"Sharingan... I've decided to accept it." As he watched the enemy vanish without a trace, Killer Bee made up his mind silently.
"Jie jie..."
A sinister laugh echoed from all directions. "Let me show you the terror of the Uchiha clan! From this moment on, your vision is completely under my control."
As the voice finished, the once-empty trees and ground suddenly filled with hundreds of figures. Who else could those shadowy figures be but the Uchiha clan?
"Perish slowly in fear. To fall to my Sharingan… you can still consider yourself a worthy opponent."
Whoosh—
Seeing the incoming ninja, Killer Bee made the first move. With a whoosh, the blade in his hand slashed toward the opponent's neck.
Yet the figure ignored the slash coming toward its neck and continued rushing at Killer Bee.
The blade passed through the body. As it did, Killer Bee frowned. "An illusion?"
"Haha, that's right. Now guess—are we all just illusions too? Guess wrong, and you die!" As the voice fell, dozens of figures from the trees and ground rushed toward him.
"Don't underestimate me." Killer Bee growled lowly. Instead of retreating, he advanced. In an instant, his blade sliced through several more phantom bodies.
At that moment, he resembled a rage-consumed child, madly cutting down each clone.
Pffft, pfft—
"Argh!" Killer Bee let out a cry as several sprays of blood burst from his body—real shuriken had hit him.
"Damn it!" Gasping for breath and dodging attacks, Killer Bee shouted furiously at the growing number of figures, "If you've got guts, fight me one-on-one! Coward! You damn coward!"
"How amusing."
Just then, a man in Uchiha clan clothing sat leisurely on a tree nearby, watching the scene like a spectator. He looked on with great interest at Killer Bee, who was dodging illusory attacks like a dancing clown on a tree ten meters away. He wanted to see how much stamina the other had left.
To a ninja, ten meters was nothing. But he believed Killer Bee didn't realize his real body was this close.
He had to admit Killer Bee's strength. If not for trapping him in a genjutsu, the outcome could have gone either way. But now, in his eyes, Killer Bee was already a dead man.
Iaido Style: "Quick Draw Slash"
Suddenly, Killer Bee, now less than ten meters from the real Uchiha ninja, turned around for a surprise attack.
"Not good!" The Uchiha's expression changed as if sensing something and quickly moved to rise—but in that moment, a flash of blue light streaked by.
Splurt—
He saw blood spraying from a headless body—his own body.
"You really thought I didn't see your real body?" A voice came from behind, followed by a metallic ding as Killer Bee sheathed his blade.
"With my electromagnetic sensing, even with my eyes closed I know exactly where you are. I only used this kind of baiting tactic because I was afraid you'd destroy your Sharingan. But really, the Uchiha clan is as arrogantly confident as the rumors say. Otherwise, I wouldn't have succeeded."
Only in death did the Uchiha realize he was the one completely manipulated. From the moment Killer Bee appeared to fall into the genjutsu, he had unknowingly fallen into Bee's trap.
In a ninja battle, strength isn't decided on the surface. That's just the reality.
"Haha!"
Finally finished, Killer Bee grinned at the two three-tomoe Sharingan preserved in a vial. "Good thing I've been studying medical ninjutsu recently! Otherwise, I wouldn't be carrying stuff like this around. These are Sharingan, after all! Mishandle them, and they'd be ruined!"
This battle took too long. I have to get back, he thought, quickly storing the vial before leaping away and disappearing into the forest.
―――Scene Break―――
In the Land of Lightning, within a certain area, three figures sat chatting around a campfire. Suddenly, a white-haired boy appeared and exhaled deeply with a sigh:
"Finally home."
Whoosh—
The three by the fire turned with caution, eyes wary. One of them barked, "Password!"
"You damn... fool. You idiot..." The white-haired youth pointed at them and scolded.
Whew— The three didn't get angry. Instead, they relaxed with a breath of relief.
These three were none other than Bee's big brother, A, his teacher Fukai, and a new teammate on the same mission.
"How are you injured again? Come here, let big bro patch you up," A frowned at Bee's cuts from blades and shuriken.
"No choice, the enemy was tough," Bee scratched his head as he stepped forward. "Sorry to trouble you again, big bro."
"You're always like this…" A muttered as he cleaned Bee's wounds. After a while, he asked, "Was the enemy strong?"
"Yeah." Bee nodded. "He was a Jonin from the Uchiha clan. I almost got caught by his tricks several times..."
"Oh," A replied, patting Bee's shoulder. "All done. Put your clothes back on."
"Thanks, big bro."
"Come on, no need for thanks between us," A smiled. "This is what I'm here for."
Whoosh whoosh— A figure dashed through the trees and landed before them.
"Password," Fukai asked, wary.
"Chameleon," the man answered coldly.
"You damn... fool. You idiot…" Bee joined in, then the other three also said the password one after another.
"Uncle Pusen, what took you so long? You're actually slower than me," Bee walked over and asked.
"Ran into some trouble on the way," the middle-aged Jonin called Pusen replied simply.
"Oh." Bee gave a casual response and went back to chatting with A and Fukai. He was familiar with Pusen since they had been on dozens of missions together. Pusen was a quiet ninja, and the only word to describe him was "cold." So, everyone had gotten used to his aloof behavior.
Still, Bee used his Mind Reading Technique to scan them all—A, the teacher, and the new ninja. It had become a habit. Last time, the enemy had lured away Fukai and sent someone disguised as him to launch a sneak attack. If Bee hadn't had his bloodline ability, he would've been pierced through the heart. Ever since then, every post-split regrouping was followed by a quick mental scan of his teammates—just in case.
"Phew!" Seemingly tired from rushing back, Pusen sighed as he sat down. But in his mind, he was already scheming:
"Good thing I read his memories before leaving. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known there was a password check."
In the distance, Bee's eyes flashed sharply before he slowly closed them and began sending information to the other three using the electromagnetic branch of his lightning-style chakra.
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