The ninja sword and kunai of Sora and Uchiha Kazuo clashed repeatedly, sparks flying with each collision.
Sora's sword-drawing speed was significantly faster than Uchiha Kazuo's. However, with the enhanced perception of his Three Tomoe Sharingan, Uchiha Kazuo perfectly countered each of Sora's slashes and launched precise counterattacks.
In close combat, Sora found himself unable to gain the upper hand against Uchiha Kazuo.
After another clash between the ninja sword and kunai, Sora quickly distanced himself from Uchiha Kazuo, retreating to create space.
As he moved back, Sora began rapidly forming hand seals.
Uchiha Kazuo's expression shifted to one of disbelief as he recognized the jutsu Sora was about to use.
Sora completed his hand seals and exclaimed, "Fire Style: Dust Hidden Technique!"
He exhaled a cloud of superheated dust that spread out in front of him. As the dust settled on the ground, it spread rapidly in all directions.
Uchiha Kazuo immediately leapt back, avoiding direct contact with the dust. The intense heat emanating from it was palpable. Trees in the vicinity ignited upon contact, consumed by flames almost instantly.
The danger didn't end there—the dust was volatile and prone to explosions.
Moments after the dust spread, a series of violent explosions erupted. The ground shook as fire and debris flew into the air, with successive detonations echoing across the battlefield.
When the explosions subsided, Uchiha Kazuo crouched in hiding, scanning his surroundings cautiously. The dust cloud had obstructed his vision, and he had lost sight of Sora. Even his Sharingan couldn't detect him through the haze.
'Why would Sora use a Fire Style jutsu from the Uchiha clan?' Uchiha Kazuo thought, frowning. 'It shouldn't be possible for him to know it.'
Suddenly, he noticed movement in a patch of grass nearby. Without hesitation, Uchiha Kazuo formed hand seals.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"
He exhaled a massive fire dragon that roared toward the rustling grass. The fire dragon detonated upon impact, engulfing the area in flames. A figure leapt out just before the explosion consumed the spot.
Uchiha Kazuo's eyes narrowed as he locked onto the figure, his voice cold. "I've got you now!"
He immediately followed up with another jutsu. "Fire Style: Long Flame Singing Technique!"
Kazuo unleashed four fire dragons, which surged toward Sora from all directions: above, below, left, and right. In mid-air, Sora seemed to have no way to evade the incoming attack.
The four fire dragons struck their target with a fiery explosion. But as the flames dissipated, Uchiha Kazuo's Sharingan caught a flicker of light—a burst of electricity.
His eyes widened. "Lightning Style Shadow Clone?!"
The Sora he had struck dissolved into a flash of lightning, revealing it was only a clone. Worse, the real Sora had now pinpointed his location.
A crack appeared in the ground behind Uchiha Kazuo, and Sora emerged silently from the fissure.
Using the Dust Hidden Technique to obscure Kazuo's vision, Sora had deployed a Lightning Style Shadow Clone as a decoy. Meanwhile, he utilized Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique to burrow underground, preparing to launch his surprise attack.
Sora attempted to lure Uchiha Kazuo closer using his Lightning Style Shadow Clone. If Kazuo approached in person, the clone's lightning discharge would paralyze him instantly.
However, Kazuo saw through the ploy and chose to attack the clone from a distance using long-range ninjutsu.
Meanwhile, Sora capitalized on the distraction, using Earth-style ninjutsu to stealthily manoeuvre behind Uchiha Kazuo. Emerging silently from the ground, Sora swung his blade toward Kazuo's legs in a swift strike.
The sudden attack caused Kazuo's instincts to kick in, and the hairs on his body stood on end. Reacting with impressive speed, he leapt into the air, narrowly evading Sora's slash.
But the assault wasn't over.
Sora quickly formed a series of hand seals and pulled out several shuriken. "Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire!" he shouted, igniting the shuriken with flames as he launched them. The burning projectiles, glowing with intense heat, scattered through the air like blazing balsam flowers, hurtling toward Kazuo in midair.
Kazuo's Sharingan spun rapidly, tracking every flaming shuriken. There were thirteen in total.
With precise movements, Kazuo deflected each shuriken using his kunai. Not a single one reached him, and he landed gracefully on the ground, unscathed.
"Tch," Sora clicked his tongue in frustration. 'Jōnin from a prominent clan really is tough,' he thought.
Although Sora himself was a Jōnin, Uchiha Kazuo was proving to be far more troublesome than even Kuroiwa Tatsuji, an Elite Jōnin Sora had previously faced.
Kazuo's face darkened, and he demanded coldly, "Where did you learn Uchiha Fire Style ninjutsu?"
Sora smirked, his tone laced with sarcasm. "Where did I learn it? You should ask your clan leader and his son."
He continued mockingly, "Believe it or not, Uchiha Masaki had Uchiha Fugaku apologize to me personally. They even handed me instructions on how to use the Uchiha clan's Fire Style techniques and Sharingan."
Kazuo's face twisted in disbelief. "Impossible!" he barked. "There's no way the clan leader would ask Fugaku to apologize to someone like you! You're lying, you brat!"
Sora's smirk widened. "If you don't believe me, why don't you ask Uchiha Masaki and Fugaku yourself? But let me tell you, Uchiha Fire Style ninjutsu is as good as they say."
Kazuo's hands clenched into fists. He couldn't bring himself to believe Sora's words—nor could he accept the idea of their clan leader apologizing to someone like Sora.
Just as Kazuo prepared to launch another attack, a loud voice boomed through the air. "What are you two doing?!"
Jiraiya appeared on the scene, his expression stern as he walked toward them. Behind him were Uchiha Kyousuke and four other shinobi. They surveyed the scorched and chaotic battlefield, their faces showing confusion as they turned toward Kazuo and Sora.
More shinobi began to gather, drawn by the noise and explosions.
Jiraiya frowned at Sora and demanded, "What's going on here?"
Seeing Jiraiya's arrival, Kazuo felt his stomach drop. 'Damn it, I got carried away!' he thought bitterly. He hadn't considered the consequences of being caught fighting so close to the camp.
Sora calmly sheathed his blade and turned to Jiraiya with a mocking smile. "What's going on? You'll have to ask him," he said, gesturing toward Kazuo.
"I was here waiting for my team to assemble for a mission," Sora explained. "Then this guy shows up, starts threatening me for no reason, and suddenly attacks me when I don't even provoke him. I had no choice but to defend myself.
"And he wasn't holding back, either—his attacks could've killed me. Master Jiraiya, can someone who tries to kill his comrades really be trusted? I don't think anyone here would want a so-called 'ally' who might stab them in the back during a critical moment, right?"
Kazuo glared at Sora, his voice filled with anger. "Jiraiya-sama, don't listen to his lies! He's the one who started insulting me and the Uchiha clan. He provoked me on purpose to make me attack him!"
Kazuo's hands trembled as he spoke, his mind racing. 'So that's why he kept taunting me earlier—he wanted me to fight him here!'
It finally clicked for Kazuo: Sora had deliberately baited him into a confrontation near the camp, knowing the commotion would attract attention. Now, Kazuo was the one who looked like the aggressor, and punishment seemed inevitable.
Sora, meanwhile, simply smiled as Kazuo struggled to compose himself.
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