"Lightning Release Transformation?"
One of the Root shinobi blurted out the term in disbelief, the grip on his blade tightening. But deep down, he already knew—it was too late.
Kaze's voice rang out cold and crisp, laced with a faint electric buzz. "Wrong."
In the next instant, his figure flickered.
Shave.
The sound barrier cracked.
Before the Root ninja could even flinch, Kaze was already behind him.
"Thunder Style: Static Palm."
Crack!
A surge of voltage exploded from Kaze's open palm as it slammed into the ninja's spine. The man convulsed violently, eyes rolling back, before crashing to the forest floor with a thud—unconscious.
Three down.
Only the captain remained—grimacing as blood trickled from his pierced hand, pain and fear flashing in his eyes.
"You're not going anywhere," Kaze muttered, stepping forward slowly, arcs of lightning dancing across his body. "I told you. One of you is carrying Shisui's chakra."
The captain's pupils shrank.
Kaze's words weren't a bluff.
He'd sensed it earlier—the faint residual trace of Shisui's chakra, likely left when they touched his body. It was how he'd confirmed Shisui had been in their possession, even before seeing them.
"And now that I know you had him…"
Kaze's eyes narrowed, Sharingan swirling into full view.
"…you're going to tell me everything."
Just as the Root captain tensed, chakra building in his muscles for a last-ditch escape—
"Too slow."
Bang!
A bolt of lightning struck the ground at his feet, exploding upward in a burst of concussive thunder. The captain was flung backwards, slammed into a tree trunk, and collapsed to his knees, coughing blood.
And then, footsteps.
Multiple.
Urgent.
From the forest behind.
"Captain!"
Kaze didn't even have to look.
Uchiha.
Fugaku was here.
Right on time.
The Root squad captain froze at the sight before him, his mind reeling.
His thoughts instinctively jumped to the Hōzuki clan—their famed Hydrification Technique that turned their bodies to water.
Could it be… that Kaze had developed a similar secret technique?
But instead of water, he'd used lightning?
How else could you explain someone getting cleanly slashed by two swords—yet remain completely unharmed?
Boom!
Boom!
Before he could think further, Kaze struck again. Two quick jabs—clean and precise—sent the sword-wielding Root ninja staggering backwards.
And with that—
Thud!
The unconscious Shisui slipped from their grasp, falling unceremoniously to the ground.
"Use Wind Release!"
The Root captain clenched his jaw, his mind racing. Kaze's strength was far beyond expectations, but it was that strange lightning transformation that truly rattled him. No choice—he had to try elemental countermeasures.
Only one among them had Wind Release chakra.
"I've got it," the man barked, sliding his right leg back into a balanced stance. His left palm surged with chakra, coating his blade in a sharp layer of wind-infused energy.
If Wind Release could counter Lightning Release… maybe it could cut through that so-called "lightning body."
He adjusted his angle and lunged forward, slashing toward Kaze.
But before the blade could land—
Crack!
A powerful strike smashed across his cheek. His vision whited out as his body flipped midair and was flung sideways like a ragdoll.
His sword clattered uselessly to the ground.
His cheek burned. Badly.
A blur passed by his fading vision—someone else had joined the fight.
Kaze tilted his head slightly, eyebrows raising as a familiar figure landed beside him with a low thud.
"Finally," he muttered, watching Fugaku rise from his kick, the Root ninja now crumpled at his feet.
More shadows followed.
Dropping from the trees, flitting out from the forest.
The Uchiha clan had arrived.
And they were not few.
In truth, Kaze's battle hadn't just been to stall.
It had been a beacon—an intentional disruption to draw attention, to summon witnesses.
To make sure the message wasn't buried.
"…ANBU?"
One of the Uchiha muttered upon spotting the Root uniforms, their gazes immediately turning grim.
But Kaze answered before anyone else could.
"No."
He stepped forward, electricity crackling in his wake.
"Not ANBU."
"Root."
And everyone's eyes narrowed.
Fugaku narrowed his eyes, finally getting a clear look at the man he'd just kicked into the dirt.
Dark gray flak vest, a standard-issue katana strapped to his back, and a patterned mask covering his face.
An ANBU.
But…
Why would an ANBU be fighting Kaze?
After all, the Third Hokage had only just promoted Kaze to the rank of jōnin.
There was no reason for the Hokage to issue that order… only to immediately turn around and send the ANBU after him.
"Clan head, look—on the ground!"
Just as Fugaku found himself momentarily stunned, Uchiha Sei, who had rushed in alongside him, cried out in alarm.
Everyone—all the Uchiha who had arrived—immediately turned to where he was pointing.
"Shisui?!"
Fugaku blinked hard, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him.
Shisui of the Body Flicker, collapsed on the ground, motionless.
And worse…
Even with his Sharingan fully activated, Fugaku couldn't see any chakra flowing through Shisui's body.
And there was only one condition under which a shinobi's chakra would vanish entirely—
Death.
"Shisui?!"
"What the hell happened?!"
Panic erupted among the gathered Uchiha.
One of them rushed forward, lifting Shisui's limp body off the ground.
But what he saw made the blood drain from his face.
Shisui's eyes—gone.
His face was pale, his lips a frightening shade of purple, and a deep, gaping wound carved across his neck, so clean it nearly exposed the bone.
His skin was ice-cold.
No breath.No pulse.
Even without the Sharingan, there was no mistaking it—
Shisui was dead.
"Damn it…"
Meanwhile, the Root squad captain felt his heart sink as Fugaku and the rest of the clan took in the scene.
This wasn't something they could cover up.
There was no salvaging this now.
(T/N: There you go, hope you enjoyed the chapter.)
50 Stones = One Extra Chapter
100 Stones = Two Extra Chapters
200 Stones = Three Extra Chapters
Keep the power stones coming.