"Scatter and flee!"
Realizing that the three of them stood no chance against a ninja with the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, the trio from the Aburame clan Shibi and the other two split up and fled in different directions.
As for the five young captives they had seized earlier, they abandoned them on the spot without a second thought.
Whoosh!
With a flicker, Uchiha Fugaku's figure vanished and reappeared dozens of meters away.
He intercepted one of the fleeing Aburame jonin, blocking his path.
"Then I'll fight you to the death!"
Faced with Fugaku standing in his way, the Aburame jonin turned pale, a sense of despair rising in his heart.
"Secret Technique: Parasitic Destruction Insects!"
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Countless black insects erupted from the gourd on his back, swarming toward Uchiha Fugaku like a dark cloud blotting out the sky.
"Fire Style: Majestic Fire Destruction!"
Fugaku didn't even form hand seals, yet the technique unleashed flawlessly.
Waves of searing fire surged forward, rolling like a tidal wave.
The incoming swarm of insects was incinerated into charred ash under the sea of flames, releasing a burnt stench as they rained from the sky like black droplets.
It looked like black rain was falling—an awe-inspiring sight.
But neither Uchiha Fugaku nor the Aburame jonin had any interest in admiring it.
"Bug Clone Technique—!"
The Aburame jonin tried to form a bug clone to distract Fugaku and find a chance to escape.
But before he could complete it, Fugaku had already closed the distance, holding a sharp wooden branch in hand.
Squelch!
The wooden spike pierced straight through his body.
From the wound, more sharp branches sprouted, riddling his body with over a dozen bloody holes.
His lifeless body dropped from the tree and hit the ground with a thud.
Fugaku, however, had already vanished—moving on to hunt the remaining two.
"How is he ahead of me?!"
Another Aburame jonin was frantically leaping from tree to tree in a panicked escape.
Suddenly, his expression changed and he came to an abrupt halt.
At some unknown point, the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai ninja had appeared in front of him, staring at him with a single exposed eye.
From that eye, he seemed to see ridicule.
Behind the mask, Fugaku was likely wearing a mocking smile—laughing at his futile efforts.
"Secret Technique: Venom Insects!"
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
A cloud of venomous insects burst from the gourd on his back, surging toward Fugaku.
These insects were lethally poisonous—strong enough to immobilize even a jonin with a single bite.
But he knew they would likely be useless against Fugaku. After all, he was Kage-level.
Without hesitation, he turned to flee in the opposite direction.
However, after just a few steps, a sharp pain pierced his back—like something had stabbed into him.
With that pain, more stabs erupted across his chest, abdomen, and waist.
His movements halted. Rigidly, he turned his head to look back.
The Wood Release ninja had not been stopped by the venomous insects. He now stood behind him.
That was the last sight the Aburame jonin would ever see.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Aburame Shibi fled in a panic, pale-faced, glancing backward frequently to check if he was being pursued.
Seeing no one behind, a faint hope flickered in his heart.
He knew that if Fugaku wasn't chasing him, then he must have gone after his two clansmen—and they were likely doomed.
Even so, he felt a sliver of joy. His chances of survival had increased.
Buzz—
Suddenly, the space in front of him twisted.
In the next instant, the Wood Release ninja appeared out of thin air.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu!"
A chill ran down his spine. Behind his sunglasses, his pupils contracted violently, and any hope he had was instantly extinguished.
Fugaku had mastered space-time ninjutsu in addition to his Wood Release?
A deep, crushing despair filled his heart.
No matter how fast he was, he could never outrun space-time ninjutsu. There was nowhere left to escape.
"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"
Countless insects highly sensitive to chakra burst from the gourd on his back, swarming toward Uchiha Fugaku like a swarm of bees drawn to nectar.
"Secret Technique: Giant Parasitic Insect—Flesh Devourer!"
Even more insects emerged directly from Shibi's own body—his carefully cultivated special bugs.
These could burrow into an enemy, devour their flesh and chakra, rapidly grow in size, and burst the enemy from within.
He mixed these flesh-eating bugs in with the chakra-sensitive swarm, using them as cover to silently approach Fugaku.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A jet of fire shot in a straight line from Fugaku's mouth, swinging with the movement of his head.
Not a single insect managed to reach him—they were all incinerated mid-air and fell to the ground as ash.
Whoosh!
After burning away the insects, Fugaku flashed forward across dozens of meters, closing in on Shibi.
A sharp wooden spike extended from his hand, stabbing toward him.
Squelch!
Shibi was skewered by the sharp wooden branch.
But strangely, instead of reacting like a normal person, Shibi threw himself forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Fugaku.
And then—his body crumbled apart into a swarm of insects.
This Shibi had been a bug clone the entire time.
The insects crawled all over Fugaku—venomous ones, chakra-sapping ones, and the flesh-eating variety.
Sssss—
Just as it seemed Fugaku was in mortal danger, something unexpected happened.
His body, now covered in bugs, suddenly dispersed into smoke.
"A Shadow Clone?!"
Dozens of meters away, the real Aburame Shibi—who had been hiding after creating the bug clone—was stunned.
It was a shadow clone! Then where was the real Fugaku?
A sense of impending doom filled him. Instinctively, he tried to flee.
Squelch!
Just then, a streak of green light shot toward him—too fast to evade—and pierced into his body.
It was a sharp wooden branch, gripped in Uchiha Fugaku's hand.
The Sharingan's incredible perception had seen through the bug clone instantly.
Once Fugaku identified that the Shibi before him was only a clone, he sent his shadow clone to stall, while he hunted the real one.
"Clan Head Shibi, after all these years of going against the Uchiha Clan, did you ever imagine this day would come?"
With his other hand, Fugaku removed his mask, staring mockingly at the critically wounded Aburame Shibi.
"It's… you!!"
Blood streamed from his chest as Shibi stared in horror at the unmasked Fugaku.
The mysterious Wood Release ninja who had repeatedly thwarted the village… was actually Uchiha Fugaku?!
How… how was this possible?