Other Abilities Besides All-Killing Ash Bones

Just as the flames were about to engulf the important supplies, a figure suddenly shot up into the sky from the Sand Ninja stronghold.

"Magnet Release. Golden Sand Wave!"

The denser golden sand surged out like waves, rolling and crashing towards the large fire.

In an instant, the blaze that had illuminated half the night sky was extinguished.

Although some of the Sand Ninja's provisions were lost, most of it was preserved, causing no significant harm.

"Hmph, I've been waiting for you!" Rasa stood high above, looking down at Tōka and the others below.

Two old men stood beside him, who were none other than the Sand Ninja advisors, Chiyo and Ebizo!

Seeing the three of them appear at the same time, Tōka's small face changed drastically.

These three were all here? That meant...

This stronghold was a trap?!

Tōka was startled by the thought that suddenly popped into his mind: using real strategic reserves as bait.

To lure Konoha's elite troops into a surprise attack, then surround and annihilate them.

What a grand scheme by the Sand Ninja!

"Rasa, I'll leave this to you!" Chiyo's dry skin creased as she felt the presence of Konoha's White Fang.

This time, she would not let him escape!

She wanted to avenge her son and daughter-in-law!

"I'll be right there after I deal with these little rats," Rasa replied indifferently, his gaze fixed on Tōka and the others.

Chiyo vanished with a swift movement, while Ebizo remained motionless, showing no intention of leaving.

"Magnet Release. Great Burial of Sand Gold!" Rasa waved his hands, and dense, massive sand gold rose into the air, transforming into a golden tide that furiously swept forward.

On Konoha's side, everyone's expressions changed repeatedly.

Facing the Kazekage of Sunagakure, their mission had no chance of success.

"Retreat!" The leader immediately shouted.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!

Everyone dodged with all their might. Even so, two unlucky individuals were a step too slow and were directly swallowed by the giant sand wave.

A cold killing intent flashed in Rasa's eyes as he pressed his hands down.

The sand gold suddenly sank, and the terrifying pressure crushed the two men's bodies into powder.

A shrill scream tore through the night sky, chilling and horrifying.

Tōka's scalp tingled, and he fled with all his might.

Ten years from now, Tōka was confident he could defeat Rasa, even kill him in one move, but now he didn't even have a ten percent chance of winning.

It was wise to know one's limits; to act when one knew it was futile was foolish!

Tōka ran without looking back, leaving his teammates to their fate!

Unexpectedly...

Ebizo, who had remained still, moved at this moment. Locking onto Tōka's aura, he bypassed Rasa and charged out.

Sensing a powerful aura rapidly approaching from behind, Tōka's heart tightened. He turned his head for a glance.

He was shocked by what he saw!

Tōka had no idea why Ebizo would abandon supporting the eastern side of the stronghold to chase after him!

"Confident Chiyo can handle two Kage-level experts? Or does he have other plans?" Tōka shook his head, dismissing the chaotic thoughts.

This place was not safe; he had to leave!

Immediately, Tōka poured Chakra into his legs and then sprinted at full speed.

His speed was definitely comparable to a Chunin proficient in Taijutsu.

Ebizo, as an elder and a powerful expert, possessed immense strength, possibly an Elite Jonin, or perhaps even a Kage-level expert.

His true strength had not been revealed, but Tōka leaned towards the latter, so he deliberately moved eastward.

That was not only Tsunade and Sakumo Hatake's retreat route but also the only place he could find help.

Suddenly!

Whoosh! A sound of something rapidly approaching cut through the air. Tōka instinctively ducked.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

A kunai with a burnt smell flew past his head and directly embedded itself into the trunk of a large tree ahead.

Rumble!!

An Explosive Tag detonated, creating a powerful gust of wind that blew Tōka backward.

At the same time, Ebizo's figure suddenly appeared, blocking his retreat at the edge of the forest.

"Kid, running this fast is really wearing out my old bones!" Ebizo said with a fake smile.

"Aren't you afraid Chiyo will get killed?" Tōka asked, raising an eyebrow and cursing Chiyo without holding back.

"It's not uncommon for ninjas to die on the battlefield. I'm more concerned about you!" Ebizo narrowed his eyes, staring at Tōka, not hiding the killing intent in his eyes at all.

"A Genin is worth the attention of a Konoha advisor?" Tōka said with a grim face, his expressionless voice asking, "Should I feel honored?"

"Genin? Heh heh..." Ebizo let out a cold laugh, as if he had heard the strangest joke.

