Takahashi Yū ran toward the signal flare with all his strength, the dust rising behind him blotting out half the sky.
Green-the emergency color Takahashi Yū had agreed upon with the Special Forces from the very beginning. Given the current situation, he concluded that the team members at the ambush site must have come face-to-face with Ōnoki.
Only the Third Tsuchikage could leave the current Ino-Shika-Cho trio helpless.
The rumbling beneath his feet began to agitate Takahashi Yū. There had been a green signal flare once on the Land of Wind battlefield, too. By the time he arrived, the team's Second Reconnaissance Unit-the Aburame and Inuzuka members, along with the other eight-had all died.
That had also been the first time Takahashi Yū activated the blood aura of [Radiant Glow]. Before that, [Radiant Glow] had only made him conspicuous and had no other effect.
Almost there, almost there. Hold on.
His entire figure had become an afterimage; only the dust billowing into the sky gave away his position.
He could already see the hollow. Takahashi Yū drove his legs against the ground, shot into the sky, and plunged toward its center.
Being airborne was actually dangerous. Without anything to push against, he could not dodge attacks.
But Takahashi Yū could wait no longer. His teammates trusted him, and he, too, regarded them as his own.
Boom!
Takahashi Yū landed in the middle of the hollow, unable to speak. The blood aura filling the sky obscured even the dust stirred up by his landing.
Looking at the bodies before him and the terrain with a corner sheared away, Takahashi Yū clenched his fists.
Mitarashi Kōichi, Kenji...
"Damn it!"
His blood aura spread outward, seeping into every gap around him.
"Cough... cough..."
A faint cough reached him. Takahashi Yū's expression shifted, and he hurried to the pile of rocks where the sound had come from.
"Taiga, how... how are you..."
Looking at Taiga, who had only his upper body left, Takahashi Yū could no longer suppress his killing intent.
"C-Captain... Land of... Grass. That direction."
The ground beneath Taiga was already submerged in his blood. The clean cut through his body told Takahashi Yū how terrifying Dust Release was.
The light had already left Taiga's eyes, but a worried look remained on his blood-covered face.
Bang!
Takahashi Yū was already dozens of meters away, his expression dark. His churning blood aura seemed to display the fury within him.
Like a speeding truck, he crushed everything along the way as Takahashi Yū sprinted toward the Land of Grass.
In just a few minutes, he had run nearly ten kilometers. A flash of white light in the distance instantly gave Takahashi Yū his bearings.
His teammates in the distance were in an even sorrier state. Only five remained: the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Hyūga Ryūhei, and Gekko Yūma.
They fled desperately from Ōnoki's Earth Release, all in poor condition. Akimichi Takumi, in particular, was bleeding profusely.
Ōnoki hovered in the sky, using Earth Release to keep them from scattering as much as possible while mixing in Dust Release attacks.
"He's in no hurry to kill us. Is he waiting for the captain and the others?"
Nara Yūma spoke between ragged breaths.
"That Iwa Shinobi behind him keeps using his radio. This looks bad. Even if the captain comes, he'll probably get surrounded."
Gekko Yūma spoke while carrying Hyūga Ryūhei, who was too exhausted to move, on his back.
Hyūga Ryūhei struggled to straighten up, wanting to activate his Byakugan once more.
"Byakugan kid, don't waste your strength. Even though Kōichi gave his life to fire that green flare, the captain will definitely come."
The green signal flare had another meaning: no reinforcements needed!
"Ōnoki might even have let the flare go up on purpose. The captain coming would only make things worse."
After dodging an Earth Spear, Yamanaka Ayano put her hands on her hips, caught her breath, and spoke.
Beneath their calm tones lay their resolve to face death.
"What a shame. It's been almost a year since I last had Konoha barbecue."
Pale from excessive blood loss, Akimichi Takumi sighed weakly.
"Yūma, I'm going to take the Red Chili Pepper Pill."
