Another Collision

"... So strong!"

Looking up at the silvery-white light rising into the sky, Kuyue's small mouth opened wide, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

All those words gathered together, but in the end, only this simple sentence came out.

"What are you daydreaming about? Run!"

Kakashi dragged the girl along, running wildly. The retreating Konoha Ninja, under the command of their leaders, were desperately fleeing into the distance.

"Let me go, I can run away myself..."

Kuyue tried to struggle, but Kakashi held on very tightly, and with her comrades all around, she couldn't afford to lash out now.

He gritted his teeth secretly, plotting how he would teach Kakashi, that bastard, a lesson later.

Couldn't you have used a little less force? You're squeezing her hand so hard it feels like it's about to break...

At this moment, everyone is running with all their might, trying their best to leave the wilderness that is about to become a living hell, so as not to get too close and get caught in the crossfire.

To survive the battlefield but be caught in the crossfire of the big shots' battle and die—that kind of bad luck is something you absolutely must avoid.

After all, if you die like that, you won't even be able to get your place on the Memorial Stone!

Conversely, the situation was similar in Iwagakure, where Stone Ninja and Genin were desperately fleeing for their lives, fearing they would be caught in the impending great battle.

And Katsuki did not disappoint the Stone Ninja!

The first move was a grand and impressive one.

"Electric Execution!!"

Riding the Thunder Chariot, Katsuki raised her right hand high, her five fingers spread as if supporting a heavy object. Silver-white lightning crackled between her fingers, Chakra surged into her palm like a flood bursting its banks. The brightness of the lightning instantly soared to its extreme, as if another blazing sun had suddenly appeared in the sky, a small white sun, splashing down dazzling light.

The muscles in my right arm twitched, and the bluish veins bulged out like small snakes coiled around them. Fine cracks appeared on the skin, from which red blood droplets secreted, flowing down the undulating muscles towards my armpit.

Katsuki sighed inwardly. The newly grown arm was indeed too fragile. Without undergoing tempering and training, it would ultimately be difficult to compare with the original limb.

Fortunately, his powerful self-healing ability was working, gradually healing and repairing the wound on his right arm.

In the blink of an eye, after the lightning in his hand had accumulated to its maximum, he resolutely swung his right hand down.

Ten, a hundred, a thousand... endless bolts of lightning surged forth from it, silvery-white thunderbolts crashing down with heavy, resounding roars, as if the sky were collapsing and the clouds were sinking.

"Dust Release, Original World Stripping Technique."

Ōnoki's small, thin body flew into the air.

His beard fluttered in the wind, and the old man spread his arms wide, a white cube-shaped barrier spinning between them, just as lightning struck down from the sky.

He also raised his arm high, pushing the barrier he was holding into the sky.

The transparent white barrier expanded silently and rapidly, instantly occupying half the sky. Every inch of space was swallowed up by the white barrier, and the falling lightning that touched the softly glowing barrier instantly melted away.

Like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun.

However, similarly, the expansion speed of the white, soft light barrier also slowed down in the face of the almost endless lightning.

The power of Kekkei Tōta is indeed terrifying, but it is not beyond the realm of humanity and is still a force that can be resisted.

"As expected... Dust Release, using pure energy to fight back?" Having confirmed her suspicions, Katsuki withdrew her involuntarily twitching right arm and watched as the lightning and the barrier disappeared together.

Dust Release: This unique Kekkei Tōta in the Shinobi World, Katsuki has personally experienced it and vaguely grasped the characteristics of this power. Decomposition, or more accurately, the power of Dust Release is decomposition, breaking down all matter into the finest particles.

Moreover, ignoring the strength of matter, to put it more simply, breaking down a piece of fine steel requires no more effort than breaking down a piece of rotten wood.

This is a truly terrifying power.

However, based on his experience from the last battle, he noticed something: pure energy like lightning seemed to decompose rather slowly.

"Let's try Fire Style again..."

Having made up her mind, Katsuki steered the Thunder Chariot toward Ōnoki.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique"

Standing atop the Thunder Chariot, Katsuki's chest heaved as he opened his mouth and unleashed a ferocious fire dragon. Orange sparks danced in the air, instantly turning it scorching hot. The over twenty-meter-long fire dragon lunged at Ōnoki was floating in the air.

This is Fire Style he learned from Otome. In order to train his Hito Hito no Mi and enrich his combat skills, in addition to the lightning and earth attributes he was born with, he gradually mastered the Chakra transformations of the other three attributes through acquired methods.

Of course, his strongest techniques are still Lightning Release and Earth Release, among which Lightning Release Technique, which he can skillfully integrate into his soul and manipulate, is the most powerful. His innate attribute is very easy to integrate into his soul, while the Chakra transformation he developed later is extremely difficult.

So far, the only Ninjutsu he can integrate with his soul, thus abandoning Hand Seals and controlling at will, are Lightning Release and Earth Release.

Moreover, due to the powerful offensive capabilities of Lightning Release Technique, it has always been his most frequently used method.

However, the Uchiha Clan's Fire Style are indeed extraordinary, differing from conventional Fire Style in many subtle ways. It is precisely these differences that make the Uchiha Clan's Fire Style techniques more powerful than those of ordinary ninjas, even with equal strength and the same amount of Chakra consumption.

"Earth Release: Rock Golem"

Dust swirled in mid-air, and driven by Chakra, a colossal golem over three meters tall blocked the fire dragon's path.

Before it could fall due to gravity, the fire dragon slammed into the Rock Golem with a loud bang, shattering it into pieces that shot out in all directions.

... It seems I was too naive... Katsuki's lips twitched. Dust Release consumes an astonishing amount of Chakra. Using it to deal with a powerful move like Electric Execution Punishment is worthwhile, but using it to deal with a fire dragon like this is not worthwhile at all.

"Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique"

Ōnoki Hand Seals, and the rubble that had been flying past him suddenly turned back, gathered together, and rapidly multiplied, transforming into a giant fist.

"Go."

Ōnoki lightly brushed the rocky fist with his right hand, and with a swift motion, slammed it towards Katsuki with incredible ferocity.

"This kind of thing... how dare you take this kind of thing out?"

Katsuki muttered something under his breath, not even blinking, and steered his Thunderclap Chariot to meet the incoming rocky fist head-on.

A flash of silver lightning illuminated his left hand... (To be continued)