible. It was the most important item for every Flying Raijin practitioner.
However, with the combined efforts of Minato Namikaze and the Konoha Research and Development Department, this core seal had been expanded into more types, unlike the original Flying Raijin core seal that concentrated too many functions, allowing for further subdivision.
The function of the Flying Raijin kunai in their hands: as long as the two infused their Chakra, it could notify its marked owner, Minato Namikaze, and emit a broader force field, allowing Minato Namikaze to teleport someone or something to a random location within this force field. Although this design would make the Flying Raijin teleportation location unfixed, only confined to a certain range, it wasn't very convenient for Flying Raijin users who needed precise combat calculations.
However, if this mark was primarily used to bring a non-Flying Raijin practitioner to a certain place, then it had practical use and would not carry the risks that only Flying Raijin users would encounter.
And the person to be summoned by this Flying Raijin was, naturally, only one: Fumori Masaki.