Iron Sand Mountain

"Smack!"

The carbonized muscle shattered and was scattered in mid-air by the gale, leaving only specks of black ash that disappeared from sight.

"Whoosh whoosh!!!"

The high-speed spinning Sand Wheel flew past his temples, the sharp airflow scraping his head and making a squeaking sound. It would have been even more exciting if it had sparked a little. As long as he wasn't hit directly by these things, the airflow alone wouldn't be able to break through Katsuki's Hardening Technique. He calmly dodged and retreated, managing to retreat into Sunagakure.

The residential houses were the best shield for Katsuki, and the winding alleys provided him with more room to maneuver. His superhuman senses allowed him to move through the streets and alleys more easily than the Sand Ninja, who were the local residents, as if he were playing a game of hide-and-seek with them.

Of course, it's slightly bloodier than regular games.

The positions of those captured and those who captured them were not fixed; the Sand Ninja had the advantage in numbers.

However, Katsuki's individual combat prowess is terrifying.

"White Lightning Strike."

His right hand, crackling with lightning, pierced through the wall, instantly killing the Sand Ninja who was hiding behind it and preparing to attack him. In his right hand, he held a scarlet, still-beating heart. The sticky feeling in his palm made Katsuki very uncomfortable. He reached out and threw the heart away, pulled his right hand back, turned around, and looked up at the three Sand Ninja rushing down from the opposite rooftop.

"Go to hell, you brat."

"Vacuum Great Ball."

The high-pressure Wind Bullet were incredibly powerful, comparable to rocket launchers in terms of force. A series of high-pressure Wind Bullet rained down, and the Sand Ninja who launched the attack was filled with hope, hoping to tear Katsuki to pieces.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you."

The faint mocking voice was drowned out by the whistling sound of the high-pressure Wind Bullet, but the three Sand Ninja clearly saw Katsuki crash into the wall behind him, roll on the ground and disappear into the house. The Wind Bullet almost grazed the sole of Katsuki's shoe as it hit the ground, shattering a large area of rocks.

Rushing into the house, Katsuki looked at her arms again. More necrotic muscle had broken off, and new, tender granulation tissue was growing at a visible speed. The strength in her arms was slowly returning.

"This speed... it can't really be called super-fast regeneration!"

He sighed inwardly, but quickly rallied his spirits. Although he couldn't do it now, it didn't mean he couldn't do it in the future. After mastering Medical Ninjutsu, his self-healing speed was indeed faster than before. The path he was on was not wrong; he just needed to persevere and eventually achieve his dream.

However, the question now is how to play with the Sand Ninja...

"Earth Release: Earth Splitting Palm"

If you're going to play, you have to play big!

Katsuki showed no mercy by using a wide-range Earth Release within the Sunagakure. This was Sand Village territory; if it was damaged, it would only hurt the Sand Village ninjas. As for hatred, ninjas were inherently beings to be hated.

The house collapsed and fell in an instant. A huge slab of rock crashed down and landed on Katsuki's back, making him sway slightly. The slab shattered into more than a dozen pieces. He waved his hand to clear away the dust and mist in front of him, and what he saw was a scene of devastation, just like after a major earthquake. Everywhere there were ruins and rubble, and smoke and dust billowed. Wide cracks in the ground were like hideous wounds.

"······"

Katsuki raised his head in confusion. The Sand Ninja did not launch an angry attack on him, which puzzled him greatly. Logically speaking, the Sand Ninja should have gone crazy by now, given the large-scale destruction he had caused in Sunagakure.

Why?

When he is in doubt, he concentrates his mind and extends his senses. Because he is in the midst of a high-intensity battle, it is difficult to concentrate his mind and maintain a wide range of senses. He usually only controls the movements within about fifty meters around him. It is difficult to keep track of anything beyond that. However, when he calms down, he can detect things several kilometers away.

This is······

Katsuki looked up, and a black dot was falling rapidly from the sky, growing larger and larger in his pupils... It was a small black mountain, a black mountain covered in a layer of flames.

"Grass!!!!!!"

Only this simple word could describe Katsuki's feelings at this moment. Ten thousand alpacas galloped through her mind, and she trembled all over.

Lightning Flash Turn!!!

Lightning Flash Turn!!!

The shoes beneath her feet shattered and shattered, and her feet were enveloped in a dazzling burst of lightning. Katsuki used all her strength to escape.

We must never be hit by that black mountain peak; if we were, not even ashes would remain.

All he could do was run; he couldn't think of any other way to fight back against the falling black mountain.

"Boom--!!!"

The monotonous impact became the only sound in the world. The black mountain slammed solidly onto the spot where Katsuki had stood before, causing the ground to sink twenty meters. The shockwave from the impact easily uprooted and blew away buildings. Fortunately, the Sand Ninja had formed a circle, creating three towering rock walls and sand walls, which barely managed to block the tsunami-like shockwave.

Otherwise, that attack would have been enough to destroy half of Sunagakure.

"Puff······"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, and a small lump of tender flesh rolled on the blood-stained sand. It looked like a piece of internal organ, but Katsuki couldn't tell exactly which part it was. His internal organs were wracked with pain. The shockwave had almost broken his spine. He felt as if he had been hit hard by a battering ram, and his head was still buzzing.

"Damn it! This is the worst luck I've ever had..." Katsuki gasped for breath, turning over to look at the black mountain that had sunk into the ground—a mountain made of Iron Sand, meaning...

"The Third Kazekage?"

A dark shadow swooped down from the sky at lightning speed. Huge black wings blocked out the sunlight, and the rapidly vibrating Iron Sand emitted a sharp screech. The shadow had short, dark blue hair and dim yellow eyes that resembled the afterglow of the setting sun, filled with an ominous aura. The newcomer was none other than the Third Kazekage, hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history.

"Damn brat..."

High above, the desolate scene of Sunagakure was laid bare before them. One can only imagine the Third Kazekage's feelings at that moment: glaring with rage, he wished he could skin Katsuki alive.

"Magnet Release, Iron Sand Shower."

The flying stone-like Iron Sand, propelled by repulsive forces, hurtled down to the ground at astonishing speeds.

"... Lightning Dragon."

Enduring the excruciating pain, he raised his Teuchi a long dragon of lightning that spiraled into the sky, shattering all the Iron Sand pebbles and restoring them to their original fragmented state.

"This can't go on..."

Katsuki's face was grim. He had dodged the falling Iron Sand mountain, but the shockwave had still caused him considerable damage. In his current state, he would undoubtedly not gain any advantage in fighting the Third Kazekage.