Eight Inner Gates, Gate of Life, Open!

"Not sure, is it a Kekkei Genkai similar to the Byakugan?" Sen replied quickly, pushing his Sharingan to its limit. "Don't worry, I'll give you our positions."

Sen was about to use his Sharingan to observe the enemy's location when he discovered that the mist was filled with Chakra, appearing like a giant Chakra sphere enveloping them all.

"No, this is a master. He's actually wrapped his own Chakra in the Mist Release, making him better at this jutsu than others. I can't see the opponent's position right now."

Their previous battles relied on Sen's invincible Sharingan. Now that it was ineffective, they were a bit unaccustomed to it.

"Then let's blow it away!" Kushina didn't hesitate, forming hand seals.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

The moment the strong wind blew away the thick fog, the four of them looked closely and saw that the four Mist Ninja were already holding their weapons, right in front of them!

The two sides instantly clashed!

Fighting against Sen was a seasoned Chunin.

Even with Sen's exquisite swordsmanship, he couldn't suppress the opponent for the moment.

Seeing that swordsmanship wouldn't lead to a quick victory, Sen leaped back, completing five hand seals instantly: "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Sen thought the Water Dragon Bullet would directly blast his opponent away. To his surprise, seeing how skillfully he performed the jutsu, the opponent quickly formed hand seals and spat out surging water:

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

The two Water Release ninjutsu violently collided, turning the surroundings into a vast ocean. Sen injected more Chakra, and the Water Dragon Bullet gained a slight advantage, but its remaining power was insufficient to injure the opponent.

The opponent leaped to the side and stood on a treetop, looking at Sen. "I didn't expect a Konoha brat to know simplified hand seals."

Sen sprinted across the water's surface, his Sharingan subtly spinning. He replied, "There's a lot you don't understand!"

"Sharingan: Illusion Technique!"

Confirming the opponent's momentary daze, Sen's footwork quickened. Just as he was about to leap onto the treetop to deliver a fatal blow, a mist struck again.

Sen stopped, instinctively sensing danger. His position was the furthest right, and this mist came from even further right, clearly not from the three people fighting.

There were others?

As his thoughts settled, a sharp spike pierced through the layers of mist, heading directly for Sen's forehead!

Sen performed a backflip, narrowly dodging it, but the airflow from the spike still left a bloody gash on his forehead.

"Hmm?" a confused voice came from the mist, seemingly surprised by the failed sneak attack.

Seeing the steel wire behind the spike pulled taut and then retracted, Sen broke out in a cold sweat, realizing it was Kushimaru Kuriarare's weapon—Nuibari!

"Be careful, they have another Jonin, Kushimaru Kuriarare, who just killed the giant snake! Watch out for his sneak attacks!" Sen suppressed the shock in his heart and immediately warned his teammates.

"Okay!"

"Got it!"

Hearing his teammates' replies, his heart settled considerably.

Kushimaru Kuriarare in the mist seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking:

"Uchiha Sen! You're not dead? Was Fuguki that useless fool really killed by your Konoha people? Where's his sword? Hand it over immediately!"

Kushimaru Kuriarare didn't know that Sen had killed the other ninja. In his eyes, Sen was just a slightly more skilled ninja. As for killing Suikazan Fuguki, it must have been due to Konoha's reinforcements.

"I guess the result won't be too good!" Sen replied, simultaneously throwing several kunai attached with Explosive Tags towards the direction of the voice.

After a violent explosion, the enemy's figure was nowhere to be seen.

Kushimaru Kuriarare's voice seemed to come from all directions: "You Konoha people are indeed tough. I'll have to poke a few holes in you before you become obedient."

As soon as the voice fell, Kushimaru Kuriarare's Nuibari struck again. With the experience from before, Sen, relying on his Sharingan's prediction, dodged the attack by sidestepping.

Seeing the opponent retract Nuibari, he was about to pursue when another direction saw a projectile whistling towards him.

Forced to stop, Sen continued to watch the mist vigilantly.

After failing twice, Kushimaru Kuriarare's tone became colder than the mist:

"You keep using the Mist Release to interfere with him. If he's hard to kill, then try his teammates."

"Yes, Senior Kushimaru, you can prioritize killing that girl. When they were on guard earlier, they surrounded this girl in the middle."

Kushimaru Kuriarare's running sound and his cheerful voice came together: "It's my habit to start with the weakest person."

After hearing this, Sen's eyes instantly turned terrifyingly cold, and his hand holding the sword trembled slightly for the first time.

He knew that Kushimaru Kuriarare's strength, if caught off guard, would be difficult for even Jiraiya to resist.

If Kushimaru Kuriarare was determined to sneak attack Kushina and Minato, the two would surely die within ten minutes!

Damn it.

Sen cursed inwardly.

He finally understood why a three-person squad was always configured with one woman and two men. In such situations, someone always had to sacrifice themselves to protect the weakest!

He gritted his teeth, and the Chakra within his body began to surge wildly in an unprecedented manner!

Sen gritted his teeth and roared:

"Eight Inner Gates, Gate of Life, Open!"

"BOOM--!"

A storm of green Chakra erupted violently from Sen's body! The mist within five meters instantly scattered from the shockwave!

Feeling the energy surging madly within him and the tearing pain in his body's tissues, Sen knew he could only maintain this state for three minutes at most!

He had to end this quickly!

He straightened his arms and slammed them forward towards where Kushimaru Kuriarare was hiding!

This strike actually blasted open a vacuum channel in the thick fog!

Kushimaru Kuriarare turned his head, his pupils suddenly widening.

How did Sen, who was just dozens of meters away, suddenly appear right in front of him?!

"BOOM!"

The spot where Sen had just been standing exploded. Clearly, his speed was so immense that it gave Kushimaru Kuriarare the illusion that Sen had surpassed the speed of sound.

"Die!"

Sen's fist, carrying an unstoppable momentum, slammed towards Kushimaru Kuriarare's face!

Facing this fatal blow, a frenzy welled up in Kushimaru Kuriarare's eyes. He thrust his Nuibari forward without evasion, aiming straight for Sen's heart, intending to trade his life for Sen's!

However, Sen's figure vanished from his spot once again!

The next second, he appeared beneath Kushimaru Kuriarare, twisting his body and concentrating all the power of the Eight Inner Gates into his right fist!

"Wait..." Kushimaru Kuriarare looked at Sen's fist, which was unleashing terrifying power, and for the first time, the emotion of fear welled up in his heart.

Sen paid no mind to anything the man said; his eyes held only cold killing intent.

He swung his fist violently, the fist growing larger and larger in Kushimaru Kuriarare's terrified eyes.

"BOOM--"

"BANG--BANG--BANG--"

With this punch, Kushimaru Kuriarare's body was struck as if by lightning. He shot backward like a black shadow, tearing through the air and creating a series of explosive shockwaves.

Giant trees along his path snapped one after another under the impact of his body, wood chips scattering like rain from the broken surfaces.

Finally, he slammed into a large boulder dozens of meters away and stopped!

The roar had yet to subside when all the Mist Ninja still engaged in battle were shaken to their core by this earth-shattering strike. They all rushed towards the source of the sound to provide support.