Murderous Intent Fluctuation!

"Not a chance!"

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Hyūga Gōshi suddenly appeared and launched a vacuum palm at Ōnoki in the air.

Three red-eyed Uchiha suddenly appeared behind Yamanaka Ayano, each grabbing one person and swiftly retreating.

Countless shuriken then flew toward the sky.

"Hahaha, old man, my teammates are here!"

Takahashi Yū was overjoyed.

"Hmph, what difference do numbers make? As long as I stand in the sky, I stand undefeated!" Ōnoki formed hand seals as he spoke disdainfully.

"Earth Release: Rock Iron Cannon Technique!"

Ōnoki immediately spat out stones in rapid succession, and they swiftly grew larger in flight.

Clink, clink-clink, clink.

The enlarged stones intercepted the shuriken one by one, producing crisp metallic clinks.

The stones lost none of their momentum after knocking down the shuriken, continuing to fall toward everyone from the sky and striking the ground hard enough to send rubble flying everywhere.

Hyūga Gōshi quickly dodged, but the flying stone fragments still grazed him, drawing blood.

Takahashi Yū frowned at the sight.

Ōnoki slowly descended, folded his arms, and spoke unhurriedly.

"Boy, why do you think I didn't have my troops surround you? Hmph, much as I hate to admit it, once you reach our level..."

"Everyone else is nothing but a hindrance!"

"You're so young, yet you led a mere fifty people to earn the name 'Undying.' But you've never fought any of the Shinobi World's strongest one-on-one, much less me."

"You're too conceited!"

"Give up. You have no way to deal with me. You can leave, but your teammates have no way to break through my Iwa Shinobi forces."

Takahashi Yū clenched his fists. Ōnoki was right. No one could keep Takahashi Yū here. With a body whose defenses no one could breach, he could simply break out.

But he could not keep his teammates alive. However abundant their stamina, they could not withstand being surrounded and attacked by ten thousand people.

Ōnoki had already returned to the Land of Earth, and the mission was complete, but as Takahashi Yū looked at his squad's remaining members...

An immense sense of helplessness suddenly rose within him.

There's nothing I can do. I can't defeat Ōnoki, and I can't take everyone left back with me.

Uchiha Shunji had already returned with Hyūga Ryūhei, whom Gekko Yūma had hidden, on his back. Yamanaka Ayano had also brought back Akimichi Takumi's body in her arms.

Takahashi Yū looked at Akimichi Takumi, now nothing but skin and bones. Almost all the blood had drained from his body, and his skin had turned pale.

Recalling the horrific states of his other fallen teammates, the anger in Takahashi Yū's heart inexplicably settled.

The anger of coming from a stable, harmonious society into this absurd world.

The anger of having an invincible body yet still being unable to protect his teammates.

The anger of being powerless to resolve the situation before him.

He suppressed it all.

"Everyone... we might not make it out this time..."

Forcing those words out of his throat left Takahashi Yū completely deflated.

"It's all right, Captain. The mission's already complete. Don't worry about us." Yamanaka Ayano, still bandaging Nara Yūma, continued to smile brightly.

"That's right, Captain. Coming this far has already earned us a name in the Shinobi World," Hyūga Gōshi said with a smile as he supported Gekko Yūma.

"It's fine, Captain. They'll have to pay a hefty price for our lives," Uchiha Shunji said. The other two Uchiha nearby also abandoned their usual icy expressions and smiled.

Takahashi Yū looked over his remaining teammates' smiling faces one by one. His gloomy expression turned resolute, as though he had made some decision.

He looked at Ōnoki overhead, his arms still folded, then swept his gaze across the dense mass of Iwa Shinobi visible in the distance.

Takahashi Yū suddenly smiled. He knew why [Radiant Glow]'s effects fell so far short of [Unyielding].

[The soul]. The soul!

Takahashi Yū had waited until his body was invincible before taking action. Perhaps the greatest difference between a soul from a comfortable society and the people of the Shinobi World was the resolve to die.

"Can a mere ten thousand Iwa Shinobi kill our Undying Squad? I, Takahashi Yū, have no shortage of courage to fight to the death!"

Takahashi Yū shouted up at Ōnoki.

