Konoha: The King of Souls from Uchiha

c50: The Overall Situation is Decided

Unfortunately for Yūzō Kitomo, his subtle hand movements were utterly ineffective against the Sharingan's perceptive clarity.

Uchiha Gen slightly shifted his stance, locking eyes with his opponent. In an instant, his Genjutsu Sharingan activated and at the same time, the blazing Wind-Flame Kusanagi Sword pierced toward Kitomo's chest with lethal precision.

Yet Yūzō's combat experience was not shallow. Recognizing the genjutsu threat, he instantly activated the Suika no Jutsu the Hydrification Technique. His eyes liquefied, allowing the visual illusion to disperse without effect, and his entire body melted into water.

Fsshhh…

The Wind-Flame Sword stabbed through where his chest had been, instantly vaporizing the liquid remnants. Clouds of white steam hissed upward, but Kitomo's fluid form swiftly retreated and reconstituted behind the mist. He began forming hand seals.

> The illusion didn't connect? Gen noted but his movements didn't slow. The Kusanagi sword extended with a chakra burst, stabbing again, aimed precisely for Yūzō's heart.

Kitomo's pupils constricted. Realizing the thrust would kill him before he completed the jutsu, he aborted the hand seals and dodged again.

Gen didn't relent. As the Kusanagi retracted, he closed the gap instantly, slashing down with blazing arcs of the Wind-Flame Blade. Every strike targeted a vital point. The sword's heat scorched the ground; its wind-enhanced edge left deep gouges in the terrain.

As long as Gen kept Kitomo from using hand signs and there was no external water source nearby, even the moisture in his body could be vaporized in seconds.

Kitomo's movements grew increasingly frantic. Dodging each strike, he clenched his jaw in frustration and regret.

If only I had used a Water Release jutsu immediately instead of testing with shuriken...

Even a basic C-Rank Suiton would've changed the flow of battle.

But regrets don't save lives. Ninja battles hinge on every decision and a single miscalculation is fatal.

The Kusanagi, already a blade of legend, became terrifying when infused with fire and wind chakra. Gen's sword burned with intense golden-white heat, like a forge brought to life. Even proximity to the blade drained stamina like standing near a blast furnace.

Worse still, Kitomo had to keep glancing at Gen's eyes lest he fall into another Sharingan-induced Genjutsu. But constant vigilance wears down even the most disciplined shinobi.

Eventually, panic broke his rhythm and that was all Gen needed.

"Genjutsu: Sharingan."

This time, Kitomo failed to liquefy in time. His body jerked frozen in place, caught in an illusion as his consciousness distorted.

In the next moment, the Wind-Flame Sword severed Kitomo's right arm in a single cut.

The heat cauterized the wound instantly. Only a few drops of blood escaped most of it sizzled into vapor. The air filled with the smell of burned flesh.

"AAAAAHHH!"

Kitomo screamed in agony, the pain wrenching him out of the illusion. His vision cleared just in time to see the sword glowing in his eyes, growing larger.

Terror filled him.

At that moment, Gen's Soul Fruit ability activated. A burst of invisible force extracted a portion of Yūzō Kitomo's soul and remaining lifespan.

The sword paused for only an instant then stabbed forward. It pierced Kitomo's forehead, split the skull cleanly, and ruptured his brain.

In the next heartbeat, the flames engulfed it all. His cranium blackened, then crumbled.

Thud.

Yūzō Kitomo's charred body collapsed. Uchiha Gen exhaled slowly.

If the Mist jōnin hadn't hesitated if he had started with a proper Suiton jutsu Gen might've been forced into a prolonged fight. Without Lightning Release to neutralize Hydration, it would've been much harder.

This close to the sea, the air was thick with moisture, giving a seasoned water-style user the ability to perform high-level Suiton without a water source.

And with Kitomo's clan bloodline technique allowing him to liquefy freely, one misstep would've let him escape into the mist.

This was why Gen chose not to wear the Uchiha crest and didn't activate his Sharingan early.

If Kitomo had known my clan, he'd never have wasted time with shuriken. He would've used jutsu from the start.

That's why remaining anonymous on the battlefield had tactical value. Several enemies had already made fatal strategic errors based on misjudging his identity.

After confirming Kitomo's death, Gen's eyes narrowed.

The breeze carried the scent of salt and brine.

Without pause, Gen turned and sprinted in the direction of the salty sea wind.

