Naruto: Konoha Spring of the Uchiha Prodigies

The sudden outburst of Shion awakened the resting group, and they all rushed to the center of the camp.

"What happened?" Neji asked after glancing at Shion.

"It's nothing, the priestess must have had a nightmare. Maybe she's just too tired today," Ashiho said with a smile to everyone.

"A boring trick." At that moment, Sasuke leaped down from the tree branch and stood in front of Shion, looking down at her.

"What do you want to say?" Shion looked up at Sasuke. From this angle, she only felt a huge sense of oppression. Her hands unconsciously clenched the blanket, and her body involuntarily shrank back.

"You just saw this guy's death, didn't you?" Sasuke asked calmly.

Ziyuan gritted her teeth and nodded.

“So, that means there will be a battle tomorrow,” Sasuke said. “Tell me what you saw, what time it was, even just a rough estimate will do. If you really can’t tell us, tell us information like the direction the shadow was pointing, and the enemy’s attack methods.”

Shion was momentarily confused by Sasuke's question before she recalled the scene of Ashiho's death that she had just witnessed. However, after being disturbed like this, she couldn't remember the specific details very clearly.

"It seems like it was during the day and then... I don't remember anything else," Ziyuan said weakly.

"How could you forget such important information?" Sasuke frowned upon hearing this, speechless. This priestess was truly a useless piece of trash who couldn't help at all.

"Didn't you not believe my prophecy?" she said angrily, seeing Sasuke's disdainful look.

Sasuke and Neji ignored his impotent rage and started discussing things directly.

"If there's a battle during the day tomorrow, then everyone should get some rest tonight. Tomorrow, Karin and I will increase our reconnaissance and detection efforts to eliminate any potential enemies as early as possible," Neji said.

"If the prophecy is true, those enemies were able to kill our mission target under our protection, so their strength must be considerable. It's a pity that this good-for-nothing didn't get any useful information. Otherwise, if we had prepared in advance, our chances would have been much greater." Sasuke glanced back at Shion and said helplessly.

"Ashiho-kun." Neji called out to Ashiho.

"Mr. Hyuga, is there anything I can do for you?" Ashiho calmly stepped forward and asked.

"Here, take this." Neji took off a device from his left wrist and handed it to the other person. "This contains five instant-cast A-rank ninjutsu Rasengans. You can activate them by pressing the button on your palm with your middle and ring fingers at the same time. Having this should give you some self-defense capabilities, or at least hold out until we come to your aid."

"Thank you." Azusa smiled and nodded, accepting the wristband Neji gave her, her face still expressionless.

"Hey, since you believe your priestess's prophecy so much, aren't you worried at all? The person she prophesied to die is you." At this moment, Karin couldn't help but speak up.

“What’s the use of worrying? Everyone who was prophesied to die by Lady Shion has ultimately met their predetermined end. It would be my honor to die protecting Lady Shion.” Ashiho said with a smile, her face full of composure, as if she had already prepared herself for death.

"Hmph, one or two of them, how boring." Sasuke snorted, then turned to look at Shion, "Hey, you charlatan over there, wanna make a bet with me?"

Shion looked at Sasuke with a somewhat blank expression.

"Didn't you say that everyone whose death you foresaw never escaped their predetermined fate?" Sasuke said with a light laugh. "Then this time, I'll break fate and show you how it works. Young man, if you survive tomorrow, it means you, as a priestess, are not proficient in theology. After the mission, you'll come with us to the theological seminar in Nakagawa and properly improve your theological skills with the clergy of our Land of Fire. How about it?"

Seeing this, Neji's eyes flickered slightly. He understood Sasuke's meaning at this moment. If Sasuke proved that Shion's prophetic ability was not completely unchangeable, then the strategic value of Shion's ability would be too great. Even if it was a lie, he had to lure her to Konoha. Therefore, Neji silently took a half step back and let Sasuke do as he pleased.

"Hmph, what if you lose?" Ziyuan said, somewhat unconvinced.

"What, do you really want your guards to die to continue proving your prophecy is correct?" Sasuke asked with a cold smile.

"I...I didn't!" Shion panicked at Sasuke's words and hurriedly explained to Ashiho, "Ashiho, that's not what I meant."

