The sudden ambush truly caught Haori and the other two off guard for a moment.
However, all three of them were qualified shinobi. Almost the instant the explosions spread, they each leapt away in different directions.
Even so, affected by the blasts, they were forcibly scattered. In the blink of an eye, the distance between them was stretched wide.
A chain of explosions filled the area with thick smoke and steam. To avoid the blasts, Haori had no choice but to dart back and forth through the forest.
"Damn it… we were ambushed."
Haori cursed inwardly. Although he had already expected Iwagakure to make a move, he hadn't anticipated them acting this quickly.
He also noticed something else—the explosions had all been triggered by explosive tags.
Which meant—
"Iwagakure has already realized where we're planning to strike!"
No one was a fool, especially those who ran a village or commanded a battlefield.
It wasn't hard to imagine that Minato's situation on the other side wouldn't be smooth either.
But whatever happened over there was no longer Haori's concern.
At this moment, his eyes had already turned scarlet, three tomoe slowly spinning within them.
Through the smoke, he saw a figure rapidly approaching. Before long, that figure stopped right in front of him.
"So… an Uchiha after all."
When the newcomer saw Haori's eyes, he immediately tilted his head slightly aside, carefully avoiding direct eye contact.
"You are…?" Haori frowned.
The thin, gaunt figure before him gave him a faint sense of familiarity.
But for the moment, he couldn't quite place who this person was.
"Iwagakure Explosion Corps—Kari."
The man's expression was cold. His demeanor was calm and proper, but the moment Haori heard the name, he froze briefly.
He remembered now—this was the Explosion Release user who would later be resurrected by Kabuto via Edo Tensei alongside Pakura.
"So it's you." Haori nodded lightly.
"Surprised?" Kari replied indifferently. "You being able to make it this far and cause such a commotion—that's what truly surprised us."
"You should really be thanking Kumogakure," Haori said calmly, already knowing a fight was inevitable. "If not for them, we wouldn't have gotten such a good opportunity."
As expected, those words instantly darkened Kari's already grim expression.
"What is your objective? And how many of you are there?" Kari asked, forcibly suppressing his anger.
"You've already guessed, haven't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have set an ambush here. As for how many of us—"
Haori shook his head, noticing movement in the distance.
There was no doubt that Guy and Aoba had also run into enemies and were now each engaged in battle.
"And you still have the leisure to worry about others?" Kari sneered when he noticed Haori's distraction.
"Forget it. Looks like you won't talk anyway. No matter how many of you there are, you'll all meet again in the Pure Land."
"Before you say that, have you considered something?"
Haori drew his gaze back, a trace of contempt appearing on his face.
"Do you really have the courage to face me head-on? Or are you afraid of my Sharingan?"
The moment his words fell, the ground beneath Haori suddenly cracked open.
A figure burst out from below at incredible speed.
Through the Sharingan, Haori clearly saw chakra flowing over the man's fist—
Explosion Release.
Though caught by surprise, Haori didn't panic in the slightest.
He could clearly see Kari's attack trajectory.
At the instant the punch was about to land, Haori subtly twisted his body. The movement was smooth and fluid, effortlessly dodging the blow.
Seizing the moment when Kari's missed attack left him briefly stiff, Haori instantly drew a kunai.
The blade shot straight toward Kari's chest, piercing in an instant!
Yet Haori raised an eyebrow.
Because he clearly saw that Kari had already escaped.
What remained behind, just like before, was nothing more than a Earth Release clone.
"So this is how Iwagakure fights?" Haori mocked aloud, though inwardly he remained extremely cautious.
Once an Iwa shinobi went underground, they became inherently difficult to detect. Even with the Sharingan, it was hard to lock onto them immediately.
And Kari clearly possessed a textbook shinobi mindset—if one strike failed, he immediately used his natural advantage to hide.
This was completely different from the reckless, unrestrained style he showed after being resurrected by Edo Tensei.
"What a turtle. Looks like your Tsuchikage will live a long life—since all of you are turtles too, huh?"
As Kari remained hidden, Haori continued searching while casually throwing out verbal jabs.
Unfortunately, he overestimated his own talent for taunting.
Perhaps his motivational speeches could barely compare to Naruto's, but when it came to provoking enemies, he was clearly no match for Sasuke.
If Sasuke were standing here, doing absolutely nothing, someone might already be rushing out to punch him.
"Since you don't seem eager to fight, let's not waste each other's time. I'll be on my way."
Haori said lightly—and then actually started walking forward.
But the moment he took a step, he instantly sensed movement behind him.
He spun around at once, his gaze snapping to the spot behind him. The three tomoe spun rapidly.
His expression flickered with surprise—then curved into a smile.
"Got you!"
He charged forward, one hand tucked behind his back while the other drove a kunai viciously into the ground!
The kunai plunged deep into the earth—
But Haori's expression changed slightly.
There was no blood, and the feedback from the blade was completely wrong.
"I've got you now, Uchiha brat!"
Almost at the same instant, the ground behind Haori split open.
Kari's figure emerged for real this time.
His right fist slammed forward, chakra blazing as it crashed toward Haori's body.
He had endured for so long, waiting precisely for this moment.
Yet when he saw Haori standing perfectly still—showing no intention of dodging at all—
A hint of alarm flashed through him.
Still, he didn't pull back completely, only subtly reduced the force.
BOOM!
The instant his fist struck Haori, a violent explosion erupted.
But instead of shattering a body, Haori's form dissolved into surging lightning.
"A Lightning Clone?! When did—?!"
Kari's expression darkened. Fortunately, he had held back some strength, leaving him room to react.
He stomped hard against the ground, using both the terrain and the massive blast from his punch to propel himself away before the lightning could spread to him.
Not long after he retreated, a massive fireball tore through the smoke and slammed violently into the ground.
The surrounding grass ignited rapidly, flames spreading in all directions.
Within the shadows cast by the raging fire, Haori's real figure quietly emerged.
"So ignorant—and foolish."
Several kunai appeared in Haori's hands as he calmly looked at Kari in the distance, a mocking smile on his face.
Bathed in firelight, his scarlet eyes looked colder than ever.
"True, hiding underground can limit the Sharingan's perception to some extent.
"But don't forget—once you make even the slightest move, you can't escape the lock of these eyes.
"Before these eyes—
you have nowhere to hide."
~~--------------------------------
Visit my p@treon for advance chapter:
patreon.com/FicWarden