17 Chapter 17: "Secret Technique: Heart Turn Jutsu!"

Chapter 17: "Secret Technique: Heart Turn Jutsu!"

A solemn and deadly aura permeated the surrounding air.

Uchiha Hikaru slightly furrowed her brow, her expression turning grave: "Anbu? Or is it the Root division?"

She had long sensed that after shaking off the first group of trackers, another group had taken up the pursuit. The tracking skills of this new group were a notch above those of Uzuki Yuyan and the others. Despite her attempts to lay false trails along the way, she was unable to shake them off. Instead, it slowed her down, allowing the pursuers to firmly keep up...

So...

Had Konoha finally decided to take action against her?

Judging by the composition of the pursuers, it was more likely the Root division—Sarutobi Hiruzen had personally experienced her Tsukuyomi. If it were Anbu, then the Third Hokage himself would have come.

A standoff that lasted mere seconds.

The leading Root ninja drew his sword, his voice rasping as he gave the command: "The order from above... kill her! Retrieve the Sharingan!"

This sentence was like a signal.

In the next moment, all the Root members attacked at once, a dense barrage of shuriken and kunai shot out from all directions like a torrential downpour, aiming for Uchiha Hikaru!

"Earth Release: Art of Decapitation!"

As the "downpour" arrived, the ground beneath Uchiha Hikaru's feet also burst apart, a hand wearing a black glove reached out, aiming straight for her ankle in an attempt to pull her underground!

At the critical moment, Uchiha Hikaru stepped up and leaped into the air, first throwing several kunai to force the ninja below to block with bent arms, and then the crimson three-tomoe Sharingan appeared in her eyes, spinning into the shape of a giant windmill:

"Susanoo!!"

In an instant.

A dark red aura emerged around her, quickly connecting into the shape of a skeleton!

From the Root's attack to Uchiha Hikaru's leap to activate Susanoo, everything happened in the blink of an eye. The next second, the shuriken that rained down like droplets reached Uchiha Hikaru, colliding with the newly formed Susanoo, a series of sparks burst in the air, followed by an explosion that echoed through the forest!!

Boom boom boom...!!!

The roaring was incessant!

Many of the shuriken and kunai were tagged with explosive seals, which detonated simultaneously, the intense flames engulfing Uchiha Hikaru and her Susanoo in an instant, with a huge cloud of smoke rising like a mushroom cloud, temporarily obscuring the vision of both parties.

"...Did we succeed?"

"No... she's still alive!"

Amidst the scattered smoke.

A dark red Susanoo arm suddenly reached out, opening a giant palm several meters wide in mid-air, grabbing at the nearest Root member. As this happened, the smoke from the explosion cleared slightly, revealing Uchiha Hikaru protected by Susanoo.

Compared to before, her appearance had hardly changed, except that her eyes had turned a fiery red, with a piercing killing intent brewing within the windmill pattern, ready to be unleashed.

"Huff..."

Uchiha Hikaru took a deep breath, her dojutsu power surging as her gaze swept around, the dynamic visual abilities of the Sharingan capturing every rustle of the wind and grass.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

"Earth Release: Descending Clay!"

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Several Root ninjas completed their hand seals simultaneously, and within a radius of several tens of meters, the hard ground suddenly split open, rolling like liquid, and a huge hole opened in the sky above, with a large amount of clay plummeting towards Uchiha Hikaru's location!

Facing the overwhelming killing intent, Uchiha Hikaru moved agilely between the rising mounds of earth, dodging all incoming shuriken and senbon, her hands moving so fast in forming seals that afterimages appeared:

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

Boom——!!

A wall of intense flames rose to the sky, reaching up to ten meters high, colliding with the descending clay, unleashing waves of heat over a thousand degrees.

The clay in the sky hardened and deformed under the heat wave, then was swept away by the scorching wind, spreading outwards like a mudslide rain.

Trees and bushes began to burn, the fire spreading far and wide, filling the air with dust and ash, rendering the space hazy!

The obscured vision caused a brief interruption in the rhythm of the Root ninjas' assassination attempts.

Uchiha Hikaru, with Susanoo activated, charged towards the Root ninja directly in front of her, moving as swiftly as an arrow released from a bow!

Boom!!

Another explosion sounded as one of the Root's Dragon Flame Jutsu hit Susanoo, quickly splitting to either side. Amidst the red flames, the surrounding trees were quickly ignited, turning into a sea of fire.

Facing these ninjutsu attacks, Uchiha Hikaru didn't even bother to dodge, directly dispersing them with sheer force, while her hands formed seals:

"Naraku Vision Jutsu!"

"Fire Release... Great Fire Extinguishing!"

As Uchiha Hikaru exhaled, a line of fire burst from her mouth, turning into a raging inferno that enveloped the space tens of meters in front of her!

The Root members on this side were first startled by the terrifying illusions created by the Sharingan, and before they could react further, they were engulfed by the oncoming flames.

On the other side, a Root ninja wielding a long sword charged forward, engaging in fierce close combat, while another raised his arms, releasing a dense swarm of insects that quickly spread out in mid-air. In an instant, they formed a black storm-like mass of insects, rushing towards her!

"...A member of the Aburame clan?!"

Uchiha Hikaru kicked the Root ninja into the air with a mid-air kick, then exhaled another breath of fire, dispersing the swarm of insects in mid-air, her eyes searching in other directions—

With the protection of Susanoo, ordinary ninjutsu was almost meaningless to her, and even the dense explosions of explosive tags would at most cause superficial injuries. However, if it were a clan ninja who mastered Yin-Yang Release secret techniques, it would be different. Even being restrained for a fraction of a second could lead to severe consequences. Although she was confident in her own mental strength, Uchiha Hikaru did not want to take risks.

If the Aburame clan had arrived, then...

What about the Yamanaka clan?

Suddenly!

Uchiha Hikaru seemed to sense something, abruptly turning her head, her gaze falling on her diagonal rear. There, tens of meters away, a Root ninja with orange hair conspicuously brought his thumbs and index fingers together in a heart shape, aiming at her from behind:

"Secret Technique: Heart Turn Jutsu!"

(End of chapter)