Devastating Blow

His gaze was calm, his black pupils reflecting the world around him.

Above his head, the tree trunk had been sliced clean through, leaving a smooth surface that missed his hair by a mere hair's breadth.

Kazama Heitetsu let out a sinister laugh and leaped down.

"Bold, indeed. No wonder Shaquan died at your hands. Now, go down and atone for your sins to him!"

Gong Yi stood up, his hands moving rapidly through hand seals.

"Atone? He isn't worthy, and neither are you!"

"Die, brat!"

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!

Gong Yi lunged forward, a torrent of flames erupting like a miniature sun.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!

During the three years before his graduation, Gong Yi hadn't just been using Gravity Technique to train his body.

He had also been collecting, mastering, and researching various Ninjutsu.

Even in Fire Style, which he wasn't particularly adept at, he had learned whatever techniques he could get his hands on.

And against a Wind Style ninja, Fire Style was the best, most effective counter!

The fire fed on the wind, instantly burning more fiercely, the scorching temperature seemingly capable of melting anything in its path.

It's effective!

Gong Yi felt a surge of joy, but his brow furrowed an instant later.

The intense flames failed to threaten the enemy; instead, they surged backward toward him.

"Kid, it's true that Fire Style counters Wind Style, but when the wind is strong enough to be unstoppable, the fire will only turn against its master!"

Kazama Heitetsu emerged from the flames and arrived before Gong Yi with lightning speed.

Wind Style: Wind Severing!

Bang!

A log was sliced into two pieces.

Substitution Technique!

Kazama Heitetsu had anticipated this; chakra gathered rapidly in his hand, transforming into a long sword.

This was a high-level Ninjutsu within Wind Style, Wind Blade, an A-rank technique.

Wielding the long sword, Kazama Heitetsu thrust backward.

He struck Gong Yi dead on, yet Kazama Heitetsu shook his head—it was a Clone Technique.

Poof, Gong Yi's clone vanished.

A mocking smirk hung on Kazama Heitetsu's lips as he glanced at the sky and parted his mouth slightly.

A beam of light blasted out, striking a figure in the sky without obstruction, and Gong Yi crashed to the ground.

"You can't dodge this time, can you!"

Kazama Heitetsu sprinted toward Gong Yi, the long sword formed by his Wind Blade thrusting directly toward Gong Yi's chest.

Gong Yi pressed against the wound on his chest, blood dripping down.

That was Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere; in his memories, only Danzo had used it.

But as Sunagakure, the village most proficient in Wind Style, how could they not know this Ninjutsu?

In less than a minute, Kazama Heitetsu had displayed his overwhelming power.

Vacuum Severing Dance to clear the area, Great Breakthrough to crush the Great Fireball Technique, Wind Severing forcing Gong Yi to use Substitution Technique, the Wind Blade sword dispersing Gong Yi's clone and forcing him into the air, and finally, nearly killing him with Vacuum Sphere.

Three C-rank Ninjutsu, two A-rank Ninjutsu.

Kazama Heitetsu was intent on killing him!

If not for the fact that Gong Yi had recovered ninety percent of his strength and had anticipated that Konoha would first clash with Sunagakure during the Third Great Ninja War, simulating battles against Wind Style users, he would have been finished long ago.

Even so, Gong Yi was wounded.

As Kazama Heitetsu lunged toward him, he sneered, "I have to admit, your adaptability is excellent and your courage is sufficient, but your strength is so pathetic. I have no idea what underhanded tricks you used to kill Shaquan."

Despite his words, he actually held back thirty percent of his strength.

It wasn't out of mercy, but out of caution.

Someone capable of killing Shaquan and three Chunin, someone rated by Rasa as being near Jonin level, shouldn't be this weak!

Seeing Kazama Heitetsu's posture, Gong Yi, who had been feigning weakness, grinned.

"Then let me show you my true strength!"

Earth Style: Underworld Swamp!

Kazama Heitetsu's high-speed stride came to an abrupt halt; the ground beneath him had turned soft and muddy, forcing him to slow down.

Seven shuriken flew toward him from the front, their angles treacherous!

Kazama Heitetsu's eyes lit up. "Well played!"

With chakra clinging to the soles of his feet to prevent him from sinking into the swamp, he swung his longsword, swiftly hacking the seven shuriken to pieces.

Yet, just as those seven shuriken were severed, a pitch-black Kunai suddenly appeared, executing a bizarre turn to head straight for the back of Kazama Heitetsu's head.

It was a strike that should have been a sure hit, but the Kunai stopped in mid-air, was swiftly deflected, and fell limply to the ground.

Wind Style, Pressure Damage!

Kazama Heitetsu touched the back of his head, feeling a chill.

Standing silently in place, he suddenly smiled.

"As I thought, Shaquan died under this very combo."

"I examined his corpse; his body was filled with chaotic chakra. He had ligature marks on his ankles, his hands were shredded, and the back of his head was pierced through. The wounds ranged from small to large, and his chest and abdomen were riddled with holes."

"The ligature marks on his ankles clearly indicate he was restrained; I assume you possess Earth Style or a similar binding Ninjutsu. The shredded hands must have been from these seven shuriken of yours. He didn't have my Wind Blade to cut them down and could only try to catch them with his bare hands."

"Even though his chest and abdomen were full of holes, those weren't the fatal wounds. The fatal blow came from the piercing of the back of his head. In other words, your shuriken were a feint, and that hidden Kunai was the killing blow!"

Kazama Heitetsu paused. "A brilliant combo, especially at night—it's almost impossible to block! But now that I have all the intelligence on you, it poses no threat to me whatsoever!"

Gong Yi's pupils constricted. Intelligence!

From beginning to end, it was the most powerful thing in the world of Naruto!

Once an enemy knows all your intelligence, it doesn't matter if you are Nagato, a Kage from any generation, or even Madara in Six Paths mode; you are no longer quite so terrifying!

This guard commander under the Third Kazekage had achieved exactly that.

Even when facing an eight-year-old brat, he showed no contempt, gathering as much intelligence as possible.

If he could do it over again, Gong Yi would have chosen to destroy Shaquan's corpse with a fireball.

But he had wanted to make Shaquan's judgment error influence Kazama Heitetsu as well, disguising the death as the work of an Iwagakure ninja using Earth Style, so he hadn't destroyed the evidence.

Unfortunately, all of this had been rendered futile after Rasa encountered Iga Kawaji.

"So, you've exhausted your bag of tricks. Do you have any trump cards left?"

The longsword in Kazama Heitetsu's hand slowly vanished, and his smile faded.

His entire demeanor turned cold and stern, like a block of ice.

Kazama Heitetsu leaped, landing on the trunk of the massive tree where he had stood at the beginning, and slammed his hands together.

Gong Yi wanted to flee, but the surrounding area was filled with dense, microscopic wind blades.

He had only taken two steps before his hands, legs, and even his face were covered in tiny, dense lacerations.

If he tried to dash out with full force, he would likely be reduced to a bloody mess before he even made it halfway.

This man had secretly released a Ninjutsu while he stood still talking, specifically to restrict Gong Yi's escape.

It was clear that what followed would be Kazama Heitetsu's devastating finishing blow.

Wind Style! Vacuum Serial Waves!

Gong Yi looked up at the man as the morning sun began to rise, blurring his vision.

The boy's lips curled upward. Are you really so certain that you've collected all the intelligence on me?