"It's alright, Lady Shrine Maiden." Ashiho shook her head, indicating that she didn't mind.

"Go to sleep early. Tomorrow I'll teach you a principle that all the clergy of our Land of Fire understand," Sasuke said with a light laugh. "That is, the power of a god needs to be granted by a ninja's kunai."

The next morning, the group set off for the Land of Swamps once again. Because of the prophecy, everyone was extremely cautious as they traveled. Neji and Karin both activated their reconnaissance abilities to the maximum extent, striving to find the enemy's traces as soon as possible.

"They're here!" At noon, Karin, who had activated her sensory abilities, suddenly alerted everyone that they had discovered the enemy's presence. "Four chakra fluctuations to the southeast!"

"Are you sure there are only four people?" Neji asked incredulously, a hint of seriousness creeping onto his face.

After learning of the prophecy yesterday, both Sasuke and Neji were prepared to face a large ninja army. To be honest, they instinctively felt that the enemy was able to kill Ashiho under their protection by using their numerical advantage to make them unable to defend themselves. But now, the enemy only sent four people.

If the prophecy is true, and four people can break through the protection of five and kill Ashiho, then what kind of strength must these four people possess? Are they four ninjas with strength at the Kage level?

"Charge!" Neji shouted. Then, he and Sasuke activated the special devices hanging on their ears. The visual advantages of the Sharingan and Byakugan overlapped at this moment and were then shared with their companions.

“Something’s not right. The attackers’ chakra fluctuations aren’t strong.” Sasuke noticed the anomaly after seeing the chakra flow of the attackers using his Byakugan’s ability to see through chakra pathways. “But there are unusual chakra fluctuations on the back of their necks.”

"Is your strength increased by external forces?" Neji said. "Karin, prepare the sealing technique!"

"Yes!" Karin nodded, then began to form hand seals, inscribing complex sealing incantations on blank scrolls. If Neji's analysis was correct, the best way to counter ninjas who use external forces to enhance their strength was sealing techniques.

"Karin, you protect the two employers while you're at it, the rest of you, come on!" Sasuke said.

As soon as Sasuke finished speaking, a green figure rushed out first. At that moment, the most muscular man among the attacking enemies saw this and took the initiative to meet Lee.

Xiao Li's fist collided with the other person's arm, producing a loud thud.

The burly man who had stopped Xiao Li's arm slowly froze under everyone's gaze. Xiao Li pulled out her fist and shook her hand; she hadn't been completely unscathed from the collision either.

"Enhancing your physical abilities? Perfect timing!" Lee grinned, and as he retreated, he deliberately removed the weights from his body. Then, a turquoise aura rose from his body. After activating the Eight Gates, Lee soared into the air, spinning as he launched a flying kick towards his opponent, "Front Lotus!"

After the two were locked in fierce combat, Sasuke drew his sword and drew both of them into the battle circle in front of him. Purple lightning flickered on the surface of his sword, and his figure, treading on lightning, was too fast to see. With just a few strikes, he forced the two enemies he had entangled to retreat repeatedly.

Chapter 246 How Ninja Doctors Handle Medical Disputes

While Sasuke was engaged with two opponents, Neji also took out his chakra sniper rifle and aimed it at the two who were entangled with Sasuke.

Meanwhile, Sasuke, in close combat with them, lured and suppressed their figures, bringing them right under Neji's gun.

The opponent's bizarre method of increasing strength clearly showed signs of being caused by external forces. Therefore, the two tacitly cooperated, trying to directly shatter the abnormal source of the opponent's chakra flow.

Neji seized the opportunity and fired a shot. A concentrated beam of chakra shot out from the muzzle and landed on the back of the neck of the person he was aiming at.

The chakra ray pierced through the opponent's neck in an instant, but the next moment, the opponent's body turned into a stream of blue water and disappeared from Sasuke's sight.

A moment later, the water that had flowed away converged at another spot, forming the shape of the ninja who had just been shot.

"A technique similar to the Hidden Mist Technique, the Water Transformation Technique? If that's the case..." Sasuke frowned, then forced back another ninja facing him with a single strike. As he took two steps back, he sheathed his Purple Lightning Blade and began rapidly forming hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Waterfall!"

Thick plasma formed around Sasuke as he formed hand seals. As Sasuke completed the final Rabbit Seal, the plasma suddenly boiled, transforming into a surging wave that roared towards the opponent.

