Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 159: Sage Art · Inorganic Reincarnation, The Unfettered Snake!

"Hisssss..."

Uchiha Ci took a deep breath, savoring the sensation of his newly perfected Cursed Seal-enhanced body.

"This power..."

"I feel like I could kill ten bulls right now!"

He exhaled a long, condensed stream of white breath into the night air, excitement flickering in his eyes. Unable to resist, he licked his lips with a sly grin.

The power of Ryūchi Cave was no easy thing to acquire. The sheer influx of natural energy earlier had nearly ruptured his eyes.

Had it not been for Elder Ebizō stepping in and forcefully expending a massive amount of chakra with the forbidden technique Body Revival, redirecting part of the energy, he might have been blinded.

"So, as repayment..."

Uchiha Ci's lips curled into a cold, sinister smile, his pale face exuding malevolence.

"I'll let you witness the power of the Sage!"

In an instant, his snake-like pupils twisted, locking onto the stunned Elder Ebizō behind the sealing formation. A murderous intent erupted from his gaze.

The next moment, Uchiha Ci stomped down, shattering the ground beneath him. Violent chakra surged around him, and in the blink of an eye, he broke the sound barrier. A shockwave exploded from his position as he vanished into the night, heading straight into the seal formation created by lion-shaped puppets.

"This brat is even faster than before. This is bad!"

Ebizō's expression twisted in shock. Gritting his teeth, he realized that facing such incredible speed, where conventional methods were ineffective, he had to create a situation where there was nowhere for the enemy to hide.

With that thought, he immediately clapped his hands together and slammed them onto the ground, pouring chakra into the sealing formation.

"Puppet Art · Lion Binding Hare!"

Intricate runic scripts lit up. Puppet lions sprang into the air, forming a wall of shields while launching a torrential downpour of weapons and restraining ropes toward Uchiha Ci.

Swish swish swish swish!

Facing the storm of blades, Uchiha Ci's lips curled in disdain. He charged forward, pressing his palms together and shouting furiously:

"You think you can kill me?!"

"Ridiculous! Let me show you—"

"I am immortal!"

With a powerful stomp, the ground trembled beneath him. Harnessing perfect control over his transformed body and an unparalleled combat instinct, Uchiha Ci bypassed the intricate steps required to learn Sage Mode in Mount Myōboku.

Natural energy fused seamlessly with his physical and mental energy in a perfect 1:1:1 ratio, generating a new force—

Sage Chakra!

The Sage Chakra surged into the ground through his feet, causing the desert surface within the barrier to quake violently.

In the next moment, a Sage Technique he had copied with the Sharingan from Orochimaru was unleashed once more:

Sage Art · Inorganic Reincarnation!

The sand beneath him roared to life, lifting Uchiha Ci high into the air. A fierce wind swept past his face as the sand coalesced into a massive snake beneath his feet.

"Hissssss!!!"

The colossal snake reared its head, letting out an earth-shaking roar that caused the barrier to tremble.

Standing atop the giant snake's head, Uchiha Ci charged straight into the rain of blades and the ominous shield wall beyond it.

"Has this brat lost his mind?" Ebizō's face twitched, his scalp tingling at Uchiha Ci's reckless behavior. Watching the young man charge headlong into a death trap, he could only grit his teeth and form the 'Ram' hand sign.

"Fine, if that's what you want!"

"I'll grant your wish!"

With a cold snarl, Ebizō roared:

"Puppet Art · Blade Assault Manipulation!"

"Sealing Technique · Lion's Silent Roar!"

The chakra threads concealed among the rain of blades shot out, revealing sharp arrowhead tips. Simultaneously, the lion-shaped puppets opened their mouths, generating powerful winds that sucked everything toward them.

Trapped in such a situation, with no room to evade, Uchiha Ci didn't even try.

The chakra threads and countless weapons pierced through his body, dragging him toward the shield wall.

The lion puppets' gaping maws consumed him entirely before biting down with their metallic jaws.

Crunch!

As the puppet's teeth sank into his body, black sealing marks spread across his skin, completely suppressing his chakra.

Meanwhile, the colossal sand snake created by Inorganic Reincarnation slammed into the shield wall, smashing a massive hole in the formation.

"Got him!" Ebizō's white eyebrows shot up, his gaze bright with confidence. Normally, once a ninja's chakra was sealed, they were no different from an ordinary person.

But in the next moment, a deafening explosion came from the lion puppet holding Uchiha Ci.

Boom!

Violent shockwaves scattered wooden and metal fragments as the puppet was torn apart.

Uchiha Ci, his body covered in white snake scales, punched through the puppet and ripped it in half with brute force.

His body was riddled with weapons and sealing marks, yet he leapt into the air, emerging unscathed.

"Impossible!"

Ebizō's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of the boy destroying his puppet with sheer physical strength. The sealing marks on his body clearly indicated his chakra was suppressed—so what was going on?

Uchiha Ci sneered coldly. Without missing a beat, he resumed his charge toward Ebizō, opening his mouth wide.

From within, a hand emerged.

His original body, riddled with blades, continued charging while his new form tore itself out of the old one's mouth—a grotesque and terrifying sight.

Dodging the rain of blades and storming through the battlefield, Uchiha Ci at this moment resembled the mythical Ouroboros—the infinite, unbound snake.

Indeed, Ebizō had successfully sealed his chakra. But what he had sealed was merely the snake skin formed by the Cursed Seal's second stage.

With the Great Serpent Style Substitution Jutsu, one of the most broken substitution techniques in the ninja world, conventional rules no longer applied to Uchiha Ci.

This was the miracle of ninjutsu.

"Damn it! What is this thing?!"

Ebizō's scalp tingled as he watched Uchiha Ci tear through the gap created by the sand snake. If the boy got close enough to use his Uchiha clan's taijutsu, even the so-called "Sand Hidden Fist King" wouldn't stand a chance.

Desperate, Ebizō manipulated his puppets to unleash another rain of weapons to block Uchiha Ci's path.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Ci, crouched on the face of his "shed body," finished pulling out the last of his legs. Seeing Ebizō's actions, he raised an eyebrow.

"Old man, trying to fix things now?"

He let out a wild laugh.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA—"

Suddenly, he stopped laughing, his face turning emotionless as he stared at Ebizō.

In a chilling tone, he declared:

"Let me enlighten you, old man!"

"Now—"

"It's already too late!"

With that, Uchiha Ci leapt from his shed body, drawing the Kusanagi sword from its mouth.

Flashing a grin of pearly white teeth, he reversed his grip on the blade and swung it.

At that moment, he activated his forbidden technique.

Heartstrings Unleashed!

Zero-Tails Unbound!

As the forbidden power surged, a radiant sun erupted in the vast desert of the Land of Wind, lighting up the night sky.