Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 146: Chiyo's Poison, Sand Hidden Secret Hand!

Under the night sky, on the vast and endless desert plain, waves of sandstorms swept through the air.

A massive creature resembling a towering building, Manda, carried the members of the surprise attack squad as they rushed toward the red smoke signal rising at the border of the Land of Wind.

"How much longer do you need to refine your chakra, Ci? We're approaching the battlefield!"

Standing atop Manda's head, Uchiha Shinichi struggled to control the giant snake. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of his forehead as he turned to glance behind him.

There, a young man sat cross-legged in silence, moonlight and starlight draped over him like a soft veil.

"If it's just enough to support basic actions, I'm ready now,"

Uchiha Ci replied, his tone laced with urgency. Keeping his eyes closed, he utilized every moment to refine his chakra.

"But if it's enough to sustain combat… I'm far from ready."

At this moment, his forbidden technique, Body Revival, was incomplete and imperfect. It couldn't compare to Orochimaru's future effortless regeneration through the Regeneration Technique, which could instantly regrow a limb.

For him to achieve that level now, he either needed an enormous amount of chakra or had to slowly wait for his undead body to regenerate on its own.

Thus, he had already given up on restoring his right arm. Instead, he focused solely on absorbing the unease in the hearts of those around him, converting it into dark chakra, and channeling it through Body Revival to further refine chakra.

This relentless, nonstop effort had left the small Zero-Tails in his abdomen exhausted, constantly signaling its protest.

Zero-Tails was not some combat-supporting artifact. As a disgraceful "tailed beast," it had numerous limitations, including its seemingly advantageous ability to convert dark chakra. Its efficiency was so abysmally low that future Sky Ninja had to modify the Ancor Vantian fortress in extremely specific conditions just to make up for this shortfall.

(Note: Zero-Tails can only absorb large amounts of chakra in a specialized chamber. Even then, absorbing a small amount of Nine-Tails' chakra caused it to explode.)

Despite Uchiha Ci's relentless exploitation,

he had only managed to recover enough chakra equivalent to that of an average Chunin.

Such an amount was barely sufficient for him to use Fire Release: Chakra Mode Transformation Fire Blade once—and only under the risky condition of not activating Body Revival.

Uchiha Shinichi frowned deeply and gritted his teeth as he demanded:

"My ocular power is nearly exhausted from controlling Manda. What are you thinking?!"

"I can carry you while moving! There's no need to control such a massive creature!"

"This is draining my ocular power too much! We still have battles ahead, and I—"

Shinichi struggled to finish his sentence. The giant Manda was a major unstable factor for the surprise attack squad. Yet Uchiha Ci insisted on keeping it summoned, refusing to release the contract no matter how much Shinichi tried to dissuade him.

To make Shinichi comply, Uchiha Ci even declared,

"In strategy, I can trust you unconditionally, but in battle, I ask that you trust my judgment!"

Left with no choice, Uchiha Shinichi gritted his teeth and continued applying Sharingan-based genjutsu to maintain control over the giant summoned beast.

"Wait! Just a little longer!" Uchiha Ci said, still keeping his eyes closed, his voice resolute.

"Trust me! I have a feeling Manda will be of great use in our upcoming actions!"

Aburame Ryoma's mission was to destroy supplies, not necessarily engage in a fight to the death. With his expertise in controlling parasitic insects, assassination, infiltration, and intelligence gathering, he had many ways to maneuver around and complete the mission.

However, the fact that he had launched the red flare meant—

He had likely encountered an extreme variable!

A variable far beyond what this squad was capable of handling!

At that moment—

"Look over there!"

From Manda's head, Uchiha Shisui activated his Sharingan and gazed into the distance, suddenly shouting in alarm:

"There's a patch of purple mist in that desert!"

Uchiha Ci's eyes snapped open.

Far away, under the starlight and moonlight, a vast expanse of white desert was covered by a swirling patch of purple mist that enveloped a large area.

At its center, a black tornado spun at high speed, continuously rotating.

