Chapter 300: Didn’t You Eat?

Chapter 300: Didn't You Eat?

Seeing the three before him—each from a different faction, each with a different goal—yet at this moment, all choosing to attack him in unison the instant they saw him,

Uchiha Ci's gaze instantly turned cold.

Kakashi's earlier words had proven prophetic.

At this time, both Iwagakure and Sunagakure were attempting to form an alliance with the Land of Lightning, willing to go to any lengths to achieve their hidden agendas.

Compared to Hidan, who had previously used his name to assassinate the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning in Yunming City,

it was Uchiha Ci—the true culprit behind the heavy losses Kumo and the Land of Lightning suffered in the Third Shinobi World War—whose head could truly win over the Daimyō and even the Third Raikage.

Whether it was due to old grudges, strategic considerations, or simply the desire to eliminate a genius from another village before he became a future threat— at this moment, there was already an irreconcilable conflict between them!

And since there was no retreat,

there was only one choice—battle!

[Iwagakure's Third Tsuchikage's son, Kitsuchi, has developed killing intent toward you!]

[The General of the Land of Iron, Mifune, has developed killing intent toward you!]

[Sunagakure's elder, Chiyo, has developed killing intent toward you!]

The three notifications that suddenly appeared signified that the battle was about to begin!

"Now's the time, Mifune, kill him!"

Chiyo's ten fingers pulled tightly, firmly restraining the skeletal frame, rendering Uchiha Ci immobile. Then, she turned her head and shouted angrily at Mifune, who had just slashed through the skeletal structure with his sword.

"Pierce his heart, and he won't be able to use Fire Release! Quickly!"

Mifune grunted in response, gripping his sword hilt tightly. His arms bulged with veins as he thrust forward with all his might!

Zzzt—!

Sparks erupted as his long sword scraped against the samurai blade!

At this moment, seeing the blade about to cut through the broken sword and stab into his throat, as well as the five steel wires wrapped around the skeleton—

These were the highly durable, binding and slicing steel threads shot from two puppets modeled after Sasori's parents. The deadly technique was known as Puppet Performance: Father and Mother's Unified Attack.

Uchiha Ci's eyes suddenly widened, and within them, three jet-black tomoe spun wildly around the eerie crimson pupils.

"It seems… you bunch of trash still don't understand the situation you're in!"

He curled his lips into a cold smile, sweeping his gaze over the three before him, then spoke in a deep voice:

"This is a battle of vision—don't underestimate the Uchiha!"

The moment his words fell—

Without hesitation, Uchiha Ci immediately summoned the terrifying power hidden within these eyes!

In the next instant, accompanied by a blinding red glow from his blood-red pupils, an intense fiery storm erupted around him!

The skeletal frame that had only shielded within a ten-centimeter radius around Uchiha Ci suddenly radiated a dazzling light!

Then—

Twenty-six bones, shimmering between bright yellow and crimson, burst forth from behind Uchiha Ci!

A half-formed skeletal Susanoo, burning with flames, rapidly took shape in the firelight, instantly shattering the steel wires binding the skeletal frame. Then, it raised its arm—

A massive bone hand grew out from above Mifune's head and slammed down fiercely!

An intense sense of imminent danger made Mifune's eyes widen in shock. He instinctively pushed off the ground, sidestepping and leaping backward, raising his sword in defense—

Screeech—!

The sword's blade scraped against the skeletal hand's back, bending into a nerve-wracking arc while emitting a piercing metallic screech.

Then, with a sudden snap, the blade straightened again, sending Mifune hurtling away in an arc through the air!

Boom!

He crashed into a pile of ruins, flipping back onto his feet while supporting himself with his sword. Mifune coughed lightly, spitting out a mouthful of blood, then lifted his head slightly—unable to suppress the shock in his eyes.

He stared at the unmoving Uchiha Ci standing in the center of the ruins, and the terrifying entity surrounding him—something that didn't belong to this era!

"What… what is that!?"

The same question surfaced in the minds of all three opponents.

Chiyo and Kitsuchi looked at the half-formed skeleton wrapped in flames, towering over them at thirty meters high!

Feeling the eerie and terrifying chakra fluctuations emanating from it, all three felt a tightness in their chests.

"This brat…" Chiyo gritted her teeth, struggling to accept it.

Despite having gathered every bit of intelligence she could on Uchiha Ci, every single one of his battles revealed something new—making it impossible to gauge how many trump cards he truly had, or just how fast he was progressing!

"We can't hold back anymore!"

