It was only because Uchiha Gen's strength was solid enough that he managed to block Chiyo's first wave of attacks.
By the time she truly wanted to go all out against Uchiha Gen, Tsunade and Orochimaru had already arrived and intercepted her.
"Phew—safe now."
Uchiha Gen quietly retreated, avoiding the battlefield of the three Kage-level experts.
Compared to before, Tsunade and Orochimaru, who had now earned the title of Sannin, had increased in strength, truly stepping across the threshold of Kage-level experts and gradually approaching their peak.
Even if their foundation was still slightly lacking, by joining forces, they firmly held the upper hand.
Since they could chase Chiyo all over the place, the two of them certainly had the ability to suppress her when working together.
"Phew—"
Uchiha Gen took a deep breath of the smoke-filled battlefield air.
His arms trembled slightly, and the palm holding his Sengoku Ninja Sword had a cracked webbing between the thumb and forefinger, dripping with blood.
The poison needles Chiyo fired were fast and accurate, each one possessing the power to pierce metal and shatter stone.
Moreover, they were numerous; it was not easy for him to block all those attacks.
This was caused by an absolute gap in strength.
To be honest, the fact that Uchiha Gen was attacked by Chiyo and could hold out against her for so long was enough to make him an overnight sensation and famous in the Ninja World.
At the very least, the other ninjas watching this area had all noticed him.
"Rasengan!"
A sphere of azure chakra light was thrust out by his blood-stained palm.
Combined with the genjutsu control of his Sharingan, he easily finished off a Sand Shinobi who had come forward to test him.
Soon, other Sand Shinobi rushed over, but Konoha ninjas who had noticed the situation also came to provide cover for Uchiha Gen.
An existence that could trade a few blows with a Kage-level expert like Chiyo possessed the ability to overturn a local battlefield and could play a significant role.
While several Konoha ninjas came over to help him block the enemies, Uchiha Gen used the Mystical Palm Jutsu to shallowly repair the small cracks on his hand and his somewhat spasming arm muscles before stepping forward with his sword once again.
He couldn't win against a powerhouse like Chiyo, but dealing with other Sand Shinobi was more than enough.
"Fire Style: Great Flame Rasen-Wind Jutsu!"
A vast ocean of fire erupted, even evaporating the raindrops in the sky.
Uchiha Gen stepped over a charred corpse.
With his back to the sea of fire, a red glow in his eyes, and a sword in one hand—complemented by the dots of blood like plum blossoms on his lapel—he looked like a Shinigami.
Excluding those top powerhouses, Elite Jonin like them were the strongest existences on the battlefield.
In this battle, the Konoha ninjas were more numerous, and their number of experts was also greater.
It was impossible for the Sand Shinobi to dispatch an equivalent expert to deal with every Konoha powerhouse.
It wasn't that no one tried to temporarily stop Uchiha Gen, but given the gap in strength, they could only delay his footsteps and make him consume a bit more energy.
Until a figure with a bare upper body and multiple black threads sewn across his torso appeared in front of him.
"Tsk—this is a big problem."
"Why is this guy here?"
"Intelligence said you generally don't get involved in the affairs of the Great Ninja Villages, right?"
"Why did you show up this time instead?"
"How much did Sunagakure pay you?"
Looking at the sudden roadblock, Uchiha Gen turned helplessly and swung his sword, cutting through the bundles of black threads that suddenly burst from the ground.
His heart grew a few degrees colder.
The Takigakure rogue ninja, Kakuzu.
Right now, he had naturally not joined the Akatsuki organization, as that organization hadn't even been formed yet.
But Kakuzu was the most recognized top bounty ninja in the Ninja World; his strength was formidable, and his appearance had long been well-known.
This guy was very strong, not much easier to deal with than Chiyo.
"You are right."
"I have always been unwilling to get involved in the affairs of your Five Great Ninja Villages, especially your Konoha."
"But as long as the stakes are high enough, there is nothing in this world that cannot be done."
Kakuzu's low voice was filled with confidence.
The strength of this Uchiha brat was certainly not bad, but compared to him, there was still a clear gap.
"Capture me?"
"Instead of killing me?"
Uchiha Gen narrowed his eyes slightly.
The Hidden Sand Village wanted nothing more than to kill him; why would they think of capturing him?
Capture him to use as a breeding stud, to leave an Uchiha bloodline for the Hidden Sand Village?
If they really could do that, they would have found a way to catch other weaker Uchihas long ago.
Why target an existence at the Elite Jonin level like him?
Uchiha Gen roughly guessed that this was likely Madara and Black Zetsu's doing again.
Since White Zetsu couldn't take him down last time, they sought external help, finding a Kage-level combatant to do the job.
The number of Kage-level experts was limited, and those not belonging to the Five Great Ninja Villages were even fewer.
Among them, Kakuzu was definitely one of the easier ones to find.
The higher the bounty you offered, the greater the probability he would appear.
Uchiha Gen didn't know what kind of stakes Madara and Black Zetsu had offered to make Kakuzu move against him, nor did he know where those two got the confidence to think they could control him.
But he was very clear about how much danger he was in now.
But fortunately, this was a battlefield, and it was a battlefield where Konoha ninjas were more numerous and had the advantage.
Further away, there were also Orochimaru and Tsunade, who had suppressed Chiyo.
Although Kakuzu was powerful, he might not necessarily be able to take him down!
He only needed to hold on for a while.
As the scales of the battlefield tilted more and more toward the Konoha side, over time, even Kakuzu would definitely be unwilling to get caught in a siege by a large army.
Although Kakuzu held an absolute advantage in strength, time was on Uchiha Gen's side.
As long as the commotion was big enough, other Konoha Jonin who could spare a hand would naturally come to help.
Go for it!
Without further words, both sides tacitly chose to strike at the exact same instant.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
The fireball and water cannon clashed, evaporating into a large cloud of thick mist.
Uchiha Gen's figure quickly retreated, avoiding the water flow that was still spreading toward him.
Kakuzu's mastery of the five chakra natures was equally astonishing.
In this regard, the only ones in the entire Ninja World who could sit at the same table as him were a few people like the Third Hokage and Orochimaru.
Although Uchiha Gen's Fire Style was considered good among Jonin, a single chakra nature was not enough to bridge the gap.
In the next instant, a masked face monster appeared beside Kakuzu, firing high-pressure wind bullets toward Uchiha Gen like a turret.
"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
A mocking-faced earth wall rose, intercepting the wind bullets, only to be pierced and sliced open by the Lightning Style condensed into a line.
Uchiha Gen, who should have been fleeing in distress at this moment, had vanished from his spot.
In the next instant, when he reappeared, he had already used Earth Style to sneak behind Kakuzu.
Lightning glowed in his palm, stabbing directly at Kakuzu's heart.
It was the familiar setup from the One Thousand Years of Death; with the Young Kakashi character card equipped, it was surprisingly smooth to use.