Naruto: Starting with the Granted Strongest Eye

"Heh, now that we've figured out their weaknesses, shouldn't we take action?" A cold laugh escaped from Tong, and with a quick flick of her ninja blade, she rushed forward.

At the same time, Kakashi couldn't help but reflect on the situation. He was certainly aware of the activity in the Cloud Village, but as he remembered certain past events, he suddenly felt a surge of hatred toward these cultists.

"We're going in!" Kakashi said to the two Anbu members behind him as he followed Shisui and the others toward the cultists.

Hasegawa and Kanetsugu glanced at the figure of the treelike enemy in the distance and sneered, "This fool… Well, I'll be watching to see whether your chakra is stronger, or if our vitality will outlast yours!"

Instantly, the entire battlefield tilted overwhelmingly in their favor. "You're claiming to have great vitality? Fine then, let's see how many times we can kill you!"

With the appearance of the Tailed Beast Cloak, Killer Bee had grown even stronger, causing the cultists to tremble. Unlike the guards, the cultists didn't possess the same sealing techniques, so they were swiftly eliminated.

The battle was now becoming clearer—two Anbu members and Tong stood firm against the enemies, while Itachi, Shisui, and Kakashi provided support. Hasegawa and Kanetsugu were being completely overwhelmed.

They had already been killed twice, and if this continued, their end wouldn't be far off. Now, they were looking for an opportunity to strike back.

The black-robed leader of the cult slowly lifted his head from the ground and sneered before disappearing back underground.

Meanwhile, in a hidden chamber, an elderly man, his face lined with deep wrinkles, sat wearily by an experimental table, his expression cold.

Looking toward a corner, he sneered, "Seems like things aren't going so well out there. And you, returning at this time—what's the meaning of that?"

"Master, now is the most crucial time. I had to return to check on you! What if you've been corrupted by the evil god's technique?" The black-robed man slowly emerged from the wall with a smile, his tone almost flattering. But the old man appeared somewhat resigned.

After a faint chuckle, he asked, "Xinzhi, how many years has it been since I taught you the Earth Fusion Technique?" The old man sighed, his tone tinged with a sense of nostalgia.

"Uh, Master, why are you asking this now? Heh, it's been eight years! Back then, I was just a Genin from Hidden Soup Village!" Xinzhi responded with a forced smile.

"Eight years, huh..." The old man gazed at Xinzhi with a look of melancholy, clearly lost in thought. If Tong had been present, she would have been astonished.

The so-called Grand Guardian of the cult was Xinzhi, a Jōnin from Hidden Soup Village, who had known the old man for a long time and referred to him as his master.

"Back then, you didn't have a shred of cruelty in you. You were a true ninja of Hidden Soup Village," the old man sighed. "But now? You've even sacrificed your disciples!"

After a brief pause, he pointed to the figure on the table—Hidan. "The person you created is filled with rage and worships a fabricated evil god!"

Xinzhi slowly emerged from the earth, coldly laughing. "Master, weren't you looking for such a vessel? Only with this can we complete the experiment."

"But such a ninja, even if successful, is useless. His body may not die, but his physical and ninja abilities, or his curse seal techniques, are lacking. If this is the kind of ninja we need, then I've failed. My vessel must be a truly powerful ninja!" The old man's eyes narrowed. "Even if I take control of his body, his desires will still affect me."

At that moment, the old man's eyes suddenly snapped open, and he fixed Xinzhi with a cold stare. "After all these years, I, Fujin Linjia, have learned one thing: before immortality, one must first sever emotional ties. Only by cutting the chains of this world can I gain true power!"

"Master, what do you mean?" Xinzhi was caught off guard.

In a flash, Fujin Linjia appeared in front of Xinzhi, grabbing him by the throat, and roared, "It means severing the bond between master and disciple, and then consuming this brat's soul!"

As he spoke, Xinzhi began to tense up. His entire body twisted as if it were part of the earth itself.

Tong looked at the piles of corpses scattered around the battlefield and the four guardians who had been sliced into eight pieces. She turned to the other ninjas on her side. At this moment, the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Mist villages were wary of the Konoha ninjas.

For the Cloud Village, the Mist Village posed no real threat—there were only two remaining Mist ninjas, and the Grass Village ninjas weren't considered a major concern either. But the Konoha ninjas, especially those three kids, had taken down most of the Mist ninja forces. Three of them were Uchiha, and even Killer Bee didn't dare to take them lightly. Kurt had said that those Uchiha's Sharingan were already formidable, and the Eight-Tails inside Killer Bee could sense that Shisui was not to be underestimated.

As for the Mist Village, even though the Cloud Village had their jinchūriki, the Sharingan of the Konoha ninjas was the real threat. Their teamwork was powerful, and the grudge from earlier was still fresh in their minds.

"It seems these guys want to take us down first," Tong said with a helpless smile, glancing at Kakashi. But Kakashi, suddenly remembering something, looked around and gave a quick signal.

"Retreat!" he shouted, and with a flash, they darted into the forest. Shisui shot a cold glance at the approaching enemies and signaled to Tong and Itachi. In a blink, they disappeared.

This sudden change left both the Cloud and Mist villages momentarily stunned. They seemed to be caught off guard, filled with confusion.

"Could it be that they're giving up on the immortality technique?" one of them muttered, feeling the ominous aura intensifying. It seemed the ritual was on the verge of success.

Just then, the ground shook violently. From the beastly castle, ripples began to spread outward, as if the earth itself was responding.

"Not good! Get out of the way!" Darui shouted, snapping out of his daze. As everyone jumped, a deafening explosion rang out, and the land that had been affected by the ripples suddenly erupted. Rocks and earth turned to dust, causing the entire beastly castle to collapse, disintegrating into sand as it fell inward.

"I see. So, they've started fighting among themselves," Qing said, immediately activating his Byakugan to assess the situation.

As soon as he finished speaking, another loud crash echoed through the forest. As the team landed on the trees, the sound of sand exploding erupted once more.

Two figures appeared, leaping into the air. In the blink of an eye, they separated, but sparks flew as their weapons collided, indicating that they had exchanged at least a dozen blows.

One of the black-robed figures fell, revealing his face and a long wound on his back. Yet, not a single drop of blood was spilled.

"Xinzhi?" Tong blinked, surprised as she called out the name.