His powerful voice rang in their ears.

The squad members looked at their towering captain. For a moment, they actually felt that the already tall Takahashi Yū had grown tall enough to reach the clouds.

[Radiant Glow]-[Murderous Intent Fluctuation]: An awakened form of [Radiant Glow] shaped by the bearer's will. Sustained by stamina, it materializes murderous intent and converts the mental damage of murderous intent tenfold. The greater the murderous intent, the stronger its effects. Weakened Wave Seeds can be shared.

"Today, our Undying Squad truly becomes undying!"

Boom!

An enormous surge of red energy erupted upward from beneath Takahashi Yū's feet, making his trousers flap loudly and blowing his spiky hair high.

The silky blood-red aura surrounding him rapidly spiraled back into Takahashi Yū's body, deepening the color of the red surge.

A Super Saiyan!

Unfortunately, the color was wrong.

He still had something up his sleeve? Ōnoki immediately sensed trouble at the sight.

He promptly turned and fired a blast of Dust Release into the sky. The silvery-white Dust Release burst overhead, glittering like scattered stars.

The Iwa Shinobi waiting in formation in the distance received the signal and closed in, forming a circle centered on the Dust Release.

With a thought from Takahashi Yū, eight blood-red streams of energy rushed toward the Special Forces' remaining members.

Several muffled grunts sounded as the Wave Seeds plunged into the squad members' hearts.

[Wave Seed]: A reduced version of Murderous Intent Fluctuation. Consumes chakra to materialize murderous intent and inflict mental damage. When several sources of Murderous Intent Fluctuation are nearby, they connect and strengthen one another, providing a slight damage-sharing effect.

Note: Recipients must trust the primary bearer absolutely.

Several streams of red energy rose, each just large enough to envelop a squad member.

"This... this is the captain's Kekkei Genkai."

The Uchiha trio raised their hands and examined the surging energy enveloping their bodies.

If Takahashi Yū's Murderous Intent Fluctuation was as imposing as a mountain, the squad members' fluctuations danced like torch flames.

The fluctuations swiftly connected and activated. Even Hyūga Ryūhei, unconscious from excessive chakra consumption, acquired a thin layer.

Gekko Yūma materialized the murderous intent around his injured leg, released Hyūga Gōshi's hand, stamped his foot, and drew the Tachi at his waist.

Nara Yūma's eyes flickered after his bandaging was finished. He had many questions, but this was not the time. He materialized the murderous intent around his wound and looked up at Takahashi Yū.

"Give the order, Captain." ×7

The squad members spoke in unison.

The corners of Takahashi Yū's mouth rose into an exaggerated grin.

"The largest force of Iwa Shinobi is behind us, toward the Land of Grass-probably close to ten thousand. There are also three thousand shinobi guarding the direction of their main camp, but... you know what I want to do!"

The Uchiha trio activated their Sharingan, which had become even more uncanny under Murderous Intent Fluctuation. Uchiha Shunji even used the fluctuations to bind Hyūga Ryūhei tightly to his back.

Yamanaka Ayano tucked the scroll containing Akimichi Takumi's sealed body securely against herself, and the fluctuations around her abruptly swelled.

Gekko Yūma's figure gradually faded, leaving only his mouth moving slightly as he spoke.

"Even if we're surrounded without a single gap, we're taking a shot at Ōnoki first!"

Boom!

Takahashi Yū kicked off the ground hard and leaped upward, charging at Ōnoki, whose face had stiffened slightly.

"I don't know what restored your morale, but none of it matters!"

Ōnoki rapidly formed hand seals and shouted.

"Earth Release: Earth and Stone Dragon!"

Using earth-nature chakra, Ōnoki pulled soil and stones from the ground to form two imposing earth dragons. One rushed straight at the leaping Takahashi Yū, while the other swept toward the squad members along the ground.

Takahashi Yū smiled scornfully at the earth dragon below him, its enormous maw open to swallow him.

A strip of blood-red silk extended from the surging energy surrounding Takahashi Yū and rapidly solidified.

Takahashi Yū's Killing Intent Surge was connected to his teammates' surges on the ground. With his grounded teammates as an anchor, he could materialize Manifested Killing Intent in the sky as footholds!

