Departure

Although he was no match in a swordsmanship contest, that did not stop Kakashi from speaking up.

"Naruto, be careful! Finish the fight quickly, then retreat at once!"

By then, the battle had already begun.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Naruto created three shadow clones and, together with his original body, Sakura, and Sasuke, charged at the Kihara Village ninjas.

Having heard the village chief's orders earlier, the Kihara Village ninjas also desperately rushed toward Naruto's group.

Although Kihara Village was a small village and its ninjas were not particularly strong, no matter how weak they were, there was a limit.

Even the weakest among them were genin-level, making them evenly matched with Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.

Thus, the battle between Naruto's team and the Kihara Village ninjas was extremely fierce.

Naruto used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to restrain and harass them, Sasuke focused on attacking with ninja tools and ninjutsu, while Sakura concentrated on finishing off injured opponents.

The coordination between the three of them had never been so seamless.

Perhaps it was the threat of life and death that had brought out this tacit understanding.

And so, the two sides fought to a standstill!

As for Mirai, he was engaged in a different battle elsewhere.

"Get him! Kill him!"

Inside that mysterious basement, Ishikawa Kazuo stared at Mirai before him and commanded the humanoid weapons in the cages.

The humanoid weapons were villagers from Kihara Village. After undergoing Ishikawa Kazuo's human experiments, they had become something else entirely.

Nothing remained in the humanoid weapons' eyes but madness. They could not feel pain, and their strength was immense.

Mirai remained silent as he watched the humanoid weapons charge toward him.

He took the Sword of the Thunder God from the system space.

Crackle...

Silver arcs coiled and flashed along the blade, erupting with sharp crackling sounds.

Gripping the Sword of the Thunder God, Mirai's figure flickered as he began his own battle.

Thud!...

One humanoid weapon after another was cut down by Mirai's sword, collapsing to the ground.

Ishikawa Kazuo's initial excitement slowly turned to dissatisfaction, then finally to rage.

"Bastard! You dare destroy my creations? I'll make you wish you were dead!"

Watching the humanoid weapons he had painstakingly researched for so long get destroyed by Mirai, Ishikawa Kazuo was consumed by nothing but fury.

Seeing that even the last humanoid weapon was about to be destroyed, Ishikawa Kazuo could no longer hold back.

"Water Release—Water Dragon Bullet!"

As soon as the Water Dragon Bullet formed, Ishikawa Kazuo controlled it and sent it charging straight at Mirai.

After dealing with the last humanoid weapon, Mirai saw the Water Dragon Bullet already right in front of him.

The Eternal Mangekyo activated instantly!

Susanoo activated instantly!

With a boom, the Water Dragon Bullet struck Susanoo.

Smoke immediately billowed from the site of the explosion.

The blast caused the basement to shake. The ceiling began to crumble, and stones rained down one after another.

"Let this place be your grave!"

Thinking that a single Water Release ninjutsu had taken care of Mirai, Ishikawa Kazuo immediately grew arrogant again.

"You... talk too much!"

Mirai's voice came through the smoke, and Ishikawa Kazuo froze.

"You... you're not dead!"

"If you're not dead, then die!"

"Lightning Release—Lightning Needle!"

Ishikawa Kazuo formed hand seals, lightning flickering as long Lightning Release needles appeared around him one after another.

The lightning needles were sharp and wreathed in strands of electricity, possessing extraordinary destructive power.

"Die!"

With a push of both hands, the lightning needles shot toward Mirai amid flashes of electricity.

"Lightning Release—Lightning Armor!"

Mirai dismissed Susanoo, and the lightning-nature chakra within him surged as a suit of armor formed from lightning emerged around his body.

Just as Mirai's Lightning Armor appeared, Ishikawa Kazuo's Lightning Needle had already reached him.

The moment the violent Lightning Needle came into contact with the equally violent Lightning Armor, an intense screech erupted.

In the blink of an eye, the Lightning Needle was destroyed in reverse by the even more ferocious Lightning Armor.

Though both were Lightning Release ninjutsu, Mirai's Lightning Armor was a renowned ninjutsu-body technique in the shinobi world.

In the shinobi world, this technique was known as the strongest shield.

How could such a technique possibly be destroyed by a mere Lightning Needle?

"How could this be?!"

Ishikawa Kazuo clearly could not believe it. He could not believe that his ninjutsu had been so utterly ineffective.

This Lightning Release technique, Lightning Needle, was his signature move.

Back when he had still been a Konoha ninja, whenever he encountered any troublesome enemy on a mission, he could easily deal with them as soon as he used Lightning Needle.

Thus, Ishikawa Kazuo had always been extremely confident in this technique.

Now that he saw his most trusted ninjutsu prove so worthless, Ishikawa Kazuo naturally refused to believe it.

"Originally, my mission was to capture you, but after seeing what you've done, I've abandoned that idea!"

"I've decided to send you to join your human weapon!"

That was Mirai's truest feeling at that moment.

After seeing Ishikawa Kazuo carry out such a monstrous human experiment, Mirai had already sentenced him to death in his heart.

Seeing that his ninjutsu was ineffective against Mirai, Ishikawa Kazuo panicked and turned to flee.

"Lightning Release—Chidori Sharp Spear!"

Lightning gathered in Mirai's right hand before condensing into the shape of a long lightning spear.

Controlling the lightning spear with his right hand, he pointed it at the fleeing Ishikawa Kazuo and unleashed it fiercely.

With a whoosh, the lightning spear suddenly extended, instantly piercing through Ishikawa Kazuo's body.

With a splash, Ishikawa Kazuo turned into a puddle of water. Clearly, that had been a Water Clone.

Mirai gripped the Chidori Sharp Spear tightly and swept it across the entire underground chamber.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of cutting explosions rang out, forcing a figure to appear in a frantic dodge.

"Damn Konoha ninja, you forced my hand!"

Ishikawa Kazuo's face twisted hideously as he pulled out a tube of green serum from his clothes and injected it into himself.

"Argh!"

Ishikawa Kazuo clutched his head, his face contorted in agony as he rolled madly across the ground.

"End this!"

Mirai aimed at Ishikawa Kazuo, and the Chidori Sharp Spear extended once more.

At that moment, Ishikawa Kazuo suddenly rolled aside, evading Mirai's Chidori Sharp Spear.

With a thud, the Chidori Sharp Spear stabbed into the ground.

"Die!"

"Lightning Release—Super Lightning Needle!"

"Water Release—Water Dragon Destruction!"

Ishikawa Kazuo was now neither human nor ghost, but the aura around him was far stronger than before.

Lightning needles rapidly appeared one after another. Not only were they more numerous than before, but they were also larger and more destructive.

The moment Super Lightning Needle was complete, it shot rapidly toward Mirai.

Then, a water dragon formed from Water Release coiled and roared as it charged toward Mirai as well.

Clearly, Ishikawa Kazuo had used all his strength to cast these ninjutsu.

Rumble!

The underground chamber collapsed even faster.

Stones of various sizes fell sporadically from overhead.

Yet Ishikawa Kazuo paid them no heed. He merely stared fixedly in Mirai's direction.

Right now, he only wanted to know whether this man had died under his full-powered attack.