Naruto:The System's Shadow

"To think he had such a powerful A-rank ninjutsu as a trump card." The Hyuga jonin gnashed his teeth inwardly. The more he fought these two children, the more shocked he became. How could such prodigies exist, and two of them at that?

The two fire dragons were upon him in the blink of an eye. The Hyuga jonin leaped to evade one, while concentrating all his chakra into his blade, "Void Severing Moon Assault!"

Once again, an A-rank ninjutsu was unleashed, firing a sword beam as luminous as moonlight, cleaving the fire dragon in two.

Thud!

Uchiha Madara collapsed on the rooftop, unmoving. Blood seeped out, staining the tiles beneath him crimson. He was now utterly immobilized. The Dragon Flame Release Song was his ultimate ace in the hole, a technique he had secretly learned by sneaking into the depths of the Uchiha shrine and stealing its scroll.

Even within the fire-style-renowned Uchiha clan, this technique was considered top-tier, capable of releasing multiple fire dragons based on the user's chakra level. Each dragon possessed power equivalent to that of a standard A-rank ninjutsu. With Madara's current strength, he could summon a maximum of three dragons. Even so, they were thrice as potent as a regular A-rank technique.

Naturally, such immense power came at the cost of a gargantuan chakra expenditure. Even with his chakra reserves, which were far beyond those of his peers, he could only use the technique thrice. Combined with the fact that he had been battling this jonin for over a dozen minutes and was already severely wounded, the attack had completely depleted his chakra.

"Kaito, I'm leaving the rest to you," Uchiha Madara whispered weakly. Even turning his head was a struggle, and he had no way of knowing the status of Kaito and the jonin.

The instant the Hyuga jonin shattered the fire dragons, Kaito suddenly appeared, his blood-red eyes locking directly with his opponent's. The eerie, three-tomoe Sharingan slowly rotated.

"Not good…!"

The Hyuga jonin had encountered Uchiha clan shinobi countless times on the battlefield. The moment he saw the Sharingan, he realized his opponent was about to cast a genjutsu. Without hesitation, he whirled his longsword around, aiming it at his own abdomen.

A jolt ran through him, and the Hyuga jonin felt as though he had abruptly been transported to a different location. Before he could make sense of his surroundings, searing pain erupted in his abdomen. His chakra surged wildly, colliding throughout his body. In a daze, like the shattering of a mirror, he was back in reality.

Upon his return, he saw Uchiha Kaito holding a sphere of condensed chakra, spinning at an unbelievable rate, thrusting it toward his heart.

"What kind of ninjutsu is this?"

Another technique he had never seen before. Yet, the Hyuga jonin dared not be careless. He could sense the immense destructive power it contained. In his current condition, being struck by this technique would be a death sentence.

He struck Kaito's arm with a punch, deflecting his aim by a fraction, and twisted his body, barely evading the lethal strike. Yet, in his haste, he was struck by a kunai with an explosive tag on his chest.

The two plummeted to the rooftop.

As the Hyuga jonin landed, he ripped off his outer coat and flung it away. A deafening explosion followed, vaporizing the coat.

He gasped for air, his heart pounding with lingering fear. Thankfully, he had ample experience dealing with genjutsu. He had maintained a sliver of contact between his mind and body through pain, then disrupted his chakra flow, managing to snap out of the illusion at the crucial moment. Had he been even a second slower, his prospects would have been bleak.

His chakra was in disarray, rendering him unable to use ninjutsu. Yet, he was confident that he could achieve victory with taijutsu alone. He only needed to be wary of that swirling orb-like technique.

"The Rasengan has been revealed."

Kaito felt his side. A piercing pain shot through him. At least two ribs were broken. This was the most severe injury he had sustained since transmigrating to this world.

After exchanging for the Rasengan, he had refrained from using it until he could find an opportunity for a decisive, one-hit kill. The Rasengan had many excellent qualities, but its disadvantage was that it was a close-quarters skill. If he faced an opponent with superior speed, they could easily evade it.

And that Hyuga jonin excelled at taijutsu. If he had directly used the technique, Kaito had no confidence in hitting his target.

The tomoe in his eyes slowly receded, and his eyes returned to their normal color. Having overexerted himself with the Fox Decapitation technique, his Sharingan was now operating beyond its limits due to insufficient chakra.

Without the Sharingan, he would be unable to keep up with the opponent's speed. The Rasengan had also been exposed, and the opponent would surely be on guard. Kaito silently assessed his remaining chakra. After so much fighting, he had little left—enough for perhaps one Rasengan and one Great Fireball Technique. It seemed he had reached a dead end.

Yet, in this situation, Kaito still stood up, trembling, and retrieved two kunai, assuming a defensive posture.

Giving up was not an option; perhaps a miracle might still occur. Resigning himself to fate was not in Uchiha Kaito's nature.

The Hyuga jonin pulled out the sword from his chest and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Seeing Kaito standing up with such tenacity, his eyes flashed with admiration. He could not help but lament that such a genius was not from his own clan.

Regardless, he had to eliminate these two children today; otherwise, they would pose an immeasurable threat in the future!

The Hyuga jonin's expression hardened, and he rushed towards his opponent, his chakra in disarray, leaving him with only taijutsu as an option.

Clang!

The Hyuga jonin and Uchiha Kaito brushed past each other. A new wound appeared on Kaito's left arm, the crimson blood staining his arm red.

The Hyuga jonin immediately turned and lashed out with his longsword, creating a whirlwind of afterimages as he assaulted Kaito.

Kaito desperately parried, finally understanding Uchiha Madara's earlier predicament. He had sustained countless injuries. Every muscle in his body was contracting, as if about to break. His vision was blurring. He knew he was losing too much blood.

At this rate, I will surely die. I still have enough chakra for one Rasengan. If I can hit him, I can definitely kill him in one strike. But with his speed, how can I possibly hit him?

Various strategies flashed through Kaito's mind. Finally, he gritted his teeth and thought, "I'll risk it! Sharingan, activate!"

Using his remaining chakra to stimulate his eyes, the Sharingan was activated once more amidst a surge of pain. Now, he would be able to clearly perceive the opponent's sword movements.

At this moment, his opponent was moving at high speed, thrusting his sword straight at his heart.

"This is it. I can do this. I must do this!" The tomoe spun wildly, staring intently at the approaching sword. He stepped forward instead of back, abandoning all defense, and hurled the kunai. His target was the opponent's neck, a suicidal attack.

"Courting death..." The Hyuga jonin's eyes lit up with delight. He did not know why this clever brat had suddenly lost his mind. The kunai was too slow to pose a threat.

Thwack!

The sword pierced through without resistance. The Hyuga jonin couldn't help but smile. He tilted his head, evading the kunai. Finally, it was over. It had been more tiring than battling another jonin. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Got you!"

The sudden voice shocked the Hyuga jonin. As he tried to retreat, he realized that chakra threads had filled the area around him, binding him.

It was that kunai from earlier! He instantly understood, but it was too late.

In his opponent's other hand, a sphere of pure chakra reappeared, pressing against his chest.

An immense force erupted from his chest. The Hyuga jonin coughed up blood mixed with pieces of his internal organs. He could clearly feel that his heart had been shattered.

"Ding! Hyuga clan jonin eliminated. Reward: 5000 points."

"Mission to support Uchiha Madara and eliminate the Hyuga clan's leading jonin completed. Reward: 5000 points."

As the system's voice echoed, Kaito exhaled deeply. Fatigue and pain washed over him. At the crucial moment, he had relied on the vision of his Sharingan to shift his body slightly, narrowly avoiding the heart. With a final blink, he lost consciousness and collapsed.