Under Ōnoki's terrified gaze, he stomped on the Manifested Killing Intent and charged at him.

Takahashi Yū drew his fist back and twisted his thick waist. The rushing air rippled the skin of his face.

"Die!"

The twist of Takahashi Yū's waist drove the strength of his entire body as his drawn-back fist swung violently forward, his whole body taking the form of a Superman Punch.

The force of his punch sent spiral ripples through the air ahead.

"Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique."

Seeing Takahashi Yū's excessive speed, Ōnoki hurriedly cast the Added-Weight Rock Technique on himself.

Under its effects, Ōnoki rapidly sank through the air, narrowly avoiding Takahashi Yū's Superman Punch.

Even Ōnoki, still in his prime at just fifty, felt the veins near his temples throb fiercely.

Something's wrong. That strange blood-red aura around him has changed. Its effect on me has grown stronger. I can even feel a slight stinging in my mind.

"Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique."

Having expertly made his body light again, Ōnoki suddenly felt a chill behind him.

Damn it! I've descended too low.

Even as alarm filled his heart, Ōnoki's body bent backward as though clearing a high-jump bar, his back arching high.

A cold glint suddenly flashed, narrowly slicing past Ōnoki's arched back.

Transparent Release again. Seeing a black, lasso-like shadow withdrawing behind him, Ōnoki understood.

The Gekko Clan's Transparent Release had never been particularly renowned. It could make someone invisible, but sensory shinobi could easily detect them.

But it was a perfect match for Murderous Intent Fluctuation, which could affect the mind.

After dodging Gekko Yūma's slash, sweat had already begun to run down Ōnoki's forehead.

A Takahashi Yū who could move freely through the sky was troublesome enough. Now, flying low also meant facing surprise slashes from an invisible man. Ōnoki was under immense pressure.

His gaze swept over the three Uchiha itching to act, and the Hyūga nearby with his palm drawn back to his waist, ready to launch a vacuum palm at any moment.

Ōnoki suddenly gained altitude and retreated.

"Old man, don't run!"

Seeing this, Takahashi Yū materialized a small patch of fluctuations beneath his feet and leaped hard again, chasing after Ōnoki.

As Takahashi Yū shattered the Manifested Killing Intent overhead with his step, the force transmitted to the ground made everyone below stagger.

"Don't, Captain! The fluctuation link's going to break!"

Nara Yūma shouted from below.

"Don't just stand there! Hurry after him! If the link breaks, the captain will be a target in midair!"

Nara Yūma swiftly rose and chased after Takahashi Yū.

"Delia, your genjutsu is the strongest. In a moment, we'll do this... and see if we can find an opening."

Nara Yūma spoke to the Uchiha trio.

The cold-faced Uchiha Delia nodded at his words and darted forward, reaching the front of the group.

With his retreat, Ōnoki had already drawn close to the garrison forces closing in, and he felt somewhat reassured.

"Old man, stop!"

Takahashi Yū's leap had exhausted its momentum, and he began to fall.

Out of habit, he materialized fluctuations beneath his feet, only to find that he could not step on them no matter what. The solidified fluctuations kept a fixed distance from his body.

Wait. Takahashi Yū looked back and discovered that only a thread of the connection remained.

At the sight, understanding dawned on Ōnoki's face.

So that was it. He could only solidify that strange gas around his body, but if he used himself as the anchor, the solidified gas would move with him.

It had stayed fixed in midair earlier because he had used the people on the ground as anchors.

An opening!

Despite the effects of Murderous Intent Fluctuation, Ōnoki still quickly assessed Takahashi Yū's situation.

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"

A silvery-white cube shot straight toward Takahashi Yū, who was still in free fall.

Takahashi Yū kicked hard against the air, producing a tremendous bang and narrowly dodging the Dust Release that could reduce everything to dust.

Ōnoki swiftly flew toward Takahashi Yū, who was helpless in midair.

"Earth Release: Rock Fist!"

Ōnoki's entire arm became encased in fist-shaped rock as he swung at Takahashi Yū, whose momentum had run out.

Unable to sustain the force beneath his feet or generate fresh force in the gap, Takahashi Yū could only cross his arms and take the heavy Rock Fist head-on.

