Chapter 189: The Uchiha Elites

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: The Uchiha Elites

Clang—!

The piercing crash of metal against metal rang through the forest!

Shisui used the momentum to leap backward, landing atop a large tree. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that a huge chunk had been chipped out of the blade of the kunai in his hand, with cracks even extending all the way down to the handle.

His gaze sharpened as he looked at the short sword in Fugaku’s hand.

"The Clan Head is definitely wielding a fine blade."

Across from him, Fugaku held the short sword firmly as his eyes slowly turned a vivid crimson!

Neither Shisui nor Fugaku had gained the upper hand in their brief exchange just now.

As members of a dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai clan, virtually every Uchiha who awakened the Sharingan was an expert in taijutsu. They were proficient with nearly every kind of weapon and ninja tool.

At that moment, Kagami pressed both palms against the still-surging torrent of water and shouted softly,

"Ice Style: Ice Condensation!"

Whoosh—!

In an instant, under the power of his Ice Release ninjutsu, the massive torrent created by Kagami’s earlier Great Waterfall Jutsu froze solid.

The raging waterfall became a towering cascade of ice, transforming the entire forest into a frozen expanse radiating waves of biting cold.

Kagami could actually achieve the same effect by directly using Ice Release ninjutsu, but he had discovered that creating a large amount of water with Water Release first and then freezing it with Ice Release consumed far less chakra than directly casting a large-scale Ice Style technique.

Because of that, Great Waterfall Technique had practically become his standard opening move whenever a battle began.

The Uchiha clansmen who had leapt away now landed one after another on the frozen surface.

Yet as they stared at the enormous frozen waterfall before them, not only did they show no fear or apprehension—their fighting spirit only burned brighter.

"Clan Head, there’s no need for you to step in. Leave them to us!"

"Exactly! They’re just two measly bounty hunters!"

"The Third really has gotten old. He couldn’t even deal with two guys like these!"

The fully armed elites of the Uchiha Police Force stood arrogantly across the ice. Some rested a hand on their hips, while others crossed their arms over their chests, chatting among themselves as though Kagami and Shisui weren’t even there.

But Fugaku, still holding his short sword, had a deep frown on his face.

From their brief probing exchange just now, he could clearly sense traces of Uchiha-style taijutsu in the movements of the man wearing the flame-patterned mask.

The other party had done his utmost to conceal it, but the experienced Fugaku had still noticed.

Listening to the Uchiha Police Force elites openly mocking and ridiculing them from across the ice, Kagami gave a cold laugh.

Then he turned to Shisui beside him.

"Homura, look at all those Sharingan. If we gouged them out one by one, just how much do you think they’d sell for? We’re going to make a fortune this time!"

Since they intended to deal with the Uchiha clan under the name of Kamigami from now on, they naturally needed a plausible excuse for targeting them.

And there was undoubtedly no better excuse than the Sharingan.

Shisui knew Kagami was only saying it deliberately, but he still felt somewhat uncomfortable hearing it. All he could do was give an awkward nod.

The expressions of the Uchiha elites across from them immediately changed, killing intent surging from every one of them!

"You’re courting death!"

"You two pieces of trash dare set your sights on the Sharingan of the Uchiha? What a joke!"

"Let’s just kill them. I doubt the Third will have anything to say about it!"

Fugaku ignored the clamor of his clansmen. Taking a step forward, he stared directly at Shisui and asked,

"Who exactly are you people?"

Kagami answered,

"I’m Kawa of Kamigami, and he’s Homura. As for what Kamigami does... don’t you already know? We’re bounty hunters. As long as the money’s right, we’ll do anything!"

Fugaku pondered for a moment before probing Shisui with a question.

"Are you Shinichi?"

Shisui had assumed Fugaku kept staring at him because the Clan Head had seen through his identity. Only now did he finally realize what was going on.

"So the Clan Head mistook me for Shinichi..."

Kagami cut in,

"I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong person. There’s no one named Shinichi in our organization!"

The Uchiha clansmen, who had already been itching for a fight, immediately spoke up.

"Clan Head, if he isn’t Shinichi, then let us handle this!"

"These bastards dared humiliate the proud Uchiha clan! We can’t let them off!"

Fugaku’s gaze turned cold.

He silently nodded.

In the next instant, the elites of the Uchiha Police Force attacked!

"Fire Style: Fireball Technique!"

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Technique!"

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Technique!"

The three Uchiha elites at the front split into three directions.

The one in the center unleashed the Fireball Technique, the one on the left used the Dragon Flame Technique, while the one on the right cast the Phoenix Flower Technique.

Three formidable Fire Style techniques erupted simultaneously, illuminating the night in a blazing crimson glow.

Kagami didn’t dare underestimate them. He immediately formed hand seals.

"Water Style: Water Wall!"

A surging wall of water instantly rose from the ground in front of Kagami and Shisui, shielding the two behind it.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The three Fire Style techniques slammed into the water wall from different directions, unleashing a series of deep, thunderous explosions.

Immediately afterward came the violent hissing of water colliding with fire.

Tssssss—!

Dense clouds of steam billowed outward, rapidly spreading through the surrounding area.

Within the thick mist, Kagami warned in a low voice,

"Careful. They’re coming!"

Shisui nodded.

He knew better than anyone that not a single one of these clansmen was an easy opponent.

Whoosh—!

A kunai suddenly tore through the dense steam with a sharp whistle, flying straight toward Kagami.

Kagami neither dodged nor retreated. He caught the incoming kunai with one hand, then immediately spun around and lashed out with a sweeping kick.

Almost at the exact instant Kagami kicked, a figure burst through the dense mist and charged straight at him—

Only to run directly into his kick!

Bang!

The attacker was sent flying with a single blow!

At that moment, a sudden flash of red light appeared overhead.

Kagami didn’t even need his Byakugan. From the vague silhouette amid the glow, he immediately judged that someone had leapt high into the air and was unleashing a Fire Style technique from above.

His figure flickered as he dodged to the right.

Shisui, meanwhile, flashed away in the opposite direction.

And just like that, Kagami and Shisui were forcibly separated within the dense steam.

Not far away, Fugaku stood atop a tree with his arms crossed over his chest.

The continuously spreading mist obscured his vision as well.

But from the intermittent clang of colliding weapons, the heavy impacts of fists and kicks, and the roaring bursts of Fire Release ninjutsu coming from within, he could tell that the battle raging inside was extremely fierce.

"Looks like I underestimated those two bounty hunters..."

The Police Force elites Fugaku had hastily assembled this time numbered a full seventeen, and every single one of them was a jōnin-level expert.

Yet despite having an overwhelming seventeen-to-two numerical advantage and surrounding the two opponents, the battle had somehow fallen into a stalemate.

That outcome truly exceeded Fugaku’s expectations.

"Hmph. In this dense mist, I refuse to believe two bounty hunters can defeat Uchiha elites who possess the Sharingan!"

Fugaku snorted softly, his expression solemn.

The course of the battle had indeed been somewhat unexpected, but Fugaku wasn’t worried.

After all, within dense mist like this, dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai shinobi held an absolute advantage.

Even Kirigakure’s assassination units, who specialized in fighting and killing within thick mist, wouldn’t be able to gain the slightest advantage against elite Uchiha...