But that wasn't all. Who knew whether there were any other hidden entrances or exits in this enormous valley?
If those bandits managed to sneak away and escape to another mountain, even more people would suffer!
"Crystal Release: Crystal Explosion Technique."
Torifu conjured an irregular crystal sphere in his palm, about the size of an adult's head.
He hurled it with all his might into the air above the valley, higher than the surrounding cliffs.
"Explode!"
In an instant, the crystal sphere burst in every direction and vanished. The crisp sound of shattering glass echoed through the valley, putting the bandits on alert.
But after a while, when nothing seemed to happen, they stopped paying attention.
Unbeknownst to them, the Crystal Explosion had scattered Crystal Seeds into every corner outside the valley!
Torifu was now pouring out Chakra, frantically forcing the seeds to grow.
This was the first time he'd ever used a jutsu on such a massive scale, and the Chakra consumption was staggering!
It had cost him a full 1 card of Chakra—half his total reserve.
Still, the results were gratifying. Without anyone noticing, Torifu had completely surrounded the outside of the valley with Crystal Vines.
If he hadn't prepared enough Crystal Seeds in advance, he'd have run out of Chakra by now.
"The cost's about what I expected. I'd better recover quickly. I'll leave the small fry to them for now."
Using that much Chakra all at once put quite a strain on Torifu's six-year-old body.
To avoid affecting the battle ahead, he had no choice but to rest where he was and get himself back in shape.
After about twenty minutes, Torifu got to his feet, brushed the dust off his clothes, and headed toward the center of the valley.
That was where the final battle would take place!
This place was supposed to be a bandit hideout, but it looked no different from a small village.
Perhaps the only difference was that these people were utterly depraved.
The farther in he went, the more bodies and blood he saw.
They all seemed to have died in an instant. Whoever had killed them was quite practiced.
Some of the bodies had extra wounds. Torifu didn't need to ask who had killed them.
As he passed a small hut, a sudden shout rang out.
"Prepare to die!"
A scruffy middle-aged man swung a notched broadsword at Torifu.
A triumphant grin tugged at his lips.
Torifu merely glanced at him, then raised his left hand toward the bandit.
In an instant, a Crystal Vine shot out of Torifu's sleeve and wrapped tightly around the bandit.
A closer look revealed that it wasn't like the vines he'd used before. Its tip was a snake's head lined with sharp fangs!
"Crystal Release: Crystal Poison."
The snake head sank its fangs into the back of the bandit's neck, injecting all its poison into his body.
Crystallization spread rapidly from his neck. He didn't even have time to utter his last words before his entire head turned to crystal.
Torifu drew the vine back into his sleeve.
A nobody like that wasn't worth spending Chakra on. Torifu had only wanted to test out the jutsu.
Come to think of it, the inspiration had come from Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. Whatever one thought of Orochimaru's strength, when it came to jutsu for staying alive, he was undoubtedly the best in the Shinobi World.
Torifu had gotten plenty of ideas from Orochimaru, too.
For instance, the way he'd slipped in and out of the Crystal Mirror while fighting Uchiha Chirori had been inspired by Orochimaru's "I spit snakes, I spit swords" technique.
With Crystal Poison added to this Snake Vine technique, the results were simply incredible.
Without wasting any more time, Torifu continued toward the center after killing the bandit, heading to join Hiruzen and the others.
He could already hear the fighting from that direction, so he quickened his pace.
By the time Torifu reached the rendezvous point, the battle had already begun. Kagami Uchiha and Danzo were fighting the strongest of the five samurai.
Hiruzen, Koharu, and Torifu Akimichi were fighting two ninjas.
Mitokado Homura was battling four samurai alone. Outnumbered, he could only retreat as he fought.
Since it was too dangerous, Uchiha Chirori wasn't here.
"Big Brother Homura, I'm here to help!"
"Crystal Release: Crystal Mirror! Crystal Release: Crystal Clone!"
Torifu sent both techniques out at once!
Two clones stepped out of the mirror and held off two of the samurai, easing Mitokado Homura's burden considerably.
"That's enough. I can handle the two samurai! Go help Hiruzen!"
Without hesitation, Torifu immediately set off. Everyone knew their own strength and wouldn't show off at such a crucial moment.
On Hiruzen's side, the three of them couldn't gain a decisive advantage over the two Sunagakure rogue ninjas, but neither could the rogues defeat Hiruzen and the others.
The battle had reached a stalemate. Fortunately, Torifu had arrived. Now it was time to counterattack!
"Multi-Size Technique!" Torifu Akimichi seized his chance and enlarged his hand, slapping Lomaru, who specialized in Fire Release, flying.
Hiruzen and Koharu took advantage of the opening to launch a fierce assault on Rojin, who specialized in Wind Release, successfully separating the brothers!
Without their combined jutsu, the brothers were still formidable fighters on their own.
"Fire Release: Fireball Barrage!"
Lomaru formed Hand Seals at lightning speed, then sprayed a continuous stream of fireballs from his mouth like a machine gun!
Each fireball was weak, but there were so many of them!
Enlarged by his technique, Torifu Akimichi was an obvious target. His palm was burned again and again by the relentless fireballs.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Torifu spewed a great volume of water from his mouth, creating a wall of water in front of the two of them.
Lomaru's fireballs went out as soon as they hit the Water Formation Wall, releasing clouds of steam.
"Damn it! That brat's good at Water Release! I have to kill him first!"
He immediately sprang forward and charged at Torifu.
Torifu Akimichi used the Multi-Size Technique to enlarge his entire body. He clenched his fist, anticipated Lomaru's movements, and slammed it down.
Just as the blow was about to land, Lomaru changed course in time and barely escaped. Otherwise, he would've been crippled, if not killed.
Torifu smiled. He hadn't taken a single step back from the start, because he knew he had comrades at his side. They protected one another.
Lomaru had missed his chance with that attack. It would be almost impossible for him to launch another surprise assault now.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
The water Torifu had released with the Water Formation Wall swirled around him, gathering into a fierce water dragon!
It surged toward Lomaru!
"How does this brat know a jutsu like that, too?!"
"Damn it! Fire Release: Flowing Fire Technique!"
Lomaru took a deep breath and spat out a torrent of flames!
The flames flowed like water, winding forward and quickly coiling around the water dragon, strangling it!
The Water Dragon Bullet also extinguished the winding flames. The two techniques canceled each other out, and the collision of water and fire produced a great cloud of steam.
For a moment, no one could see what was happening on Torifu's side.
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