So, Do You Have the Will of Stone Too?

Hayama Shirakumo did not quite catch the boy's mutter.

When he tried to order the other to retreat first in his capacity as captain, leaving himself to hold back the Iwagakure army, Arata had already crossed the defensive line he had established and was walking toward the enemies filling the plains, Horizontal Blade in hand.

Only one sentence remained by his ear: "Don't get in the way. If you really want to help, go find their leader and kill him."

Those cold, ferocious words immediately made Hayama Shirakumo twitch at the corner of his mouth. Even the savage scar on his face now looked much gentler and more adorable by comparison.

"Who exactly is whose captain?"

He felt rather helpless.

Besides, the kid made it sound easy. Finding the Iwagakure leader among an army and killing him, especially when that leader specialized in Earth Release, was no easier than facing four hundred genin head-on, was it?

See? He had said it the day they first met. He and this kid were incompatible. They were bound to clash.

Yet Hayama Shirakumo still withdrew from the battle as instructed, his thoughts racing wildly. At this moment, he had no choice but to trust Arata. Otherwise, his entire squad would die here!

Though finding the enemy commander amid such chaos seemed utterly absurd, nothing was absolute. There were still clues to follow!

The first breakthrough point was that massive combined ninjutsu!

Getting four hundred people to reveal themselves, form hand seals, and activate their techniques at the same time undoubtedly required a commander directing the entire field. Otherwise, such perfect coordination would be impossible.

And that was the key.

On open plains, there were only two ways to mobilize so many shinobi at once while keeping the commander's position concealed. The first was a psychic-type shinobi like those of the Yamanaka Clan, sending a unified attack signal to every shinobi through mental power.

However, his own squad included a companion skilled in psychic techniques, as well as the powerful ocular technique of the Sharingan. If the enemy used mental power for reconnaissance and coordination, there was no way they would fail to sense it.

So only one possibility remained!

Hayama Shirakumo's gaze immediately shifted to the stone cliff standing within sight. It was their original destination, and the only high ground in the entire area!

The commander had to be there!

Having reached that conclusion, he began circling forward. With the strength of an elite jonin, not a single Iwagakure shinobi could approach him for the moment.

"After this, you're on your own."

"If we make it back alive this time, I'll owe you my life!"

After casting one more glance at Arata Uchiha, who had strolled into the enemy ranks and was nearly swallowed by the sea of people, Hayama Shirakumo stopped dividing his attention and charged toward the stone cliff.

"Tch."

The foul-smelling blood splashing across Arata's face inexplicably put him in a foul mood.

And for some reason, this irritation descended every time his hands were stained with blood, growing stronger and stronger, as though some will was about to break past its limits and undergo a transformation on another level.

Of course, now was not the time to dwell on that state, because these vermin-like pieces of trash were truly annoying!

If this stretch of plains had not been obliterated by the earlier Earth Release technique, he really would have liked to burn these irritating bastards to ashes with a single Fire Release.

After catching sight of Captain Shirakumo already moving from the corner of his eye, Arata no longer suppressed the violence in his heart.

"Then come on! Trash!!"

"Demon Bind: Hundred-Battle Blood Armor!"

At that moment, vast, heavy power surged forth. An ancient suit of crimson-black battle armor silently formed around Arata's body, seemingly cumbersome yet light as a feather.

At the same time, a faint Terracotta Warrior phantom appeared behind him, like the most loyal battle servant guarding its master!

"Secret Technique: Unbreakable!"

"Roar!"

The phantom protecting Arata raised its stone sword in its right hand, clenched its left fist, and smashed it fiercely against its equally ancient armor, roaring low at the surrounding battlefield.

That sound was a taunt!

In an instant, the rage in the eyes of the Iwagakure shinobi in the inner circle intensified. The shinobi in the outer circle could not wait to replace the comrades in front of them and enter the fray. Even the Iwagakure shinobi pursuing Hayama Shirakumo and hunting Tekuno and Kimura Kai abruptly turned their gazes and rushed back toward Arata!

They clearly knew that the place had already become the main battlefield and that their participation was no longer needed, yet they still could not suppress the agitation in their hearts.

"Uchiha must die!"

An Iwagakure shinobi suddenly roared.

That will immediately resonated with the others. Their frenzied fury found an outlet, and every Iwagakure shinobi who entered the fight wanted to tear apart the boy at the center of the vortex.

"Then let's begin."

Having achieved the desired effect of drawing them in, Arata no longer focused solely on killing.

"Secret Technique: Clear Mirror, Still Water."

"Secret Technique: Mirror Flower, Water Moon."

His murmured words sounded like a declaration of a demon's descent.

His scarlet eyes bloomed with a calm, cruel savagery that even he himself failed to notice.

"Child, when you temper yourself through slaughter, you will also be controlled by slaughter. Slow down. Stop. The pressure of the clan should not all rest on your shoulders!"

In a daze, Uncle Yashiro's voice sounded beside his ears.

But that voice was swiftly drowned out by cries of "Kill the Uchiha!" and "Uchiha must die!"

[Nurarihyon]: The Lord of Demons and Monsters in the Edo region, and the Supreme Commander of the Nura Clan.

Its essence was to render oneself insubstantial: if you wished to see him, then you could see him; if you did not wish to see him, then you could not see him.

And when absolute terror and absolute power drew near, the weak would often ignore such a source of danger.

This was [Secret Technique: Clear Mirror, Still Water].

In an instant, Arata vanished from the sight of these weak Iwagakure genin. When he appeared again, it was during the frenzied roar of an Iwagakure shinobi.

The man clutched his right arm, severed cleanly at the shoulder, his eyes filled with despair and pain.

That was his dominant arm.

Its loss nearly destroyed his chance of continuing as a shinobi.

The surrounding Iwagakure shinobi immediately tried to retaliate, but the living, breathing boy vanished again like a ghost!

When he appeared once more, it was again accompanied by a shrill scream.

But this time, the man was clutching his eyes.

"Where is he?!"

"Where is that bastard?!"

The miserable screams shattered the nameless fire in these Iwagakure shinobi's hearts.

They did not fear death!

The so-called Will of Stone had made them accept such a spirit of sacrifice.

But.

They feared living without purpose!

If they could no longer continue as shinobi, what meaning was there in continuing to live?

"Haah, haah, haah."

An Iwagakure shinobi who had lost both eyes kept gasping for breath, his ears filled with the shrill screams of his companions.

"Devil, that devil!!"

"Let's die together, devil!!!"

Suddenly, he pulled out a stack of Explosive Tags from his robes and activated them with his chakra.

"Boom."

A violent explosion rang out across the battlefield.

And like Pandora's Box being opened, explosions followed one after another!

A mere four hundred.

One had to know that Arata's daily sword swings were counted in the tens of thousands!!

No one knew how much time had passed.

The plains no longer echoed with explosions or shrill screams.

The Horizontal Blade in Arata's right hand hung low. Even the expensive chakra weapon had become somewhat damaged by now. In his left hand, he held an Iwagakure survivor who stood a head taller than him.

"So, do you have the Will of Stone too?"

The boy asked softly, but there was nothing but dead silence in his scarlet eyes.