"It'll take at least three to five days before those ANBU even begin to recover."
Kaze swept his gaze across the ANBU scattered across the ground, all of them completely unable to get up.
Some might wonder—why did Kaze even bother fighting them in the first place?
Well, the first reason was simple: As long as he beat them down, they couldn't take Shisui's body away.
The second reason?
To show off his strength in front of the Uchiha clan.
Uchiha are… well, let's put it nicely: they're idealistic and straightforward.
Less kindly?
Stubborn and not too bright.
Talk to them about lofty ideals, and they might ignore you.
But throw some fists, and suddenly you've got their respect.
From Uchiha Tajima onward, all the clan heads—every single one—were chosen not because of wisdom, but because they were the strongest.
Even Fugaku, that guy, had Mangekyō Sharingan.
By taking down over a dozen ANBU on his own—
Kaze had just pulled off the simplest and most effective way to build his reputation within the clan.
Because seriously…
Was he really going to let that guy Fugaku lead them?
For the future of the Uchiha, the next clan head had to be himself!
The third reason…
Kakashi and the others were basically Sarutobi Hiruzen's personal guard—the cream of the crop.
The entire squad only had a few dozen members.
Kakashi was the leader of Squad Six, the final squad.
So by defeating them here, Kaze would also be indirectly weakening Hiruzen's power base.
It was these three reasons that led Kaze to make up his mind:
To act—right here and now.
"If you hesitate in a critical moment, you're asking for chaos."
Kaze's eyes narrowed slightly.
The more calculating a person is, the easier it is for them to fall into unexpected traps.
Sometimes, it's better to just cut through the mess with a sharp blade.
Take Danzō, for example—
Just eliminate him.
And if all went smoothly… maybe he could even use Shisui's Kotoamatsukami to take control of Sarutobi Hiruzen himself.
And once that happened?
The interpretation of the Will of Fire would be completely in his hands.
As he thought this, Kaze's gaze grew even more resolute.
(T/N: First time I've seen an MC following this path.)
His presence intensified like a tidal wave, rolling straight toward Kakashi.
"What… What an intense pressure…"
"When did Kaze become this powerful?"
Kakashi furrowed his brows, his heart pounding in disbelief.
Those eleven ANBU weren't rookies—they'd been with the ANBU since the Third Great Ninja War.
Their combat instincts and real-world experience were second to none.
And yet…
In less than two minutes, all of them had been taken out easily.
Kakashi was utterly shaken.
But no matter what, he was still the captain of Squad Six. And more importantly, this was a direct order from the Hokage.
So even if Kaze wasn't backing down—
Kakashi couldn't either.
He began forming hand signs.
But the moment he completed the first one—
Kaze vanished again, using the "Shave" technique of the Six Styles.
A spiderweb-like crack appeared beneath Kaze's foot as he launched forward with explosive speed.
In a blur, he moved behind Kakashi—
And struck at the back of his neck with a sharp knife-hand chop.
"S-So fast!"
"How the hell is Kaze doing this? If he were using Lightning Release Chakra Mode, I'd get it… but this is just pure taijutsu, right?"
"I even activated my three-tomoe Sharingan just to track his movement—and all I saw was an afterimage..."
"He's like a damn monster."
Several young Uchiha couldn't help but murmur in disbelief after witnessing Kaze's performance.
Sure, Kaze had already shown off some strength at the last clan meeting—
Back then, he had slapped Uchiha Sei across the hall with a single Lightning Release palm, and then suppressed Itachi using genjutsu.
It was impressive, yes.
But that wasn't his full power.
So now, when even their fully awakened Sharingan couldn't keep up with Kaze's Shave from the Six Styles, the shock hit hard.
"It's over, Kakashi."
Kaze's voice was calm as he raised his hand in a chopping motion—suddenly crackling with blazing lightning.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, Kakashi lost his balance and slammed head-first into the ground, gouging out a crater.
Bright electric current surged from Kaze's hand into Kakashi's body, grounding itself through him.
Even after Kaze retracted his hand, Kakashi's body kept twitching from the aftershocks.
"Such terrifying power..."
Just when everyone thought the fight was over—
Kakashi's voice rang out again.
Poof!
A puff of smoke burst from his fallen body.
"A shadow clone?!" Uchiha Sei exclaimed, eyes wide in shock.
Like the others, he'd been using his Sharingan to try and track everything—
Only to realize just now that the Kakashi they'd been watching all along… was only a clone.
When the hell had he swapped himself out?
Splat!
Suddenly, a strong arm burst out from the earth beneath Kaze and clamped tightly around his ankle.
Despite Kaze's overwhelming strength, Kakashi wasn't about to go down so easily.
"Headhunter Jutsu!"
Kakashi's voice echoed again. The arm gripping Kaze's ankle spun violently, yanking him into the earth.
Chakra surged into the surrounding soil, compressing the earth around Kaze's body—
Only his head was left sticking out.
Meanwhile, Kakashi reemerged on the surface.
He crouched down, staring at the trapped Kaze.
Then he coolly pulled out a kunai, the gleaming tip aimed straight at Kaze's left eye.
If this had been a real fight to the death… the blade would've already been buried.
Kakashi spoke in a low, serious tone:
"Headhunter Jutsu is just a D-rank technique—it won't hold you for long."
"But for a ninja, even a second or two can be enough to decide life or death."
"This time… you lost, Kaze."
Kakashi exhaled a long breath, relieved.
Thankfully, he'd managed to subdue Kaze.
Otherwise, he wasn't sure how he could explain this to Lord Third…
But just as he began to relax—
Kaze's voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Kakashi, you're not the only one who knows how to use Shadow Clone Jutsu."
A blinding surge of lightning exploded from the Kaze trapped in the ground.
It was a shadow clone.
"Crap—!"
Kakashi's throat tightened. He gulped and tried to spring away from the glowing clone.
Too late.
Splat!
Using his Thunder Fruit powers, the Kaze clone easily burst out of the dirt and grabbed Kakashi's ankle, locking him down.
A searing electric current surged through its palm and into Kakashi's leg.
The jolt paralyzed his nerves instantly.
Kakashi clenched his teeth, trying to endure the pain.
But the current surged up past his thigh, spreading rapidly across his entire body.
Thud.
Kakashi collapsed backward, limbs twitching violently on the ground.
Kaze calmly picked up a samurai blade from the ground and started walking toward him—
One step at a time.
(T/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter.)
50 Stones = One Extra Chapter
100 Stones = Two Extra Chapters
200 Stones = Three Extra Chapters
Keep the power stones coming.