Naruto: I, Uchiha, Possess Heaven-Defying Comprehension

Chapter 6: A Formidable Opponent

Seeing Uchiha Dali silently heading toward the forest ahead on the left, the three people behind him immediately frowned.

"Hey!"

Uzuki Sen couldn't help but call out in a low voice.

Sarutobi Shio also complained with some dissatisfaction, "This guy... I saw that his strength wasn't bad, and since our captain is already dead, I agreed to form a temporary team with him. But I didn't expect him to be so reckless..."

"If he keeps acting like this, he'll get us all killed."

Hyūga Kōji remained silent, his expression unchanged, making it unclear what he was thinking.

Just as Sarutobi Shio finished speaking, Uchiha Dali's voice came from ahead.

"If you want to complain, do it after you've made it back to the village alive."

"If you don't want to die, then follow me quickly."

Hearing this, Uzuki Sen, Hyūga Kōji, and Sarutobi Shio exchanged puzzled glances.

"Could he have noticed something?"

Hyūga Kōji muttered in confusion.

"Hmph! That kid is just putting on a show!"

Sarutobi Shio sneered disdainfully.

But at that moment, Hyūga Kōji had already activated his Byakugan and started scanning the surroundings.

Two or three seconds later, when he turned to look in the same direction Uchiha Dali had been observing, his expression instantly changed.

Seeing his reaction, Uzuki Sen and Sarutobi Shio felt a jolt of unease.

"What is it?"

Uzuki Sen quickly asked.

"One kilometer ahead, several people are heading toward us..."

"They seem to be... the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"

Hyūga Kōji answered.

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen?!"

Uzuki Sen and Sarutobi Shio's faces turned pale upon hearing that name.

That was the renowned elite force of Kirigakure.

Each of them possessed the strength of a Jōnin and could take down all of them single-handedly.

Rumors had long spread that Kirigakure had sent them out recently to hunt down Konoha forces on the battlefield.

These ruthless and merciless killers especially loved targeting rookie Konoha ninjas, never leaving survivors.

For ordinary people, encountering them meant either fleeing immediately or facing certain death.

"It looks like we should retreat!"

Hyūga Kōji warned.

"That brat noticed the enemy approaching earlier than us?"

Sarutobi Shio furrowed his brows in disbelief.

No one answered him.

Uzuki Sen and Hyūga Kōji had already turned around, following Uchiha Dali's retreating figure.

"Damn it... How did he do that?"

Despite his unwillingness to admit it, Sarutobi Shio still followed along.

...

One kilometer away.

As the first-generation Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist moved swiftly, a man with spiky yellow hair, wearing an Anbu mask of Kirigakure and a bandage wrapped multiple times around his neck, suddenly spoke.

"Oh? It seems they've noticed us."

"There must be a sensory-type ninja among them..."

This man was Kushimaru Kuriarare, the wielder of the Long Blade: Nuibari and a member of the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

Hearing this, Fuguki Suikazan, who carried the Great Blade: Samehada, grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"Sending us to deal with these little brats... Hmph, if they still manage to escape, that would be a disgrace for us."

Then, the one-eyed Munashi Jinpachi snorted coldly.

"The squad responsible for ambushing their medical support team hasn't returned. We suspected something happened, so we came to check it out. Looks like there really are enemies here."

"Anyone who dares kill our men and thinks they can walk away alive—there's no such easy thing in this world."

After saying that, Munashi Jinpachi swung his Explosive Blade: Shibuki through the air.

The other members remained silent.

Without a word, they all accelerated, swiftly closing in on Uchiha Dali's retreating group.

...

Uchiha Dali was slightly annoyed.

He hadn't expected to encounter such formidable opponents at a time like this.

Earlier, he had only sensed their overwhelmingly powerful chakra and concluded that his side stood no chance in a fight.

However, he hadn't known their exact identities.

But now that Hyūga Kōji had used his Byakugan to see their appearance and identified them as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, there was even less reason for Uchiha Dali to engage them.

"They're speeding up the chase."

Hyūga Kōji and Uzuki Sen quickly caught up to Uchiha Dali, with the former instinctively giving a reminder.

Having witnessed Uchiha Dali in action against Kirigakure ninjas before, he could objectively say that Uchiha Dali was stronger than the three of them.

Naturally, he subconsciously regarded Uchiha Dali as their "leader."

Uchiha Dali turned his head and glanced at him.

"If we're unlucky enough to get caught, then each person should fend for themselves."

His response left Uzuki Sen, Hyūga Kōji, and Sarutobi Shio all stunned.

"You Uchihas really are something else."

"Abandoning comrades—how can you say that so matter-of-factly?!"

Sarutobi Shio snorted coldly.

"This isn't the time to argue. Right now, escaping should be our priority."

Sensing the rising tension, Uzuki Sen quickly intervened.

Hearing this, Sarutobi Shio snorted again but said nothing more.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Dali turned to look at Uzuki Sen.

"You're a medical ninja, right?"

When he had regained consciousness earlier, he had noticed that his wounds had been re-bandaged.

Since all the other medical ninjas were dead, the most likely person to have treated him was Uzuki Sen.

"Yes."

Uzuki Sen nodded.

"Then you can come with me."

"The other two are on their own."

Uchiha Dali didn't waste words.

Facing the pursuit of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he had no intention of dragging along any dead weight.

He still needed to stay alive to achieve his goals.

"This..."

Uzuki Sen hesitated for a moment, glancing at Sarutobi Shio and Hyūga Kōji.

"If you don't want to, then stick with them."

Uchiha Dali picked up his pace.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were closing in rapidly. The initial distance of one kilometer had already shrunk to less than eight hundred meters.

At this rate, they would inevitably be caught.

"Hey!! Are you really going to abandon us?! Damn it!"

"You Uchiha bastard!"

Sarutobi Shio cursed in frustration before glancing at the forest to the right.

"Since that guy doesn't want to take us along, let's split up!"

"Hmph! When we get back to Konoha, you'll pay for this! Abandoning comrades and leaving on your own—you don't deserve to be called a ninja!"

With that, he turned and ran toward the right, signaling Uzuki Sen and Hyūga Kōji to follow.

Since the three of them had originally been a team, despite their mixed feelings, Uzuki Sen and Hyūga Kōji still chose to go with him.