With a bang, Takahashi Yū was knocked down, striking the ground on his back and smashing out a large crater.

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"

Ōnoki formed a diamond with his hands and fired another blast of silvery-white Dust Release into the dust-filled crater.

By now, Ōnoki's face was covered in sweat, and he was panting.

After fighting continuously for so long and enduring Murderous Intent Fluctuation throughout the latter half, Ōnoki was utterly exhausted as well.

By all rights, Takahashi Yū had no way to dodge this Dust Release, but the pale-red Killing Intent Surge still spreading through the surroundings kept Ōnoki on full alert.

The dust cleared. The ground, which should have had a diamond-shaped crater carved out of it, remained intact. Instead, there was a solid mass of red material.

"Hahaha, I've figured out how to deal with your Dust Release, Ōnoki!"

Takahashi Yū lay on the ground, laughing loudly. He had used a little under half his stamina to materialize an enormous amount of murderous intent, forming a thick platform of fluctuations.

The Dust Release, which should have erased Takahashi Yū along with the ground, had only disintegrated the platform blocking its path.

A thin layer of the thick platform remained undisintegrated.

Takahashi Yū controlled the remaining platform, shaping it into a cone and firing it toward Ōnoki while he slowly rose.

The fluctuations connecting behind him abruptly thickened. His teammates had arrived.

The fluctuations connected behind him suddenly trembled, and Takahashi Yū listened in surprise to the words Yamanaka Ayano sent over.

It can be used like this too?

Using the fluctuations as a medium to transmit mental messages might be beyond ordinary shinobi, but it was effortless for the Yamanaka Clan, who were proficient in sensory abilities and mental energy.

After hearing the news Yamanaka Ayano relayed, Takahashi Yū's gaze instantly sharpened, and excitement rose within him.

There really might be a chance!

Silently assessing his stamina, Takahashi Yū knew this would be his last attempt. After all, he still had to save enough strength to break out.

I can't actually let them wear me down to death.

Takahashi Yū's chest slowly expanded as he drew a deep breath. The surrounding air gradually formed visible white vapor and streamed into his slightly flared nostrils.

Takahashi Yū lowered his center of gravity, and the earth beneath his feet cracked under the tremendous force.

Boom! A great cloud of dust and rocks erupted behind him.

Takahashi Yū shot skyward like a frog. After connecting with his teammates on the ground, he could change direction and exert force in midair again!

Once he reached a height above even Ōnoki, Takahashi Yū turned sideways to dodge the rocks Ōnoki spat out.

He materialized a small patch of murderous intent beneath his feet, then pushed hard with his right leg, using the little platform to launch himself toward Ōnoki.

With his own strength added to his downward charge, Takahashi Yū was already moving fast enough to blur.

Taking advantage of his small, agile body, Ōnoki narrowly dodged, but the air rushing past buffeted him off balance.

When his strike missed, Takahashi Yū immediately formed fluctuation platforms beneath his feet and diagonally above him. Two sharp smacks later, he had turned himself around and charged at Ōnoki again.

Sensing the rush of air behind him, Ōnoki quickly applied the Added-Weight Rock Technique to himself, and his body plummeted.

Then he formed a diamond with both hands and fired Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique at Takahashi Yū, who had already overshot him above.

Takahashi Yū kept forming fluctuation platforms beneath his feet, running through the sky like a winding dragon.

He even traced a semicircular path like a roller coaster, with Takahashi Yū upside down as he ran across the top.

With a fierce stomp, Takahashi Yū became a red afterimage and charged toward Ōnoki.

A fist technique descending from the heavens!

Fast! Less than five seconds had passed since Takahashi Yū's first punch, and Ōnoki's mental strain had already reached its limit.

Like a vicious dragon, the red afterimage swallowed Ōnoki's tiny figure!

With a thunderous crash, Takahashi Yū smashed a huge crater into the ground, watching the Ōnoki clutched in his hand slowly turn into earth.

Earth Clone!

He still wasn't fast enough, Takahashi Yū thought silently.

Ōnoki reappeared a short distance away, panting. The Iwa Shinobi rushing toward him were already visible behind him.

