Unable to Defeat

Souya leaped backward again, his right hand plunging into the earth as chakra surged, gold dust rapidly coalescing and compressing from his palm.

When Souya withdrew his hand from the ground, he already held a gleaming golden rod in his grasp.

He hastily tossed a Military Ration Pill into his mouth, not yet having time to register its characteristic bitter taste.

The corner of his eye caught a blinding metallic glint. "So fast!" Souya's heart tightened.

Clang!

Souya swung his rod to block, and before him, Kushimaru Kuriarare had already appeared, wielding Nuibari in a fierce downward slash.

After the block, Kushimaru's face, hidden behind his mask, naturally revealed no expression.

The two clashed back and forth, Souya whirling his Gold Rod with fierce momentum, the clanging of their weapons ringing out incessantly.

Suddenly, Kushimaru pulled a long, thin steel wire from the end of Nuibari with his left hand and swept it forward, aiming to envelop Souya.

How could Souya let him execute his technique? Gripping the Gold Rod with both hands, he forced the longsword back, then twisted forcefully, winding the steel wire around the rod.

After the twist, Souya raised his left hand slightly and formed a hand seal.

Boom!

In an instant, strands of gold dust like ropes burst from the sand beneath Kushimaru's feet, aiming to bind his legs.

Creak...

Kushimaru yanked hard, the steel wire scraping against the Gold Rod in a series of grating sounds, then the wire wound around the rod came loose and was pulled free. Kushimaru's figure also leaped into the air, evading the gold dust's restraint.

In midair, he twisted the wire in his hand, and the still-unretracted steel wire slashed across Souya's arm.

"This guy! His movements are too agile!" Fresh blood gushed from the spot on Souya's left arm where the wire had cut—a small wound, but deep, blood pouring out like a runaway horse.

Steel wire as a covert attack method was truly hard to defend against at close range.

With a rip, Souya tore off a piece of his sleeve and hastily wrapped the wound tightly. Only now did a piercing pain begin to set in.

"Ninja Art: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!"

The other two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in the distance didn't stand idly by; they seized the moment of Souya's disadvantage and unleashed their jutsu.

Souya could only command the gold dust to rise and block the water dragon, then roll to the side.

But he never expected that the two Lightning Balls racing toward him were merely feints. The instant they touched the gold dust, they turned into two faint wisps of blue smoke and dissipated.

Souya's heart suddenly clenched, as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

His temples throbbed violently, as if the shadow of death had already appeared behind him, swinging its scythe.

In that critical moment, Souya's mind raced at an unprecedented speed, but his body was eerily stiff, as if time itself had frozen.

"Move! Body, move!" Souya roared inwardly, trying to command his body.

From the corner of his eye, he caught the blinding electric light below, and the aura of danger had already locked onto him.

Finally, with all his strength, Souya's arms spread out, and the chakra within him began to mobilize.

Gold dust rose beneath his feet, forming a wall of gold sand.

Bang!

A silver-white electric current shot forth, the lightning like a viper that had long lain in ambush, seizing its chance to bare its fangs and strike viciously at the gold dust wall.

But the hastily formed sand wall wasn't strong enough; the current pierced through it and bit into Souya.

"Ah!"

Souya lit up like a lightbulb hit by high voltage, a blinding silver glow flaring as the current engulfed him.

Pain—a numbing, paralyzing pain instantly flooded his mind!

The electricity rampaged through his body, destroying every piece of flesh and blood it encountered.

Zzzz!

Souya's body convulsed violently like a sieve, muscle spasms from the high-voltage shock.

"Hah!"

After a moment, Souya, struggling to control his body, spat out a breath tinged with black smoke. His skin showed faint signs of charring, likely with burns and scorching all over.

Fortunately, the sand wall had blocked some of it; otherwise, he probably would have been done for today.

"What 'smoke means no damage'—total bullshit. I smoke, and I'm already seriously injured..." Souya still had the energy to quip.

The Water Dragon Bullet released by Suikazan Fuguki crashed into the gold dust layer Souya had raised, but this layer was infused with ample chakra. The water dragon shattered on contact, scattering into a spray of dazzling, colorful droplets.

Souya controlled his trembling hands to form seals with difficulty. In this gap between enemy attacks, he had to escape this place first.

"I was too cocky..." Souya thought of Gaara's "Sand Coffin" at that moment.

If only his Magnet Release: Gold Dust could have a will of its own and protect him autonomously, he wouldn't have taken that lightning strike.

Not to mention Naruto's cockroach-like constitution—if it were him, an attack like this would probably be just "scratching the surface."

Souya mobilized all the remaining chakra in his body and poured it into the earth in one go.

A clump of Gold Sand rapidly lifted off the ground, hoisting Souya up before shooting directly in the opposite direction of the battlefield, carrying a whistling wind.

"That brat's trying to run! Stop him!" Suikazan Fuguki barked.

"Stop him how? Can you fly?" Raiga Kurosuki panted, his tone mocking. In the heat of battle, repeatedly unleashing high-intensity jutsu had left his Chakra nearly depleted, even with the aid of the Thunder Blades.

Kushimaru Kuriarare said nothing. Masked, he simply stared at the distant direction Souya had fled.

"That kid has serious potential. Failing to put him down today will be a lingering disaster..." Suikazan Fuguki said with some regret, stroking Samehada in his hand.

"Which village doesn't have one or two geniuses?"

"The Yellow Flash of Konoha, the AB Brothers of Kumogakure... all far more troublesome than this brat!"

"With Sunagakure's strength, they can't stir up much trouble. Our mission this time was just to knock them down a peg—otherwise, they might actually think they can stay out of things!"

"Don't forget, our more important task is still dealing with Konoha!" Raiga Kurosuki retorted, showing considerable respect for Souya's abilities.

"Yeah... Konoha's been stealing the spotlight a bit too much lately..." At the mention of Konoha, Suikazan Fuguki sighed.