Naruto Card King

The dark night was shrouded in thick mist.

"Lady, run!" Uchiha Iwa shouted hoarsely, urging Uchiha Mikoto forward.

Saki's attacks were fierce. In terms of individual strength, he wasn't much stronger than Uchiha Iwa. With his Three Tomoe Sharingan, if it were a one-on-one battle, Saki wouldn't be able to defeat Uchiha Iwa in a short time. In fact, if they fought to the death, the outcome would be unpredictable.

However, Saki wasn't alone. He had another Sand ninja jōnin assisting him. Against two opponents, Uchiha Iwa was completely outmatched. If it weren't for his Sharingan providing superior vision, allowing him to navigate the misty forest better, he would have already fallen.

Even so, Uchiha Iwa was covered in blood. His ribs, lower back, and shoulders bore various wounds. Fortunately, none were fatal, only causing significant blood loss.

Assisting Saki in attacking Uchiha Iwa was a Sand ninja jōnin named Agakura. He, too, was wounded—his abdomen had been pierced by a blade. The injury wasn't deep, but it had happened when he was caught in Uchiha Iwa's genjutsu. If Saki hadn't woken him up in time, he would already be dead.

Blades clashed in a chaotic battle as Uchiha Iwa struggled to hold his ground, relying on his superior vision.

Uchiha Mikoto kept stepping back, then clenched her teeth and ran into the mist.

She had to escape!

She had hesitated before, clinging to the pride of the Uchiha clan and the ninja way, refusing to run. But her decision had only led to Uchiha Iwa taking wounds to protect her.

She was nothing but a burden here!

"Don't let her escape! Capture her!" Saki ordered coldly.

Agakura immediately disengaged, vanishing into the mist in pursuit of Uchiha Mikoto. Meanwhile, Saki continued to hold off Uchiha Iwa.

Agakura rapidly closed in on Uchiha Mikoto's fleeing form.

"Damn it!" Uchiha Iwa gritted his teeth and swung his sword in a wild horizontal slash!

This strike was completely reckless!

He ignored Saki's attack and abandoned all defense. Saki had a clear opportunity to decapitate Uchiha Iwa in that instant, but at the same time, Uchiha Iwa would pierce Saki's heart.

A suicidal exchange of blows!

Uchiha Iwa was willing to die, but Saki valued his life. He never planned to fight to the death—there was no need.

"Madman!" Saki cursed, quickly withdrawing to evade the strike.

Uchiha Iwa immediately withdrew his blade, formed a hand seal, and vanished.

A moment later, he reappeared above Agakura on a tree branch, hands flashing through seals once more.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A roaring fireball over three meters in diameter burst forward. Agakura jumped to dodge, bouncing off the ground to escape the blast radius. The fireball struck a cluster of trees ahead, erupting into a fiery wall and setting the towering trees ablaze.

Uchiha Iwa had risked everything to cut off Agakura's pursuit of Uchiha Mikoto!

The extreme heat rapidly dispersed the surrounding mist, clearing a large area. The dark forest, now illuminated by fire, allowed everyone clear sight of each other.

Uchiha Mikoto sprinted through the forest beyond the flames.

Agakura, momentarily startled, glanced back at Uchiha Iwa, then bolted away, determined to circumvent the fire and continue chasing Mikoto!

After chasing them for so long, he and Saki had figured out that this seemingly ordinary Chūnin-level Uchiha girl was an extremely important person to the Uchiha clan! Her value went beyond her single-tomoe Sharingan.

"Bastard!" Uchiha Iwa dashed off, pursuing Agakura at top speed.

Saki followed closely behind, rapidly closing the gap on Uchiha Iwa.

Compared to these three, Uchiha Mikoto was much slower. The distance between them shrank rapidly.

...

After sprinting all the way, Haruto Saito finally arrived nearby. He perched on a tree and quickly assessed the situation before leaping forward, forming seals mid-air.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Haruto exhaled a terrifying gust of wind. Among the many C-rank jutsu cards he had obtained earlier, he had acquired three Wind Release: Great Breakthrough cards, making his technique four times stronger than normal!

It was now comparable to a B-rank large-scale wind technique!

An indiscriminate attack!

The windstorm uprooted trees, tearing massive gashes in the ground. Uchiha Mikoto, Agakura, Uchiha Iwa, and Saki were all caught within the attack radius. Each of them instinctively dodged backward, convinced they were under surprise attack.

"Another one?" Uchiha Iwa's heart sank. He assumed it was another Sand ninja.

"Damn it! Who the hell—?!" Saki cursed aloud, thinking one of his own men had fired on them by mistake.

Haruto's surprise attack hadn't inflicted any serious injuries—he had fired it from a distance. Even Uchiha Mikoto only suffered a few scrapes.

The battlefield was left in ruins, and the surrounding mist was completely blown away.

All eyes turned toward the direction of the attack.

"Whoa! What a lively gathering!" Haruto Saito leaped out of the trees, greeting them in an exaggerated tone. "Good evening, everyone!"

"Haruto?!" Uchiha Mikoto cried out in shock. The brat who had supposedly run away, leaving two Elite Chūnin to chase him, was still alive!

"He killed those two Elite Chūnin?" The thought struck Uchiha Iwa like lightning. Haruto was covered in blood, looking as though he had survived a brutal fight.

Saki and Agakura also recognized Haruto, their expressions shifting. The two ninja who had chased this so-called Genin were missing, while the kid himself was still alive. The outcome was obvious.

He was far more than just a Genin!

The Uchiha had already suspected this, but for Saki and Agakura, this was a new realization.

"Uh… looks like I interrupted something. Please, carry on!" Haruto feigned discomfort, waved dismissively, and turned to run back into the mist.

Saki moved!

Agakura moved!

The battle reignited!

Haruto hadn't run far before stopping. No one was chasing him. He climbed a tree and looked again—Uchiha Mikoto was still running, Agakura was chasing her, Uchiha Iwa was trying to save her, and Saki was after Uchiha Iwa.

No one cared about him!

Haruto's face twisted into a look of utter disbelief.

He ran back toward them, staying close behind. Saki glanced at him, Agakura glanced at him, and both ignored him.

"Hey! Can't you see me?!" Haruto shouted.

No one responded. To the two Sand ninja, he wasn't a priority. Meanwhile, Uchiha Mikoto was too busy running, and Uchiha Iwa, though aware of Haruto, thought he was insane.

Haruto had already escaped, yet he came back to cause trouble?

Yes, Uchiha Iwa thought Haruto was just messing around. He didn't expect him to actually help.

"Ignoring me like this makes me sad," Haruto sighed dramatically. Then, with a sudden burst of power, he launched himself at Saki.

"Iwa-san, let's take him down together!" Haruto yelled.

Insane! Uchiha Iwa seriously questioned if this kid had lost his mind.

Haruto charged in, his right hand glowing with spiraling chakra.

Saki instantly pivoted, dodging Uchiha Iwa's attack while swinging his sword at Haruto.

BOOM!

Saki's blade met Haruto's Rasengan. The jutsu exploded, sending Saki flying!

Uchiha Iwa was utterly stunned.