"!"
As Ringo Ameyuri's colleague, a Kirigakure jonin, and also a candidate for Thunder Sword Fang.
Raiga Kurosuki was naturally no weakling.
He abruptly twisted aside, avoiding the slash.
The next second, Akira Sarutobi, who had shattered the wooden planks beneath his foot, had already thrown himself into the enemy group.
Most ninja knew some ninjutsu.
And most conventional ninjutsu required distance to perform.
So... closing in with taijutsu and engaging in a melee often became the most effective choice.
—Provided that person was proficient in taijutsu.
And Akira Sarutobi happened to be very skilled at it.
"Rock Smash!"
The instant he landed, Akira Sarutobi's entire body erupted with power, aided by his momentum.
Just how strong was Akira Sarutobi's physical strength now?
After layering Steel Style: Kekkei Genkai over it, it was equivalent to coating his fist in a Steel Style chakra field.
It was no different from wrapping his fist in a layer of metal.
So, with one punch, the enemy's head burst like a watermelon with a bang.
Red and white matter sprayed outward in a fan-shaped arc.
By the time Akira Sarutobi completed the kill, everyone present had finally reacted.
"Attack~~!!!"
"Kill them!!!"
The Kirigakure ninja revealed savage expressions and shouted as they attacked.
"Go!"
Ino Yamanaka, the first to move, grabbed Ringo Ameyuri with one hand and leaped backward.
She rapidly retreated with her in tow.
After his initial shock, Raiga Kurosuki's expression shifted. Finally, he cursed at the equally bewildered Ringo Ameyuri, "Ringo Ameyuri... you bitch~~!... You fucking betrayed Kirigakure!!!"
Saving the Villainess Is Common Sense
Raiga Kurosuki had mistaken Ringo Ameyuri for an enemy collaborator.
Thus, a strange misunderstanding was born.
But to Akira Sarutobi, that was not the important part.
His right fist smashed an enemy's head.
His left hand drew a kunai, and a blur too fast for the naked eye swept past, accompanied by a shrill slicing sound.
Slash!
Blood blossomed from the neck.
In an instant, Akira Sarutobi had taken out two enemies in succession.
His swordsmanship had been taught by Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.
Naturally, Akira Sarutobi's skill with a blade was assured.
Watching Akira Sarutobi use swordsmanship and taijutsu at once, splitting his focus between both, Nonō and the others could not help clicking their tongues in amazement.
In their hearts, Akira Sarutobi's strength became increasingly unfathomable.
Then, the next second.
With a hum, transparent chakra began flowing over the kunai.
Crack!
With unstoppable force, the kunai sliced through the enemy's slender katana before cutting straight across his face.
"Urgh~!"
The opponent jerked backward. A deep bloody line ran from his chin to the bridge of his nose and all the way to the top of his head.
This blow.
Made every enemy's expression turn ugly.
"Wind Style... Chakra Flow!"
Kirigakure, represented by the seven ninja swords and symbolized by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Its ninja had been trained at the Ninja Academy to use all kinds of blades and sharp weapons.
So they could become candidates for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
A village with such a strong swordsmanship culture naturally knew every kind of sword technique inside out.
They could clearly identify the transparent flow coating the kunai in Akira Sarutobi's hand.
Wind-nature chakra coated the surface of a weapon, turning it into an indestructible blade.
Among the five major natures, Wind Style possessed one of the greatest offensive powers.
The sharpest cutting power brought the most terrifying absolute damage output.
Without mastering Chakra Flow, ordinary weapons could not contend with it.
And ordinary Chakra Flow, over time, likewise could not stand against the fierce flow of Wind Style.
However, human strength had its limits.
Many times... numbers could make up for the gap in quality.
Especially since this was not a one-on-one fight.
It was a group of Kirigakure ninja against a small number of Konoha Ninja.
The Root ninja who had shed their disguises threw shuriken and kunai one after another, covering Ino Yamanaka's escape.
As for their skill, Akira Sarutobi had seen it a week ago.
Before Danzo was willing to send better fighters as reinforcements, their side held no advantage in a battle on this scale.
After all, Anbu almost always fought in small teams. They could not form a massive force to steamroll the enemy; that was the job of regular troops.
"Go!"
Surrounded and attacked from all sides, Akira Sarutobi stomped through the wooden pier beneath his feet.
The enemies fell into the water one after another.
Taking advantage of that opening, Akira Sarutobi used the recoil to leap backward.
Escaping out to sea was impossible.
So land became their only option.
The Land of Waves was an island nation, but it also had many forested areas where they could hide.
Thus, everyone quickly reached land and began racing toward the woods.
Furious, Raiga Kurosuki vented his anger on the female ninja Ino Yamanaka had controlled.
He unsealed a scroll and took out the Thunder Sword Fang.
Then he pointed it at the sky.
Ino Yamanaka, whose sixth sense was exceptionally sharp, sensed the danger and immediately released the Mind Transfer Jutsu, returning her consciousness to her own body.
Boom!!
Thunder exploded across the sky.
A bolt of lightning struck down and hit that body.
Thud.
She immediately collapsed, wisps of smoke rising from her body.
"?!"
Raiga Kurosuki froze again.
This move could instantly kill a "chunin," but the other side had jonin-level strength and even Steel Style: Kekkei Genkai. She should not have died so easily.
At most... she should have been lightly wounded and able to escape if she gritted her teeth!
What was going on?
While he was still bewildered, Akira Sarutobi and the others had already rapidly retreated into the forest.
"Chase them!!"
As Raiga Kurosuki tied up the Twelve Female Shinobi with ropes, intending to interrogate them for information later, he issued the order for his subordinates to pursue.
Within the forest, the battle continued.
Ruri Hyuga, who possessed the Byakugan, would now play an enormous role.
The trees were obstacles, but to Ruri Hyuga, they were cover.
The Byakugan could see through everything within a fifty-meter-radius sphere.
In this state, although the Byakugan lost its extreme ten-kilometer direct vision, it gained all-around sight.
Thus.
Ruri Hyuga suddenly rushed out from behind a tree, raised her slender arm, and jabbed her fingers repeatedly.
As blue chakra bloomed, the enemy fell dead on the spot.
On the other side, Akira Sarutobi was even more at home.
The thermal vision in his right eye had become more precise after being continuously used during the past week of training.
Previously, he could only see vaguely defined humanoid outlines at close range.
Now... he could clearly capture complete human forms.
The figures leaping through the forest were exceptionally clear.
His left hand used Wind Style: Chakra Flow, while his right hand used Steel Style taijutsu.
Akira Sarutobi struck left and right, even deliberately taking enemy attacks to lure them into trading injuries.
But they did not know that he possessed Steel Style.
Thus...
The result was that Akira Sarutobi killed his enemies, while Steel Style's damage reduction left only tiny wounds on his own body.
"Why did you save me?"
Ringo Ameyuri kept running, but soon began coughing.
Large patches of bright red blood seeped through her fingers.
"Don't talk..."
Nonō frowned deeply. Her condition was far more serious than it appeared.
So she gave Ino Yamanaka a look.
Ino Yamanaka immediately carried Ringo Ameyuri on her back.
"My young master told me to save you, so I did..."
"I see..."
Before you continue