Rescue Operation, Part Eleven

The strange abilities of the Katsuki made Araki feel deeply threatened.

He had never seen such a strange brat as Katsuki. He was just a kid, yet he could fight Jonin him, a Jonin, and hold his own against him for so long.

Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!

A mad voice roared in his heart. Araki swung his long sword with all his might, determined to cut off Katsuki's head. He refused to believe that cutting off his head wouldn't kill this strange brat.

"Giggle!"

Katsuki's left arm, wreathed in leaping arcs of electricity, rose to the ground, level with his head, protecting his neck. The long sword sliced through the strong muscles of his forearm, striking deep into his bone with a teeth-grinding grinding sound.

The 'crunching' friction sound quickly stopped. Katsuki's past tempering and honing of his body had not been in vain. His physical strength was astonishing. Even though he had not practiced professional Hardening Technique, he blocked Araki's long sword with his sheer physical strength. The blade was stuck halfway into his bone.

This is why Araki only knows Lightning Release Technique; if it were Wind Release Technique, Katsuki's forearm and head would probably have flown far away.

The characteristic of Wind Release is cutting, while the characteristic of Lightning Release is penetration; their focuses are different.

In the end, Araki failed to cut off Katsuki's head; instead, his long sword became lodged in Mizuki's bones.

Katsuki's eyes lit up. Enduring the excruciating pain that penetrated to the bone marrow, a truly bone marrow-deep pain, he used [**Healing] again. The charred skin and flesh on his forearm, which had been Electric Shock, scabbed off and fell away, revealing tender, bright red muscles that began to heal. Then, the muscles were consumed by the electric arc again, turning into pitch-black charcoal. This process repeated itself, like a sawing motion.

Waves of intense pain surged and receded like tides. Even though his nerves had been tormented to a point of resilience, beads of sweat dripped down his forehead, trembling slightly on his nose. The itchy sensation made him want to smash his head open.

He tried to pull back the long sword, but despite enduring the unparalleled pain, Katsuki managed to hold it firmly in place while wildly stabbing with the short sword in his right hand, forcing the Jonin into a frantic struggle.

At that moment, Minato and Otoha moved towards Araki's back, one on the left and one on the right.

Crouching low and concealing their presence as much as possible, the two approached Araki step by step, attempting to Jonin Katsuki was locked in a fierce battle with Mizuki...

"Trying to ambush me? You brats, you're too green! Too green! What do you think Jonin is? You ignorant brats."

Araki suddenly released his grip on the long sword, no longer trying to retrieve his weapon. He reached out with his left hand and grabbed Katsuki's short sword. The sharp blade sliced across Araki's palm as if cutting through a tough piece of cowhide, yet it couldn't even scratch his skin.

Hardening Technique have two main branches. One is Earth Release: Hardening, which can transform the body into something as solid as a rock. This is also the specialty of the Stone Ninja. Relying on their powerful Hardening Technique, the Stone Ninja rampage across the battlefield like human tanks.

Secondly, there's Lightning Release Enhancement, which is much more difficult than Earth Release Hardening. Unlike Earth Release Hardening, which is widely used in Stone Ninja, Lightning Release Enhancement is basically only mastered by Jonin in Cloud Ninja, and even then, it's only a small group of Jonin.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Lightning Release's enhanced version is superior to Earth Release's hardening version. Ultimately, the power of Ninjutsu depends on the strength of the user. However, the fact that Lightning Release is effective against Earth Release is an unavoidable issue.

Araki could only enhance a limited number of parts, but if he used those enhancements well, the effect was not bad. For example, he caught Katsuki's short sword with his bare hands, and at the same time, he kicked Otoha's arm hard, sending Otoha flying and crashing heavily into a big tree, letting out a painful groan.

As for Minato, Araki slid a Kunai out of his right sleeve. The pitch-black Kunai was thrown backhand in a flash, like the fangs of a venomous snake, flying towards Minato's chest under the shadow cast by the branches of the trees.

However······

The tiny branches and leaves on the big tree trembled and shook. The moment Minato was kicked away, he sprang up. A black Kunai flew past the sole of his boot, Otoha a burning sensation came from the sole of his foot, but... he didn't lose a single hair. Not a single hair.

Compared to Otoha's bad luck and his hapless, rolling-on-the-ground appearance, Minato was smarter and luckier.

As he dodged the Kunai, he also threw the Kunai in his hand, which was enveloped in a sharp, silent gust of wind, aiming it at the very center of Araki's back, the middle point of his spine.

Araki's ears Kunai. Although the wind-like energy on the kunai was silent, it was impossible for it to fly through the air without making a sound. He naturally noticed the Kunai aimed at his spine. However, just as he took a step to dodge, the crazed brat in front of him pounced on him again.

[Foot Strength Enhancement, Jet]

Releasing his short sword, just as Araki abandoned his long sword, Katsuki, bare-handed, crashed into Araki's arms like a high-speed cannonball. His hands were held together like knives, with dazzling silver-white lightning arcs wrapped around them, and at the same time, faint blue smoke rose up along with the smell of burning flesh.

His palms transformed into the sharpest daggers, plunging viciously into Araki's abdomen, severing his ribs, tearing through his internal organs, and creating two holes in his lower abdomen.

"Damn it..."

Araki's steps froze. Even with two holes in his abdomen, he didn't die immediately. Jonin's vitality is extremely resilient. He roared angrily and slammed his rock-hard fist into Katsuki's back, causing Katsuki to cough up a mouthful of blood, which stained Araki's clothes red.

However, before his second punch could land on Katsuki's head, Minato's Kunai struck Araki's spine. The sharp blade sliced through his spine, damaging his spinal nerves. In an instant, he lost control of his body, his fist hanging high in the air.

"Go to hell, go to hell!"

Katsuki withdrew his hands. The price of unleashing the White Lightning Strike with his bare palms was that his five fingers were charred black from the Electric Shock. However, he endured the pain and punched Araki several times in a row, slamming them hard into Araki's chest. Black blood mixed with chunks of flesh rolled down Araki's lips, and he made muffled cries. Unfortunately, each cry was weaker than the last until he could no longer make a sound. Only then did Guan Yue stop.

Araki's heart had been shattered into a mangled mess, and he had vomited out most of it.

Even in death, Araki's face bore a trace of resentment, despair, and the final madness of his life...