Chidori Current, Chidori Sharp Spear!

Outside Shrek City, in a dense forest in the suburbs.

The figure that had been rapidly darting between the treetops suddenly came to a stop without warning.

Huo Yuhao stood atop a thick branch with his back to the shadows behind him, his voice as calm as if he were making casual conversation.

"Everyone, you've followed me all this way. Isn't it time to come out?"

The forest fell into brief, deathly silence.

Then came the rustling.

Six figures clad in gray slowly emerged from the surrounding shadows, forming a fan-shaped encirclement around Huo Yuhao.

Their clothing was plain and bore no sect insignia. They had clearly disguised themselves with care.

The leader was a tall middle-aged man, around thirty or forty years old. His eyes were sinister, and a dangerous aura radiated from his body.

"Kid, you're pretty alert."

The man spoke coldly. "Someone wants you dead. If you know what's good for you, give up resisting, and I'll grant you a quick death."

"Don't blame us for being ruthless. Blame... blame yourself for offending someone you shouldn't have!"

Huo Yuhao slowly turned around and looked down at these rats.

Buzz!

Spirit Detection activated instantly.

Within his mind, the soul power fluctuations of those six people were as clear as candle flames in the night.

There were six of them in total.

The leader was a six-ringed Soul Emperor.

There was also one five-ringed Soul King, while the remaining four were all four-ringed Soul Ancestors.

How interesting. Such a luxurious lineup had been sent to ambush and kill a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster?

An ordinary person—even a Soul King—would likely have had no chance of escape today.

"But..."

A cruel smile curled across Huo Yuhao's lips.

"Running into me can only be considered your bad luck!"

With a thought.

He instantly connected with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path within his Sea of Consciousness.

The White Zetsu Symbiote he had obtained when the system activated the Enraged Child template began to emerge, continuously covering his entire body.

Huo Yuhao looked at the murderous assassins below and sneered.

"So, you're just a pack of lapdogs too afraid to show your faces."

"With trash like you, you think you can kill me?"

"How about... I leave all of you here as fertilizer?"

Those words instantly enraged the assassins present.

"Heh, what a big mouth!"

A thin, tall old man standing beside the leader laughed in fury. "You're just a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster. I'd say you won't shed tears until you see your coffin!"

Boom!

Martial Soul Possession.

Five soul rings rose beneath the old man's feet: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black.

"Martial Soul Possession: Yellow Sand!"

He abruptly raised both hands, and the soil of the surrounding ground instantly turned to sand. Countless grains of Yellow Sand surged like living creatures.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Sand Binding Coffin!"

Huo Yuhao felt the ground beneath his feet soften.

The branch he stood on instantly crumbled into sand and dust. Immediately afterward, a massive mass of quicksand coiled upward like a giant python, tightly binding his legs and waist and suspending him in midair.

"Got him!"

A trace of delight flashed through the thin old man's eyes. "Attack!"

The four Soul Ancestors who had long been waiting for this instantly moved.

Other than an archer in the distance, the other three close-combat Soul Ancestors simultaneously activated Martial Soul Possession—blade, sword, hammer.

The three pounced like starving tigers, turning into three afterimages as they charged at the bound Huo Yuhao from different angles.

"Kid, in your next life, I hope you learn to respect the strong!"

Facing the blades rapidly closing in on him, Huo Yuhao did not struggle. Instead, he slowly closed his eyes.

Respect?

Only the weak needed to respect others!

White matter completely covered his body, transforming into full-body armor.

White Zetsu Possession, complete!

After months of arduous cultivation and the fusion of Hashirama Cells, this body's physical condition had long since become incomparable to before.

Now, under White Zetsu's enhancement, Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that his physical strength and Chakra reserves had surged to a terrifying level.

It was physical strength sufficient to rival a Soul Saint!

More importantly, the duration of this form had now been extended to half an hour.

Huo Yuhao abruptly opened his eyes, lightning exploding within them.

Since you came knocking on my door, I might as well use you to test the new ninjutsu I developed!

Lightning-nature Chakra within his body circulated madly, transforming into lightning that burst forth.

"Chidori Current!"

Crackle, crackle—BOOM!!!

Centered on Huo Yuhao, a ring of dazzling blue-white high-voltage current erupted instantly, like a blooming lotus of lightning.

The Yellow Sand binding him exploded apart the instant it touched the lightning, collapsing in a moment.

