Chapter 297: Fighting Freely

Amidst the explosion, yellow sand erupted, covering the entire desert, and everyone seemed buried deep underground, with yellow sand filling their vision.

The sand gold cushion supporting Rasa was also destroyed by the explosive talismans. Rasa's form rapidly plummeted from the sky, and the swirling gold sand lost its command in the moment of his weightlessness, falling chaotically like random waves on the sea.

Having recalled a portion of the Parasitic Insect's, there was a hint of regret on Caterpillar's face after losing nearly half of his Parasitic Insects due to this wave of bombardment. He glanced at Tenko, who was eager and ready beside him.

The young brother said he had a trump card, but the Leader did not allow his trump card to be revealed to the enemy. That's why Caterpillar cooperated to create such a favorable environment, as he was curious to see what Badger's trump card would be.

He wanted to see whether Badger's trump card was more powerful, or if the hidden move Caterpillar had reserved was stronger.

But the moment he looked over, Caterpillar's gaze froze. Tenko's originally pitch-black pupils had turned blood-red, with three black Tomoe slowly rotating within them.

Three Tomoe Sharingan!

With such a distinct feature, Caterpillar didn't need to think twice to understand what Tenko's so-called trump card was, and why Tatsuma insisted it couldn't be revealed.

Both Tenko and Tatsuma had violated the ANBU regulations. Every ninja entering ANBU is required to honestly disclose all their ninjutsu, genjutsu, secret techniques, and kekkei genkai.

In Tenko's file, he was listed as having a Two Tomoe Sharingan, meaning he had deceived ANBU, and Tatsuma, the Leader, knew about it but didn't report it!

If it were any other ninja with other kekkei genkai or secret techniques, it might not be a big deal. But for an Uchiha, even their normal actions arouse suspicion, let alone deliberately violating regulations.

Caterpillar gritted his teeth and shifted his gaze. He couldn't have known—at least, he would only realize after the battle that Badger's Sharingan had evolved into a Three Tomoe Sharingan!

Concealing it when entering ANBU and progressing after joining are two entirely different situations. The latter is not only blameless but can even earn commendation and promotion.

Badger must have entered ANBU with a Two Tomoe Sharingan, and combat is the best environment for an Uchiha to evolve their kekkei genkai. It's completely normal, completely normal.

Caterpillar kept reassuring himself. If the truth were ever exposed, as a fellow squad member, he would undoubtedly be investigated. He couldn't afford to be seen as someone who knew!

He even started to consider whether he should, after returning to the village, use some special Parasitic Insects from his clan to alter this part of his memory—just in case the village brought in ninjas from the Yamanaka clan to investigate.

Meanwhile, Tenko's inner thoughts weren't nearly as turbulent as Caterpillar's. He was thrilled because this would be his first real battle since awakening his Sharingan!

He had hidden it for so long, not just from his family but from the Hokage and even the Uchiha clan as well.

Tenko's so-called "activation" of the Two Tomoe Sharingan had never been verified because Tatsuma vouched for him in the village, and they wrote it into his records without suspicion.

Even when he entered ANBU and underwent Sakumo Hatake's assessment, he was too afraid to expose his Sharingan, so he didn't use it during the entire exam. Otherwise, Sakumo Hatake wouldn't have had to repeatedly go easy on him just to let him barely pass the test.

As for Fugaku, when he heard that Tenko was about to be recommended to ANBU, he didn't conduct a thorough evaluation either. After all, if even the village elders, who were so wary of the Uchiha, had approved him, what was there to doubt?

Sometimes, the importance of a middleman far exceeds that of the person themselves. It's like how a fully compliant car might not pass an inspection, but with the right middleman, even an old, heavily modified car could pass as "qualified."

However, Tenko might not fully understand these subtleties. All he knew was that, at this very moment, he could fully unleash his talents.

The Tomoe in his eyes spun faster and faster. Amidst the swirling sand, he caught even the tiniest gaps with his eyes. In just a moment, he had already locked onto several targets.

The sound of a sharp "clang~" echoed as Tenko drew his ninjato. At the same moment, he propelled himself forward, diving into the yellow sandstorm where visibility was less than a meter.

Sparks of fire were barely noticeable in the dense sand, but under Tatsuma's sensing ability, the appearance of a spark indicated that a cluster of chakra was beginning to dissipate rapidly.

Without waiting further, Tatsuma threw a kunai, its silver light streaking through the desert, intertwining with Minato's golden flash, as they blinked in and out amidst the sandstorm.

"Damn it! Damn it, damn it!"

Rasa, who had fallen, spotted a silver flash and realized one of his teammates had already become a lifeless corpse. Furious, he shouted, "Blow the sand away now!"

His voice was so loud that even in the howling winds and falling sand of the desert, it was piercing. Not only did his teammates react, but other rogue ninjas also began to take action.

"Whirrrrr~"

Various wind-release ninjutsu unfolded, and the yellow sand was quickly swept away. Some rogue ninjas on the periphery even managed to escape the sandstorm's cover.

"Swish~"

Before he could catch his breath, a ninjato slashed towards his head from behind. Tenko turned around, his crimson eyes glaring at the attacker. The rogue ninja's body froze, and the blade that was supposed to fall was halted midway. Tenko twisted his body and drove his ninjato into the rogue ninja's chest.

