Talent of the Immortal Clan

"Tsk."

The Anbu Captain, Ao, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

"Third Hokage, leave him to me."

"This is my duty as the Anbu Captain, and it is the very purpose of my arrival."

As the eldest son of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Ao volunteered for this mission to avoid the sight of a father and son killing one another.

Ao stepped forward, shielding Hiruzen.

Seeing this, Asuma Sarutobi's eyes darkened for a fleeting moment.

Since he was a child, Hiruzen Sarutobi had never once acknowledged him.

Even when he had perfectly completed the village's missions according to their requirements, he could never earn Hiruzen Sarutobi's approval.

There was always dissatisfaction toward him in his heart.

Even when Asuma Sarutobi did receive attention, it was only Hiruzen Sarutobi's stern reprimands.

Yet, his older brother, without needing to do anything at all, could receive Hiruzen Sarutobi's favoritism and approval.

He could even serve as the Anbu Captain, acting as the right-hand man responsible for the Hokage's safety.

"Hum--!"

Thinking of this, the light from the chakra blades in Asuma Sarutobi's hands surged by several inches, the sharp blade-aura crackling incessantly in the air.

Without another word of unnecessary nonsense, Asuma Sarutobi launched an attack toward Ao.

The twin blades in his hands struck directly at Ao's vitals.

Following this, the Thousand-Armed Kannon behind Chiriku took form in an instant.

Just as he was about to launch an attack on Hiruzen Sarutobi, Might Guy and Kakashi rushed forward a step ahead.

Might Guy opened the Gate of Limit of the Eight Inner Gates, green chakra erupting from his entire body, and he slammed a heavy punch toward Chiriku, while Kakashi, wielding the Chidori with flickering lightning, intended to cut in from the flank.

"Itachi!"

Yatsuhashi's voice was cold and sharp.

He grabbed Uchiha Itachi, who was about to rush forward to assist in the attack, with one hand, and then threw him backward, sending him landing right at the feet of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Do not forget the mission; your mission is to protect the Third Hokage well!"

Hearing Yatsuhashi's reminder, Uchiha Itachi finally abandoned the idea of assisting their attack.

That's right, their mission objective was to protect the Third Hokage.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Itachi could not help but feel a sense of self-reproach;

as a ninja, he had actually forgotten his primary mission objective.

At the same time, he felt a measure of respect for this Anbu ninja wearing the Eagle Mask.

However, Yatsuhashi merely felt that, at present, Uchiha Itachi was the most valuable bargaining chip he had to keep Uchiha Fugaku in check.

If he were to perish here, it would truly be a pity.

One had to know that the Chiriku before them was not some wandering ninja from before;

this level of combat had already exceeded the scope of what Uchiha Itachi could intervene in.

On the battlefield, countless golden chakra fists unleashed a high-speed, continuous assault against Might Guy.

Even with his immense speed, he was still struck by a careless blow.

Fortunately, Kakashi arrived in time to provide support from behind.

He unleashed Earth Release to block the remaining attacks for him.

Watching this scene from afar, Yatsuhashi could not help but sigh.

"Is this the talent of the Immortal Clan..."

The defense of the Thousand-Armed Kannon was airtight.

Kakashi and Might Guy launched continuous attacks against Chiriku.

Yet, every strike was intercepted by the golden chakra fists of the Thousand-Armed Kannon manifesting behind him.

However, Chiriku remained deeply furrowed in thought.

While Kakashi and Might Guy were formidable, they were only engaging him head-on.

Faced with the absolute defense of the Thousand-Armed Kannon, they would struggle to break through for some time.

They had not caused him much trouble at all.

But there was one other person on the field who had yet to make a move.

That individual made Chiriku feel a tremendous sense of threat.

He was moving at high speed, yet every position he took was in the blind spot of Chiriku's vision.

If one were to rate the level of trouble, Kakashi and Might Guy would score at most a seven or eight.

But Yatsuhashi, who kept moving to find his blind spot, was a perfect ten.

Yatsuhashi was like a blade hanging over Chiriku's head, threatening his safety at every moment.

