THE UCHIHA ASCENSION

Activating his Sharingan, Uchiha Kiyo no longer hesitated.

He pulled out several kunai and hurled them at Ryo.

With the enhanced perception of the Sharingan, Uchiha Kiyo's throwing skills had improved significantly, truly showcasing the precision and mastery of the Uchiha clan's techniques.

Each of the five kunai followed a perfect arc, converging on Ryo from multiple angles, leaving only one opening—the direct line between Kiyo and Ryo.

Aware of Uchiha Kiyo's close-combat prowess, Ryo wasn't about to let himself be caught off guard again.

He sidestepped swiftly, slashing with his blade to deflect the kunai in his direction.

Uchiha Kiyo appeared to be adjusting to the Sharingan's enhanced insight, continuously launching kunai with various trajectories, making it increasingly difficult for Ryo to defend.

The main problem for Ryo was that he couldn't predict Kiyo's strategy. With kunai flying at him relentlessly, he had no choice but to keep blocking—unless he wanted to take another direct hit.

Seeing Ryo's reaction, Uchiha Kiyo smirked mockingly.

"Heh! You're just letting me throw kunai at you over and over again."

His scarlet Sharingan gleamed ominously as he surveyed the battlefield, kunai scattered all around.

Ryo, who had been closely watching Kiyo's every move, noticed his taunting smile and immediately felt uneasy.

Something was wrong.

Ducking away from the last wave of kunai, Ryo's hands formed a rapid sequence of seals.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Pouring all his chakra into the jutsu, he summoned a water dragon nearly twice as large as his previous one.

As the powerful water dragon roared toward him, Uchiha Kiyo made no move to dodge.

He simply stood there.

That only made Ryo even more uneasy.

Just as the water dragon was about to crash into Kiyo, he suddenly vanished.

No, he didn't vanish—he left a single kunai behind.

"Where… where did that Uchiha go?"

Ryo's eyes darted around in alarm, searching for Kiyo.

Then he noticed something.

Kunai? Where did those come from?!

Before Ryo could react, Uchiha Kiyo teleported—suddenly appearing behind him.

The opportunity was fleeting, and Kiyo had no time to pull out another kunai. Instead, he struck Ryo directly with his fist.

Even for a Jōnin, taking a full-powered punch from Kiyo was devastating.

Ryo was sent flying five or six meters, crashing heavily to the ground.

Only then did the realization hit him.

Those kunai… He can switch places with them!

Unfortunately, by the time Ryo understood the truth, it was too late.

Kiyo teleported again, reappearing right next to him.

With precise and ruthless efficiency, Kiyo drove his fist directly into Ryo's chest.

Even with chakra-enhanced defenses, the force of the attack ruptured Ryo's internal organs. Blood mixed with fragments of flesh spurted from his mouth.

His body went limp.

"...T-T-Time...space..."

Ryo gasped out the words weakly, but Kiyo didn't give him the chance to finish.

In one swift motion, he grabbed a kunai and severed Ryo's head.

Without wasting a second, Kiyo turned and sprinted toward the other battlefields.

---

His first stop was Sarutobi Shuo's fight.

With the Sharingan aiding his precision, Kiyo pulled out five kunai and threw them in a perfect formation, forcing the Rain ninja fighting Sarutobi Shuo to defend.

At the same time, Kiyo's hands formed another seal.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Spear!"

From the ground, five or six sharp earth spears shot up.

The Rain ninja had just evaded the kunai and had no time to react to the spears. One of them pierced through his left leg.

Kiyo immediately closed the distance, kunai in hand.

The Rain ninja, already injured, made a mistake under the hypnotic pull of Kiyo's Sharingan.

Kiyo saw the opening and struck.

"Pfft."

His kunai sank into the Rain ninja's abdomen.

Without hesitation, he pulled it out and slashed again.

"Slash!"

The kunai sliced cleanly across the Rain ninja's throat.

---

"Nawaki!"

Kiyo called out, throwing five kunai at Nawaki's opponent.

After three years of working together, their coordination was seamless. Nawaki instantly understood the message—Kiyo wanted him to finish the fight quickly.

Using the opening created by Kiyo's attack, Nawaki launched his own jutsu.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Although not as strong as Ryo's earlier attack, the environmental conditions amplified Nawaki's water jutsu.

Against the force of the water dragon, the weakened Chūnin opponent stood no chance.

Satisfied that Nawaki could handle the rest, Kiyo turned his focus back to Sarutobi Shuo.

After quickly checking his teammate's wounds, Kiyo sighed.

"Damn, Shuo, you're in bad shape."

Baring his teeth, Kiyo helped prop Sarutobi Shuo up while forming a new set of seals.

"Good thing I learned Mystical Palm Technique recently. Otherwise, even if you made it back to Konoha, you'd be as good as crippled."

His hands glowed with a faint green light as he treated Sarutobi Shuo's most severe wounds.

This wasn't the time for full healing—the battlefield was still dangerous, and reinforcements were on their way. Kiyo just needed to stabilize Shuo so he wouldn't bleed out.

Meanwhile, Nawaki had defeated his opponent and was ready to move.

"Let's go!" Kiyo commanded. "Shuo's too injured to keep up, and more Rain ninja are coming. We need to evacuate—fast!"

Without hesitation, Nawaki helped Kiyo carry Sarutobi Shuo, and the three retreated toward the Land of Fire.

---

But the enemy wasn't about to let them go so easily.

After barely covering a kilometer, Kiyo sensed a large group of chakra signatures approaching rapidly.

He gritted his teeth.

"Of course, it wouldn't be that easy..."

He glanced at Nawaki.

"Nawaki, keep running with Shuo. I'll hold them off."

"You sure you can handle it alone?" Nawaki asked, concerned.

"Don't insult me," Kiyo smirked. "I won't be reckless—just stalling them. You know me, I'm hard to kill."

Stopping in his tracks, Kiyo activated his Sharingan again.

Through the enhanced vision, he estimated the enemy numbers.

"Fifteen… Two of them are elite Chūnin, just a step below Jōnin. The rest are mid-to-low-level Chūnin."

The Rain ninja formed a fan-shaped formation a hundred meters ahead of him.

Kiyo's eyes turned cold.

Without hesitation, he formed seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Spear!"

With a full chakra output, dozens of sharp earth spears erupted from the ground, ambushing the Rain ninja from all sides.

Caught off guard, five weaker Rain ninja were critically wounded, while the rest—except for the two elite Chūnin—suffered injuries.

Kiyo didn't waste the opening.

Charging forward, he yanked a spear from the ground and slashed a nearby Rain ninja across the chest.

Before the enemy could even process what was happening, Kiyo had already taken down three more.

The two elite Chūnin finally reacted and moved to stop him.

But Kiyo didn't engage them directly.

Instead, he weaved between enemies, delivering fatal strikes with pinpoint precision, his Sharingan guiding his every move.

In just two minutes, three Rain ninja were dead, and another five were incapacitated.

The Rain ninja began adjusting their tactics.

Sensing their change in formation, Kiyo leaped back, made a seal, and activated another jutsu.

"Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique!"

His feet touched the ground—

And he vanished.