Your Sword, 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 of leaping lightning arcs sounded especially 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 fluttered loudly in the surging wind around him.

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 more powerful.

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

"Hehehe, I didn't expect you to have an ability like this. Now this is the kind of prey that makes things interesting."

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

"Maro, he's my prey!"

A cold glint flashed through Biwa Juzo's eyes. Chakra surged within him as he charged at the floating Hyuga Satoru. The Executioner's Blade carried terrifying force as it smashed down at him.

With a dull boom, Biwa Juzo's pupils suddenly constricted.

"How is that possible...?"

Hyuga Satoru raised a hand before the Executioner's Blade. The enormous sword could not advance even an inch and remained locked in place.

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

Biwa Juzo was horrified.

Hyuga Satoru's palm had not touched the Executioner's Blade. More accurately, when it was still one centimeter away, a terrifying repulsive force appeared on the blade, as immovable as a mountain. No matter how much force Biwa Juzo used, he could not budge it in the slightest.

However, something even more horrifying happened.

The huge blade of the Executioner's Blade began to dissolve. Starting from the point held by Hyuga Satoru's hand, it melted into silvery liquid metal and slowly flowed along his arm.

Within only a few breaths, more than half of the blade had already been broken down.

Biwa Juzo's pupils trembled slightly. He no longer dared to hold on and immediately released the Executioner's Blade, retreating rapidly in terror.

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

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

Kaguya Maro sneered mockingly. Blocked by Biwa Juzo's body, he had not seen that shocking sight.

Hyuga Satoru had already completely broken down the Executioner's Blade. The silver metal fluid seemed alive, like a small silver snake slowly winding around his shoulders and arms.

Material Decomposition!

Under the terrifying boost of Tyrant Mode, Hyuga Satoru had finally touched upon the threshold of Material Decomposition.

Though it had yet to reach the atomic level, he had dismantled 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...

Magnetofluid!

It could switch endlessly between fluid and solid forms!

Locking his gaze onto Biwa Juzo, Hyuga Satoru moved. Like a bolt of lightning, he shot toward him.

An intense sense of mortal danger completely engulfed him. A chill burst from his tailbone and raced up his spine to the back of his head. Biwa Juzo was horrified. Without the Executioner's Blade, he was not much stronger than an ordinary Jonin and had no power to withstand this strike.

He did not even have time to dodge before Hyuga Satoru's attack arrived.

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

Pshk!

The world seemed to turn scarlet. Biwa Juzo suddenly felt his body become lighter, while everything in his vision spun around.

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

"Your sword, I like it."

Thud...

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

"Ju... Juzo."

Kaguya Maro swallowed blankly. The battle had changed so quickly that he had not even had time to react. He had only seen Biwa Juzo retreat in terror for some unknown reason. Then Hyuga Satoru counterattacked, and Biwa Juzo's head flew high into the air.

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

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

"Bastard..."

Kaguya Maro clenched his teeth. Extreme fury erupted in his mind, causing even his eyes to become bloodshot.

The flesh beneath his visible skin wriggled 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. The reason he had dealt with Biwa Juzo so easily was because the man was a sword-wielding ninja, completely countered by his abilities.

The calcium in bones mainly existed as inorganic salts and was difficult to magnetize. Combined with the Kaguya Clan's almost crazed desire for battle...

The real battle was about to begin.

Ten Finger Bullet!

Kaguya Maro roared and raised all ten fingers toward Hyuga Satoru. White bones wriggled out from his fingertips and shot forward explosively.

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

Clang! Clang! Clang!

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

"It's not over yet!"

The instant the silver shield melted away, Kaguya Maro, who resembled an evil demon, had already rushed to Hyuga Satoru's side. A sharp bone spike drilled out from his knee as he lashed out with a heavy kick.

The little silver snake wriggled again and blocked Kaguya Maro's attack.

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

Kaguya Maro felt an icy chill spread through his entire body. He immediately pulled back, formed a blade with his hand, and swiftly severed the bone spike along which the silvery-white snake was flowing.

"What a cautious man."

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.

He had not expected his opponent to retain such a high degree of caution even in a near-mad state. This man was definitely no nobody within the Kaguya Clan. Hyuga Satoru wondered what relationship he had with the future Kimimaro.

With the boost from Tyrant Mode, he possessed many abilities he had been unable to use before.

However, he was still some distance away from atomic-level material manipulation. Otherwise, he could have directly controlled the calcium ions inside Kaguya Maro's body and killed him instantly.

"Brat, you've completely enraged me."

After narrowly escaping death, Kaguya Maro could no longer suppress his fury. Chakra surged wildly within him.

Dance of the Early Fern!

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 the chaotic growth of the bones.

Hyuga Satoru's body quickly floated upward, avoiding the attacks from the growing bone spikes.

Looking down from the air, he saw that a forest of ghastly white bones had already appeared.