In the depths of the thick mist.
Uchiha Yashiro gripped his blade in both hands, the three tomoe of his crimson Sharingan spinning rapidly.
He had been separated from the others.
Within the heavy mist, the Mist Ninjas moved quickly, their forms blurry and indistinguishable.
Although his Sharingan could track their movements, it could not pierce through the dense fog.
At the same time,
The voices of the Mist Ninjas echoed from within the mist.
"Heart."
"Liver."
"Spleen."
"Lung."
"Kidney."
"Which one do you want to lose first?"
Their voices kept calling out.
They were trying to evoke fear in Yashiro, but he remained unmoved, his Sharingan flashing as he searched for their positions.
There were quite a few enemies within the mist.
Facing this crisis,
He knew that he wasn't supposed to be here in the first place.
But the confidence gained from mastering the Basic Internal Energy Technique led him to stay by Uchiha Fugaku's side.
He had made his choice.
And naturally, he was ready for the consequences.
Whether it was danger or death.
A shadow silently appeared behind Yashiro, a kunai aiming directly at his heart.
The strike was soundless.
It was aimed with precision.
At that moment, Yashiro turned his head suddenly.
"I've long since seen through your tricks."
The three tomoe of his Sharingan spun slowly in his crimson eyes.
The Mist Ninja's pupils shrank as a powerful burning sensation spread through his body. The world around him transformed into a sea of fire.
"It's a genjutsu."
But realizing it now was already too late.
Yashiro's blade swiftly slashed across the Mist Ninja's neck, sealing his fate.
"Fool."
An old voice called out from within the mist.
"Don't look into his eyes. The Sharingan of the Uchiha is no joke."
As the voice echoed,
Three shadows emerged from the mist, kunai and swords cutting towards Yashiro.
Though their attack was stealthy and struck from his blind spot,
Yashiro sensed them swiftly, thanks to his battle experience with the Mist Ninjas.
In moments like these, his instinctive sense of danger was more reliable than even the Sharingan.
He had fought against the Mist Ninjas many times before.
But that didn't mean he would just allow the enemy to attack without response.
His breathing began to change rapidly.
"Breath of Stone."
A burst of grey dust escaped from his mouth and nose.
"First Form! Serpentinite Bipolar!"
Yashiro swiftly swung his blade.
Chakra transformed into rock and earth, forming an axe and a hammer, smashing towards two of his attackers.
Yet there were three shadows.
"Breath of Stone!"
"Third Form! Stone Skin!"
Yashiro's blade danced quickly, chains formed from rock and earth wrapping around his body.
Blocking the attack of the third enemy.
All three enemies blocked Yashiro's attack and withdrew back into the mist.
During their assault, they kept their eyes fixed on Yashiro's body,
Thus avoiding his genjutsu.
"As I suspected, it's the Mist Assassination Squad, isn't it?"
The Assassination Squad typically avoided large-scale ninjutsu and instead used dense mist as cover to execute assassinations.
They could also retreat swiftly.
Such enemies were notoriously hard to kill.
"It looks like I'll need to find Fugaku first."
He crouched low, readying himself to sprint.
"He's trying to escape! Stop him!"
Suddenly, shadows moved within the mist.
"Breath of Stone! Fourth Form! Volcanic Rock, Rapid Conquest!"
Axes and meteor hammers made of rock flew around Yashiro as he charged deeper into the mist, his form swift like lightning.
The Mist Ninjas struck without hesitation, but their attacks were deflected by the axes and hammers.
None of them could destroy the weapons, nor could they land a blow on Yashiro.
The thick mist continued to surge towards him.
The Mist Ninjas wouldn't give up so easily.
During the pursuit, Yashiro kept using different ninjutsu to scan his surroundings.
His Sharingan kept scanning everything around, looking for any possible clue.
However, the mist itself was a barrier, making it nearly impossible to navigate quickly and preventing him from finding Fugaku.
Suddenly, a piercing sound echoed, and a lightning-like light cut through the mist, heading straight for Yashiro.
His axes and hammers shattered instantly.
He twisted his body to avoid the attack, but the force pushed him back, and he fell to the ground.
In Yashiro's astonished gaze, a figure emerged from the mist, holding a sharp long blade, his eyes cold and piercing like blades themselves.
The figure's short stature almost made him look comical.
It was that elderly man.
"Uchiha, where do you think you're going?" The elder's voice was filled with mockery, "Planning to save your companions?"
"You can save them in hell."
Yashiro stood up, gripping his blade tightly, his eyes narrowing at the old figure.
"The Mist Assassination Squad... I've heard there are the Three Ghosts. Which one are you?"
The Lust Ghost, the White Ghost, the Corpse Ghost.
The leaders of the Assassination Squad.
The three of them had once fought Konoha's White Fang.
And survived.
They were not opponents to be taken lightly.
"Kid, do you even need to guess? I am none other than the White Ghost of the Mist."
The White Ghost's form slowly vanished into the mist.
In the next moment,
An attack came from the mist like a fierce wind.
"Breath of Stone!"
"Second Form! Upper Smash!"
Yashiro didn't use his blade to defend; instead, he slammed it into the ground.
In an instant, countless meteor hammers emerged from the ground, smashing in every direction.
The attack came swiftly.
Pained grunts echoed from the mist.
Clearly, some of the enemies had been injured by the blow.
But whether the White Ghost had been among them was unknown.
Information on the White Ghost flashed quickly in Yashiro's mind.
After all, having fought against White Fang, Konoha had gathered intelligence on him.
The White Ghost was skilled in kenjutsu.
Similar to White Fang, he was a speed-type blade user.
However, his blade was neither as fast nor as strong as White Fang's.
He relied on the mist to deliver a lethal strike.
If the Three Ghosts fought together, even White Fang would have struggled.
Yashiro didn't think himself comparable to White Fang, but if it was only one opponent...
Even with the help of other Mist Ninjas,
He might still stand a chance of winning.
Yashiro moved, his form a black blur as he dashed away.
Kunai and swords crossed through the space where he had just stood.
In midair, Yashiro bit down on the hilt of his blade, his hands forming seals rapidly.
"Earth Style! Earth Flow River!"
The ground beneath him turned into flowing mud, like a great river, forcing the hidden Mist Ninjas to reveal themselves.
"Found you."
Yashiro quickly locked onto the old man among them.
"Breath of Stone!"
His body weight shifted, his blade rising high.
"Fifth Form! Arcs of Justice!"
The blade swung down with force.
Countless meteor hammers and throwing axes appeared in the air, descending in a chaotic barrage along with Yashiro's blade.
The White Ghost, momentarily restrained by the mud, couldn't evade.
The next moment, he was hit, his body dissolving into water and splashing to the ground.
The battle was not over.