A village's foundation is not just about the present, but even more about the future.

Konoha already has enough geniuses, with Sakumo Hatake and four Shadow-level powerhouses openly among the Sannin.

The new generation, Hatake Kakashi and Shisui Uchiha, have long been on the kill lists of major powers.

And Tōka was lucky. After a tour of the Land of Wind clinging to Sakumo Hatake's leg, he was "gloriously" added to Ebizo's kill list.

The plan was named "Project: Strangle the Genius," and he even placed a bounty of one hundred million Ryo on Tōka's head on the black market.

In Ebizo's eyes, Tōka was a greater threat than Kakashi and Shisui Uchiha!

After several battles, the Sand Ninja had gained some understanding and speculation about Tōka's abilities.

Ebizo was exceptionally intelligent and far-sighted. If Tōka's abilities were truly as he suspected.

Then... it would be terrifying!

Therefore, Ebizo decided to nip the genius in the bud before he could grow!

BOOM!

A loud noise suddenly came from the east of the stronghold, and the two in silence instinctively turned their heads to look.

They saw that Chiyo had already unleashed her White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets, Chiyo's final trump card and the masterpiece of the puppet master ancestor, Monzaemon.

"Sister is serious, so I need to hurry too," Ebizo muttered to himself.

"Heh, as if you've already got me figured out," Tōka secretly gathered his Chakra, deliberately stalling for time with his words.

Ebizo's strength was overshadowed by the brilliance of his schemes. Tōka knew this guy was very strong, and not the brainless kind of strong.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!!

"All-Killing Ash Bones: Bone Bullet Barrage!"

Tōka suddenly raised his hand, and over a dozen finger bones shot out from his fingertips, firing chaotically and without pattern towards Ebizo.

Ebizo seemed to have anticipated Tōka's sneak attack and dodged it with a Body Flicker Technique in advance.

When he looked up again, Tōka had already turned and was sprinting towards the east of the stronghold.

"Slippery little brat, wouldn't it be easier to just let me kill you?" Ebizo said, his aged body erupting with a powerful force.

He sank his body, then launched himself off the ground, turning into a cannonball streaking towards Tōka.

"Stubborn old fossil, wouldn't it be easier to just let me escape?" Tōka retorted, not backing down.

At the same time, he pointed his finger, and another ten or so bone bullets shot out.

Ebizo's speed did not decrease. His body twisted strangely, like a noodle, easily dodging Tōka's sneak attack.

"As expected, the combat experience is on a different level!" Tōka thought to himself while running, plotting a countermeasure.

Every time he attacked, the opponent seemed to anticipate it.

"This fight is impossible!" After much thought, Tōka felt increasingly overwhelmed.

No matter how strong his attacks were, they were useless against such uncanny evasion.

Should he use a large-scale attack?

All-Killing Ash Bones: Earth Spear Pierce was Tōka's strongest Ninjutsu currently, and also his widest-ranging attack.

However, this move, as his final trump card, consumed so much Chakra that Tōka could only use it once at his current level!

If Ebizo still didn't die after using All-Killing Ash Bones: Earth Spear Pierce, then Tōka would be close to death.

With his Chakra depleted, he wouldn't even have the chance to run.

"No, I absolutely cannot use this move unless it's a last resort," Tōka pursed his lips, having made up his mind.

However, Ebizo didn't give Tōka much time to think, seemingly tired of this chase game.

He extended his two dry hands, flipped them over, and two scrolls rolled out from his sleeves, landing in his palms.

BANG! BANG!

Two clouds of white mist emerged from the scrolls, and two humanoid puppets appeared beside him.

Ebizo moved his fingers rapidly, Chakra threads connecting to various parts of the puppets.

The puppets instantly floated up, suspended in mid-air.

GAGA...

The mechanical joints twisted with Ebizo's movements, emitting a strange sound.

"A puppet master?" Tōka's eyes twitched. Seeing the two puppets beside Ebizo, he felt completely unwell.

If Tōka's ability was the bane of all Taijutsu users, then a puppeteer was Tōka's bane!

With Tōka's current abilities, he couldn't yet make everything decay along with his bones.

Only living humans, animals, or plants would be instantly killed by the characteristic of All-Killing Ash Bones.

Puppeteers, who didn't need their main body to fight and were skilled in poison techniques, were practically born to counter Tōka.

"Brat, let's see where you run!" Ebizo waved his hands, and the two humanoid puppets beside him swiftly crossed the ground, directly surrounding Tōka.

