Taking advantage of the opening, chakra erupted beneath Kawaki Aoba's feet once more, propelling him rapidly toward the edge of the sand vortex. With a bang, he finally burst free of the vortex's range and landed on the ground, gasping for breath. Hardly any chakra remained in his body, and his face had gone pale.
"What? You actually got out?"
The Sunagakure Jonin stared at Kawaki Aoba with wide, disbelieving eyes. He had never expected this Konoha brat to escape his Sandstorm Funeral. "Damn it! You little brat, you're utterly infuriating!"
Kawaki Aoba leaned against a boulder, panting heavily as he fixed the Sunagakure Jonin with an icy gaze. Though weak, his voice carried a trace of mockery. "I told you, killing me won't be that easy.
Your Sandstorm Funeral is nothing special either."
"Courting death!"
Kawaki Aoba's words thoroughly enraged the Sunagakure Jonin. No longer holding back, he rapidly formed hand seals as all the sand-nature chakra within him erupted. "Sand Release: Giant Sand Hand!"
The yellow sand on the ground instantly gathered into an enormous hand that slammed toward Kawaki Aoba. It was tremendously powerful, leaving deep depressions in the ground wherever it passed.
Kawaki Aoba's expression changed. With barely any chakra left, he had no way to withstand the giant sand hand's attack.
Just then, a blaze suddenly flew in from the distance and struck the sand hand. With a boom, the hand was instantly incinerated, scattering into yellow sand that rained down from the sky.
"Aoba, we're here to back you up!"
Yuhi Shinku's voice rang out from afar. He came rushing toward Kawaki Aoba with several Konoha ninja, a hint of anxiety on his face. "Are you all right?"
Seeing Yuhi Shinku and the others, Kawaki Aoba smiled faintly and shook his head. "I'm fine,