Nara Yūma's gaze wavered. His lips parted, but he could not say anything.
The Red Chili Pepper Pill was a secret medicine that meant certain death for any member of the Akimichi Clan who took it, forcibly unleashing a hundredfold surge of Butterfly Transformation power.
The others did not try very hard to dissuade him. After all, as the war progressed, the Undying Squad had always fought on the most dangerous battlefields and witnessed far too much life and death.
With some difficulty, Akimichi Takumi took a small box from his ninja tool pouch. The slots for the first two secret medicines, which had side effects but were not fatal, were already empty.
Holding the Red Chili Pepper Pill, he paused for only a moment before tossing it into his mouth like a piece of candy, chewing it haphazardly and swallowing.
"Tastes awful. I hate spicy food more than anything," Akimichi Takumi remarked as he looked at his companions.
Chakra surged from his body. The sensation of overflowing chakra left Akimichi Takumi unable to feel the pain of his wounds.
His body fat rapidly burned away, and a pair of enormous chakra wings suddenly sprouted from his back. The gale they stirred made the others narrow their eyes.
"Super Multi-Size Technique!"
Boom!
Akimichi Takumi's body rapidly expanded, shattering the surrounding rocks and ground.
Now looking down rather than up, Akimichi Takumi looked at Ōnoki and said:
"I can finally reach you, Ōnoki!"
"Partial Expansion Jutsu!"
Akimichi Takumi's right hand rapidly grew from the elbow onward. Spreading his fingers, he swatted at Ōnoki as though swatting a fly.
"Fool. How will you dodge my Dust Release now that you're bigger?"
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
Ōnoki brought his hands together. Dazzling white light rose between his palms and shot toward the incoming hand.
Akimichi Takumi ignored it, only shifting his palm slightly upward.
The square white Dust Release instantly sheared away most of Akimichi Takumi's enormous palm.
Blood gushed from the severed palm, flying toward Ōnoki with its momentum.
Ōnoki floated upward lightly, avoiding the huge volume of blood, his short frame exceptionally nimble.
A black shadow surged swiftly across the ground.
The battle-hardened Ōnoki merely raised a hand slightly. A tall, thin stone pillar suddenly rose from the ground beneath him, and the shadow he cast in the sunlight immediately appeared high on the pillar.
"Shadow Imitation Technique? Aren't you underestimating me a little too much?"
As he spoke, Dust Release appeared in his hands again, ready to fire at Akimichi Takumi's enormous body.
"Lord Ōnoki!"
The communications ninja's cry for help behind him stopped Ōnoki's hands.
"What!"
Ōnoki looked back. The Iwa Shinobi's shadow on the ground had already been connected, and he was now under control. With his wealth of experience, Ōnoki saw through the Undying Squad's scheme at a glance.
Using the blood's shadows?
Nara Yūma had used the shadows of the enormous amount of blood Akimichi Takumi scattered to extend the range of his Shadow Imitation Technique.
Moreover, the blood had been flung toward Ōnoki in the first place. Though it could not reach Ōnoki's shadow high above,
it reached the communications ninja behind him perfectly.
"Shadow Strangulation Technique!"
Nara Yūma formed the Rat seal and exerted himself sharply.
The shadow beneath the Iwa Shinobi communications ninja rapidly rose. Upon touching his body, it spiraled upward toward his head.
"Hmph! A fine scheme, but now you can't move either!"
Ōnoki redirected the Dust Release he had intended for Akimichi Takumi and fired it toward Nara Yūma, who was crouching on the ground.
"Not a chance!"
Akimichi Takumi placed his other, intact arm in front of Nara Yūma, taking the Dust Release head-on with his flesh.
A large hole appeared in that arm as well, and blood drenched Nara Yūma from head to toe.
Akimichi Takumi's body began to topple and gradually shrink. This much blood loss had brought his life to its end.
