Eight Inner Gates, Gate of Life, Open!

"I'm not sure. Could it be some kind of Kekkei Genkai, like the Byakugan?" Sen replied quickly, pushing his Sharingan to its limits. "It's fine. I'll call out their positions for you."

Sen was about to use his Sharingan to locate the enemy, but the mist was saturated with chakra. Looking through it, he saw what looked like a giant sphere of chakra surrounding them all.

"No good. This guy's an expert. He's cloaked himself in chakra while using the Hiding in Mist Technique. He's more skilled with it than the others. I can't see where he is."

Their previous fights had gone smoothly thanks to Sen's Sharingan. Now that it had failed them, the others found themselves at a loss.

"Then let's blow it away!" Kushina said, immediately forming Hand Seals.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

The moment the gale scattered the thick mist, the four of them looked up—and saw the four Mist Ninja already gripping their weapons, right in front of them!

The two sides clashed at once!

The one fighting Sen was an experienced Chunin.

Even Sen's superb swordsmanship couldn't suppress him right away.

Seeing that he couldn't win quickly with his sword, Sen leaped back and completed five seals in an instant. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Sen had expected the Water Dragon Bullet to send his opponent flying, but when the man saw how skillfully Sen performed the technique, he quickly formed Hand Seals too and spewed out a torrent of water:

Water Release: Water Wall Jutsu!

The two Water Release techniques crashed into each other, turning the area into a vast flood. Sen poured in more chakra, giving his Water Dragon Bullet the upper hand, but the remaining force wasn't enough to injure his opponent.

The man leaped sideways onto a treetop and looked down at Sen. "I didn't expect a brat from Konoha to know how to simplify Hand Seals."

Sen raced across the surface of the water, his Sharingan turning quietly as he replied, "There's a lot you don't know!"

Sharingan Genjutsu!

Seeing that his opponent had lost focus, Sen sped up. Just as he was about to leap onto the treetop and deliver a fatal blow, another wave of mist swept in.

Sen stopped. Instinct warned him of danger. He was on the far right, but the mist had come from even farther to the right. It couldn't have been from any of the three people already fighting.

Was there someone else?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a sharp spike pierced through layer upon layer of mist and shot straight for the space between Sen's brows!

Sen performed a backflip, barely dodging it, but the rush of air from the spike left a bloody cut across his forehead.

"Hm?" A puzzled voice came from the mist, sounding surprised that the ambush had failed.

Sen watched the steel wire behind the spike go taut, then retract. Cold sweat ran down his back as he realized it was Kushimaru Kuriarare's weapon—Nuibari!

"Be careful! There's another Jonin among them. It's Kushimaru Kuriarare, the one who just killed the giant serpent! Watch out for his ambushes!" Sen suppressed his shock and immediately warned his teammates.

"Got it!"

"Understood!"

Hearing their replies reassured him somewhat.

Kushimaru Kuriarare seemed to think for a moment before speaking from within the mist:

"Uchiha Sen! You're still alive? Did those useless fools from Fuguki's squad really get killed by you Konoha shinobi? Where's his sword? Hand it over at once!"

Kushimaru Kuriarare still didn't know that Sen had killed Fuguki. To him, Sen was merely a capable shinobi; surely it had taken reinforcements from Konoha to kill Suikazan Fuguki.

"I guess things didn't go too well for you!" Sen replied, hurling several kunai fitted with Explosive Tags toward the voice.

After the violent explosions, there was no sign of the enemy.

Kushimaru Kuriarare's voice seemed to come from every direction. "You Konoha shinobi really are a stubborn lot. I have to poke a few holes in you before you'll behave."

As soon as the words fell, Kushimaru Kuriarare's Nuibari attacked again. Drawing on what he'd learned from the first attempt, Sen used his Sharingan to predict the strike and dodged sideways.

The moment the enemy pulled back Nuibari, Sen tried to give chase, but a volley of projectiles whistled toward him from another direction.

With no choice, Sen abandoned the pursuit and kept a wary eye on the mist.

After two failed attempts, Kushimaru Kuriarare's voice was colder than the mist itself:

"Keep using the Hiding in Mist Technique to distract him. He's hard to kill, so let's try one of his teammates."

"Understood, Kuriarare-senpai. You can go for the girl first. When they were on guard just now, they kept her in the middle."

Kushimaru Kuriarare's footsteps approached, accompanied by his gleeful voice. "Starting with the weakest is definitely my habit."

At those words, Sen's gaze turned terrifyingly cold. For the first time, the hand gripping his sword began to tremble.

He knew that, without warning, even Jiraiya would have a hard time stopping Kushimaru Kuriarare.

If Kushimaru Kuriarare set his mind to ambushing Kushina and Minato, they'd both be dead within ten minutes!

Damn it.

Sen cursed inwardly.

Now he finally understood why three-person squads were always made up of one woman and two men. In a situation like this, someone had to risk their life to protect the weakest member!

He gritted his teeth as the chakra inside him began to surge in an unprecedented way!

Clenching his jaw, Sen roared:

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

"Boom!"

A storm of green chakra erupted from Sen's body! The blast of air instantly swept away the mist within five meters!

Feeling the energy surging through him and the searing pain of his body tearing apart, Sen knew he could hold on for three minutes at most!

He had to finish this quickly!

He thrust out both arms and slammed his hands toward the spot where Kushimaru Kuriarare was hiding!

The strike blasted a path through the dense mist, forcing the fog apart!

Kushimaru Kuriarare had only just turned around when his eyes widened.

Sen had been dozens of meters away. How had he... appeared right in front of him in an instant?!

"Boom!"

The spot where Sen had been standing exploded. He'd moved so fast that Kushimaru Kuriarare could hardly believe his speed had surpassed the speed of sound.

"Die!"

Sen's fist hurtled toward Kushimaru Kuriarare's face with unstoppable force!

Faced with this deadly strike, Kushimaru Kuriarare's eyes filled with a frenzy. He didn't dodge or deflect with Nuibari. Instead, he thrust it straight at Sen's heart, choosing to trade his life for Sen's!

But Sen's figure vanished from the spot once more!

The next second, he appeared beneath Kushimaru Kuriarare. He bent his body sideways and concentrated all the power of the Eight Inner Gates in his right fist!

"Wait..." Looking at the fist surging with terrifying power, Kushimaru Kuriarare felt something he'd never felt before: fear.

Sen didn't care what he said. There was only cold killing intent in his eyes.

He swung his fist. In Kushimaru Kuriarare's terrified eyes, it grew larger and larger.

"Boom—"

"Bam! Bam! Bam!"

The blow struck, and Kushimaru Kuriarare's body shot away like a shadow struck by lightning, tearing through the air and sending a string of explosive shockwaves in its wake.

Giant trees snapped one after another as his body crashed through them, showering the area with splintered wood.

At last, dozens of meters away, he slammed into a massive boulder and came to a stop!

The roar had barely faded when every Mist Ninja still fighting felt their hearts jolt at the earth-shaking blow. They all rushed toward Sen at top speed.