Death

Pfft!

Hozuki Longyue pierced Ze with a single finger.

Half of Ze's body was blown to pieces, a miserable scream tearing from his mouth.

He then collapsed onto the ground.

Well, lasting this long in my hands means you're already quite impressive. Goodbye... oh wait, never see you again.

Hozuki Longyue put away his Finger Gun, a smile blooming at the corner of his mouth.

He then turned his gaze in another direction, and upon discovering that they hadn't finished yet, he grew even more smug.

As expected of me. I really am the most formidable one in this squad, solving my opponent first.

Discovering that he could actually fight while still having the bandwidth to think about other people, Hozuki Longyue felt he had attained some sort of realm.

Now I should probably deal with that Uchiha fellow first. Thinking about today's battle record, I definitely have to celebrate when we get back and exaggerate today's achievements a bit more. After all, a hero's story always needs a little "artistic license"!

Whoosh--!

Scorching flames blossomed from Goenji's hands, tongues of fire licking the air and crackling with explosive force.

Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.

The heatwave swept outward, the ground baked to a charred black, and the surrounding trees instantly turned to ash as the technique moved to devour the enemy.

Opposite him, Fubuki Shiro smiled faintly. Facing this attack, his hands formed hand seals in a blur.

Chilling air surged from the ground, converging on his right foot.

Ice Release: Eternal Blizzard.

Bang--!

His right foot collided with the Iron Fist. Flame and frost intertwined, steam instantly erupted, and a white mist began to billow.

The collision of heat and cold distorted the air.

"Heh~"

Goenji was missing half his chakra after all, and the sheer force of the opponent's attack blasted him far backward, sending him scrambling in a hasty retreat.

Ah--!

Right at that moment, a miserable scream echoed, and Goenji turned his head to look.

A sight that tore at his heart appeared: his teammate Ze had already died at the hands of the enemy.

Hoo--!

After all, I'm not a native of this world. Even though I have emotions, because of the cognitive barrier in my heart, they only bring a sense of heaviness rather than transforming emotion into power!

Seeing that Ze had died, Goenji could only inwardly mock his own incompetence, feeling helpless over his inability to channel his emotions.

Sensing his Sharingan, which had neither evolved into the Mangekyo Sharingan nor grown in power in the slightest, he knew he was truly destined never to have the Mangekyo.

A transmigrator didn't deserve to walk the path of the heart.

The cognitive barrier truly was a miraculous power.

It perfectly prevented his emotions from converting into strength.

Of course, it was also related to the fact that his emotional bond with Ze had not reached a certain level.

Nor could it ever reach one.

Having possessed a god's-eye view, even after being reduced to a native, the lingering influence remained.

Run. The abilities of these few fellows are far too strong. I can handle a one-on-one, but if they all come at me together, I might not even be able to escape.

Goenji glanced at Fubuki Shiro, then looked toward the distant battlefield where Ryoma was fighting. He also saw the chakra surging from Ryoma's body—he had likely unleashed some powerful secret technique, one that even his Sharingan couldn't copy.

Whoosh--!

Without a moment's hesitation, amidst Fubuki Shiro's surprised look, he used the Body Flicker Technique to break away from the battlefield.

"Such decisiveness. Does he know he can't win?"

Fubuki Shiro smiled faintly and formed hand seals.

Ice Release: Ice Path.

A thin sheet of icy road rapidly spread forward, and Fubuki Shiro glided across it, giving chase to Goenji. As he pursued, he flicked shuriken from his hands to disrupt Goenji's movements.

Bang, bang, bang--!

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft--!

Countless bones erupted from the ground, shooting up like a forest of blades.

Yet amidst this situation, Ryoma, acting as a Konoha shinobi, brandished a Chakra Blade while walking as if strolling leisurely through a courtyard, weaving constantly through the bone forest piercing the ground. Whenever the bones grew too dense, he used his blade to parry, utilizing the recoil force of the bones to continue dodging the attacks of others.

Swish, swish--!

Hoshi Kaguya's eyes bulged right out of his head.

This was his ultimate move, yet it was being dismantled in such a fashion.

He couldn't believe it, maintaining the attacks of the Dance of the Seedling Ferns.

Only, the flesh on his body gradually began to change, his skin slowly aging, making him look more and more wretched.

"Dammit, my chakra isn't enough."

Inwardly, he was overcome with sullen frustration. After a period of combat and the consumption of his physical stamina, he now had barely any chakra left.

Maintaining the Dance of the Seedling Ferns at this point was entirely an act of consuming his own life force.

In less than two minutes, his Dance of the Seedling Ferns vanished.

Hoshi Kaguya dropped to one knee due to excessive exhaustion, breathing weakly.

Swish--!

At that very moment, the distant Ryoma, lost in the State of Selflessness, instantly seized the opportunity and appeared right before him.

"Die."

Ryoma was also panting heavily at this point, looking withered as a corpse. With his dual blades crossed, he moved to finish off Hoshi Kaguya.

Swish!

Bang!

"Hoshi, to actually be driven to this state by a Konoha shinobi, you truly disgrace the name of the Kaguya clan!"

A hole appeared in the center of Ryoma's forehead. After pausing for a moment, his entire body toppled over, the hole leaking only white liquid with merely a smattering of blood.

Hozuki Longyue appeared beside Hoshi Kaguya, mocking him with those words.

Hoshi Kaguya had exhausted all his strength and could only watch helplessly as he was taunted.

"This fellow, just like you, also over-drained his physical energy and wrung himself dry. Even if I hadn't made a move, he wouldn't have lived much longer.

Still, crazy bastard of the Kaguya clan that you are, I never expected even the people from Konoha to be this insane."

Hozuki Longyue inspected Ryoma's corpse with a cold chuckle.

Whoosh, whoosh--!

Another figure dropped down. Munashi Jinpachi looked utterly battered, his body covered in traces of burning flames. Looking at the scene, he said, "Konoha's lot really are a tenacious bunch. Never mind the Uchiha, but this fellow who managed to drive Hoshi to this state is also an extraordinary genius."

"Let's go. Who knows if Fubuki managed to take down his target. Hoshi can just stay here quietly."

Acting as the squad leader, Munashi Jinpachi immediately issued the command.

Hozuki Longyue curled his lip, but still dragged Hoshi into a secluded spot before following in Munashi Jinpachi's tracks.

Dammit, this is simply the shame of the Kaguya clan, Hoshi Kaguya raged furiously.

Yet he could only watch helplessly as his teammates drifted away.

Meanwhile, a caterpillar began crawling onto his body.

Whoosh, whoosh--!

Shisui Uchiha advanced at high speed, pushing the Body Flicker Technique to its absolute limit.

Big Brother Goenji, please don't just die like this.

Although he knew Goenji's strength meant he shouldn't easily run into trouble, worry still gnawed at his heart.

Because the combat power dispatched by Kirigakure was unlike any ordinary skirmish.

They were all heavy hitters within Kirigakure.

The absolute cream of the crop.

And trailing closely behind Shisui was another squad.

Clearly, they couldn't keep up with his Body Flicker Technique.

"Shisui is too fast, and too rash. Kirigakure's target might very well be Shisui and Goenji..."

Walking at the front, a pineapple-headed member of the Nara sighed.

[What the hell, why has this girl only got twenty thousand words and someone's already tipping for Great God Certification? Are those readers serious? I stared at the manuscript the whole time, there's nothing outstanding about it at all, it's completely defying the heavens, wuwuwuwu~~~]