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The door swung open behind him as Bochi, now shrunk to normal cat size, floated onto his shoulder.
"Thirty thousand ryo. Be my navigator," Kamihane said leisurely.
Having figured out the cause, he quickly accepted reality – being directionally challenged now didn't mean forever.
If he truly completed the evolution of magnetic perception, all space-time ninjutsu would become transparent before him. With sufficient mental power, the entire shinobi world – no, even realms beyond this planet – would transform into a living map in his mind!
In a sense, magnetic fields existed between people too. He could theoretically use this sense to influence others' emotions, assimilate their moods, then combine it with genjutsu to control their minds.
But this was a double-edged sword. Without strong enough mental fortitude, recklessly attuning to others' fields might backfire, drowning him in chaotic empathy.
"Guide you?" Bochi narrowed her eyes. "Thirty thousand isn't enough. At least fifty."
"Heh, whatever you say."
Soon, the man and cat exited the feline den, arriving at the city gates.
"Aren't you worried about exposing your whereabouts, Kamihane? Strutting openly like this isn't your style." Bochi licked her paw.
Kamihane shrugged. "By my calculations, Hashirama's busy with the Five Kage Summit now. He won't come all this way to 'educate' me. As for Tobirama…" His lips curled. "I'd welcome his visit."
He'd already obtained intel on the Land of Fire through Zezuru – costing thousands of ryo, but reliable.
A black-and-white ninja cat sauntered past Kamihane's feet, stretching shamelessly.
Suddenly standing upright, the cat formed hand seals with its front paws and slapped the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu, meow!"
Poof!
White smoke billowed ahead. Kamihane tilted his head, locking eyes with a fresh group of wide-eyed Uchiha.
"Well, long time no see."
His gaze settled on a familiar figure, lips quirking. "Little brother."
Uchiha Kagami froze. The youth across the street looked hauntingly familiar – refined features, ink-black hair cascading freely. Though his attire had changed, that transcendent aura unmistakably belonged to the person he'd yearned for day and night.
"This is…"
"Uchiha Kamihane!"
Beside Kagami, Uchiha Shisui instantly crouched low, drawing his blade as if facing Armageddon.
In unison, both activated their Sharingan. Fellow chuunin unsheathed swords, hostility thickening the air.
The absurd touch? Every one of them wore fluffy cat-ear headbands. Even the children behind them strained to mimic ferocious expressions. These "Nekomimi Tools" allowed understanding of cat speech – unnecessary for Kamihane, who'd long adapted to feline language through his ocular powers. A trick that had once made Uchiha Hikari green with envy.
"Mrowr!" The calico cat leaped high, fur puffed up as it hissed from a safe distance.
Shisui remained motionless. A survivor from the Warring States era, he'd surrendered after being surrounded by Senju forces during the final battles. But Kamihane was different – the madman who'd fought the Senju to the bitter end, only stopping after Madara fell to Hashirama.
Five years ago, when Madara abandoned Konoha and rallied the clan, Shisui hadn't followed.
First, he'd grown sick of war. The fragile peace wasn't worth sacrificing.
Second, Madara never clarified his so-called "true path to peace," leaving most clansmen bewildered.
Finally, Shisui had scanned the crowd that day. Not a single soul moved. Amidst collective hesitation, he'd lacked the courage to stand alone.
But this man not only followed Madara's exodus but flaunted his Mangekyō Sharingan, obliterating Konoha's gates in broad daylight – even Tobirama failed to capture him!
Just days prior, at the climax of their cataclysmic battle, Tobirama had thrown everything into annihilating Kamihane. Though no official outcome was declared, Shisui guessed the famed "Ghost of Speed" had likely perished.
Yet here he stood – pristine, vibrant, utterly unharmed.
Which meant Shisui had no choice but to tense.
"Kagami, I'll engage first. Cover the clan's retreat!" Shisui growled, eyes locked on the figure ahead. "Tch. I despise you, but you're our only hope now."
Truthfully, his feelings were tangled. He'd always loathed Tobirama – faultless on paper, yet those scrutinizing eyes made his skin crawl. Were it not for Hashirama's influence, he'd have snapped long ago.
Now, watching Kamihane's effortless confidence, an unexpected envy gnawed at him. Damn… Why wasn't I the one who followed Madara-sama…
"No! You can't stop him." Kagami's voice thickened with resolve. "I should be the rearguard."
"Don't joke! You think I don't know he's your blood brother?" Shisui hissed. "Watching kin slaughter each other? Pathetic."
"This… isn't my choice." Kagami's shoulders slumped. Kamihane's gaze still burned into him.
"Useless!" Shisui spat. "Just leave! This is exactly why I can't stand you!"
Kamihane observed their whispers with detached amusement before snorting.
"Let's go."
"Three kilometers south, meow…"
Man and cat strode past the Uchiha contingent as if they were air.
Kagami and Shisui froze.
"He… didn't attack?"
Shisui exhaled shakily, tension bleeding away. That brush with death felt hauntingly familiar. A breeze chilled his sweat-drenched back – he'd been drenched before the fight even started.
Kagami stared bitterly at the retreating figure. The more indifferent Kamihane acted, the deeper the fury coiled in his gut.
Shink! Shink! Shink!
Three shuriken whistled from the clan ranks, aimed at Kamihane's skull.
Bochi's tail flicked. Azure mist swallowed the blades midair.
!!!
Kamihane paused, turning slowly. His brow furrowed.
Goddammit!
Who threw that?!
Shisui whirled. The culprit – a chuunin barely sixteen, fresh from awakening his Sharingan, eyes blazing with desperate valor. The boy grinned at Shisui, hungry for approval.
'I faced the terror! I struck first!'
"RUN!!!"
Shisui's roar came too late.
Kamihane took a single step. His form blurred, materializing before the crowd in an eyeblink.
BOOM!
A supersonic shockwave detonated, hurricane-force winds hurling bodies through the air.
Two jounin reacted fastest – Kagami twisted mid-flight, shielding three youths against his chest to cushion their impact. Shisui stabbed his blade into earth, carving a smoking trench as he skidded.
When they looked up, their Sharingan pupils contracted in horror:
Kamihane stood cloaked in skeletal armor. A colossal bone arm emerged from swirling darkness, clamping around the chuunin who'd thrown the shuriken.
"Madara-sama wouldn't bother with ants." Kamihane drew his blade slowly, frost creeping across the ground. "But I'm less… charitable."
Silent as winter's first kill, Shimotsuki no Isshin left its sheath. A cyan flash.
Squelch.
Before the Uchiha's petrified gazes, the chuunin split into symmetrical halves. Blood jetted between skeletal fingers, viscera slopping to the cobblestones.
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