The arrogance and indifference on Momoshiki's face shattered completely, replaced by a twisted expression of shock and fury.
Kinshiki, his most loyal servant, had been ground to dust before this native without surviving even a single move!
This was an utterly unbearable humiliation!
"You bastard... what did you do to Kinshiki?!"
Momoshiki growled, the Rinnegan on his forehead blazing with purple light. Chakra surged around him like boiling magma, and the sheer pressure made the surrounding trees groan under the strain.
"What did I do?" Shinichi tilted his head, wearing an innocent expression that practically asked whether Momoshiki's eyes worked. "I sent him on his way, obviously."
"What else? Keep him around for the holidays?"
His tone was casual, as though he were discussing something utterly trivial, but deep in those half-lidded, dead-fish eyes flickered a coldness that made Momoshiki's heart tremble.
"A mere native dares to be so insolent!"
Momoshiki laughed in his fury. Red light gathered in his palm, instantly forming several razor-sharp chakra shortswords that shot toward Shinichi in a sweeping barrage, shrieking through the air.
"Ninjutsu: Takami-Musubi!"
Every shortsword contained terrifying power capable of effortlessly piercing mountains.
"Tch. Another flashy, useless trick."
Shinichi could not even be bothered to dodge. He simply raised his right hand.
Golden chains surged out of thin air once more. Like living pythons, they wove together before him into an impenetrable golden shield.
Clang, clang, clang!
A rapid series of metallic clashes rang out.
The chakra shortswords, powerful enough to destroy everything, struck the golden chains as though they had hit an immovable divine wall. They bounced away and shattered, dissolving into motes of light that filled the air.
"Impossible!"
Momoshiki's pupils contracted sharply. The technique he took such pride in had been blocked that easily?
"Your attacks are as annoying