Chiyo's old face twisted into a grimace. She turned her head and roared at the other two:

"I'll restrain him! We have only one chance—bring out every trump card you have!"

"Otherwise, it's impossible to kill him!"

With that, Chiyo abruptly raised her hand, bit her finger, and swiftly swiped it across an already-opened purple-sealed scroll. Her gaze turned vicious!

"White Secret Technique: Ten Puppet Collection of Chikamatsu!!"

With a bang, white smoke burst forth—

Ten legendary puppets, passed down from the Second Kazekage, appeared mid-air.

The moment they materialized, they shot forward, lunging at Uchiha Ci!

Clack, clack, clack!

In an instant, seven of the puppets unleashed a flurry of lethal techniques—

A female puppet wielding dual cleaving blades, a blue-faced puppet swinging a pointed steel wire,

two red and white-faced puppets combining into a rapidly spinning four-bladed chakra saw, a white-haired puppet extending its arms to fire spikes and bombs, and a bull-headed puppet acting as a guardian for close combat.

Each of them struck at Susanoo with everything they had!

Yet, in this new era, these relics of the past were nothing more than scrap metal against a towering war machine!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

A cascade of clashes rang out!

Whether it was the cleaving blades capable of splitting rock, the pointed steel wires that could pierce through steel, or the drill-like chakra saws, bombs, and puppet fists—

Every attack struck the fiery skeletal giant, only to spark uselessly off its hardened surface, failing to leave even a single mark.

Uchiha Ci remained coldly unmoved as Chiyo launched her fruitless assault.

He simply raised his hand and casually swept it across—

With a single mighty swipe, the massive skeletal hand obliterated all seven airborne puppets—

scattering them into fragments!

As the shattered puppet pieces rained down, the real killing move hidden behind them was finally revealed!

Chiyo's face grew solemn. She crossed her arms, fingers twitching rapidly—

In her control, three monk-like puppets took formation, pressing their palms together before opening their mouths wide, revealing their soulless, terrifying eyes!

"Puppet Technique: Three Jewels Suction Crushing!!"

The moment the elderly voice rang out,

a violent tornado engulfed the entire area where Uchiha Ci stood!

Centered around three puppets, an incredibly terrifying suction force was continuously generated—this was none other than the Sanbō Sōkai, the same technique that Ebizō had previously used against Uchiha Ci, nearly killing him!

The suction force of this Wind Release technique was no less powerful than Danzo Shimura's summon, the Baku. Under this force, even Susanoo began to tremble, inch by inch being dragged toward the three puppets.

However, unlike the Baku, this technique could not be disrupted by Fire Release, as Sasuke had done back then.

Any conventional attacks or even ninjutsu would be shredded apart upon reaching the eye of the storm.

Only Uchiha Ci's previously used Composite Ninjutsu: Hurricane Water Vortex Blade, which utilized counter-rotating wind and water to neutralize the suction force, had barely managed to stop it.

But now, Uchiha Ci had a more straightforward method!

Facing this lethal move, his gaze turned ice-cold, and he clenched his fist!

Under his control, Susanoo's skeletal arm swung back before thrusting forward with a devastating punch!

Boom!

Like a runaway locomotive, the massive fist carried a storm even fiercer than Sanbō Sōkai, roaring forth with unstoppable force!

Against such a terrifying power—one beyond the limits of human capability, a force generated simply by a massive entity's casual swing—

Chiyo's aged, murky eyes widened in shock as she watched her three puppets get smashed to pieces with a single punch.

Her face stiffened involuntarily.

"T-That's just unreasonable!"

Given the sheer hardness of Susanoo's skeletal arms, Sanbō Sōkai couldn't shred them apart instantly. And as long as that window existed, a single punch was enough to obliterate the three puppets, naturally canceling the technique.

That said—

Chiyo's jutsu had indeed stalled Uchiha Ci, if only momentarily.

Like a persistent fly buzzing in front of his eyes, it provoked an irresistible urge to swat it away.

And it was precisely in that fleeting moment, the one Chiyo had managed to create—

"Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction!"

With a furious shout—

—Rumble!

Uchiha Ci abruptly lifted his head, only to see—

At some point, Kitsuchi had already leaped onto the mountain peak behind the palace, clasping his hands together in the Snake seal.

Then, he spread his fingers and slammed his palm down onto the massive mountaintop!

The next instant—

A deep, jagged fissure spread down from the peak, splitting apart the mountain even larger than the palace itself!