As for the three Soul Ancestors who thought victory was assured and had already rushed before Huo Yuhao, they did not even have a chance to react.

"Aah—!!"

"Urghh!!"

Their screams were shrill and piercing.

The current instantly coursed through their bodies.

Their bodies convulsed violently in the lightning, their skin instantly charred black.

In just one breath.

The three four-ringed Soul Ancestors were sent flying like lumps of charcoal, smashing heavily into the ground. Smoke rose from their bodies, and they made no further sound.

Instant kill!

"Ah? Th-this is impossible?!"

The thin old man in the distance and the Soul Emperor leader's pupils contracted sharply. They could hardly believe their eyes.

In a single exchange, three Soul Ancestors had been instantly killed?

Just then.

Twanged!

The explosive sound of a bowstring vibrating rang out.

The archer Soul Ancestor who had remained still in the distance finally made his move.

He pulled his longbow to its fullest draw, his fourth soul ring flashing with dazzling light.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Arrow of the Wind God!"

An arrow entirely condensed from azure wind element shot toward Huo Yuhao's brow with a space-rending shriek, traveling at a speed impossible for the naked eye to catch.

This arrow was swift as lightning, and its angle was extremely tricky. It struck precisely during the gap after Huo Yuhao's old momentum had faded but before new strength could arise.

However.

Huo Yuhao did not even turn his head.

At the instant the arrow was about to touch his brow.

The three tomoe in his right eye instantly fused, transforming into a Mangekyou pattern shaped like three sickles.

"Kamui."

Whoosh—

The Arrow of the Wind God, carrying an unstoppable killing intent, passed through Huo Yuhao's head without obstruction.

As though it had passed through air.

The arrow shot into the tree trunk behind him, blasting out a massive crater.

"What?!"

The distant archer's eyes widened. His hand remained in the shooting posture, and his brain went completely blank.

"It missed? What kind of Soul Tool was that? Or was it a soul skill?"

In that brief instant of distraction.

Huo Yuhao turned his head, and his scarlet eyes coldly locked onto him from several meters away.

He slowly raised his right hand without forming any hand seals.

Crackle, crackle!

Extremely condensed blue lightning gathered in his palm. No longer did it spread violently outward; instead, it compressed and extended to the extreme.

"Chidori Sharp Spear!"

Whoosh!

A blue beam as thin as a finger yet blindingly bright shot out from his palm.

The beam crossed several meters in an instant, like an endlessly extending spear of light.

It was even faster than the Arrow of the Wind God just now!

Splurt!

A soft sound rang out.

Before the archer Soul Ancestor could even retract his Martial Soul, the bolt of lightning instantly pierced his heart.

"Urgh..."

He lowered his head to look at the charred hole in his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"It seems... my Chidori Sharp Spear is far faster than your Arrow of the Wind God."

Huo Yuhao's icy voice seemed to sound right beside his ear.

This Chidori Sharp Spear was a ninjutsu he had replicated after mastering lightning-nature transformation, combining it with shape transformation.

It could be instantly cast without hand seals, possessed tremendous range, and had extraordinary penetrating power.

Without extremely high speed or predictive ability, it was simply impossible to react to it.

"It's not over yet."

Huo Yuhao made a grasping motion with his right hand.

"Explode."

Pop, pop, pop!

The tip of the lightning beam that had pierced through his enemy's body suddenly exploded, transforming into countless sharp lightning spikes that wreaked havoc within the archer Soul Ancestor's body.

In an instant, his internal organs were shredded to pieces.

The Soul Ancestor did not even manage to scream before he fell stiffly to the ground.

Silence.

Deathly silence.

From the start of the battle until now, only a few brief breaths had passed.

Four four-ringed Soul Ancestors, completely wiped out!

Only the old Soul King with the Yellow Sand Martial Soul and the Soul Emperor leader who had yet to act remained.

Their expressions had changed from their initial mockery to solemnity, and even horror.

Who could have imagined that an assassination attempt against a mere two-ringed Soul Grandmaster would lead them to kick an iron plate like this?

"Kid... you're good!"

The Soul Emperor leader took a deep breath. His aura began rising steadily, and six soul rings slowly pulsed around him.

"You actually killed four of our brothers!"

The Yellow Sand Elder beside him also wore a grim expression. The surrounding quicksand began to surge madly, clearly showing that he was truly enraged.

"Good."

The old man stared fixedly at the youth, his voice hoarse.

"Only then are you worthy of dying by my hand!"