"Takahashi, boy, no matter how many people we sacrifice today, we have to keep you here. Your Konoha has already upset the balance of the Shinobi World."

Ōnoki hovered about two meters above the ground. The Iwa Shinobi approaching behind him eased his tightly wound nerves a little.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

His teammates arrived beside Takahashi Yū one after another.

Seeing Gekko Yūma appear beside Takahashi Yū, Ōnoki also breathed a sigh of relief.

Ōnoki did possess some sensory ability, but it was difficult to use effectively within the range of Murderous Intent Fluctuation.

After Gekko Yūma had ambushed him twice using Transparent Release, his vigilance was already at its peak.

Tap.

A faint sound came from the rocks beside him.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"

Ōnoki's mastery of Earth Release was extraordinary. With just one hand seal, he raised a thick earthen spear beside him.

Looking at Gekko Yūma as he appeared to the side, Ōnoki gritted his teeth and said:

"Still using such childish tricks? Did you think I couldn't see through that Shadow Clone over there?"

Gekko Yūma paid him no heed. Turning sideways, he swung his blade, his ancestral tachi gleaming with a frighteningly cold light.

Konoha-Style Swordsmanship: Dance of the Crescent Moon.

Gekko Yūma split into three figures, slashing at Ōnoki from the left, above, and right.

With another Snake seal, Ōnoki raised three Earth Spears in front of him, each impaling one of Gekko Yūma's three figures.

Poof, poof, poof.

All three figures dissolved into smoke.

A tachi fell from the hand of the figure that had leaped up to slash. Without an arm controlling it, it dropped straight through the air.

Hmph, even throwing away his sword for a feint.

Thinking this, Ōnoki looked toward the falling tachi. An eerie gaze flashed across its mirror-smooth blade.

Sharingan!

Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique.

Ōnoki's expression went blank, and his chakra erupted as he tried to dispel the genjutsu.

The instant the tachi hit the ground, Takahashi Yū charged out like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, a cruel smile on his face.

He had never fought such a frustrating battle.

He couldn't let this chance slip away.

Having remained within the range of Murderous Intent Fluctuation all this time, Ōnoki was already under immense mental strain. Caught off guard by the Three-Tomoe Sharingan's genjutsu on top of that, he actually took nearly a second to break free of its control.

Without time to assess the situation, the experienced Ōnoki was already shooting backward and upward into the air.

But one second was enough for Takahashi Yū to close in.

With red light flashing in his eyes, Takahashi Yū wore a twisted grin.

I've finally caught you!

Takahashi Yū generated power from his feet, transferred it to his waist, then twisted his torso and swung his arm in a full arc behind him.

"Fucking-die!"

His core drove his upper arm, and he unleashed the power through his fist-a Russian Overhand!

Earth Release: Hardening, Earth Release: Earth Spear.

In desperation, Ōnoki applied two ninjutsu that strengthened his own defenses.

Boom!!

Trailing a spiraling wake, the fist the size of a cooking pot struck Ōnoki square in the abdomen. Takahashi Yū felt as though he had hit hardened granite, but the force still drove straight through his abdomen!

Ōnoki spat blood from the blow, and his pupils began to dilate and lose focus.

Crash!

Ōnoki spun into the arriving Iwa Shinobi, his tremendous momentum knocking down dozens of figures in the front ranks like bowling pins. Finally, several sturdy figures formed a wall of flesh and barely caught him.

"Lord Ōnoki!"

"Lord Ōnoki!"

"Damn it, protect Lord Ōnoki!"

The Iwa Shinobi forming the wall of flesh also coughed up blood. The chest of the man at the very front had even caved in, and he was already dead.

Reinforced with the Hardening technique and Earth Spear, Ōnoki was like a lump of iron. Having devoted decades of painstaking effort to Earth Release, he maintained his techniques even while unconscious.

Even if he isn't dead, he won't be getting up to anything now!

Thinking this, Takahashi Yū swiftly pulled back.

Like a tentacled monster, Takahashi Yū used Murderous Intent Fluctuation to bind the remaining eight members and lift them high.

"Break through! Retreat! We're going home!"

Shouting those words, Takahashi Yū sprinted toward the Land of Waterfalls.