Naruto:The System's Shadow

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

No sooner had Kaito reformed than he completed the hand seals. A massive fire dragon roared towards Hyuga Tenma.

"A B-rank jutsu! This brat…"

Hyuga Tenma desperately dodged, sweat beading on his forehead. A B-rank jutsu was enough to threaten a regular Jonin, let alone a Special Jonin like himself. If he was hit directly, he'd be reduced to ash.

"Sharingan, activate!"

Since the fighting had started, he had to go all out from the get-go, Kaito thought. Concealing strength was only an option when there was a significant power imbalance, otherwise, it was just suicide.

"Three Tomoe… Impossible…?!"

Hyuga Tenma's eyes widened as he saw the three tomoe in Kaito's Sharingan. His mind reeled. How could a child, barely five years old, have already unlocked the Three-Tomoe Sharingan? What kind of monster was he?

"Instead of being surprised, you should be worrying about yourself," Kaito said coolly. Before Hyuga Tenma could figure out what was happening, he felt a scorching heat behind him.

"How did he make the fire dragon turn around?" The thought flashed through Hyuga Tenma's mind. As a veteran ninja, he reacted quickly. He activated his Byakugan, his vision sweeping 360 degrees. The Fire Dragon Flame Bullet that he'd just dodged was spinning around, coming right back at him.

"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm Lion's Roar!" Hyuga Tenma quickly gathered chakra in his palm and unleashed a punch, sending a roaring lion's head made of chakra to meet the incoming fire dragon. A deafening explosion echoed as they collided.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" Shuriken spun through the air, instantly coated in chakra flames, and flew towards Hyuga Tenma from multiple directions.

And Kaito wasn't finished. His hands continued to weave seals, unleashing three more Fire Style jutsu in quick succession: "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Jutsu!" "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" "Fire Style: Flower Claw Fire!"

The powerful flames didn't let up. Explosions rang out one after another, obscuring Hyuga Tenma from view.

A ninja's job was to exploit their strengths and attack their opponent's weaknesses. Kaito knew the Hyuga clan's strengths. Their Byakugan provided all-around perception, allowing them to see an opponent's chakra flow. Gentle Fist and Eight Trigrams Palm were taijutsu-based styles. Only a moron would engage a Hyuga in close combat.

"Well, except for that idiot Madara over there!" Kaito amended in his mind, glancing at Madara, who was hacking away at the Hyuga Jonin with his katana.

The Uchiha clan's Fire Style jutsu were famous throughout the Warring States period for their power. Even C-rank jutsu could threaten a Jonin. Hyuga Tenma had been forced to dodge and weave, and had been feeling frustrated; especially in light of the fact that his apponent was 5 years old.

As Kaito retreated, he continuously unleashed Fire Style attacks, keeping a distance of at least fifty meters. Even when the Hyuga occasionally countered with the long-range techniques of Gentle Fist, Kaito easily dodged them.

Back in his old life, he had played an Ice Mage in WoW, right? Kiting was second nature!

With the Sharingan's enhanced perception, Kaito closely monitored his opponent's every move. Along with their trademark Fire Style, the Uchiha clan was also known for massive chakra reserves. Apart from the Senju, no other clan could reliably overpower the Uchiha in terms of chakra capacity.

"Damn it!"

After dodging another burst of flames, Hyuga Tenma couldn't help but curse. He was being driven mad by this cheap tactic. Biting his lip, he decided to risk injury to kill the little brat.

"Body Flicker Technique!"

Hyuga Tenma's figure vanished, reappearing twenty meters closer. He vanished again, now less than ten meters away. And then again, appearing right in front of Kaito.

The Body Flicker Technique was a general term for high-speed movement techniques. It wasn't difficult to learn, and scrolls were generally found in the libraries of most high end ninja clans. They caused massive amounts of strain on the body, and with each use, damage occurs, making it more difficult for long battles and without the power of an active healing technique.

By using the Body Flicker Technique, Hyuga Tenma had decided to bet on his strength, to fight as injured as possible to get to where Kaito was

"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Severing Palm Breaking Mountain!" The instant he appeared, Hyuga Tenma unleashed his strongest attack, also one of the three A-rank jutsu he had mastered.

He poured all of his chakra into his blade, and slashed in an instant. Hyuga Tenma was certain of its power. Even a Jonin would be cut in two.

Kaito's face turned serious. He couldn't dodge this. But he had no intention of dodging. The three tomoe in his Sharingan spun wildly, locking eyes with his opponent.

Caw! Caw! Caw…

Hyuga Tenma's full-power attack only cut through a few scattered crow feathers. The feeling of hitting air after putting his all into this attack was enraging.

The crows swirled and coalesced, reforming into Uchiha Kaito. "That bonehead Madara said he could hold you off for ten minutes. Seven minutes have passed. If I don't take care of you, I might have to collect his corpse. As much as I hate to give up such a great target, I have to put you down now."

Hyuga Tenma was sick to death of Kaito's hit-and-run tactics. His face twisted involuntarily. He sneered. "So, you're saying you could have killed me at any time?"

Kaito shook his head. This guy's mind was probably cracking. But if he were in his shoes, he'd probably feel the same. Being kited like this was never fun.

"Haven't you noticed? It's too quiet around here. We're supposed to be in the middle of a battle, but there are no other sounds!"

With Kaito's reminder, Hyuga Tenma noticed the eerie silence surrounding them. He glanced around and his heart nearly stopped. The Uchiha clan compound was gone! He was clearly standing on a mountain of blades, with countless sharp points stretching out beneath his feet. One wrong step would mean certain death.

"An illusion? When did I fall under this…?" Hyuga Tenma realized, and began to frantically gather chakra and disrupt its flow, hoping to break the genjutsu.

Kaito spoke, "Don't bother struggling. You should have realized it already. The moment you used the Body Flicker to rush at me, the moment we made eye contact, you were already caught. This illusion is something I created by combining the Art of Misdirection with the Fox Mind Technique. Makes it a B-rank, I guess. And since it's the first time I'm using it, let's call it the Fox Head Severing Technique, what do you think?"