Uchiha Kaien had no idea what the other three were thinking. He could only rely on the rise in affection points to gauge their feedback—and it was clearly positive, especially from Namikaze Minato.
He quickly refocused on the battle.
The dynamic vision and insight granted by the Mangekyō Sharingan far surpassed that of the standard three-tomoe version.
His chakra surged once again, like a wellspring with no end in sight.
Kaien was gradually getting used to the sensation of everything around him moving in slow motion.
And with every passing second, his control over the Mangekyō Sharingan grew more refined and intuitive.
He even entertained the thought of unleashing Susanoo and smashing Chiyo's puppets to pieces right then and there.
But there were still too many people around. Better to keep things under wraps for now and just faint from chakra exhaustion after the fight. Let Orochimaru deal with the aftermath.
With that plan in mind, Kaien maintained his grip on the battlefield while also keeping tabs on the approaching reinforcements, making sure to regulate his strength precisely.
...
To Chiyo, it felt like she had run into her natural counter.
As a veteran shinobi from the Land of Wind, she had been through countless battles—but she had never fought an Ice Release user of this caliber.
The Land of Fire lay between the Land of Wind and the Land of Water, so most of the time it was the Land of Fire bearing the brunt of conflict. Chiyo had encountered Ice Release users before, but you could count them on one hand. None of them were anywhere near this level.
Rain began to fall from the sky at some point. Whenever a raindrop touched one of Chiyo's chakra threads, it instantly froze, severely weakening the transmission of chakra. Even her puppets were slowly beginning to ice over from the inside.
Puppets were already vulnerable to speed-type shinobi—and they were even more susceptible to Ice Release. Especially when the two sides were evenly matched.
Against lower-level ninja, Chiyo could easily overwhelm them, whether they used Ice Release or Body Flicker techniques. But in a drawn-out battle against someone of her own caliber, she gradually found herself at a disadvantage.
Thankfully, some of her puppets still held Fire Release ninjutsu. It wouldn't make them invincible, but at least it would keep them operational for a bit longer.
More importantly, she could sense the reinforcements closing in. When they arrived, there might be a chance to capture this exceptionally gifted young Uchiha right here and now.
She hadn't forgotten the original plan—use an elite unit to seize the upper hand in battle, launch a surprise attack on the enemy, and lay the foundation for victory.
But things weren't going the way Chiyo had hoped.
As Ebizō arrived to reinforce her position, Orochimaru showed up as well—alongside Tsunade. Only Jiraiya had stayed behind to defend their main base.
The battlefield situation shifted instantly.
Chiyo was being held down by Uchiha Kaien, and Ebizō, who was only at the level of an elite jonin, had no hope of going up against Orochimaru and Tsunade. It wouldn't take more than a few rounds before he was taken out.
Not to mention Senju jonin, who was also an elite jonin.
That meant Chiyo was now facing three powerhouse opponents on her own.
Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi's two disciples hadn't yet mastered any secret techniques capable of turning the tide, their baseline strength already matched that of a Kage.
And to make matters worse, Chiyo had recognized Kaien's eyes—Mangekyō Sharingan.
She was from the same generation as Hiruzen Sarutobi and Ōnoki, and she'd once witnessed the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan firsthand. If this young Uchiha could match that level of strength, then Sunagakure would have no chance of standing against Konoha.
Why does the Uchiha clan always produce such unreachably talented shinobi?
As for the rest of the Sunagakure forces, Chiyo didn't even bother factoring them into the equation. In battles at this scale, regular ninja were nothing but cannon fodder.
Just Kaien's strange, Ice Release alone was enough to devastate the rank-and-file troops of Sunagakure.
Chiyo made her decision—it was time to retreat.
She released a wave of puppets to distract Kaien and obscure his field of vision, then quickly retrieved the half-destroyed White Robe puppet he had damaged earlier.
"Trying to run, old lady?"
Kaien immediately saw through her intentions and launched a verbal jab.
Now, calling someone "old lady" might not sound that bad on its own—and in the future, it would probably be an accurate way to refer to Chiyo. But right now, she was still in her prime, with all the charm and presence that came with it.
So to her ears, "old lady" hit hard.
The mood soured instantly, just like the time Hanzō of the Salamander had called her "that puppet hag."
And the worst part? Kaien looked completely serious, as if he genuinely meant it as a respectful greeting.
Like he actually thought that was the polite way to address her.
Chiyo didn't respond. Instead, she turned and retreated at full speed. A barrage of kunai and explosive tags erupted behind her, forcing Kaien to stay on his guard.
But Kaien wasn't really in the mood to continue either. With the Mangekyō already activated, and no chance to reveal Susanoo in public, he had nothing new to show.
Besides, he was still just a kid. Kids needed to have weaknesses! Like, say… eye strain.
He was technically fine, but the important thing was making everyone else believe he wasn't.
Kaien raised a hand, forming a shield of ice to block the incoming kunai and explosions. Then he slowly fell back to Minato's position, watching Chiyo disappear into the distance.
Once she was out of sensory range, Kaien finally relaxed. He rubbed his eyes, wincing slightly, then looked back at the others with a faint smile of relief—just before collapsing backward from "exhaustion."
...
The others were visibly shaken.
Namikaze Minato, whose seal techniques had already been deactivated, rushed over and caught him.
"Kaien's just overexerted himself," Minato said after a quick glance. "He's not seriously hurt."
A soft green glow lit up in Minato's hand—Mystic Palm Technique.
Although Kaien's bloodline illness had been cured some time ago, Minato had still learned basic medical ninjutsu, just in case. And this was one of those times when it came in handy.
"Kagami-sensei once told me," Minato muttered, "Mangekyō Sharingan puts an immense strain on the user. Kaien probably can't sustain it for very long. He must've been forcing himself this whole time."
He gave a wry, complicated smile, though his eyes showed real concern.
Kaien's evolution was happening far too quickly. Five years ago, he only had a single tomoe. Now he had awakened the Mangekyō. Hopefully… the illness wouldn't return.
"Nawaki!"
Tsunade finally spotted her younger brother among the crowd. Once she confirmed he was unharmed, she let out a long breath and hugged him tight.
"I told you the battlefield was too dangerous! You're going straight back to Konoha—now!"
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the glowing chakra in Minato's hand and immediately rushed over to check on Kaien.
After a thorough examination, she confirmed he had no real injuries and finally allowed herself to relax.
Even Orochimaru, who had been unusually quiet, felt the tension in his chest ease.
This was his precious student, after all. If anything had happened to him… Sunagakure wouldn't want to know what kind of payback he had in store.
In his unconscious mind, Kaien watched his affection points steadily rise.
A faint sense of satisfaction washed over him.
Fighting always brought more gains than daily interactions… though the opportunities were far rarer.
Thanks to [Weakness Camouflage], Kaien had managed to fake his injuries perfectly. Even though he wasn't actually hurt, he looked every bit the part of someone who had overexerted himself.
"Orochimaru-senpai," Minato said hesitantly, "Kaien's Sharingan has evolved again…"
He was still worried, and hoped Orochimaru could run a more thorough examination...
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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