Fierce Battle at Sunagakure, Part Four

"Earth Release, the Earth Travel Technique."

Katsuki ducked down and slipped into the ground in a flash.

To be honest, Lightning Release Technique is at a disadvantage against Wind Release Technique. If he had the overwhelming power of Electric Execution, he wouldn't be afraid of the minor issue of elemental weakness. However, Lightning Release Technique, being slightly weaker, is inevitably somewhat inadequate against Wind Release Technique. It's better to retreat. His Earth Movement Technique is still far from being comparable to the pinnacle level of Sakumo.

However, thanks to the Shadow Clone Technique, a cheat code for cultivation, his earth-walking technique is already top-notch.

Endless wind blades and swords sliced through the rock wall, breaking it open until they plunged deep into the ground before exhausting their power and dissipating. A large amount of quicksand surged into the pit, quickly filling it.

Where did that kid go?

With red eyes, the Kan'in Clan Head questioned the Jonin around him.

Although he himself possesses Sensory Ninjutsu, unfortunately, the Sand Eye can only be used in unobstructed areas and cannot penetrate deep underground. The other method of physical perception using sand is even more awkward, as it requires physical contact with the enemy to detect their presence. This technique is very useful against ninjas using Genjutsu, but it is not very effective against an enemy hiding underground.

Unless he can use quicksand to turn over the entire land beneath his feet.

Kumasaburo stood silently to the side with a dark face. At least the Kan'in Clan Head had mastered Sensory Ninjutsu, while he was a pure combat-type ninja, whose specialty was fighting.

"Underground..."

"I know his coordinates underground. I need to know that brat's coordinates. Just tell me his exact location!" the Kan'in Clan Head roared.

The Jonin who had spoken earlier Jonin pale. He was Jonin, not one of those cannon fodder, but he knew that now was not the time to worry about such things. The most important thing was to work together to take down Katsuki. If they couldn't stop Katsuki with so many of them today, then the reputation of the Sand Village would be ruined.

So far in the battle, the Sand Village has lost all of its village garrison, including more than ten Jonin and hundreds of Chunin. The reinforcements that arrived shortly afterward also killed several Jonin. The iconic stepped rock wall has been largely destroyed. The Sand Village's face has been slapped from both sides by the enemy, and it's swollen from being hit so hard.

I absolutely cannot swallow this insult.

"One o'clock position, 123 meters away, 27 meters underground."

"Use Earth Release to dig it out for me."

The Kan'in Clan Head gave the order. The Jonin of the Kan'in Family are all born with both wind and earth attributes. In order to develop the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, they have also studied Wind Release Technique and Earth Release very thoroughly.

"Earth Release, Open the Earth and Dig Up."

Led by the Kan'in Clan Head, several Jonin acted together, and the power they unleashed was not to be underestimated. A huge mud volcano broke through the flowing sand and rose up, then spewed out a short figure.

"Wind Release: Kamaitachi"

Without orders, Kumasaburo's attack followed. After all, he was one of the top ninjas Jonin the village. Even the Kan'in Clan Head wouldn't dare say he could defeat this foul-mouthed guy. This guy usually spewed nonsense everywhere. Apart from the Third Kazekage and Chiyo, there was no one he wouldn't dare to curse. Fortunately, he was quite reliable on the battlefield.

A whirlwind composed of rapidly spinning wind blades swept in, causing Katsuki to grimace.

He's not someone to mess with! After all, he's one of the five great Shinobi World powers. They were caught off guard at first, and their results were quite impressive. But once they recovered and figured out his style, their counterattack was incredibly fierce!

"But do you really think I only have these two tricks up my sleeve? Don't underestimate me."

Katsuki's skin suddenly darkened, its iron-gray complexion gleaming like steel in the sunlight. She straightened her chest and faced the incoming wind blades head-on without dodging or avoiding them.

"Clang clang clang!!!"

The wind blade first tore through Katsuki's vest and inner garment, the tattered pieces of cloth fluttering like butterflies, then being shredded by the successive wind blades. However, when the wind blade struck Katsuki's chest, it made a sound like metal clashing. After a series of crisp sounds, the bare-chested boy fell into the quicksand.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the boy got up as if nothing had happened, with not a single scratch on his body.

"What an amazing Hardening Technique."

One of the Jonin couldn't contain his surprise and let out a gasp.

The Kan'in Clan Head clan had a very grim expression. The more powerful Katsuki was, the stronger his killing intent became.

"Click-click--"

A series of strange, rapidly rhythmic sounds echoed across the desert as sixteen puppets of various shapes flew towards Katsuki.

In addition to the six puppets previously controlled by the man and woman, five more Puppet Master, each piloting two puppets, joined forces to launch an attack.

"Whoosh whoosh!!!:

The purplish-black poison needles covered a large area like a torrential rain, and it was clear to the naked eye how potent the poison was. However, Katsuki neither dodged nor avoided it, and walked steadily toward Sunagakure.

The poison needles struck Katsuki's cheeks, neck, and chest, but failed to penetrate even a fraction of an inch. Even his thin eyelids were repelled by the impact of the poison needles. Having trained with the Hito Hito no Mi for so long, coupled with the top-tier Hardening Technique of the Earth Spear, frankly speaking, ordinary attacks wouldn't even scratch a hair on his head.

"Change the poison fog."

Seeing that the attack was ineffective, the leading red-haired Puppet Master remained calm and made a judgment before issuing orders.

The remaining Puppet Master carried out the order without hesitation, controlling their puppets to drop poison mist bombs. The purple mist enveloped a large area of the desert, shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight.

"Has it worked?"

The Kan'in Clan Head asked the red-haired Puppet Master with great excitement. This Puppet Master was a genius Puppet Master who inherited the bloodline of Chiyo of the Sand. Apart from Chiyo, no one among the younger generation could surpass him in Puppet Technique. Even the Kan'in Clan Head treated the young man with great respect.

"No."

The handsome red-haired Puppet Master uttered a few words with difficulty.

A black figure slowly broke through the blockade of the poisonous fog.

Katsuki strode out of the poisonous fog with his head held high. He had been startled by the fog, worried that he wouldn't be able to withstand the corrosive effects of the poison. However, it turned out that he had underestimated his own strength. The Hito Hito no Mi had been developed to a considerable degree, surpassing the most basic enhancement stage, and he had come to understand the essence of body and soul.

His physical body was very strong; the deadly poison that would be fatal to ordinary people was not enough to bring him down. After the initial adaptation period, he didn't even cough once.

"Use whatever methods you have! Our enemy... is very troublesome." The red-haired Puppet Master was solemn. He withdrew a puppet to guard his side, and the others followed suit, no longer daring to attack so recklessly, and began to cautiously probe.