The Chakra Scalpel lacked the conspicuous cold gleam of a kunai or long sword.
It was subdued and quiet, yet specialized in cutting flesh, meridians, and the channels through which chakra flowed.
It could even inflict severe internal injuries without breaking the skin.
Kabuto struck with the precision of a dissection on an operating table, aiming straight for the tendons in Yugao's sword wrist.
Yugao had just drawn back the scattered afterimages of Veiled Moonlit Night, and her blade had yet to steady. Seeing him close in, she immediately brought her sword across to block.
The metal blade met the chakra blade in Kabuto's palm without an explosive crash, producing only a faint, piercing hum. Pale blue chakra raced up the sword and grazed the back of her hand.
Agonizing pain suddenly exploded in Yugao's wrist.
Her skin looked completely unharmed, but the tendons and meridians inside her hand had already been cut by the chakra blade.
It hurts. Is this how high-level medical ninja fight?
Yugao's grip loosened, and the long sword nearly slipped from her hand.
"Uzuki Yugao, your swordsmanship is beautiful. Unfortunately, I'm not as simple as you imagined," Kabuto said quietly.
Kabuto turned his wrist slightly, changing the Chakra Scalpel's angle with his fingertips, and thrust again. This time, he aimed for the meridians connecting Yugao's shoulder and neck, intending to disable her arm outright.
To Kabuto's shock, the hand his Chakra Scalpel had just injured recovered instantly.
The instant Yugao was injured, Liao Wu's Spore released Yang Release, rapidly regenerating the hand Kabuto had damaged.
Yugao quickly turned sideways and retreated, twisting the sword's hilt at the same time. The hilt blossomed with white light.
Kabuto was about to charge forward, but wariness of Yugao's swordsmanship made him retreat instead.
Watching from the side, Baki