Seeing his Detachment of the Primitive World blocked, Ōnoki rapidly descended and touched the tall, thin stone pillar he had just raised, using it as a medium to cast Earth Release.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"
Seeing this, Yamanaka Ayano lunged forward, grabbed Nara Yūma beneath his arms, and leaped backward, taking them both out of the way.
Shadow Strangulation failed! Even the Imitation Technique was broken, but Nara Yūma maintained the Rat seal.
The severed shadow did not retract. Instead, it stretched toward an empty spot nearby.
It looped around the empty air as though encircling something, then tossed it upward.
Ōnoki noticed something amiss and hurriedly looked behind him.
A cold gleam slowly emerged from nothing. It was Gekko Yūma, who had just gone to hide Hyūga Ryūhei.
The Gekko Clan! Transparent Release!
Holding his Tachi in both hands, Gekko Yūma was flung upward by the shadow, heading straight for the Iwa Shinobi communications ninja with the radio strapped across his chest. Yūma raised his sword overhead.
"Secret Sword: Moon Shadow!"
Sword light flashed, and the Iwa Shinobi communications ninja was beheaded with a single stroke before the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki!
After swinging his sword, Gekko Yūma fell from the sky alongside the Iwa Shinobi's corpse under the pull of gravity.
Thud, thud.
Gekko Yūma landed from high above, his legs twisted, and let out a long breath.
Nara Yūma lay on the ground, gasping heavily without pause.
They had done everything they could. Against the Third Tsuchikage, they could not even entertain the thought of escape.
Only by targeting the Iwa Shinobi communications ninja who had been hovering all along did they have the slightest chance.
Now they could face death without regret!
Ōnoki's expression jolted, and he easily broke free of the Mind Body Switch Technique he had failed to dodge because of the Iwa Shinobi's death.
Yamanaka Ayano jerked awake from her slumbering state and said bitterly:
"No good. The gap in mental strength is too great."
Ōnoki's face darkened. This group, whom he had considered no more than a slight nuisance, had killed his companion right under his nose.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he spoke through gritted teeth:
"Konoha brats, I underestimated you. Now repent before my Dust Release!"
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
What appeared in his hands was no longer a cube, but a cylinder of Dust Release, with a wider range and greater penetrating power.
Whoosh!
A huge rock hurtled toward the airborne Ōnoki from behind.
Ōnoki's ear twitched. He quickly turned and unleashed the Dust Release in his hands.
The rock, moving fast enough to tear through the air, caused no trouble at all. It was simply annihilated.
The rumbling grew louder and louder, and the distant dust drew closer and closer.
Suddenly, an explosive crack rang out, and a figure flew in from the distance, trailing blood aura like a sandstorm.
Silken red streams of aura sharpened into points and stabbed toward Ōnoki in the air.
Ōnoki turned nimbly in midair, dodging them one after another.
On his way, Takahashi Yū had seen Akimichi Takumi's enormous body, as well as the horrific sight of his flesh being sheared away by Dust Release.
It made the killing intent within him swell even further.
"Ōnoki!"
Takahashi Yū crashed to the ground, swiftly grabbed Gekko Yūma, who was closest to him, and flashed to Yamanaka Ayano and Nara Yūma, who lay limp on the ground.
"Anyone else?"
"The Byakugan kid is still alive. Everyone else has fallen."
Takahashi Yū's pupils trembled violently, and his chest felt as though a breath were trapped inside.
"Ōnoki... good. You've certainly taken care of these men of mine..."
Takahashi Yū gathered all three in his arms, flashed into the distance to put them down, then flashed back to his original position.
As he looked up at Ōnoki flying through the air, a wave of air abruptly surged across the desolate ground.
"Now!"
"Round two-begins!"
Ōnoki was still dodging Takahashi Yū's blood aura in the air. He tentatively touched it with a finger.
"So it really can only disturb the mind. Takahashi Yū! Your blood aura only looks intimidating. I came from the Warring States era!"
