Chapter 43: We Owe You a Favor
Faced with Uchiha Dali, who appeared and disappeared like a ghost, the hundreds of ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village were utterly helpless. Forget counterattacking—they could barely catch a glimpse of his movements.
Chunin and genin were killed the moment they encountered him.
Even among the jonin, only the most elite had any chance of resisting. The rest of the ordinary jonin were powerless against such an unbelievable speed.
In just a short span of time, dozens more had fallen.
Now, from an original force of about five hundred, less than two hundred Cloud ninjas remained.
The casualty ratio was simply too high.
The Fourth Raikage, A, had no choice but to issue an immediate order—his forces were to scatter and retreat. Under no circumstances should they engage Uchiha Dali.
At the same time, he, Killer Bee, Dodai, and other elite fighters made a concerted effort to chase and corner Uchiha Dali.
"Use that technique to trap him, Lord A!"
Dodai loudly reminded the Fourth Raikage.
A, along with the other elite jonin and Killer Bee, immediately grasped his intention and began forming their battle formation.
Sensing something was off, Uchiha Dali glanced back at them and chuckled.
"Goodbye."
With a flicker, he vanished without a trace.
"Damn it!"
"His Body Flicker Technique is too strong… We can't keep up with his speed!"
Dodai looked frustrated.
The Fourth Raikage narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "That might not be just an ordinary Body Flicker Technique."
"Not an ordinary Body Flicker?"
The large, dark-skinned ninja beside him muttered to himself.
Just then, the Hidden Cloud forces that had fled into the distance let out screams as Uchiha Dali resumed his merciless assault.
The expressions of everyone present changed instantly, and they rushed forward in anger.
—
Uchiha Dali's goal was simple—to decimate the main forces of the Hidden Cloud Village, inflicting as much damage as possible on their living forces.
No matter how strong an individual was, what could they do when their entire army was gone?
Under his relentless slaughter, the scattered Hidden Cloud forces suffered devastating losses.
By the end, aside from a handful of elite jonin, nearly all the Hidden Cloud ninja—numbering in the hundreds—were dead or severely injured.
Now, the Fourth Raikage, Killer Bee, Dodai, and a dozen or so other strong fighters stood in a tense standoff with Uchiha Dali.
Despite their numbers, none of them dared to make a move.
"This is only the beginning."
"As long as the Hidden Cloud Village doesn't retreat, battles like this will keep happening. Do you want to compete with me, Lord Fourth Raikage? See who can kill more and faster?"
Uchiha Dali spoke with a playful ease, standing alone atop a large boulder as he faced the remaining elite enemies.
His words made the Fourth Raikage clench his fists in rage, his teeth grinding in frustration—yet he could do nothing.
Today's battle had made them fully realize just how terrifying this Uchiha man was.
He was a demon.
"Uchiha Dali… and the entire Uchiha Clan… The Land of Lightning and the Hidden Cloud Village will never forget this!"
The Fourth Raikage growled through gritted teeth.
Uchiha Dali simply shrugged indifferently. "If you want revenge, then you'd better work hard."
With that, his figure flickered and disappeared.
By this point, both sides had a clear understanding of each other's strength.
Uchiha Dali knew that, given his current abilities, it was impossible to take down all of the remaining elite Cloud ninjas, including the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee, by himself.
Thus, today's battle ended here.
Likewise, even if all of them attacked together, they wouldn't be able to do anything to him either. That was why the Fourth Raikage could only spit out harsh words without taking action.
—
From a distance, Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi had observed the entire battle through their Byakugan.
At this moment, the two brothers were filled with deep awe toward the young Uchiha warrior before them.
It wasn't just his overwhelming strength—it was also because Uchiha Dali had saved them when they were on the brink of death.
"Oh? You two are still here?"
Uchiha Dali asked playfully as he landed in front of them.
"It looks like the Hidden Cloud enemies have retreated."
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought this was just a dream."
Hyuga Hizashi's tone carried deep disbelief and admiration as he stared at Uchiha Dali.
His older brother, Hyuga Hiashi, remained silent, but his expression showed he felt the same way.
Their opponent had been the Fourth Raikage and a force of elite Cloud ninja.
Yet, Uchiha Dali alone had played them like fools, rendering them completely helpless.
"If I were just a little stronger… maybe those three wouldn't have had to die."
Uchiha Dali shook his head, his tone tinged with regret.
Despite his overwhelming victory, he showed no arrogance.
His humility made the Hyuga brothers admire him even more.
"We need to report the situation on the battlefield to the village leadership."
Hyuga Hiashi spoke up.
Then, he looked deeply at Uchiha Dali and said, "The two of us owe you a favor. Thank you for saving us."
"It's only natural to help out when our village comrades are in danger."
"I've already taken the opportunity to scout the front lines. The Hidden Cloud forces have suffered devastating losses. They'll definitely be much more cautious from now on. You can report the battle situation to the village."
Uchiha Dali waved his hand nonchalantly as he explained.
The two brothers exchanged glances and nodded.
Suddenly, all three of them looked up toward the branches of a large tree behind them.
A figure had appeared there.
Yellow hair, a tall and upright posture, and a vibrant, youthful face.
Who else could it be but the "Yellow Flash," Namikaze Minato?
"Minato?"
Hyuga Hiashi immediately recognized him and called out his name.
"It looks like the battle here is already over…"
Namikaze Minato's bright eyes locked onto Uchiha Dali, a look of astonishment flickering across his face.
The shock in his heart was already beginning to show.
"I used my full speed with the Flying Thunder God to rush over… but even so, due to the sheer distance of the battlefield, it still took me some time to get here."
"Before I left, he was still behind me. How did he get here first? And not just that…"
Still in disbelief, Namikaze Minato instinctively looked past the forest ahead.
The aftermath of a fierce battle was evident—deep scars left behind, and the scattered corpses of Cloud ninja.
The scene told him everything. The enemy forces had been completely wiped out.
Namikaze Minato knew full well that this couldn't have been the work of the Hyuga brothers.