"Ah!"
The sudden fall of the ANBU from the sky, whose condition was unclear, caused a wave of panic among the students.
Swish swish
Iruka and Mizuki quickly rushed over to the fallen ANBU, with one standing guard while the other knelt down to check his condition.
At that moment, a figure slowly walked out from the forest.
Mizuki shouted, "Who's there?"
Before the words even left his mouth, Mizuki froze, as the figure that was still dozens of meters away had suddenly appeared right in front of him.
"You—"
Before he could react, the figure kicked Mizuki.
Boom!
Despite being a Chunin, Mizuki didn't even have time to resist. He was sent flying and slammed hard into a tree, his head lolling to the side as he fell unconscious.
Seeing this, Iruka, who had been kneeling beside the ANBU, was horrified. He quickly shouted to the students behind him, "Run, everyone!"
He then pulled out a kunai and positioned himself in front of the students to protect them.
The opponent's Body Flicker Technique was beyond what a Chunin like him could handle, so Iruka could only hope to stall for a bit, buying the students more time to escape.
However, in the next second, the mysterious figure casually struck Iruka with a hand chop, causing him to collapse to the ground.
"How... how is this possible? Our teachers are Chunin!"
The students were frozen with fear, too shocked to even think about running.
After easily dispatching Mizuki and Iruka, the mysterious figure continued walking towards the group of students.
Uchiha Shinji's face darkened. Could it be Orochimaru?
Though the figure's face was wrapped in bandages, making his identity unclear, the intense gaze he directed at Sasuke, coupled with the way he licked his lips, gave Uchiha Shinji a strong suspicion of who this person was.
At that moment, Sasuke stepped forward and called out to Shinji and Neji, "Perfect! Now we can have a real fight!"
Shinji glanced at Sasuke, thinking, "You're really brave!"
Neji, with his Byakugan activated, had a serious expression and warned, "Don't be careless. His... his chakra levels are ten times that of any Jonin I've ever seen!"
"What!?"
Sasuke was shocked.
Shinji thought to himself, "It really is Orochimaru?"
Chakra levels far exceeding that of an average Jonin meant that the person in front of them was likely at Kage level, confirming his suspicions about the intruder's identity.
The mysterious figure licked his lips and spoke in a raspy voice, "Are you the brat who subdued the Nine-Tails?"
Sasuke activated his Sharingan, locking eyes with the mysterious figure. "If you're here to cause trouble, you've picked the wrong person!"
"Hahaha!"
The mysterious figure spread his arms wide and started laughing.
In an instant, an overwhelming wave of chakra, mixed with a killing intent so strong it seemed to take physical form, erupted from the mysterious figure, spreading rapidly in all directions.
Under the pressure of this immense chakra and killing intent, many students collapsed onto the ground, petrified.
Even Sasuke and Neji felt a deep fear gripping their souls, rendering them immobile.
Among the group, only Shinji could withstand the killing intent, though he too was alarmed by the sheer power of it.
The mix of chakra, killing intent, and aura exuded by the opponent made it clear to Shinji that this person was operating on a level far above the shinobi he had encountered before.
The mysterious figure continued to walk forward, his eyes fixated on Sasuke's two-tomoe Sharingan, a look of obsession filling his gaze.
Sensing that something was wrong, Sasuke bit his tongue, using the pain to break free from the oppressive aura. He then yelled to Naruto, who wasn't far behind, "Idiot, run now!"
Shinji also turned to Haku and said, "Take everyone and go!"
Haku hesitated for a moment but ultimately followed Shinji's orders, starting to organize the other students to escape.
The mysterious figure didn't try to stop the students from fleeing. He watched Sasuke and Shinji with a mocking expression on his face.
By now, Shinji had pieced things together.
If this person was indeed Orochimaru, he must have been drawn here by the news that Sasuke had awakened the Sharingan and subdued the Nine-Tails.
And given the timing, Orochimaru had likely just been defeated by Itachi, leading to his newfound obsession with the Sharingan.
Realizing this, Shinji knew they were in deep trouble.
Aside from Itachi, he and Sasuke were the only remaining Uchiha known to the world, making them prime targets for Orochimaru.
Soon, all the other students had stumbled their way to safety, leaving only Shinji, Sasuke, and Neji standing against the mysterious figure.
Shinji knew running was pointless—the opponent was here specifically for him.
As for Sasuke and Neji, their pride as "geniuses" compelled them to stand their ground.
The mysterious figure nodded approvingly. "You three brats are impressive for daring to stand before me."
Shinji didn't waste time with words and immediately instructed Sasuke and Neji, "You two cover me. We just need to create enough noise for the village to notice something's wrong!"
Sasuke and Neji's eyes lit up at the plan.
Swish swish swish!
Shinji threw several kunai at the mysterious figure and immediately began weaving hand signs.
At first, the mysterious figure didn't seem to care. With a smirk, he easily tilted his head to avoid the kunai, dodging them precisely.
But just as his smirk grew wider, his expression suddenly froze.
He had just noticed the thin wires attached to the kunai, and at the end of each wire was a series of sparking explosive tags.
Boom boom boom!
A series of explosions erupted around the mysterious figure!
The figure leapt into the air, escaping the cloud of smoke from the explosions.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Having completed his hand signs, Shinji aimed directly at the spot above the explosions, launching a massive fireball!
The mysterious figure had just landed on a tree branch when the enormous fireball, illuminating the entire forest, came hurtling towards him.
"Hmm?"
The mysterious figure was caught off guard, and the fireball engulfed him completely.
"What!?"
Sasuke and Neji were stunned, watching the fire that seemed to set the entire forest ablaze.
They knew Shinji had mastered the Great Fireball Jutsu, but they had never imagined it could be this powerful.
"This... this isn't the Great Fireball Jutsu we know!"
Still, Shinji didn't stick around to admire the result. He turned and ran immediately.
In truth, even if the mysterious figure hadn't leapt into the air, Shinji would have aimed the fireball upwards. His goal wasn't to defeat the enemy but to ignite the treetops and create enough smoke to alert the village.
As he passed by Sasuke and Neji, who were still dumbfounded by the fireball, Shinji grabbed them both by the arms and shouted, "Why are you standing there? Run!"
Moments later.
The mysterious figure emerged from the smoke and debris, watching the trio flee. He licked his lips and murmured, "Interesting!"