Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

However, the reason why Itachi Uchiha was able to recognize Troy so quickly was...

It was because after learning about Troy's recent active performance on the battlefield, Fugaku Uchiha regretted not killing Troy directly in the last great war. This left a deep impression on Itachi Uchiha, and he never expected to actually encounter him on the battlefield today.

"Boy, surrender if you don't want to die! Although Lord Raikage said he hoped to capture a genius like you alive, unfortunately, once I get serious, I won't hold back..."

Troy didn't finish his nonsense.

His response was a shuriken thrown by Itachi Uchiha; this answer was undoubtedly more powerful than words!

Troy wasn't angry. He simply threw out the square shuriken in his hand. However, to his surprise, his square shuriken failed to knock down the two shuriken thrown by Uchiha Itachi. The two small shuriken collided in mid-air, changed their trajectory, and shot towards Troy from the left and right sides.

"Uchiha shurikenjutsu? That technique is useless against me."

The flying shuriken was already close at hand, but Troy was not flustered at all. He simply flicked his finger, and the two huge square shuriken stuck in the ground beside him flew up, easily deflecting the two small shuriken like a shield.

"Playing with ninja tools? I'm an expert at least!"

Regarding the development and research of Magnet Release, the Cloud Ninja, lacking a research sample like the One-Tailed Shukaku, still followed the traditional development path, which is to magnetize the things they touch and then use the magnetism to manipulate the corresponding ninja tools to attack the enemy. Compared to the Sand Ninja's diverse Sand Techniques, this traditional combat method is somewhat monotonous.

Because they can only manipulate a limited number of metal ninja tools, unlike the Sand Ninja who can control an immeasurable amount of sand.

However, the fact that this tradition has endured to this day suggests it has its merits; otherwise, Troy wouldn't have been able to build such a great reputation using this magnetic technique.

Troy didn't even glance at Itachi Uchiha, simply raising his hand and waving it away.

One after another, huge square shuriken flew up.

Four square shuriken flew through the air toward Itachi Uchiha at an extremely high speed, as if guided by a system. These shuriken relentlessly pursued Itachi, and no matter how he changed positions, he could not shake off the pursuing square shuriken.

[Chapter 209 Stepping Stones and Growth]

Is it magnetism?

Despite several attempts to maneuver and shift his position, he was unable to shake off the ever-present square shuriken. Watching the square shuriken change its trajectory in an illogical way, Uchiha Itachi realized the truth. He suddenly threw his katana towards Troy, which was not far away.

Also drawn away were the square shuriken.

"I see, so it's possible to indirectly add magnetism? No wonder... it is indeed a rather troublesome ability." The boy calmly revealed the hidden secret.

"Is it just troublesome? Those Uchiha brats are really arrogant and annoying!"

Troy, with his eyes lowered, reached out his hand. The kodachi that Itachi had thrown at him suddenly tumbled in the air, like a tamed beast obediently placing its paws in its master's outstretched palm. He grasped the hilt of the kodachi, rather than the sharp blade capable of severing a cow's thigh bone.

The square shuriken that had been chasing after Troy were like streams being parted, avoiding him and landing lightly beside him.

"Since my Magnet Release is just a troublesome ability, then let me see if you have the ability to solve trouble, you Uchiha brat." Enraged, Troy swung his arm, and square shuriken influenced by the magnetism once again flew into the air, rushing towards Uchiha Itachi.

But that's not enough.

Troy took out a scroll and summoned more than twenty small, square-shaped shuriken from it, then threw them all at once. These were specially made shuriken, but their shape was not related to Magnet Release abilities; it was simply his personal preference!

Four huge square-shaped shuriken and more than twenty smaller square-shaped shuriken—that was almost the limit of what he could control!

From the perspective of the number of manipulated objects

The Cloud Ninja are completely inferior to the Sand Ninja in the research and development of Magnet Release, a bloodline limit!

Under the leadership of the Second Kazekage, the Kekkei Genkai of Magnet Release developed rapidly. The Third Kazekage was the Second Kazekage's greatest masterpiece. Relying on its integrated offense and defense, and its ability to soar through the sky, the Third Kazekage earned the title of the strongest Kazekage with the [Sand Iron Technique] built around Magnet Release. During the Second Shinobi World War, the Third Kazekage had the dazzling feat of single-handedly creating a sandstorm in the desert.