Then—

A cloud of dust rose from the dark chasm, the mountain trembled violently, and the entire upper section of the peak was completely severed by Kitsuchi, plummeting downward!

The already dim sky was suddenly cast into darkness.

The soft moonlight was utterly swallowed at that moment—

like a meteor crashing down from the heavens.

The sheer size of the falling mountain peak dwarfed the entire palace beneath it!

"Holy sh*t, what the hell?!"

Seeing this scene, Uchiha Ci's pupils shrank slightly.

Even his thirty-meter-tall half-body Susanoo seemed insignificant before such a colossal force of nature.

There was no time to use ninjutsu to alter the trajectory of the descending mountain.

All he could do was pull back Susanoo's arms, crossing them above his head to shield himself!

—Boom!!

The massive rock crashed down!

Like a titanic steamroller descending from the sky, Susanoo's skeletal arms, attempting to hold back the mountain, were instantly crushed into fragments—

dissipating into pure chakra in midair.

The immense weight struck the ground, sending out a ring of sand and dust in all directions!

Crack, crack, crack!

Dense web-like fractures spread wildly across the surface of Susanoo!

Only when the mountain shattered around Susanoo, leaving its structure riddled with deep cracks, did Uchiha Ci barely withstand this Falling Rock technique!

The defensive strength of his second-stage half-body skeletal Susanoo was still somewhat lacking—certain conventional ninjutsu could indeed damage it.

And Kitsuchi's meteor-like rockfall, created through terrain manipulation, was a heavy blow to Uchiha Ci, who could only manifest Susanoo at its second stage.

Even Uchiha Ci couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in astonishment as he gazed at the fractures covering Susanoo.

Silently, Kitsuchi had pulled off something huge—no wonder he was capable of restraining the Gedo Statue for a full second.

Just as Uchiha Ci let out a slight breath and prepared to repair Susanoo—another dark shadow descended from the sky at high speed!

"Earth Release: Super Heavy Rock Fist Jutsu!!"

Head down, feet up, a burly figure resembling a giant bear, clad in the red uniform of Iwagakure,

Kitsuchi roared as he swung his fist down from midair!

The Super Heavy Rock Fist Jutsu—a combination of Fist Rock Jutsu and Super Heavy Rock Technique.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, used this very technique to shatter the clam and, along with the Fourth Raikage, even managed to crack Uchiha Madara's Susanoo!

At this moment—

the fist, wrapped in layers of solid rock, crashed down onto Susanoo!

"Break for me!!" Kitsuchi bellowed furiously.

Under this blow, the already crumbling half-body Susanoo—

finally shattered completely!

And at the very instant of Susanoo's collapse—

"Secret Sword: Sky-Splitting Slash!"

A cold voice suddenly rang out from behind Uchiha Ci!

Mifune had been waiting for this moment.

His eyes sharpened as he focused his chakra entirely into his blade.

One hand pressed against the scabbard, while the other gripped the hilt—then, in a crouching stance, he lunged forward at full speed before leaping high, slicing downward!

In the blink of an eye,

his sword flashed like a crescent moon falling from the sky!

With both hands gripping the hilt, veins bulging across his arms and forehead,

Mifune glared at Uchiha Ci and roared—

"DIE!!"

The crescent-like sword arc streaked forth, slashing straight toward Uchiha Ci's now-unprotected torso.

With this one strike, he aimed to cleave Uchiha Ci from shoulder to heart, down to his waist—

a single diagonal slash that would render him completely incapacitated!

However—faced with this relentless barrage of attacks,

Uchiha Ci merely gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, yet he didn't move a single step.

All these flashy tricks… not bad.

But they weren't nearly enough to stir his battle instincts.

In the next instant—just as Mifune's blade was about to land on Uchiha Ci's shoulder—his torso suddenly seemed to merge with the darkness, transforming into an abyssal void of inky blackness.

A technique granted by the new heart he had received from Kakuzu—

Earth Release: Earth Spear, silently activated in that moment!

And then—

—Clang!!

A crisp, metallic ringing echoed through the ruins, lingering for a long while.

At that moment—

Mifune felt as if his mighty, steel-cutting strike had struck an unbreakable diamond.

And then—with a sharp crack, his chakra-infused metal blade snapped apart and flew out of his grasp.

Mifune was momentarily stunned.

Then, he saw—

Uchiha Ci tilting his head slightly, glancing at him with a mocking smirk.

And then, in a tone that would make anyone want to grab him by the throat and smash his face into a wall, he sighed dramatically and asked:

"What's wrong?

Didn't you guys eat today?"