"Fire Release: Fire Walk Technique!" Facing the roaring waves of lightning, one of the attacking ninjas began to spin at high speed, the blazing flames stretching into a rotating circular wall of fire as he spun.

"Wind Release: Divine Wind!" The other person among the two surrounded by the wall of fire spun around and spewed out a gust of wind.

With the wind fanning the flames, the rapidly spinning wall of fire grew increasingly powerful, spreading outwards continuously.

The next instant, thunder and flames collided, and a violent explosion resounded in the center of the valley. The trees in the valley were instantly ignited by the high temperature, and billowing black smoke rose into the air.

"Something's not right." Neji approached Sasuke, who was maintaining his ninjutsu and exchanging blows with the opponent, and said with a frown.

“Yes.” Sasuke nodded. “Their strength, at best, is that of an ordinary Jonin in the village. For the four of them to think they could kill someone under our noses is just wishful thinking. But the charlatan’s confident manner doesn’t seem like he’s lying, so there’s probably something fishy going on.”

Just as the two were still pondering what kind of trump card the other was hiding, the last of the four attackers emerged from underground, their target being Sakura, who was protecting Karin and setting up a sealing technique for her.

To this person, Sakura's hair was messy, and her dark circles made her look like she was about to die at any moment; she looked like an easy target.

However, just as half of his body emerged from the ground, Sakura stomped her foot forcefully, instantly freezing his expression. The ground where he was hiding cracked inch by inch, and his body underground was almost shattered into pieces by the shockwave. After narrowly escaping from underground, Sakura's subsequent punches left him with no chance to fight back.

Compared to the one who barely escaped from Sakura's clutches but was at least out of danger, and the one who maintained a ninjutsu exchange with Sasuke, the one who started fighting Lee was also the first to give up. After Lee deliberately removed his weights and opened the Fifth Gate, his speed had become so fast that it was difficult for the naked eye to catch. Moreover, with each of Lee's attacks landing on his opponent, although he was able to replenish the damaged parts of his body by condensing new rocks with his chakra while maintaining his petrified state, thus not suffering much damage, his chakra was being almost completely drained by Lee's relentless onslaught.

The petrified attacker tried to escape, but Xiao Li didn't give him the chance. Relying on pure speed, he arrived behind the attacker and kicked him into the air with a high kick.

"Li Lianhua! Drink!" Little Li roared and spun downwards with a flying kick. The stone man, who had completely lost his balance in the air, showed a look of terror on his face, the only part of his face that still retained a human form.

"Boom!" A loud noise resounded throughout the sky. After Xiao Li's flying kick landed on the opponent, the stone man's body instantly lit up with a red light. Then, his entire body exploded into pieces, turning into fragments of stone.

"Neji! Now!" At that moment, Sasuke, who was maintaining his ninjutsu and exchanging blows with his opponent's combined ninjutsu, shouted. Neji also took out a component from the sealing scrolls on both sides of his waist and attached it to the chakra sniper rifle in his hand, and then began to continuously inject chakra into it.

With the addition of the new components, the sniper rifle's energy storage device overloaded almost instantly, and the previously tightly flowing chakra began to run rampant in the barrel.

The two great dojutsu of Konoha, linked together by Tenten's invention, locked onto the enemy's location in what could be described as an instant, and Neji pulled the trigger.

A thick chakra laser cannon erupted from the barrel. The new component Tenten had prepared for Neji transformed the chakra sniper rifle into a powerful cannon! After the cannon fired, even with Neji's physical abilities, the immense recoil forced him back several steps before he regained his balance.

His enemies were also engulfed by the explosion in that instant.

At the same time, Sakura's powerful punch landed on the last enemy, shattering him into pieces.

After defeating their respective enemies, the group quickly reunited, protecting Shion and Ashiho in the center.

"Is that all?" Karin, who had just finished preparing a large-scale chakra sealing technique, was about to relax when Sasuke's reminder rang out.

"Don't let your guard down! They might have a backup plan!"

As Sasuke's voice fell, four incantation arrays glowing with an eerie light lit up at the locations where the attackers had been shattered. Under the influence of these arrays, the shattered bodies of the attackers began to slowly converge into various forms of chakra, and then reassembled into human form.