Although he had not yet launched an attack, Chiriku still had to expend extra energy to keep an eye on him.

This prevented him from unleashing his full strength to finish off Kakashi and Might Guy.

"Hah!"

Seeing this, Chiriku decisively abandoned the hand seals maintaining the Thousand-Armed Kannon.

Such a golden opportunity would naturally not be ignored by Kakashi and Might Guy.

Both men instantly launched their assault.

However, to Yatsuhashi's surprise, Chiriku managed to block the fierce attacks of the duo using only one hand to wield his staff for defense and counter-strikes.

Then, Chiriku violently hurled the wooden staff in Yatsuhashi's direction.

Facing the attack, Yatsuhashi, having activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, simply tilted his head slightly to the side, easily dodging the staff.

"Hmm?"

Yet, what Yatsuhashi did not anticipate was that Chiriku had tied a steel wire to the end of the staff.

The staff he had just dodged carved an arc through the air, swinging back to strike at him again.

"Watch out!"

Uchiha Itachi, watching from the sidelines, cried out in alarm.

However, before the unparalleled insight of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, these were nothing more than petty tricks.

Yatsuhashi naturally already had a plan to deal with this.

Not only did he easily evade Chiriku's secondary attack, but he also reached out and grabbed the returning staff.

Following the force transmitted through the steel wire, he gave it a violent tug.

"Come here!"

In the distance, Chiriku felt a massive force pulling at him.

His entire body was pulled toward Yatsuhashi, completely beyond his control.

However, Chiriku curled his lips into a smile.

He played along with the momentum, using the pull to close the distance to Yatsuhashi.

He prepared to weave hand seals once more to unleash Welcome Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder.

He intended to take out Yatsuhashi first, the most troublesome of the three.

Yet, Chiriku had underestimated Yatsuhashi's speed.

Before he could finish his hand seals, Yatsuhashi had already closed the distance.

His right hand struck out, landing a heavy, powerful punch directly into Chiriku's abdomen.

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed out.

Yatsuhashi's fist slammed viciously into his opponent's stomach.

Chiriku's face was filled with shock.

A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.

His entire body was sent flying backward by the force of the blow.

However, it was far from over.

Yatsuhashi pulled on the steel wires in his hands once again.

Chiriku, who had been sent flying through the air, was yanked right back in front of Yatsuhashi.

Then, another punch, charged with power, was prepared to strike Chiriku's body.

But just as the fist was about to land, the Chiriku in front of Yatsuhashi was replaced by a log.

"Poof!"

The wood shattered instantly.

The real Chiriku had already used the gap created by the Substitution Technique to put a safe distance between himself and Yatsuhashi.

He knelt on one knee, clutching his agonizingly painful abdomen, his eyes filled with disbelief.

That terrifying speed and strength... what on earth is going on?!

Before he could even catch his breath, a green figure surged toward him like a cannonball.

"Youthful Spinning Kick!"

Facing Might Guy's flying kick, Chiriku ignored the pain in his body.

He wove hand seals with both hands and roared, "Welcome Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder!"

This time, Chiriku unleashed the enhanced form of the Welcome Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder: Furious Vajra.

The Thousand-Armed Kannon behind him instantly transformed into the red Wrathful Wisdom King Form.

The original golden fists also shifted into red chakra fists, with both their attack speed and power receiving a massive boost.

The red chakra fists collided frantically with the shadows of Guy's legs in mid-air.

The two generated a massive shockwave, kicking up clouds of dust from the surrounding ground.

However, before the dust could even settle, a silver-white figure tore through the haze like lightning.

Kakashi swept past Chiriku's side in an instant, moving at a speed the naked eye could not track.

"Urgh...!"

Chiriku let out a muffled groan of pain. He looked down, only to see a shocking wound had appeared on his abdomen.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, instantly staining the ground red.

This was the fatal wound left by Kakashi's signature Chidori.

Chiriku staggered backward. Even though he clutched his wound, the warm blood continued to flow steadily through his fingers.