A man in black charged at him, swinging a scythe coated in black venom. With a howling gust, the scythe cleaved down toward his head.
Kawaki Aoba sidestepped the blow and simultaneously hurled a kunai at the man's chest.
The kunai, imbued with fierce chakra, struck precisely at the man's heart.
With a wet splat, the black Chakra Core shattered. Like the others before him, the man in black turned into a puddle of black sludge.
Just then, a powerful chakra fluctuation suddenly appeared within Kawaki Aoba's senses. It was far stronger than those of the other men in black and carried the exact same chilling presence as the commander who had retreated earlier.
He looked up and saw a tall figure in black emerge from the darkness. His mask was gold, engraved with the same emblem of a spread-winged eagle. Where the eagle's eyes should have been were still black whirlpools.
"It's him!"
Kawaki Aoba shouted, "He's the Sunagakure commander who escaped!"
Shinku immediately turned toward the man in the golden mask, his expression grave.
"Who are you? Why are you attacking us?"
The golden-masked man did not answer. He merely let out a low laugh that sent chills down everyone's spine.
He slowly raised a hand. Black chakra gathered in his palm, forming a black longsword.
"You Konoha trash will all die!"
As soon as he spoke, the golden-masked man vanished from where he stood. The next second, he appeared behind a Konoha ninja, his black sword piercing straight through the ninja's heart.
The ninja did not even have time to react before he collapsed. His body quickly turned into a puddle of black sludge as well.
"What incredible speed!"
Shinku's face changed drastically. He immediately rushed forward, forming Chakra Blades in his hands and slashing at the