Hozuki reeled his fist back from the newly formed crater he created. He knows from experience that he didn't hit his target at all, signified by an annoyed growl escaping his mouth. Jumping away from the ten-meter-deep hole, Hozuki was flanked by an addition of seven people who stood beside him.
One of them was his brother, Minamoto no Keiji. The fifty-year-old assassin was garbed in black robes with a black cowl that covered half his entire face, leaving only a slot/section that reveals his eyes. On his back were two swords while on his sides were two daggers as well as satchets that contained whatever equipment he packed.
Keiji withdrew his swords while a faint cyan sheen of chakra emanated from him like an aura.
"Brother."
"Lord patriarch."
The rest of the six male figures stood silently. The six were separated into two groups of triplets, meaning three of the six were triplets, and the other three were also triplets. One set of triplets had white eyes and white hair while the second set of triplets had black eyes and black hair. One set wore white robes and the other set wore black robes respectively. The only thing that they had in common with each other were their grey beards.
Minamoto no Ryu, one of the triplets with white robes spoke along with Minamoto no Ryo, one of the triplets in black robes.
Both brothers stepped forward and lowered their heads in front of Hozuki.
"Lord patriarch, the wives and children of the clan have been successfully evacuated and are currently residing in the clan bunker."
Hozuki grabbed his battleaxe from his back and held it with both arms.
"Good. Because I can feel the threat returning."
That was proven by eight boys, all with the same appearance, suddenly appearing in front of them.
...
Uehara calmly stared at the eight opponents in front of him, his amatsugan focusing intently on the energy in their bodies.
[Four wielders of ki and four wielders of chakra. Father told me that to some extent, water can counter the destructive properties of ki. I cannot fully utilize the power of wood due to my subpar manipulation of light. Whatever wood style I use will get broken by them.]
Having come to terms with his thoughts, Uehara began weaving hand signs while two of his clones vanished.
[Dog-Monkey-Dragon-Pig: Burst Tsunami] - (Water-Concept-Lightning-Fusion: Burst Tsunami)
With another two of his clones managing to intercept the blades of Keiji, enough time was brought for Uehara to channel enough chakra into the ground.
RUMBLE RUMBLE FUUUUSHHHH
Tons and tons of water burst through the ground in front of Uehara before it rushed forward in a torrent of massive waves.
The elders in white jumped back at the face of the wave and slammed their hands into the ground in synchronization.
"Earth Wall!"
Channeling their chakra, the ground shifted as a massive wall nearly ten meters thick rose high into the sky in an attempt to block the tsunami that if left unchecked would envelop the entire city in destruction.
At the same time, the elders in black robes vanished from the vicinity. In their attempt to circle around the tsunami, they were suddenly barraged by massive fireballs coming towards their direction.
In an incredible display of agility, they managed to channel enough ki to their feet and dodge the attack.
With the fireball out of the way, they were assaulted by eight clones, with two clones having been recently formed. Six divided themselves into two and fought the three elders in close-quarters, while the last two began commencing guerrilla attacks. Said guerrilla tactics included air blades, water whips, earth pikes, and the occasional fireball.
On the other side of the tsunami, Hozuki was getting ready to move. Being between the walls of earth and water, the last thing he wanted was to be crushed.
"RAAHH!"
Powering up, Hozuki didn't hesitate to sprint forward. With a surge of ki covering him, he burst through the tsunami in time to escape the torrent of water falling from above.
[Haha]
Unfortunately, he didn't get time to celebrate a lot of his success. The target he assumed would be standing still to supply the tsunami with chakra suddenly appeared in front of him.
"?!"
...
Uehara watched with rapt concentration at the eight energy signatures dashing off in different directions. Coordinating with his clones, eight of them were sent off towards the three energy signatures approaching him from the right. Two of the six clones that were with Chizuki appeared next to him to aid him in controlling the tsunami, forcing it to push back against the giant earth wall and, more importantly, isolate the other three signatures responsible for the earth wall by keeping them busy.
Taking advantage of his large chakra capacity, Uehara could keep supplying water for a disgustingly long time. Given enough time, he himself could supply enough water to flood the entire country before his chakra finally drains out.
But, Uehara kept his focus on one ki signature in front of him. With how much ki Hozuki had, Uehara couldn't miss him even if he tried.
Recognizing how the man was getting in a typical stance for wielding a two-handed weapon, Uehara immediately created a third clone and relinquished control of the tsunami to it. With the amount of chakra his three clones had, they could keep up the tsunami for an entire day.
Although rushed, his plans of isolating the fighters were turning out rather well. His only concern was the three elders in black robes that his clones were fighting.
[Just for safe measure I'll send in four more clones. With each group gaining an extra clone, they should be able to hold black robes back.]
With a group of two clones gaining an extra member, they would be able to utilize the water-style taijutsu technique.