Similarly, the current Fourth Kazekage also used his unique "Gold Sand Technique" to quell the chaos in Sunagakure and barely maintain the village, which was on the verge of collapse during the Third Shinobi World War.

In contrast,

Troy's Magnetism was inevitably less impressive in terms of sheer scale!

Of course, this is not to say that Troy is weak. As one of the most famous masters in Kumogakure, although he still follows the traditional path, Troy has also honed Magnet Release to this level, launching a fierce storm of shuriken flying everywhere.

Having lost his kodachi, Itachi Uchiha took out his spare kunai.

just,

Troy's Magnet Release can attach magnetic force to a target object through indirect contact. Once the kunai in his hand comes into contact with the square shuriken, it will become the source of gravity that attracts many shuriken. If he doesn't want to be riddled with holes by those ever-present square shuriken, he can only throw the kunai away.

And so it went, again and again, until Itachi Uchiha ran out of all the spare kunai in his ninja tool pouch. Although there were still spares in the scroll, he couldn't take them out, break the seal, and retrieve the kunai stored inside while being chased... This was definitely not a simple action.

only,

Despite losing all the kunai in his ninja tool bag, Itachi Uchiha wasn't particularly panicked.

As he ran, he formed a hand seal with one hand, and in this environment where there was no readily available water source, he conjured up clear flowing water out of thin air. Moreover, it was compressed and was a turbulent current that was spinning at high speed. Just one glance was enough to feel its formidable destructive power.

Water Release: Water Fang Bullet Technique

This is a ninjutsu used by Itachi Uchiha.

Among the Uchiha clan, fire-attribute chakra is a chakra nature possessed by all Uchiha. In addition, many people have a second nature, with lightning and earth-attribute being the most common, while wind and water-attribute are the rarest. Uchiha Itachi happens to be a rare case, naturally possessing fire and water, two chakra natures that are not very compatible.

The swirling Water Fang Bullets deflected many shuriken, preventing Itachi Uchiha from being cornered. However, unfortunately, the Water Fang Bullets were not powerful enough to shatter the square-shaped shuriken specially made by Troy; they only temporarily deflected the shuriken's trajectory.

As for attacking Troy directly with water-toothed bullets,

Unfortunately,

Troy is, after all, a Jonin, and not just any ordinary Jonin who rises through the ranks by years of experience. And don't think that he's useless except for his Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai. At the very least, his Lightning Release Chakra Mode is quite well-trained, and his agile skills are certainly worthy of the title of Jonin.

Trying to decide the outcome of the war by hitting Troy with water-blast bombs is not as simple as it seems.

In fact, ninjas rarely use ninjutsu as soon as they meet. Taijutsu is the most common way for ninjas to fight. This is partly to save chakra, but also because if the enemy is not restricted, the attack is likely to miss.

The characteristics of the ninja group are extremely powerful destructive force and mobility faster than a galloping horse. The only weakness that most ninjas have is insufficient defense. In short, ninjas have three major characteristics: high attack, high agility and low defense. This leads to their fighting style, which is mainly based on physical combat, with ninjutsu and genjutsu as their trump cards.

"Uchiha brat, is all you can do is run away? Although your taijutsu is better than I imagined, it will only prolong your life a little longer."

Troy was also constantly moving around.

Magnetic manipulation has a distance limit. The farther the ninja tool he manipulates is from him, the more difficult it becomes to manipulate, and the more chakra he consumes. Therefore, he must keep moving, partly to prevent the ninja tool from getting too far away from him, and partly to flexibly avoid enemy counterattacks.

"Is there a distance limit to the manipulation of magnetism?"

Uchiha Itachi suddenly spoke up and responded.

"Did you find out? So what if you did?"

Troy remained calm.

When the secret that magnetic force could be indirectly transmitted was discovered so quickly, he realized that the kid in front of him was the kind of person who was very smart. It was not surprising that the distance limit of magnetic force manipulation was discovered. However, he would not panic because of this. So what if the secret was discovered?