"A mere mixture of killing intent and blood aura can only deal with the weak!"
With that, Ōnoki stopped dodging the blood aura stabbing toward him and came to a steady halt in midair.
The blood aura filling the sky rushed in and enveloped Ōnoki. Immersed in it, his eyes only reddened slightly; he was otherwise unaffected.
Hovering in the sky, Ōnoki looked at the man before him.
"No matter how strong your body is, it cannot withstand my Dust Release. You still think of fighting me when I can fly? Takahashi Yū, you're nothing but a brute."
"Enough talk! Old man Ōnoki, you're leaving something behind today!"
"And I hope it's your life!"
Takahashi Yū pushed off with one leg. Unable to bear such immense pressure, the rocky ground instantly cracked, sending a great cloud of dust and broken stone flying behind him.
Like a cannonball, Takahashi Yū shot into the sky with lightning speed and threw a punch at Ōnoki.
Ōnoki's expression changed, startled by Takahashi Yū's speed. He hurriedly leaned back and tumbled through the air, dodging the charge.
So I was affected after all? My reactions have slowed.
Ōnoki assessed his own condition.
Then he pressed his palms together and slowly drew them apart, forming a silvery-white cube shining with white light between his hands.
Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique.
He thrust the Dust Release in his hands toward Takahashi Yū, who was still airborne. Having missed his strike, Takahashi Yū curled his body up and swung hard to the right.
With nothing to push off against in midair, Takahashi Yū still swung out a massive gust, using the recoil to shift his body sideways.
Having dodged the Dust Release, Takahashi Yū landed hard, shattering the ground, and kicked several rocks jolted into the air toward Ōnoki.
The flying rocks rapidly disintegrated in midair under the tremendous force.
They had barely any effect on Ōnoki.
After launching the rocks, Takahashi Yū kept moving at high speed. Seeing them disintegrate, he simply delivered a fierce kick, shattering a jutting rock.
Then he turned with the momentum, lifted a huge rock overhead, and took a running start before hurling it at Ōnoki in the air.
Unable to use any ninjutsu, Takahashi Yū lacked ranged attacks, and because of his [Physical Body] trait, his chakra would all return to his cells.
Even walking on water and sheer cliffs required him to extract chakra on the spot, extracting a little each time he used it.
But against the Third Tsuchikage, that brief pause was enough to prove fatal.
Ōnoki could neither hit Takahashi Yū nor hinder his movement.
Takahashi Yū likewise had no means of attacking the hovering Ōnoki.
The encirclement is already in place. Wearing down more of his stamina will reduce our casualties.
Ōnoki thought as he dodged the incoming rocks.
Takahashi Yū hurled the few rocks in the area, beginning to grow irritated.
No openings!
With endless fury suppressed in his eyes, Takahashi Yū was still thinking of a way to fight his opponent.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As he moved, Takahashi Yū smashed through the raised mounds of earth along his path one after another.
He did not know whether his [Physical Body] trait could withstand Dust Release, but he figured it probably could not.
Damn it!
If only [Dan-Ability] had unlocked a secondary trait.
Ōnoki watched Takahashi Yū evade his Earth Release and Dust Release as effortlessly as if he were taking a leisurely stroll.
This won't do. According to the intelligence, Takahashi Yū could rampage across the Land of Wind battlefield for two days and two nights.
Surrounding and killing him would mean throwing lives at him.
Moreover, he had to stay constantly alert for rocks thrown up at him, not to mention the speed and height of Takahashi Yū's upward leap just now.
Even as Takahashi Yū felt deeply powerless, Ōnoki could do nothing about him either.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
The Dust Release in Ōnoki's hands suddenly turned, aiming at Nara Yūma and the others in the distance.
Nara Yūma lay helplessly on the ground, while Yamanaka Ayano was bandaging Gekko Yūma's twisted lower leg.
Seeing the Dust Release shooting toward their group, Yamanaka Ayano blanched in alarm.
Before you continue