UTBW: Ch. 47

As the words fell, Junichi raised his hand once more. All the ninjas on the Sarutobi's side were gripped with fear, preparing to dodge.

But it was useless, his arm blurred into afterimages, and the light in his Mangekyō Sharingan flared.

Tenjimei—Double Speed!

Swish swish swish...!

In the blink of an eye, he unleashed twelve slashes that bloomed like petals, sweeping across the ninjas ahead at lightning speed.

"Not good!" The ninjas' pupils shrank to pinpoints as they tried to evade. But it was far too late. All they saw was a flash.

Before they could even register what happened, a sharp pain struck somewhere on their bodies, followed by a spray of blood.

Then, one after another, the ninjas were sliced apart from all directions. Just one round of slashes, and the entire two-hundred-meter area ahead was wiped clean. Not a single person was left standing.

Gulp...

Behind him, many of the Uchiha couldn't help but swallow hard.

Terrifying!

Even with the three-tomoe Sharingan, those twelve strikes were barely visible. But even if they could see them, their bodies couldn't keep up.

Not bad. Junichi looked at the carnage before him, expressionless, and even nodded in satisfaction: Techniques and power from the One Piece world truly crush them. Doesn't matter if you're a chunin or a jonin, they can't dodge it.

He was satisfied, but he hadn't forgotten: there were still enemies to kill.

No matter who these guys were, the moment they invaded Uchiha territory, they locked themselves into the role of enemies. And since they were enemies, it was only fair to return the favor. They came to kill, so he would kill them right back.

Swish!

As he pondered, his arm blurred again, sending out wave after wave of flying slashes like he didn't have to pay for them. He even purposely toned down the power of his slashes.

In the One Piece world, this would be considered a basic attack. But to these fragile ninjas, it was already a nightmare.

Swish!

A flying slash swept past.

Two hundred meters away, an ANBU hidden in a tree, along with the tree itself, was sliced clean in half.

Splurt!

In a house on the left, a Root ninja was decapitated.

Boom!

Three meters underground, a Sarutobi ninja had the upper half of his body sliced off.

"Ahhh...!!" Screams of terror erupted. The morale of the Third Hokage's forces completely collapsed, they fled in panic.

"Run!"

"He's not human!"

"We can't deal with this guy!"

"There's no chance of winning!"

They fled in a mad scramble. Even many Sarutobi clan ninjas couldn't help but falter, more than half turned and ran.

They came ready to fight—but not to die.

"Earth Release..." Only the Root-trained machines continued to resist: "Earth Dragon Bullet!"

A Root jonin swiftly formed hand seals.

Junichi merely glanced at him, then casually slashed once.

The earth dragon and the ninja were both cut clean in half. His effortless, almost indifferent way of killing only deepened the others' fear.

"We can't fight him, we absolutely can't!" Even the remaining hesitant Sarutobi ninjas panicked completely and turned to flee.

"Go. Kill them all." Junichi glanced back at the Uchiha clansmen and ordered, "But do not leave the clan grounds. Once you're done, regroup here."

"Yes!!" The clansmen responded with excitement, their bodies trembling with exhilaration. Amazingly, ten of them awakened the Sharingan on the spot.

Seven more had their Sharingan advance to a single tomoe.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

They instantly used the Body Flicker Technique, pouncing on the fleeing Sarutobi's forces like hungry wolves descending on sheep. After being suppressed for so long, their frustration had been building up. Now that they had a chance to release it, none of them hesitated.

"...Fugaku." Yuki didn't join the chase. He turned to Fugaku with a serious expression. "Junichi is stronger than you... and he's done better."

"I understand what I need to do." Fugaku smiled bitterly.

"That's good." Yuki's tone softened. He patted Fugaku on the shoulder and comforted him, "You weren't wrong to begin with. No one could've predicted the Fourth Hokage's death. Once he died, everything changed. And when the situation changes, choices that were right can suddenly become wrong."

Fugaku remained silent.

"You and Itachi made a mistake. But you still have Sasuke, and a chance to choose differently," Yuki said with deep meaning.

Fugaku nodded firmly. "I understand."

---

Meanwhile, inside the inner area of the compound, the air rippled slowly, as though space itself was twisting.

From the distortion, a figure stepped out.

He wore an orange spiral-patterned mask and a black cloak adorned with red clouds. His left eye socket revealed a Mangekyō Sharingan with a scythe-like pattern.

He looked down silently at Itachi's lifeless, eyeless body.

A black-and-white humanoid being emerged from the ground, frowning. "Itachi's dead. The Uchiha clan is destroyed. Are we still continuing with the plan?"

"No," the masked man shook his head, gazing toward the main road of the Uchiha district. His voice was low. "This Junichi is a problem."

"His upbringing was plain, ordinary, and peaceful, he had none of the conditions to awaken the Mangekyō. And that exaggerated swordsmanship..." He didn't finish the sentence. A flicker of deep wariness crossed his eye.

A character appearing outside of the script, it made him deeply uneasy.

"What about the plan to weaken Konoha?" the humanoid being asked hoarsely.

"It's already achieved." The masked man regained some confidence as he spoke of the situation. "Whether he wins, the the Hokage wins, or they both get hurt, all of it is a heavy blow to Konoha. My goal has been accomplished. I've simply lost the piece that was Itachi. A tolerable loss."

At that, the humanoid being didn't say more, it had been thinking the same. Neither it nor the masked man had the strength for head-on battle, so caution was best.

Before figuring out Junichi's true nature, observing from the shadows was safer.

"Let's go. There's no point staying here." The masked man reached out and placed his hand on the humanoid being's shoulder, who nodded.

The next moment, space around the masked man's right eye twisted. Like a vortex, the swirling space swallowed both their figures, and they vanished without a trace.

---

On the main road, Junichi strolled forward, slashing his sword.

Swish!

Swish!

Each flick of his blade sent out flying sword strikes. Inside houses, underground, behind walls, within ruins... Any ANBU or Sarutobi ninjas missed by the other Uchiha and hiding nearby were all located by his Observation Haki.

The flying slashes wiped them all out. Even those who used Shadow Clone Jutsu or smoke bombs to create confusion, it didn't work.

Under the perception of Observation Haki, their movements were as clear as text in the palm of his hand.

Swish!

Another strike.

A Sarutobi ninja hiding in the cellar of a house was cleanly sliced in two.

Junichi sheathed his blade and stood still, scanning his surroundings.