"Old man, three against one isn't fair!" Tōka stopped abruptly, halting his forward charge.

"This is Puppet Technique. Both puppets are controlled by my ten fingers. Theoretically, it's just me fighting," Ebizo said calmly.

Tōka naturally knew about Puppet Technique; he was just trying to provoke Ebizo.

"Still thinking of running, kid?" Ebizo sneered at Tōka, acting as if victory was already assured.

Tōka remained silent, his eyeballs darting around as if searching for a weakness in the encirclement.

Unfortunately, Ebizo's combat experience was leagues ahead of Tōka's, making such a basic mistake impossible.

As Ebizo's hands moved, the two puppets attacked swiftly.

Caw caw caw...

The two puppets attacked Tōka from front and back, the blades embedded in their arms glinting with a dark green cold light.

Even from a distance, one could feel the pungent, corrosive poison.

"Such potent poison!" Tōka's heart tightened, and seven words flashed through his mind: Absolutely cannot be touched!

A green light flashed, and two blades mercilessly stabbed towards Tōka.

Pfft!

"Hit? No, he escaped!" Ebizo controlled the puppets to retract.

Tōka's body suddenly erupted in a puff of white smoke.

As the smoke cleared, the two intersecting blades had only pierced a log.

"Substitution Technique?" Ebizo's gaze swept around, searching for Tōka's figure.

Scanning his surroundings, he found no sign of Tōka.

"Escaped?" Ebizo frowned slightly, then shook his head, denying the thought. "Impossible to escape! He must be hiding!"

And just as Ebizo suspected, Tōka was currently using a Transformation Technique.

He had transformed into a pile of sand, hiding in the desert. Without Byakugan, Sharingan, or other special sensory abilities, as long as Tōka remained still, he wouldn't be discovered for the time being.

However, the Transformation Technique was not a long-term solution.

The Chakra required to maintain the Transformation Technique wasn't much, but pretending to be a pile of sand and staying motionless was not easy.

In front of a shrewd opponent like Ebizo, the slightest movement would be detected.

As expected!

In just over ten seconds, Tōka, merely taking a deep breath, was discovered.

Ebizo's gaze sharpened, falling upon the strange pile of sand.

"A clever idea..." Ebizo praised, then flicked his finger, and one puppet shot forward.

"Damn it, I've been found!" Tōka's expression changed drastically. He could no longer maintain the Transformation Technique and rolled away from his spot.

Their gazes collided in mid-air, like two electric currents crashing into each other.

The distance widened, and they stood ten paces apart, glaring at each other coldly.

"Brat, don't blame me for dying by my hand!" Ebizo roared, his hands dancing, fingers moving in unison.

The two puppets wielded their sharp long swords, dark green poison dripping onto the sand, sizzling ominously.

Even the sand couldn't withstand the terrifying corrosiveness, emitting wisps of black and yellow smoke.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down Tōka's forehead. He stood frozen, as if paralyzed by fear.

Pfft, pfft!!

Two muffled sounds rang out as the sharp long blades plunged into Tōka's body, one after the other.

"Finally dead." Ebizo, after confirming multiple times that he had indeed hit the main body, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

An ordinary Genin brat wouldn't be this difficult to kill; he was practically frozen just by Ebizo's aura.

However, the next moment, Ebizo's expression changed drastically!

"No, this feeling is wrong!" Ebizo lunged forward, directly to the side of the corpse.

The sensation was incredibly real, with blood and flesh, even a soft, moist touch.

Yet, his sixth sense told Ebizo that he had fallen into a Genjutsu!

"When did it happen?" Ebizo's face darkened. He had thought that by taking action himself, he could surely capture the brat.

He never expected to be played for a fool in the end!

"Was I caught in Genjutsu from the start? Or during the fight later on..." Ebizo formed hand seals and shouted forcefully.

"Release!"

The illusion shattered, and Tōka, who had been killed, disappeared like ripples on water.

Ebizo sensed the surrounding auras, but there wasn't a trace of Tōka's presence left in the air.

"Damn it! I was caught in Genjutsu from the very beginning!"

Even for a strategist like Ebizo, he couldn't help but curse out loud.

The anger flashed across Ebizo's eyes for just a moment before he calmed down, staring coldly towards the east of the stronghold.

"That brat couldn't have possibly escaped back to the Konoha camp alone, so he only has one place to go!"

Ebizo moved, vanishing from his spot... (To be continued)