Above the purple mist, a red smoke signal billowed upward—a flare launched by the Konoha side.

Nearby, Inuzuka Akira's companion, Akamaru, suddenly grew agitated.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Inuzuka Akira's eyes widened in shock as he translated grimly:

"That's poison mist!"

"It's Chiyo, the elder of the Sand Village!"

---

The eye of a tornado is a region where wind forces are relatively calm.

But that doesn't mean it's free from danger.

The center of a tornado isn't a vacuum with zero atmospheric pressure—it's a funnel-shaped column of air with low pressure.

At this moment,

Aburame Ryoma stood at the center of his self-created Secret Technique: Insect Tornado, his expression grim.

As the air pressure continued to drop, he grew increasingly nauseous, dizzy, and weak.

But compared to the purple poison mist outside, this discomfort was trivial.

The mist was a deadly poison concocted by Chiyo, an elder of the Sand Village. In Konoha, only one person, Tsunade of the Sannin, could neutralize it.

Even the slightest inhalation would quickly incapacitate someone, their body withering away to bones.

Even Orochimaru could only offer a bottle of adrenaline and warn him:

"If you encounter this stuff, run for your life."

"My bugs are dying one after another."

"Maintaining the Insect Tornado is consuming a lot of chakra."

"And most importantly—I have no idea who my opponent is!"

Aburame Ryoma knelt on the ground, placing his hand on the sand and continuously sending out parasitic insects to scout the surroundings.

However, the moment his bugs crawled out of the poisonous mist, they were instantly obliterated by something sharp and invisible.

No survivors.

No information.

What was outside? How many enemies? Who was targeting him?

He knew nothing.

The Secret Technique: Insect Tornado became his only barrier, allowing him to barely cling to life in this suffocating and narrow space.

He had attempted to deploy a large number of parasitic queen insects, using Secret Technique: Insect Cocoon to rapidly hatch countless parasitic insects and launch a wide-area attack with Secret Technique: Insect Swamp.

But just as the unassuming queen insects were released,

before they could even begin hatching,

a calm, aged voice resonated faintly:

"Sealing Technique: Lion's Silent Roar."

In the next moment, all the queen insects lost contact.

Hearing this deliberately obscure voice and witnessing such an unfamiliar ability, Aburame Ryoma's heart turned cold.

He couldn't identify his enemy.

He couldn't discern their capabilities.

All he knew was that his personal information, as a deputy commander of Root who usually worked solo, had been entirely exposed to the enemy.

And he was now caught in a carefully orchestrated trap.

When?

When had his intelligence been compromised?

Amidst the exhaustion from oxygen deprivation and chakra depletion,

a series of fragmented memories replayed in his mind until—

It stopped on the mission he undertook in the capital of the Land of Hot Water.

On that day—

When he returned to Root, Orochimaru, who had assumed a Sannin's role in the Third Shinobi World War's strategic planning, suddenly made a sincere request:

He asked Ryoma, who was about to leave for a mission in the Land of Hot Water, to bring back his disciple.

That day, his usually composed demeanor was shaken.

Afterward, Ryoma led his squad to Yuyancheng, fought fiercely against Yagura, intercepted the Hidden Mist's advance, and manipulated intelligence across various nations.

And then—

He met his clumsy subordinate, a boy who shone as brightly as the sun.

"Heh."

"So that's it. That's when my information was compromised."

"Then my opponent—someone in the Sand Village with such potent poison, impeccable strategic planning, and masterful intelligence-gathering capabilities—"

"It must be you!"

Aburame Ryoma's gaze sharpened behind his sunglasses.

He lifted his head, peering through the Secret Technique: Insect Tornado at the unseen elder somewhere beyond.

"The veteran master who perfectly combines poison, puppetry, and Wind Style ninjutsu!"

"Even now, controlling numerous secret agents like puppets in the shadows!"

"The former king of espionage, now the de facto leader of Sand Village—"

"Sand's Secret Hand!"

"Ebizo!"