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Chapter 24: Yellow Earth!
Uchiha Kei's words were arrogant—intentionally so. He knew full well that what he said served mainly to boost his allies' morale and intimidate the enemy.
The Iwa-nin he had just killed wasn't weak by any means. But no matter how powerful a shinobi is, even they can fall victim to a surprise attack. Even someone as formidable as Uchiha Madara had once been caught off guard and had his heart ripped out. And the guy Kei just killed? He wasn't even worth remembering his name.
Kei's mastery of the Body Flicker Technique was already exceptional. Add to that the distraction provided by Kakashi and the sudden appearance of more Konoha shinobi—his enemy's mindset was completely thrown off. It was the perfect cocktail of misdirection and timing, allowing Kei to land a lethal blow.
But that was then. Now the enemy was prepared. Things were about to get much harder.
Still, Kei didn't panic. He had his trump cards: the Mangekyō Sharingan and, if things got dire enough, the ability to summon Minato Namikaze.
Sure, calling Minato required the situation to be truly desperate—which was honestly kind of a pain—but Kei was confident. If he really did summon him, Minato would show up. He always did.
"As long as I use my abilities wisely, and worst comes to worst, I summon Namikaze... I refuse to believe we can't take these bastards down!"
He clenched his fists as he reassured himself. By now, the Iwa-nin were done with words and had already launched their assault.
Seeing them charge toward him, Kei showed no fear. He quickly pulled several shuriken from his pouch and flung them at a charging Iwa-nin with practiced ease.
The enemy seemed... a bit too eager—charging straight at the shuriken like an idiot.
Every shuriken hit.
But instead of celebrating, Kei jumped into the air. His Sharingan had seen through the illusion: the enemy had used the Earth Clone Technique.
As expected, the "Iwa-nin" dissolved into a puddle of mud—just in time for Kei to notice the ground beneath him had turned into a bog.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld."
Kei recognized it at a glance. It wasn't the first time he'd dealt with this jutsu.
But this time, the enemy wasn't done. As Kei leapt skyward, the caster quickly formed another set of hand seals—suddenly, a massive earth dragon lunged up from the swamp!
Kei frowned but didn't panic. Chakra surged through his Sharingan as he tracked every movement of the attack.
A smooth mid-air spin—he dodged the dragon with ease. Then, using the beast's massive body as a springboard, he kicked off it and launched himself toward solid ground.
His movements were as graceful as a dragon rising from the sea—effortless, almost poetic.
While Kei avoided every strike without breaking a sweat, the others weren't so lucky. Ayaka and the rest of the team had to scramble, ducking and rolling just to dodge the swamp and the dragon. By the end of it, they were soaked in mud and covered in grime.
The Iwa-nin who had cast the jutsu noticed that Kei had completely evaded the attack, but he didn't seem surprised.
Fighting a Uchiha one-on-one is never easy.
Your ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu—they can see through it all.
Even if the opponent is a mere Chūnin or a gifted genin, no one dares take them lightly. Unless you're faster than them, can resist genjutsu, or land a one-shot kill, it's nearly impossible.
And this guy clearly didn't believe he was faster than Kei.
Still, he found himself both wary and intrigued.
"Who are you?" he asked. "A guy like you—I've never heard of. Just got on the battlefield?"
"No," Kei replied, happy to trade a few words while recovering some chakra. "I've been here a while. And you are?"
The Iwa-nin looked momentarily surprised, then smirked.
"You don't know me? Alright then, allow me to introduce myself properly—so you'll know exactly who it is that's going to kill you."
The air around him suddenly shifted—danger thick and tangible.
Kei's Sharingan flared to life—and what he saw shocked him.
The man's chakra was massive—oppressively so.
Who the hell is this guy?!
Kei cursed internally. Is this bastard the Tsuchikage in disguise?!
No… something didn't add up.
As he racked his memory, the Iwa-nin spoke again.
"My name is..." he said, just as he exploded into motion with impossible speed, throwing a devastating punch toward Kei.
"... Kitsuchi. The Yellow Earth!"
"Shit!" Kei finally recognized him.
This bastard really was a monster just like his father. The son of Onoki (The Fence Sitter), Yellow Earth—someone who had survived all the way to the Fourth Ninja War.
His vitality was absurd—like some kind of immortal turtle.
If Yellow Earth was in his forties during the Fourth War, then back-calculating, he'd be in his twenties or thirties now. It lined up perfectly.
Kei dodged the blow by the skin of his teeth.
The shockwave from the punch shattered the ground beneath them.
If he'd been even a second slower, he'd be dead.
But Yellow Earth wasn't about to let up.
Missing his first strike, he instantly charged again, his attacks relentless—uncaring of how much chakra he spent. It was clear: he was willing to burn through everything to exhaust and kill Kei.
And honestly? That was a problem.
This guy's fighting style countered Kei perfectly. Kei's chakra reserves simply couldn't hold out in a prolonged fight like this.
Worse, as Kei's shadow clones from other areas began to dispel, he knew the Iwa forces were figuring things out. With a little effort and a summoning jutsu, they could soon locate the real escape point.
And by then, even summoning Minato might not be enough to turn the tide.
As he weighed his options, Kei's fingers subtly brushed the handle of his marked kunai.
But before he could act—
CRACK!!
A piercing sound, like a thousand birds crying in unison, rang out behind him—
Chidori!