Your Blade, I Like It

Forest.

Large trees lay scattered across the ground. The air was thick with dust and the stench of blood, while the crackling hiss of leaping lightning arcs sounded exceptionally clear in this unusual environment.

Hyuga Satoru's feet left the ground as he floated in midair. Lightning arcs danced through his black hair, and his clothes rustled fiercely in the wind surging around him.

He looked like a transformed Super Saiyan.

Biwa Juzo narrowed his eyes at Hyuga Satoru, who was shrouded in lightning. In that brief instant, he suddenly sensed that the other man's aura had grown several times stronger.

"Some kind of secret technique that temporarily boosts strength? Something like the Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode?"

"Heh heh, I didn't expect you to have such an ability. Now this is an interesting prey."

Kaguya Maro let out a piercing laugh. Something visibly writhed beneath his skin, and two sharp bone spikes drilled out from his palms before he gripped them tightly.

"Maro, he's my prey!"

A trace of coldness flashed through Biwa Juzo's eyes. Chakra surged through his body as he charged at the floating Hyuga Satoru. The Executioner's Blade carried terrifying force as it smashed down at him.

Bang!

With a muffled impact, Biwa Juzo's pupils abruptly contracted.

"How is this possible...?"

Hyuga Satoru had merely raised his hand before the Executioner's Blade. Yet the enormous sword could not advance even a fraction, frozen firmly in place.

"What kind of secret technique is this? How did your Magnet Release suddenly become so powerful?"

Biwa Juzo was shocked.

Hyuga Satoru's palm had not touched the Executioner's Blade. More precisely, when it was still a centimeter away, a terrifying repulsive force had appeared on the blade, as unshakable as a mountain. No matter how hard Biwa Juzo pushed, he could not move it in the slightest.

However, an even more terrifying sight appeared.

The massive blade of the Executioner's Blade actually began to dissolve. Starting from where Hyuga Satoru's hand was gripping it, it melted into silvery liquid metal and slowly flowed along his arm.

In just a few breaths, more than half the blade had already been broken down.

Biwa Juzo's pupils trembled slightly. He no longer dared to persist and immediately released the Executioner's Blade, retreating in panic.

"Maro, there's something strange about this brat."

"Juzo, your attack was just blocked. Since when did you become so cowardly?"

Kaguya Maro laughed mockingly. Blocked by Biwa Juzo's body, he had not seen that horrifying scene.

Hyuga Satoru had completely broken down the Executioner's Blade. The silver metal fluid seemed alive, slithering slowly around his shoulder and arm like a small silver snake.

Matter Disintegration!

Under the terrifying enhancement of Tyrant Mode, Hyuga Satoru had finally touched the threshold of Matter Disintegration.

Though he could not yet reach the atomic level, he had broken down the entire Executioner's Blade into tiny particles less than ten nanometers in diameter. Metal in this special state retained both metallic and fluid properties. It was commonly known as...

Ferrofluid!

It could switch endlessly between fluid and solid forms!

Locking his gaze onto Biwa Juzo, Hyuga Satoru moved, charging toward him like a bolt of thunder.

An intense crisis of life and death completely enveloped him. A chill erupted from Biwa Juzo's tailbone and shot up his spine to the back of his head. Terror filled his heart. Without the Executioner's Blade, he was barely stronger than an ordinary Jonin and had no power to withstand this attack.

Before he could even dodge, Hyuga Satoru's attack had arrived.

The small silver snake wriggled at high speed and shot from his arm, transforming into a curved blade that instantly swept across Biwa Juzo's throat.

Splat!

The world seemed to turn crimson. Biwa Juzo suddenly felt his body grow light, while everything in his vision began to spin.

In the final moment before his consciousness faded, he seemed to hear a soft chuckle beside his ear.

"Your blade, I like it."

Thud...

His head fell to the ground, its terrified expression still vivid.

"Ju... Juzo."

Kaguya Maro swallowed stiffly. The battle had changed too quickly for him to react. He had only seen Biwa Juzo retreat in terror for some unknown reason, followed by Hyuga Satoru's counterattack and Biwa Juzo's head soaring high into the air.

The blood remaining on the silver curved blade seeped into the metal. After absorbing that blood, the small silver snake seemed to become even sharper.

Hyuga Satoru was delighted. Sure enough, the ferrofluidized Executioner's Blade had retained its ability to absorb blood.

"Bastard..."

Kaguya Maro clenched his teeth. Extreme fury burst from his mind, causing bloodshot veins to appear in his eyes.

The skin beneath his body visibly writhed violently. Amid the sound of flesh being pierced, sharp bone spikes burst through his body one after another!

His chest, elbows, and spine were covered in sharp bone spikes, making him resemble a ferocious monster.

Hyuga Satoru's expression grew more serious. He had been able to deal with Biwa Juzo so easily because the man was a swordsman, completely countered by his abilities.

Meanwhile, the calcium in bones mainly existed as inorganic salts and was difficult to magnetize. Combined with the Kaguya Clan's nearly mad desire for battle...

The real fight was only beginning.

Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!

Kaguya Maro roared and raised all ten fingers toward Hyuga Satoru. White bones wriggled out from his fingertips before blasting toward him.

Hyuga Satoru did not dodge. The small silver snake flowed rapidly, transforming into a silver metal shield in front of him.

Clang clang clang...

Amid the sound of metal striking metal, all ten bone bullets were blocked.

"It's not over yet!"

The instant the silver shield melted away, the demon-like Kaguya Maro had already rushed to Hyuga Satoru's side. Sharp bone spikes drilled from his knee as he swung a heavy kick at Hyuga Satoru.

The small silver snake writhed again, blocking Kaguya Maro's attack.

The silver-white metal pressed against Kaguya Maro's thigh slowly flowed, following the pale bone spike toward his body.

A chill swept through Kaguya Maro's entire body. He immediately retreated, swung his palm like a blade, and swiftly severed the bone spike carrying the flowing silver snake.

"What caution."

Hyuga Satoru could not help feeling regretful. As long as he had let the metal enter Kaguya Maro's body, the outcome of this battle would have been decided.

Yet even in his near-mad state, the man had remained highly cautious. It seemed that he was certainly no nobody within the Kaguya Clan. Hyuga Satoru wondered what relationship he had with the future Kaguya Kimimaro.

With Tyrant Mode's enhancement, he had gained many abilities he had previously been unable to use.

But he was still some distance from manipulating matter on an atomic level. Otherwise, he could directly control the calcium ions inside Kaguya Maro's body and kill him instantly.

"Brat, you've completely enraged me."

After brushing past death's door, Kaguya Maro could no longer suppress his fury. Chakra surged wildly within his body.

Dance of the Clematis!

A massive number of bone spikes burst from the ground around him. Like bamboo shoots after rain, they rapidly spread across the entire battlefield. Biwa Juzo's corpse nearby was forcibly pierced into fragments amid their chaotic growth.

Hyuga Satoru's body quickly floated upward, evading the growing bone spikes.

Looking down from midair, he saw that a forest of pale bones had already appeared below.