Repairing the walls wasn't simply a matter of building with Chakra. Instead, water and earth Chakra were injected in specific proportions into a white mixture of clay.
Anything built using Chakra alone would vanish if its creator was gravely injured or lost consciousness, so it couldn't serve as a defense. But once the white clay was infused with the right proportions of water and earth Chakra, it became highly malleable and hardened once it cooled.
One of the Senju ninjas helping with the repairs also shared a bit of history:
"According to our elders, there was once a small clan that had a bit of a thing for this kind of clay. They liked eating it to gain energy, then used it to perform a jutsu that could make things explode."
"Unfortunately, the Uchiha Clan found out about them later. They not only seized all their clay, but also planned to bring the clan under their control."
"But by sheer coincidence, we Senju and the Uchiha started fighting each other right then, giving them a chance to escape..."
Hiugo's interest was piqued. "Where did they run off to?"
"Who knows? They probably aren't in the Land of Fire anymore. If the Uchiha Clan caught them, they'd definitely threaten the other weaker clans again..."
The Senju ninja's voice grew quieter. His gaze shifted outside, and a flash of anger crossed his eyes.
"Those crazy ninjas are back again."
Hiugo sensed them too: six Chakra signatures, each carrying a trace of heat. The Chakra of clans with Kekkei Genkai often had distinctive traits. For example, the Chakra of the Uchiha Clan was mostly cold and dark, while that of the Senju Clan was mostly warm.
"Has the Kaguya Clan launched another attack?"
"No, they attacked just a few days ago. One of these guys has probably just awakened Shikotsumyaku and wants to test his strength with the enemy's blood."
"They really are crazy."
After a brief exchange, dozens of finger bones came flying at them. The Senju ninja repairing the walls hurried to find cover. Once the barrage passed, the Senju ninja prepared a jutsu to counterattack.
Water flooded the battlefield in an instant, but ordinary Water Release wasn't enough to cause any real damage to those who had awakened Shikotsumyaku. In the end, it came down to a clash of blades and bone.
Their bone blades were like steel, and those with Shikotsumyaku naturally had no need for ninja tools.
Hiugo moved through the crowd, occasionally throwing out a few jutsu to help. At five years old, he was too small to attack recklessly, so he fought in the way best suited to him.
He suddenly noticed Senju Sajo fighting a Kaguya Jōnin. Sajo was already wounded and bleeding, so Hiugo immediately sent a flash of lightning to help.
"Stay out of this! This is between him and me!"
Senju Sajo appreciated Hiugo's help, but he released his killing intent indiscriminately, leaving the boy baffled.
Kaguya Tenyi reacted quickly. Although Hiugo's jutsu caught him in the blast, his physique left him almost unharmed.
"See? This is the Kekkei Genkai of the Kaguya Clan. An attack like that isn't enough to kill me!"
"Shut up. I'll kill you!"
Sajo replied coldly and swung his blade.
Kaguya Tenyi blocked the attack with his bone blade and sneered.
"That slash I landed on you hurt, didn't it? I heard you used to be a genius. So what if you trained in Taijutsu day and night..."
"I said, shut up!"
Water Release: Water Blade Slash
Sword Style: Torrent
Water wrapped around the blade in Sajo's hand, forming a water blade. With every swing, waves flowed along with the blade's shadow.
Deflecting. Suppressing.
The smile gradually faded from Kaguya Tenyi's face as he felt the pressure of Sajo's swordsmanship.
Hiugo watched quietly. The Senju Clan had the advantage, so there wasn't much for him to do.
To ruin someone's training was as good as killing their parents. No wonder Kaguya Tenyi had made the usually peaceable Senju so furious. No ninja would have accepted such a thing.
He had seen the Torrent sword style in the clan compound. It was meant to increase the power of Water Blade Slash, and mastering it took time: around three years at the shortest, and around ten at the longest.
The ultimate goal was to infuse the sword technique with water-nature Chakra without thinking, while not interfering with the use of jutsu.
For ninjas like Hiugo and Tobirama, who liked to keep things under control, this sword style felt awkward. Many advanced forms of jutsu, after all, relied on strengthening one's control.
Dance of the Seedling Fern
Bone spikes began sprouting densely from the ground. There were a great many of them, but most stood only about four feet tall.
Kaguya Tenyi didn't intend to use this technique to kill Sajo. He only wanted to disrupt his attack.
But Sajo didn't care. He lightly stepped on the bone spikes and charged forward, pressing his attack once more through the flow of blood.
Kaguya Tenyi pulled out his spine. Thanks to Shikotsumyaku, it wouldn't harm him, and his spine was also the weapon he wielded most skillfully.
Dance of the Clematis: Vine
His spine separated into segments and turned into a bone whip, which lashed toward the sword in Sajo's hand. Waves repeatedly deflected it, but in the end, they couldn't knock it away. The bones coiled around the blade.
Sajo's attack came to an abrupt halt. The bone spikes beneath him suddenly shot upward, piercing through his feet.
Flower
Kaguya Tenyi coughed, spitting up a pool of blood. Bones covered his other hand, forming a drill. Seen from behind, it looked like a white flower made of bone as he pressed it toward Sajo's face.
Water Release: Water Severing Wave
A stream of water appeared and cut toward the bone whip. Kaguya Tenyi looked disdainful. How could a mere Water Release cut through his rock-hard bones?
Only by using Water Release to strengthen a blade, like Sajo, would there be any hope.
But then his eyes widened in shock. His prized bones were cut clean through by that seemingly fragile stream of water.
Freed from the bone whip, Sajo immediately swung his sword at Kaguya Tenyi's neck.
He didn't choose to defend himself. Instead, he attacked at that very moment, because he knew that as time passed, the gap between them would only widen as Tenyi continued to train.
As long as there was a chance—as long as even the slightest chance remained—he had to kill him with a single strike to win.
Madness flashed through Kaguya Tenyi's eyes. He didn't retreat either, bringing the enormous drill down toward Sajo's head.
Three seconds later, Sajo's body fell to the ground. Kaguya Tenyi released Shikotsumyaku and clutched his own neck.
Sajo's blade hadn't been slow. At the last moment, Kaguya Tenyi had formed a small piece of bone over his neck to block it. Without that, they would have killed each other.
But in the end, Kaguya Tenyi had won. He had barely defeated a Special Jōnin, and that was practically the same as losing.
A branch shot through the air, striking the center of Kaguya Tenyi's nape before splitting apart.
The intense pain brought Kaguya Tenyi back to his senses. Only then did he emerge from the emotions of his near-death experience and remember that he still had another enemy, even if that enemy was only a boy.
Hiugo respected Sajo's decision, so he had only helped at the last moment. But as an enemy, he wouldn't let Kaguya Tenyi return to his clan to recover and fight again.
Kaguya Tenyi struggled to raise one hand, but it soon fell limply back down.
The branch was draining not only his blood but also his Chakra. Without his blood, he could still barely control his bones, but without Chakra, Shikotsumyaku could do little more than keep him alive.
Hiugo was impressed by Kaguya Tenyi's vitality. They were both Jōnin. If the Aburame Jōnin from earlier hadn't used an insect substitution, this branch would have been enough to kill him.
Yet Kaguya Tenyi was still clinging to life. He was close to death, but he was undeniably far tougher than an ordinary Jōnin.
Hiugo cut off his head with a single stroke and touched the branch in his neck. A sharp pain suddenly shot through his bones, then quickly vanished...
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