Konoha: The King of Souls

"Run! Why aren't you running anymore?"

Four Sand ninja encircled Uchiha Gen. The tallest among them, a chunin with a scar on his forehead, sneered viciously.

Uchiha Gen smirked ominously. With a flip of his palm, two explosive tags lit up with sparks.

"Retreat!" the Sand ninja leader shouted, instinctively stepping back.

BOOM!

The explosive tags detonated simultaneously, unleashing a powerful shockwave and flames in all directions.

The three genin among the Sand ninja were caught off guard, flung away by the blast. Though they survived, they suffered serious internal injuries and collapsed, coughing up blood.

Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!

From behind the Sand ninja leader, three shuriken streaked through the foliage, aimed at his head, back, and hip.

Despite the ambush, the chunin maintained his composure. Turning swiftly, he deflected the shuriken with his kunai in a series of precise strikes.

But Uchiha Gen had been waiting for this moment. Leaping from the tree above, he slashed his blade downward toward the chunin's head.

The timing was too precise for the Sand ninja to evade or form seals. He had no choice but to block with his kunai.

Clang!

The clash of metal sent sparks flying. With his left hand free, Uchiha Gen aimed for the chunin's throat.

Just as the Sand ninja attempted to counterattack, his body froze in place.

"Impossible!" he muttered through gritted teeth, his expression twisted in disbelief.

Three bloodstained shuriken were now embedded in his back, forming a straight line from his shoulders down to his lower spine. Crimson droplets dripped onto the forest floor.

Armor was a luxury many ninja couldn't afford, and even those who could rarely wore it due to the hindrance it posed to mobility.

With a cold glare, Uchiha Gen delivered a powerful kick to the chunin's abdomen, sending him sprawling. His Sharingan eyes flared crimson, effortlessly deflecting the kunai and shuriken aimed at him.

The Sand ninja chunin collapsed on the ground, paralyzed as the shuriken buried deeper into his flesh. His spine had been severed, rendering him a helpless wreck.

Seeing their leader incapacitated and the glaring Sharingan of Uchiha Gen, the remaining three Sand genin were overcome with terror.

A Uchiha with the second tomoe in their Sharingan was no ordinary foe. Such a ninja could rival even a veteran chunin or a special jonin.

"There's no way we can win this..." one muttered.

Their fear was justified. With the power of his Soul-Soul Fruit, Uchiha Gen swiftly extracted their souls and lifespans, leaving them utterly powerless.

The trio slumped to the ground, lifeless before they even realized what had happened.

"What... what did you do?" the incapacitated chunin stammered, his voice trembling.

"You don't need to know."

Uchiha Gen stood over him, calmly extracting his soul and lifespan before delivering a swift stab to the chunin's brain. This ensured the scene appeared consistent with conventional combat wounds.

Retrieving his bloodied shuriken, Uchiha Gen disappeared into the forest to regroup.

Settling into the Chaos

Once alone, Uchiha Gen took a moment to steady himself. While exhilaration over mastering his new abilities had previously distracted him, he now had to confront the weight of taking lives.

The battlefield wasn't a place for morality, only survival and loyalty. Aware of the stakes, Uchiha Gen adjusted his mindset quickly, aided by the fragmented memories of the original host of his body.

After ensuring his ninja tools were in good condition, he consumed a high-quality ration pill, one of the Uchiha clan's specialties. Restoring his chakra was crucial, as even casting a basic Shadow Clone Technique had consumed half his reserves.

Thanks to his potent spiritual strength, finely distributing chakra was second nature to Uchiha Gen. This level of control would prove invaluable for mastering and deploying advanced techniques.

...................

After about thirty minutes of recuperation, Uchiha Gen resumed his hunt. Soon, he spotted a lone Sand ninja patrolling the area.

This enemy was different: clad in sturdy armor, carrying a scroll on his back, and exuding a calm, composed demeanor. Clearly, he was a formidable foe, likely a special jonin.

Though Uchiha Gen could have relied on his Camouflage Concealment Technique to ambush him, he decided not to risk it. If the enemy had sensory abilities, the plan could easily backfire.

Instead, he tested the waters with a well-aimed shuriken.

But before his attack could even land, the Sand ninja flicked his wrist, sending three shuriken directly toward Uchiha Gen's hiding spot.

"Ah, so you do have sensory abilities," Uchiha Gen muttered, evading the incoming projectiles.

With a counterattack, he hurled his shuriken in return. Though the Sand ninja dodged with ease, the shuriken unexpectedly curved midair, veering back toward him.

Startled, the Sand ninja abandoned his jutsu and shifted to defense, frantically parrying the shuriken with his kunai.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

From Uchiha Gen's mouth erupted a barrage of flame bullets, each one glowing a fierce orange-red. Guided by chakra, the flames blocked every escape route.

The Sand ninja clapped his hands together.

Poof!

A puff of smoke revealed a wolf-shaped puppet. The creature opened its maw, releasing a hail of needles that extinguished the approaching flames.

"An Uchiha ninja..."

The Sand ninja's expression darkened as he eyed the Sharingan. Puppeteers like him despised facing Uchiha, whose powerful visual prowess rendered most traps and techniques ineffective.

Uchiha Gen tilted his head slightly, tossing a white orb into the fray.

The Sand ninja launched a kunai from the wolf puppet's mouth, aiming directly at the orb.

The kunai passed through it harmlessly.

Perplexed, the Sand ninja maneuvered the puppet into a defensive stance. But before he could react further, the wolf puppet turned on him, unleashing a volley of kunai from its jaws.

Caught off guard, the Sand ninja was impaled by the very weapons he had intended to use.

"How... how is this possible?"

Blood dripped from his mouth as he stared at the kunai embedded in his chest. His once-trusty armor had failed to save him.

"Don't take it personally," Uchiha Gen murmured, siphoning the Sand ninja's soul and lifespan.

The wolf puppet, now imbued with a new soul, wagged its barbed tail and nuzzled against Uchiha Gen's leg like a loyal pet.

"Trying to outplay me with puppetry? That's laughable."

Commanding the puppet to destroy its master's brain, Uchiha Gen sealed it in a scroll before disappearing into the forest once more.

...............

On the outskirts of the battlefield, a figure emerged atop a tall tree.

"I see I'm not too late," the man said, his sunny demeanor contrasting sharply with the chaos below.

His blond hair, blue eyes, and green flak jacket radiated warmth and confidence, like the light of a gentle spring sun.

...............

Some stone's Pls