"Are they unkillable?" Neji stared intently at his opponent. In the Byakugan's vision, the abnormal chakra fluctuations at the back of his opponent's neck became even more active than before. Furthermore, Neji also discovered that not only had his body recovered, but the chakra he had consumed in the battle with them had also been completely restored.

"Even their chakra has been restored?" Sasuke took a deep breath. Only now did he understand why the attacker, despite having only this much strength, was able to kill someone under their protection, as predicted by Shion.

The opponent's continuous flow of chakra does seem to give them a chance to wear them down here.

[If only that guy were here!] Sasuke gritted his teeth and thought to himself.

However, Sasuke quickly shook his head, banishing these chaotic thoughts from his mind, and turned to Karin, saying, "If we can't kill them, then let's use a sealing technique. It's up to you, Karin!"

"Leave it to me!" Karin nodded, then gave a low shout and activated the sealing runes that she had already completed. The dark sealing runes spread outwards from her center. The attackers tried to jump up and dodge, but the next moment, all sorts of ninja tools suddenly shot out from the ruins of the battlefield, which had been turned into a mess in the previous battle, completely blocking their movement routes.

Sasuke and Neji, one twisting a steel wire with one finger and the other holding a small remote control, represent the conservative Uchiha clan's family tradition of shurikenjutsu, and the Konoha Ninja Tool Research Institute's chief experimenter, representing the reformist faction. These two ninja tool masters had already taken advantage of the chaos during the previous battle to set up a trap. Steel wire shuriken, explosive tags, and various explosive gadgets flew around the attackers and exploded.

Although these things couldn't cause any damage to the group of people who all had the ability to transform into elements, they only delayed them for a short while before Karin's sealing technique, a net of heaven and earth, completely enveloped them!

The sealing runes clung to the opponent's body like maggots, causing the opponent's chakra to rapidly deplete.

However, just after the chakra fluctuations on the attackers completely disappeared, various colored magic circles suddenly flashed on the back of their necks. From Neji's Byakugan perspective, although the chakra in the attackers' bodies disappeared, a strange energy surged out afterward.

"Oh no! This isn't chakra! This chakra-sealing technique isn't working!" Karin shouted a warning.

“It’s useless,” Shion, who was being protected by everyone, suddenly muttered to herself. “The power of the demon is not chakra.”

"Why wasn't this important information revealed sooner?" Karin turned around and scolded without thinking. The Uzumaki clan's heritage wasn't entirely devoid of methods to deal with non-chakra special forces. Even with mysterious natural energies, the Uzumaki clan's heritage had two techniques that could seal them. Moreover, the Uzumaki clan's heritage also had methods for analyzing and formulating sealing techniques against special energies. However, Karin had never encountered the special energy emanating endless resentment and malice emanating from this opponent. If she had known this information earlier, Karin could have prepared to analyze it and design a seal from the beginning, but now that opportunity was clearly gone.

In just a few breaths, the attackers' bodies underwent a dramatic transformation under the influence of this strange energy; their forms became bizarre and distorted.

"Take them back. Leave this to me. Since the seal is useless, let's make them disappear completely." Sasuke said coldly at this moment. The three tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly and then turned into the pattern of the kaleidoscope. Blood tears slowly flowed from his left eye, and dark lightning appeared in his hand, turning into the shape of two long swords.

"Alright." Given the current situation, he had no way to deal with this special energy, and even if he stayed, it would be difficult to help much. So Neji simply chose to trust Sasuke and retreated while protecting Shion and the others.

The attackers, transformed by the power of the demons, quickly became twisted monsters driven only by instinct, and their target was Shion, who was retreating under the cover of Neji and the others.

Roaring, their modified bodies chased after Shion in all sorts of strange poses, completely ignoring Sasuke, who was in their path.

"How dare you ignore me? This is infuriating!" Sasuke's eyes were filled with blood and tears. He stepped on lightning and used two longswords made of black lightning summoned by his two eye techniques, the Martial Arts Hammer, to slash through the bodies of four monsters with a dual-wielding circular slash.

The jet-black lightning blade made no sound the moment it touched the opponent's body, and the eerie energy from the demon vanished into nothingness.

"Roar!" The monsters, acting on instinct, cried out in pain.