"Are you a ninja from Sunagakure?!" a burly man with long orange hair, fluffy bandages wrapped around his neck, and green stripes painted on both cheeks exclaimed in shock and anger. He was Suikazan Fuguki.
Two others stood beside him. One was Raiga Kurosuki, who had fought Souya before. The other man also had a distinctive appearance.
He had short black hair and no eyebrows, with the same sharp teeth as the burly man. A large cross-shaped scar marked his right cheek, and bandages covered his ears and neck. Red stripes were painted across the lower half of his face, and a massive, door-sized blade hung on his back.
The three looked travel-worn and somewhat battered, but none of them had any obvious injuries.
"I never thought I'd run into you here!" Raiga Kurosuki wasted no time. He gripped his Thunder Blades in both hands, silver-white currents of electricity crackling along them.
"Don't know who you are, but if you're from Sunagakure, you're our enemy. We might as well take care of you while we're here!" Juzō Biwa drew Kubikiribōchō, making no attempt to hide the murderous intent in his eyes.
"We've made it this far, but we still need to finish this quickly. If that person catches up with us..." Suikazan Fuguki also drew Samehada, his voice grave as he warned the others.
Raiga Kurosuki and Juzō Biwa's expressions changed. The person Suikazan Fuguki had mentioned seemed like a devil from hell coming to claim their souls—someone who could make even these fearsome men tremble.
"Sasori! Let's move!" Souya's expression remained calm. He was facing three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, but this time Sasori was fighting by his side!
Souya hurled his Gold Rod high above the enemy. As soon as he released the Sealing Technique, Gold Sand burst out like a broken dam, surging over the three men and burying them.
Sasori, meanwhile, took several scrolls from his back. After clouds of white smoke dispersed, three burly puppets appeared on the ground. Two of them immediately charged the enemy with a creaking clatter.
Crack!
A vast expanse of lightning burst from the ground buried beneath the Gold Sand. The "Ninja Swordsmen Trio" leaped high through the breach the lightning had blasted open, landing separately on patches of ground untouched by the Gold Sand.
Clang! Thud!
The sharp ring of metal striking metal and the dull thump of a heavy impact rang out in quick succession. Sasori's two puppets had extended their razor-sharp blades and engaged Juzō Biwa and Suikazan Fuguki.
The third puppet, controlled by Sasori's Chakra Threads, even unleashed a ninjutsu.
Earth Release: Great River of Mud!
The ground beneath Juzō Biwa and Suikazan Fuguki suddenly softened like a swamp, then began to flow like a rushing river.
The two puppets Sasori controlled were unaffected. They leaped into the air, their sickle-like silver blades flashing as they slashed fiercely at the pair.
Splurt!
The two were cut in half at the waist, but no bright red blood or stinking entrails spilled out. Instead, water burst forth as though someone had popped a water balloon.
Clearly, the pair had mastered the Water Clone technique. Their figures reappeared a short distance away, and they exchanged glances, each seeing wariness in the other's eyes.
Among all the Sunagakure Ninja they had fought, this puppet-controlling ninja was clearly one of the strongest.
Sasori's expression remained impassive. He waved both hands, sending the two puppets darting forward again.
On the other side, Souya turned to Raiga Kurosuki. "This time, we can have a proper fight!"
Souya hadn't forgotten the near-death experience Raiga had given him last time. He would repay an enemy like this several times over—sending him straight to hell!
Raiga Kurosuki knew that unless he dealt with the man in front of him, returning to Kirigakure was out of the question.
"Hahaha! Bring it on!" Raiga Kurosuki seemed to suddenly go mad. He swung his Thunder Blades, and a vast web of silver-white lightning intertwined, forming a gigantic Gate of Lightning. Countless electric arcs danced within it.
Zzzt!
The Gate of Lightning hurtled toward Souya at astonishing speed, but Souya had already summoned a massive amount of Gold Sand.
He raised his right hand. The surging Gold Sand instantly formed an immensely sturdy golden wall around him.
Boom!
The Gate of Lightning slammed into the golden wall. A sharp explosion rang out, and the stench of burning spread through the air.
The thick golden wall clearly wasn't something a single Gate of Lightning could break through. Souya had no intention of dragging things out, and swiftly formed hand seals.
"Sand Burial!"
A rumbling like an earthquake shook the area. The ground beneath Raiga Kurosuki split open into a deep fissure, swallowing him whole.
At that moment, Raiga Kurosuki was also clad in a layer of lightning armor. Blinding silver-white light shimmered across his body, accompanied by constant crackling.
At some point, his two short blades had been joined into one long sword. The sudden split in the ground threw him off balance.
This fissure was much wider than before, like a giant had torn open a two-meter-wide crack in the earth.
Raiga Kurosuki couldn't drive his blade into the wall beside him as the other two had last time.
He swayed, then could only fall helplessly into the fissure.
Souya changed his hand seals again. Powerful gusts swirled around his feet, and he poured out every last bit of Chakra within him, his aura astonishing.
Gold Sand surged up in towering waves on either side of the fissure. With a boom, it filled the gap completely.
"Gold Dust Prison Flow!"
The vast expanse of Gold Sand began to turn slowly. The sand on the ground seemed to become a gigantic millstone.
The millstone gradually formed into a funnel-shaped vortex. Under the tremendous force churning through it, the rocks and soil underground were all transformed into Gold Sand.
The Gold Sand was like a demon from the abyss, sprouting arms that grabbed at Raiga Kurosuki and dragged him deeper, determined to pull him into endless darkness.
Crack!
A blinding silver-white bolt of lightning suddenly shot from the bottom of the vortex. It was as thick as a barrel, revealing the immense power it contained!
Roar!
The bolt stretched into a gigantic Silver Lightning Dragon. It looked lifelike, its two crimson eyes sending a chill through anyone who saw them, while its long, slender whiskers fluttered in the wind.
Raiga Kurosuki's figure appeared in the dragon's claw. The enormous dragon held him like a tiny chick.
But judging by the Lightning Release Chakra pouring from his body into the dragon, this form clearly made it easier for him to control the silver dragon, which stood more than twenty meters tall.
Raiga Kurosuki's eyes brimmed with fighting spirit. He roared, and even more lightning surged from his body with an overwhelming force.
The dragon seemed to have been injected with a stimulant, its fearsome head letting out a silent roar.
Then it lowered its head and dived, bearing down on Souya with the force of a thunderbolt.
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