Thirty seconds later, the ocean emerged before him blue, endless, and vast. Waves rolled under the sun's glare, and seagulls wheeled overhead. The light glittered on the surface like kunai scattered across a great mirror.

Reaching the shoreline, Uchiha Gen knelt down, extended his hand, and gently touched the sea's surface.

The water felt cool against his fingers crisp, clean, and tranquil. But most importantly, there was no draining of chakra, no dizziness, and no paralysis.

Gen's lips curved into a smile. Unlike the users of Devil Fruits from the other world, he bore no weakness to the sea.

So, I'm not bound by that limitation anymore.

Was it because time travel into this world had somehow removed the side effects of his Soul Fruit?

Or was it because this was the Naruto world, and the sea here did not reject those who possess chakra-based or external abilities?

Right—why try to kill the officials of this dynasty with the laws of the previous one?

Maybe the properties of chakra harmonized with natural elements, unlike the mysterious power system of his old world.

Or maybe the Soul Fruit had adapted to this realm, altered in subtle but critical ways.

Regardless of the cause, it was a fortunate revelation.

He rose to his feet, sand clinging to the soles of his shinobi sandals, and began sprinting along the jagged coastline—his eyes scanning for any signs of retreating Kirigakure shinobi.

Ten minutes passed. Gen stopped atop a grassy bluff. His Sharingan activated as he knelt and examined the ground. Amid faint blade-like strands of wind-swept grass, subtle depressions were visible.

To ordinary eyes, the signs were near invisible but to the Uchiha clan, famed for their vision, such tracks were like a trail of ink across parchment.

Following the markings, he reached a steep cliff overlooking the crashing sea. Jagged rocks and natural arches formed hidden pockets perfect for ambushes or hiding.

Peering over the edge, he calculated the terrain. Slippery basalt, broken boulders, and slick sea moss painted the battlefield below.

He drew back from the edge, removed a soldier's food pill from his pouch, and swallowed it. Crossing his legs, he began to calmly restore his chakra reserves and stamina, slowing his breath until his heart beat in sync with the rhythm of the waves.

Moments later, his energy replenished, he pulled three kunai with explosive tags attached and flung them toward the most likely hiding spots.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions erupted across the cliff face. Smoke and rock fragments blasted outward as embers scattered through the mist.

Just as expected, three Kiri-nin leapt from the outcroppings. One had hidden directly behind the impact zone, but the other two had used separate niches for concealment.

They landed lightly on slick stones near the cliff base, their sandals splashing seawater. For normal warriors, this terrain was treacherous—but for ninja, it was manageable.

"Tch… just as I thought. Mice hiding in the cracks."

Gen burst forward along the ridge, then leapt from a gentler slope to descend upon them.

Even though Kirigakure shinobi excelled at Suiton, crossing the open sea without a vessel was suicidal. Few possessed the chakra reserves and control necessary for prolonged water travel certainly not chūnin.

Seeing Gen close in with unrelenting momentum, the three Mist ninja abandoned escape. Each of them began weaving hand signs rapidly.

"Suiton: Suidanha!"

"Suiton: Mizu Teppō!"

"Suiton: Mizurappa!"

A slicing wave surged forward, followed by high-speed water bullets, and then a flexible whip of liquid lashing toward Gen.

Water surged and crashed pummeling through rocks and drenching the cliffside.

But the Gen they hit was merely a clone of compacted earth, which broke apart into muddy fragments.

"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku!"

The real Uchiha Gen soared high above them, cheeks puffed slightly as he released a golden-orange fireball massive and slow-moving, like a descending sun.

The sheer heat distorted the air. The sea beneath hissed into vapor, steam rising in thick clouds.

The Mist ninja's eyes widened in horror. They tried to scatter, but the moment the fireball landed, it expanded explosively, flames rolling out in every direction like a tidal wave of heat.

"AAAAHHHH—!"

Their speed wasn't enough. The rolling blaze consumed them, and their screams were quickly drowned by the roaring inferno and boiling mist.

As the fire flickered out, Gen dropped silently from above. Two charred corpses remained twisted, blackened shapes against scorched stone.

One body still twitched.

The third ninja had survived by sheer luck, his clothes scorched, his face blistered, breathing ragged.

Without hesitation, Gen stepped forward. His eyes briefly flashed, and his palm glowed faintly with soul-seizing chakra.

In moments, he had ripped out the shinobi's remaining soul and lifespan, leaving behind an empty husk.

With a fluid movement, he returned to the top of the cliff and resumed pursuit.

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