"Haven't you noticed? You've been keeping your head down the whole time."

Itachi Uchiha sighed, seemingly in disappointment.

Troy frowned, looking at the shimmering water at his feet. These puddles were created by Itachi Uchiha using the Water Fang Bullet Technique. The slightly murky water still reflected the gloomy sky and his own serious face.

Is this just a deliberate attempt to mystify?

Troy, finding nothing wrong, couldn't help but think this.

Just then, a small reflection appeared on the water's surface, which was like a dirty mirror—the shadow of a crow! The reflection wasn't very clear, unable to reveal the crow's figure in the finest detail, but at least its general outline and those scarlet, ominous eyes were visible!

"Damn it!"

Upon seeing those scarlet eyes, Troy was startled. His mind instantly realized that he had been careless. This seemingly unintentional pool of water might actually be the true intention of this Uchiha brat.

In that instant, his brain started working at its limit. This was a trap from beginning to end. After the distance limit of the magnetic manipulation was discovered, the Water Fang Bullet technique was used to set up this trap and lure him into it step by step. He was stupidly unaware of it!

It really is true.

Great!

The anger and resentment were fleeting.

Before being dragged into that inescapable illusion, the only emotion in his mind was heartfelt admiration. Even though it was just a little kid, his talent completely impressed him. There was nothing to be angry about, nothing to be resentful about. Losing to such a genius was not unfair at all!

Rather,

Being able to become a stepping stone for such a true genius to achieve fame is a kind of honor in itself.

【Magic - Dragon's Sleep Technique】

Using the summoned crow as a portal, and the not-so-clear water as a bridge connecting his vision with Troy, Itachi silently projected the Dragon Sleep Technique, easily capturing Troy's consciousness and plunging him into a deep slumber. Troy collapsed into the water with a splash.

The shuriken that was chasing Itachi Uchiha lost control and instantly fell to the ground.

"Phew! Thank goodness it worked!"

The boy secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This was the first time he had successfully released an illusion in this way, using two mediums to cast the illusion. Although he had similar ideas during his training, back then he only had a Sharingan with two tomoe, and the quality of his eye power was not enough to support such a flashy operation!

He reached into his ninja tool pouch, pulled out a shuriken, and threw it.

With his shuriken throwing technique, which had already reached its pinnacle during his time at the ninja academy with no room for further improvement, it was impossible for him to miss. The shuriken precisely pierced Troy's nape, and blood gushed out. Judging from the depth of the shuriken, the speed of the bleeding, and the amount of blood loss, unless Troy was immortal, he absolutely could not have survived.

Itachi Uchiha quickly stepped forward.

He took out a scroll and sealed Troy's body inside, while taking back his katana from Troy's hand.

This fierce battle

And so the curtain falls!

The final outcome left many onlookers stunned. The Konoha ninjas, who had been eager to rescue the genius Uchiha Itachi, were both surprised and delighted. The eleven-year-old Uchiha Itachi had killed the renowned Magnet Release ninja Troy from the Cloud Village? This result was like a dream!

The Cloud Ninja were also shocked.

The Cloud Ninja who intercepted the Konoha ninja who were trying to support Uchiha Itachi felt no joy, only indescribable shock! Troy had actually lost to a Konoha brat? Even if that brat was an Uchiha! The worst-case scenario they could imagine was that Troy would slip up and Itachi would escape, nothing more!

They never imagined that Troy would lose to a child!

And they lost so quickly.

From the start of Itachi Uchiha's fight to the end, only a little over six minutes had passed.

"That Itachi guy..."

Kimimaro's eyebrows drooped slightly.

A competitive spirit quietly filled his heart. After spending so much time with Itachi Uchiha, the arrogance that Orochimaru had once praised as a genius had long been worn away. Without even realizing it, he had come to regard Itachi Uchiha as his rival!

If even Itachi Uchiha cannot surpass him, then how can we talk about defeating Shisui Uchiha and Mugen Uchiha and returning to Lord Orochimaru's side?

"I won't lose to you!"

The boy muttered to himself, his emerald green eyes brimming with intense fighting spirit!

【Corpse Bone Pulse - Ten Fingers Pierced by Bullets】