Naruto: I Level Up by Drawing Cards

During the period in the Land of Rain, Uchiha Gen had already made a name for himself, entering the sights of major Ninja Villages. After his two battles against Chiyo and Kakuzu, the entire Ninja World began to take notice of this newly rising powerhouse.

All hostile Ninja Villages, without exception, issued a directive to the powerhouses within their Villages.

Once Uchiha Gen is encountered, if he can be killed, he must be eliminated at all costs!

A super genius who possesses the combat power of an Elite Jonin at this age will inevitably become a pinnacle combatant of the Ninja World in the near future, which is enough to make every major Ninja Village feel wary.

Especially Iwagakure.

Having childhood trauma, Ōnoki was terrified that Konoha would produce the next Uchiha Madara.

Although Kumogakure did not react as intensely, they had long since registered Uchiha Gen, and if an opportunity to eliminate him arose, they would absolutely not be soft-hearted.

"You hold off the others; Uchiha Gen is mine!"

Karai performed hand seals, conjuring a large, thick rubber wall to block Uchiha Gen's Great Fireball Technique, and then instructed his companions.

Less than two months ago, Uchiha Gen could barely exchange a few moves with Chiyo, and needed the assistance of two Elite Jonin to barely survive amidst an army when dealing with Kakuzu.

But for Karai, as long as his subordinates could tie down the Elite Jonin Shinku Yuhi, with his own strength, he had a high chance of winning against Uchiha Gen.

Even if he couldn't necessarily take him down, it was at least worth a try.

For him, having such an opportunity during a routine reconnaissance mission was a stroke of great luck.

However, very soon, Uchiha Gen's actions exceeded Karai's expectations.

With just a few simple hand seals, seven or eight clones appeared simultaneously at his side, splitting left and right, and charged toward Karai in a loose formation.

"Clones?"

Being an older-generation Ninja experienced in many battles, even though he believed his strength was superior to Uchiha Gen's, he remained extremely cautious during the fight and did not treat these clones as conventional clones.

Regardless of whether the incoming attack was real or fake, he avoided or defended against every single one without exception.

It was precisely because of this that, not long after they started fighting, he noticed the abnormality in Uchiha Gen's clones.

"In my perception, these clones are all solid, and they can all launch attacks—I have seen this technique before!"

Karai spat out a rubber ball to protect his body, then swung the rubber band connected to the ball in his hand, easily deflecting a barrage of incoming shuriken.

There were only two techniques capable of the performance Uchiha Gen was displaying.

One was the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique, and the other was the Phantom Body Flicker Technique.

Coincidentally, he had seen both of these techniques.

He was a generation older than the Third Hokage and his peers; during the First Ninja World War, which was the prime of his life, he had not only seen Senju Tobirama in action but had also personally fought against a young Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Kagami.

"Phantom Body Flicker Technique? I didn't expect you to have learned Uchiha Kagami's unique skill."

Amidst the rubber liquid on the ground that looked like mud, Karai, with his aged yet sharp eyes, stared intently at the area below Uchiha Gen's chest and abdomen, asking in a deep voice.

He would not easily look into a pair of triple tomoe Sharingan to avoid falling into a genjutsu, so he could only judge how to respond by observing the movements of Uchiha Gen's limbs and torso.

"It seems you witnessed Uncle Kagami's technique back then. Then, what about this move?"

Uchiha Gen held his blade in his right hand and raised his left hand, with dazzling lightning gathering in his palm.

The blinding light made it impossible for Karai to see his movements clearly.

The moment the sound of a thousand birds chirping rang out, Uchiha Gen transformed into lightning and charged toward Karai.

He had already determined how to deal with this old guy.

This rubber could be soft or hard, possessed extreme plasticity, was rich in toughness, and had super elasticity.

Ordinary attacks would be bounced off, and for those high-power attacks, a large portion of their power would be converted into the rubber's elastic potential energy, and the remaining power often couldn't break through this sturdy rubber wall.

The best method was to use Ninjutsu with strong piercing and cutting power, concentrating the destructive force to cut through the rubber and break through Karai's defense.

Chidori was naturally the most suitable Ninjutsu in Uchiha Gen's arsenal.

In the Ninja World, both Iwagakure and Kumogakure had legacies of Lava Release; the former was magma and lime, while the latter was rubber. Both were products of the aggregation of Fire Release and Earth Release Chakra, but they had different forms of expression due to the different Nature Transformations involved in their respective Fire Release and Earth Release.

And the Lightning Release of Chidori happened to be the counter to Earth Release.

"Sizzle—"

The rubber was sliced open smoothly, revealing Uchiha Gen's figure, who continued to thrust toward Karai with unabated momentum.

However, facing this situation, the latter did not retreat in the slightest, but instead resolutely raised his hand and wrist, charging forward.

"Lariat!"

The Raikage's court officials were not only the right-hand men of the successive Raikages, but also the examiners for the Lariat. If he couldn't even perform the Lariat, which was the foundation of this move, how could he serve as this examiner?

The sharp buzzing sound of lightning continued, and two powerful Lightning Release Chakra forces were colliding and canceling each other out. The figures of the old man and the young man remained deadlocked in place, before quickly passing by each other and tacitly attacking again.

Uchiha Gen swung his blade, and Karai struck with his elbow.

The sharp blade landed right on the latter's elbow, cutting through his clothes and revealing the layers of steel bands tied underneath.

The people of Kumogakure were most adept at physical training; these steel bands tied to their arms were both fitness equipment for many Kumogakure Ninjas and bracers they used when fighting enemies.

"A very good Lightning Release Ninjutsu. Konoha Village truly produces talents in succession. Today, I am increasingly wanting to keep you here."

There was a hint of deep regret in Karai's tone.

He said this because he discovered that he simply couldn't do it.

In just a few exchanges, Uchiha Gen had already displayed comprehensive abilities in all aspects, and coupled with the Phantom Body Flicker Technique, let alone taking down Uchiha Gen, whether he himself would win or lose was uncertain.

Moreover, this place was not particularly far from where Konoha's main force was located. Once dragged out for too long, by the time Konoha's reinforcements arrived, it might be he who ended up being left behind.

He really wanted to kill Uchiha Gen, this new generation Ninja of Konoha with unlimited potential, but wouldn't Konoha want to kill him, this old guy?

He was the right-hand man of the Third Raikage and the trusted strategist; if he were to fall here, it would be an immeasurable loss for Kumogakure as well.

"What, are you thinking of running now?"

Uchiha Gen slashed open the rubber ball in front of him and said to Karai.