With the four clones departing, he created another clone.
"Get far away from here and focus on obtaining and maintaining sage mode."
With a nod, the clone vanished in a dark swirl, leaving Uehara to deal with the bulking mass of muscle about to storm through the waves.
Not wanting to be passive, a curtain of dark aura surrounded Uehara. Not waiting a split-second longer, he sprang forward, ready to meet his enemy. With the advantage of his eyes, he could perfectly see his target.
Reeling his fist back, he let it loose.
BANG!
Uehara's fist met Hozuki's forearms. The Minamoto patriarch had blocked the attack through sheer instinct.
Both parties flipped away from each other. Hozuki eyed Uehara and his clones cautiously, his axe still in hand.
A brief silence formed between the parties. No words needed to be said. An enemy was in front of them and they needed to kill said enemy.
SWOOSH…SWOOSH
Conversation be damned.
CLASH!
Both were now fighting each other. Hozuki was focused more on wielding his two-handed battleaxe with one arm while trying to either block or grapple Uehara with the other hand.
As for the young demon, he was more focused on dodging and staying close to the warrior patriarch. His goal? Plant seals all over Hozuki. Although he is not as knowledgeable in seals, he was taught very well how to apply them through touch. So every time, he would give a few love taps to Hozuki while making sure to dodge his axe swings and large hand gunning for him.
The purpose of the seals? They would channel Uehara's chakra into Hozuki remotely, slowly causing him chakra poisoning. Uehara knew full well he could not, and would not, match the patriarch in a battle of fists. The amount of physical power he could dish out wasn't even in spitting distance of Hozuki's.
Hence, the use of seals.
[I've already applied a few dozen seals on his body. The effects should show themselves soon.]
Narrowly dodging the axe, Uehara ducked down and released a gust of wind from his mouth to push Hozuki away.
With the man having skid just a few meters, Uehara quickly weaved a few hand signs.
[Bird-Dog-Tiger-Pig: Volcanic Ash] - (Wind-Water-Fire-Fusion: Volcanic Ash)
With two clones popping next to him, all three of them released black smoke filled with ash particles. The strangeness and suddenness of the smoke completely took Hozuki off-guard. His assumption that this was a smoke bomb was quickly rendered null when his lungs started burning.
At the same time, Uehara weaved another set of hand signs,
[Dog-Goat-Dragon-Pig: Lightning Chain] - (Water-Temperature-Lightning-Fusion: Lightning Chain)
With his mobility and reaction speed already slowed down from the smoke, Hozuki was caught completely unaware by the horde of electric ice-chains sprouting from the ground and swirling around him.
If the freezing temperatures and sudden electric shocks weren't enough, then feeling his ki weakening was very, VERY worrying.
[This…this is…chakra poisoning?! WHEN?!]
The reality of his situation was starting to scare him. Already feeling his control of ki slip, his fears were growing more and more. Without ki, there was very little he could do against the volcanic ash that was slowly poisoning him. Without ki, there was very little he could do against the electricity burning his body while his skin was being frozen solid through frigid chains binding him.
With ki, he could've broken free eventually and grouped up. But that wasn't an option with him barely having any control over it. And having separated from his family, he was in a very deadly situation.
The confidence that he had earlier had already converted into anger and worry.
"Damni- cough You- cough cough cough"
Uehara was crouching on the ground, maintaining his hands in the unison position (seal of reconciliation).
His amatsugan was focused intently on the ki acting as armor on Keiji slowly fade.
[As soon as my chakra completely erodes his ki, the passive ki enhancing his body will fade, allowing me to decapitate him.]
The thin layer of ki lining Hozuki's body was slowly but surely thinning and dimming even further. With it gone, Uehara would finally be able to slice off his head, something the coat of ki wouldn't have allowed.
Blunt-force trauma (punches, kicks, hammers, or anything that doesn't puncture or slice) would've worked as well, but the last thing Uehara had was physical strength. Attempting to go fist-to-fist with Hozuki was something Uehara immediately listed as a last resort on their first clash. Going fist-to-fist had caused his shoulder to dislocate.
With the slow but steady passage of time, Hozuki had all but fallen to his knees now.
A cold gleam covered Uehara's eyes while a bone sword formed sprouted from his palm.
[Now!]
He burst forward with such acceleration that he vanished. The distance between him and Hozuki was covered in less than a blink.
Ferociousness was visible in Uehara's eyes as he swung the blade. Hozuki's eyes were widened in fright as he watched the blade near his neck.
SHIIING
The blade flowed smoothly through the neck. A glorious arc of blood resulted from the newly decapitated patriarch.
But before Uehara could relish in his conquest, sounds of dispersing wind filled his ears before memories from different perspectives came in.
A cold sweat covered Uehara as he realized, a kunai was aiming to travel straight towards the side of his head... and he couldn't do anything to stop it.
CLANG!