"Hiss~"

Immediately, he lifted his left hand to cover his eyes, feeling an extreme dryness and accompanying sharp pain. He closed his eyes to relieve the discomfort. At that moment, a hand rested on his shoulder.

Startled, Tenko withdrew his ninjato from the rogue ninja's chest and was about to turn to attack again when Minato's warm, sunny voice spoke.

"It's me. Take a break."

As the words were spoken, Tenko suddenly felt the world spinning. When he could see clearly again, he found himself back beside Caterpillar. Caterpillar did not look at him but merely raised his hand. Countless Parasitic Insects crawled out from his body.

"Secret Jutsu! Insect Ball!"

The Parasitic Insects quickly gathered around Tenko, forming a protective barrier. Understanding Caterpillar's intention, Tenko let out a sigh of relief, and his eyes returned to their normal black and white state.

He continuously blinked, spreading the tears secreted by his tear glands to quickly moisten his eyes.

At this point, visibility in the desert had improved to a level just sufficient for combat. The remaining thirty rogue ninjas all kept a vigilant watch over their surroundings. Seeing that the golden and silver flashes were no longer visible, they relaxed. But suddenly, a few rogue ninjas felt an unexpected darkness above them. Looking up, they saw a shadowy object looming over them.

"Boom!"

Gamabunta landed, sending a storm of yellow sand into the air. The ninjas, who had no time to react, were unable to escape the fate of being hurled by the earth.

"Toad Tanto Slash!"

Gamabunta swung his sword, and the ninjas who were "floating" in the air were all struck, sliced into two pieces, and stained the yellow sand with their blood as they were cast away from the surface.

"Slug! Acid Erosion Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"

At that moment, a water dragon formed from corrosive liquid, controlled by Tatsuma, lunged aggressively at another group of rogue ninjas.

"Damn it! Run!"

One rogue ninja shouted in panic, trying to use Body Flicker Jutsu to escape. But as soon as he moved, the water dragon brushed against his right leg.

"Sizzle~"

"Ahhhh!!!"

The acid caused his right leg to bubble up with large yellow-red blisters, rapidly dissolving his strong muscles and exposing his white bones. His Body Flicker Jutsu was interrupted, and he fell directly onto the yellow sand.

The rogue ninja continued to scream in agony, attempting several times to cut off his leg with his ninjato, but hesitated momentarily. That brief hesitation allowed the acid to crawl up to his hip.

Despair showed on his face; this was no longer just about losing a leg. The best way to handle the acid at this point was to sever his body at the waist.

Before he could come up with a solution, Tenko, whose eyes had been relieved, resumed his actions, walking through the sand and collecting one head after another.

The bodies of these rogue ninjas could be destroyed at will, but their brains could not, as per Tatsuma's instructions.

"This is outrageous!!!"

As Rasa and his group, who had retreated to avoid the corrosive liquid, saw Tenko swaggering over to their dead teammate and decapitating him, their eyes turned red with fury. Rasa, enraged, stirred the gold sand and surged towards Tenko.

"Magnet Release! Gold Sand Imperial Funeral!"

Seeing the torrent of sand and gold rushing towards him, Tenko was startled but quickly reacted. He plunged his ninjato into the ground, hanging the severed head at his waist, and began forming hand signs rapidly.

"Uchiha Flame Formation!"

"Boom, boom, boom~"

As the hand signs completed, crimson hellfire erupted from Tenko's right hand. He crouched and flipped his hand, slamming it down onto the yellow sand. The special Fire Release chakra surged into the ground.

"Bang!"

In the next instant, a towering wall of red flames rose from the sand, blocking the tide of sand and gold from reaching Tenko.

"Boom~"

The sand gold crashed into the Flame Formation. The intense heat melted the sand gold, and the molten gold, in golden-orange hues, flowed across the desert ground, enveloping the yellow sand it touched.

But there was too much sand gold, and even the crimson Flame Formation began to shimmer with a golden hue. Tenko continuously scanned left and right, trying to determine if his Body Flicker Jutsu could evade the expanding coverage of the sand gold.

"Let's do it together; you use Fire Release."

The appearance of a silver light reassured Tenko. He injected another large amount of chakra into the ground and then stood up. This should allow the Flame Formation to hold for a while longer.

Meanwhile, Tenko had no time to adjust the somewhat chaotic chakra flow within him. He forcefully completed the hand signs to channel his chakra. Although this would leave him sore for the next few days, it was necessary.

"Fire Release! Great Fire Annihilation!"

"Wind Release! Vacuum Waves Barrage!"

As Tenko unleashed his fire, Tatsuma also emitted a strong, scythe-like aura. Under the guidance of Wind Release, the Fire Release, which was originally spreading as a sea of flames, turned into slicing waves of fire.

"Bang, bang, bang~"

The fire slashes cut directly through the waves of sand gold, heading towards Rasa. The muscles on Rasa's face began to twitch as he clasped his hands together, causing all the remaining controllable sand gold around him to vibrate.

But it seemed to be too late.

The surrounding yellow sand began to flow even faster than the sand gold, and a figure appeared from the distance.

"Secret Jutsu! Air Sand Protective Wall!"

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