Hozuki Gengetsu hurriedly opened the Giant Clam. Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson struck its shell.
The Giant Clam's hard shell was unscathed. Uzumaki Shori realized his ranged attacks couldn't break through his opponent's defenses and formed Hand Seals.
"Body Flicker Technique."
He focused chakra in his feet to move quickly and pursued Hozuki Gengetsu.
Hozuki Gengetsu watched Uzumaki Shori constantly change direction. Every Water Gun shot hit only the afterimages left by his opponent's rapid movement. He analyzed the information he had on Uzumaki Shori.
The Giant Clam's smoke gradually covered the entire battlefield.
Uzumaki Shori's Sensory Ninjutsu, Mind's Eye of the Kagura, began to grow blurry as his opponent moved.
Hozuki Gengetsu noticed that Uzumaki Shori was starting to run in the wrong direction. As expected of the Uzumaki Clan's Mind's Eye of the Kagura.
His sensory abilities were remarkably strong. But as my Giant Clam's territory takes shape, he's starting to sense things incorrectly, too. Hozuki Gengetsu formed Hand Seals.
"Water Release: Water Gun Technique, Enhanced Version—Full Barrage!"
The enhanced version of Water Gun allowed him to fire dense, uninterrupted shots at his opponent with both hands, forcing him to dodge repeatedly.
Uzumaki Shori saw the Water Gun shots growing denser. His ranged attacks couldn't reach Hozuki Gengetsu, all of them blocked by the Giant Clam.
He had no choice but to attack at close range. Mind's Eye of the Kagura scanned the battlefield, and he formed Hand Seals.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Technique!"
Thirty Uzumaki Shoris ran toward the places where Hozuki Gengetsu might be hiding.
Hozuki Gengetsu continued firing, and Uzumaki Shori's Shadow Clones disappeared one by one.
Under the cover of the Giant Clam's smoke, all of Uzumaki Shori's Shadow Clones were wiped out. Hozuki Gengetsu hurriedly swept the area with his chakra sensing, but Uzumaki Shori was nowhere to be seen.
Hozuki Gengetsu hadn't noticed anything yet and continued firing Water Gun shots.
The next instant, Uzumaki Shori, who had leaped into the air, plunged down at high speed and formed Hand Seals.
"Earth Style: Rock Fist Technique!"
He covered his fist with hard rock, forming a massive stone fist. It descended from the sky with the force of a meteor.
Hozuki Gengetsu felt the pressure of the wind coming from above and looked up.
A massive stone fist bore down on him, accompanied by a terrifying rush of air. His expression darkened as he formed Hand Seals.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Hozuki Gengetsu spewed a massive amount of seawater from his mouth, instantly forming a gigantic sphere of water. He swiftly retreated through the water to escape the Rock Fist's range.
Uzumaki Shori brought the massive Rock Fist crashing down. Hozuki Gengetsu barely escaped its range.
But the Giant Clam wasn't so lucky.
The next instant, there was a deafening BOOM!
The Rock Fist struck the Giant Clam's shell with a tremendous crash, and the shell shattered inch by inch.
The Rock Fist's force transferred directly into the ground, triggering a violent explosion. The fist itself gradually broke apart.
When the smoke cleared, Uzumaki Shori stood atop the shattered Rock Fist.
The Giant Clam had been defeated by the Rock Fist and vanished without a trace. Perhaps it couldn't withstand his attack and had summoned itself back.
Uzumaki Shori looked ahead. Hozuki Gengetsu had used Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave in time, surrounding himself with water.
But he had still been caught by the shock wave from the explosion, and now he looked rather battered as he faced Uzumaki Shori.
Uzumaki Shori jumped down from the fragments of the Rock Fist. He hadn't expected Hozuki Gengetsu to evade the attack.
The second round of the battle began.
Uzumaki Shiro quickly moved toward the western battlefield.
Kushimaru Kuriarare watched Uzumaki Sasuke. He had been slashed by the steel wire of Nuibari, but had pulled his leg back just as the wire cut across his thigh.
His opponent was clearly skilled in Taijutsu. In that case, I'll bring out my assassination techniques and fight him.
Kushimaru Kuriarare picked up Nuibari and sprinted in circles around the area.
Uzumaki Sasuke stood still, looking at his wound. He needed to be faster and defeat his opponent before he could defend himself.
The Uzumaki Clan's powerful chakra burst forth and gathered inside Uzumaki Sasuke, producing an effect similar to the Eight Gates.
Along the chakra pathways, the chakra spun rapidly, growing stronger and flooding the body's pressure points. It gradually spread throughout his body, and the muscles bulged with prominent veins as they filled with chakra.
He stared at Kushimaru Kuriarare, who was moving rapidly around him, and unleashed all his chakra in an instant.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
A spinning high kick, empowered by abundant chakra, with an even greater range and power.
Kushimaru Kuriarare watched as Uzumaki Sasuke, who had been standing still, suddenly appeared before him. Before he could react, Uzumaki Sasuke kicked him into the air.
Uzumaki Sasuke leaped up, rising to Kushimaru Kuriarare's level.
"Leaf Gale!"
He spun around and kicked downward.
Kushimaru Kuriarare was hit squarely and slammed into the ground with tremendous force.
After taking the low kick, Kushimaru Kuriarare's mind shut down. He fell to the ground without reacting.
Uzumaki Sasuke dropped from the air, gasping for breath. His chakra was overstrained, and all the muscles in his body had gone limp. The chakra-filled pathways had been knocked into disarray.
He couldn't hold himself up and collapsed to the ground, bracing himself with one hand to keep from slumping face-first.
But as he looked at the ground before him, his whole body went rigid. He abruptly raised his head and looked at Kushimaru Kuriarare.
Kushimaru Kuriarare slowly pushed himself up and stood, looking at Uzumaki Sasuke with regret.
"That was an incredible attack. I was this close to losing to you. What a shame."
Uzumaki Sasuke looked crestfallen. I don't have the strength to keep this body going. What a shame.
Kushimaru Kuriarare focused chakra in his hand. While he had been running circles around Uzumaki Sasuke,
the many steel wires attached to Nuibari had already been hidden underground.
As soon as Uzumaki Sasuke entered the wires' range, Kushimaru Kuriarare could activate the sharp wires of Nuibari to slice through him.
"Farewell, my opponent."
"Longsword Ninja Art: Earth Spider Stitch!"
Kushimaru Kuriarare flicked the wires with his hand. They immediately slashed toward Uzumaki Sasuke, who could only accept his fate where he stood.
A shout came from a distance. Someone formed Hand Seals.
"Earth Style: Earth Core!"
He could use chakra to raise or lower the earth. The ground beneath Uzumaki Sasuke lifted him straight up.
Uzumaki Shiro leaped over, grabbed Uzumaki Sasuke, and jumped toward a tree.
The wires sliced through the raised earth, and in less than three seconds, it had been cut down to level ground.
When Kushimaru Kuriarare saw Uzumaki Sasuke rescued, his cheerful smile instantly turned sour. He grabbed Nuibari and pointed it at his opponent.
"So you're the captain of another Uzumaki Clan squad. Your timing was impeccable. I wonder how strong you are.
Are you anything like the one lying on the ground? I took him down in no time."
Uzumaki Shiro set Uzumaki Sasuke on a tree and stepped forward.
Before you continue