NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31: Chapter 31 : Sand Shinobi
Uchiha Shin sensed something and glanced back at Tsunade.
He could feel the slight hostility emanating from her, but it disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. He didn't dwell on it. He had more pressing concerns.
His priority was simple—establish dominance. This was his first mission since returning, and the Konoha shinobi around him had underestimated him because of his age. That alone was unacceptable. Even if he wasn't living off Tsunade, the mere implication that he needed her support irked him.
"Move out."
Without waiting for a detailed battle plan, Uchiha Shin rushed forward at the command. It was just a five-man team led by an elite jōnin—hardly a challenge. If anything, this was an opportunity to test if his skills had dulled over the past two years.
Seeing him charge in alone, Tsunade tensed.
As his "leading jōnin," she knew he was talented, maybe even monstrous, but talent alone didn't win battles. She lacked a full grasp of his strength. The same could be said for Uchiha Mikoto, who stood beside her, calm as ever. But as his "wife," she would never question his decisions.
"Block their escape routes first."
Mikoto activated her Sharingan, her three tomoe spinning, and issued commands to the Konoha-nin. The blood-red eyes alone were enough to send a chill down their spines. They obeyed without hesitation.
"Chidori Senbon."
Shin flicked three shuriken into the air, coating them in lightning chakra before launching them forward. The electrified projectiles shot toward the enemy team, streaking through the air like miniature bolts of lightning.
"Enemy attack!"
Sensing the incoming attack, the elite jōnin Kazemaru reacted quickly, pulling out a kunai to intercept.
Clang!
The moment the kunai made contact, an electrical discharge exploded outward. The sudden surge of lightning chakra paralyzed the nearby Suna-nin, leaving them momentarily vulnerable.
Two chūnin barely had time to react before the shuriken pierced their throats. They clutched at their necks, gurgling as they collapsed.
The remaining Suna-nin faltered, their expressions shifting from confidence to horror. Their comrades had been alive mere seconds ago, and now they were bleeding out on the battlefield.
"Summon your puppets! Now!"
Three Suna-nin immediately deployed their puppets—one shaped like a feral beast, another resembling a heavily armored lizard, and the last a winged construct hovering in the air.
Puppet users. Shin nearly laughed. They had no idea how outmatched they were.
Although he possessed a certain… advantage over them, he had no intention of using it. It simply wasn't necessary.
With a sharp motion, Shin drew the katana from his back. The silver blade gleamed menacingly under the sunlight.
"Poison Claw Strike!"
"Thousand Poison Darts!"
"Explosive Feather Barrage!"
The first puppet lunged, its claws coated in lethal poison. The second puppet spewed a barrage of razor-sharp needles. Above, the bird-like puppet unleashed a rain of explosive feathers.
Tsunade and Mikoto stiffened at the sight. Even the Konoha-nin, who had been skeptical of Shin's recklessness, momentarily thought he had made a fatal mistake.
Just before the attacks reached him, Shin's blade crackled with lightning.
"Raikiri: Blade Surge."
With precise, fluid movements, he swung his sword.
Sizzle!
The puppet tiger's claws were severed in an instant.
Shin pivoted, slashing through the incoming darts with such precision that they ricocheted back toward their owner. The lizard puppet was riddled with its own weapons before its controller could react.
The explosive feathers descended, but Shin didn't even look up.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Cage."
A pulse of azure electricity radiated from his body, arcing toward the falling projectiles. Each explosive feather was intercepted midair, detonating harmlessly above him.
The bird puppet, still hovering, was struck by residual lightning. Its chakra strings snapped, sending it crashing to the ground.
In the span of mere seconds, the once-formidable puppets had been reduced to smoldering wreckage.
Kazemaru's eyes widened in shock.
"A monster…" he muttered.
Realizing the severity of the situation, he launched a desperate attack.
"Wind Style: Wind Blade!"
A near-invisible crescent of wind chakra shot toward Shin, slicing cleanly through anything in its path.
Wind chakra was notoriously difficult to counter with direct attacks. Against most shinobi, this would be a lethal move.
But against Shin?
He smirked.
"Too slow."
As the wind blade approached, Shin adjusted his grip on his katana. The moment the two clashed, his blade cut through the wind chakra cleanly, dispersing the attack.
Whoosh!
The severed wind blade deviated, slicing through the trees behind him with surgical precision.
Kazemaru paled.
That technique… only Hatake Sakumo, the "White Fang of Konoha," had been known to do something like that. And now, before his very eyes, another Uchiha had done the same.
"You're getting distracted."
Shin's voice snapped Kazemaru out of his daze.
"Raikiri Blade: Thunderfall."
With a flick of his wrist, Shin sent three arcs of lightning slashing toward his opponent.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Kazemaru reacted instantly, unleashing a massive gust of wind in an attempt to disrupt the incoming attack.
It was a mistake.
The moment the wind clashed with the lightning arcs, the electricity dispersed into the air, but rather than vanishing, it was carried forward with the gust—turning Kazemaru's own defense into his downfall.
Lightning surged through the wind, striking Kazemaru directly.
His body convulsed violently before he collapsed to his knees, steam rising from his burnt skin.
Shin didn't give him a chance to recover.
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Bonus Chapter -250 Power Stones