Yūto gripped Maki's wrist with one hand, yet wore a harmless smile as he called out to Pakura:
"Pakura, don't do anything rash! What if my hand slips..."
As he spoke, he deliberately shook Maki, his hostage.
"Despicable!"
Maki's face flushed with anger as she struggled desperately in Yūto's grip.
"Oh?" Yūto raised an eyebrow, tightening his grip.
"So the four of you ambushing me alone was fair and square?"
That left Maki speechless. She could only glare fiercely at him.
Pakura's pupils contracted slightly. She keenly noticed that Yūto's left hand, hidden behind his back, was rapidly forming hand seals.
Scorching chakra instantly gathered in her palm, forming an orange-red fireball. "Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
"Just what I wanted!" Yūto abruptly pulled Maki in front of him as a shield.
Pakura forcibly twisted her wrist, sending the fireball past the tips of Maki's hair to blast the distant sand.
It vaporized the sand, leaving a charred crater three meters across.
During that opening, Yūto had already completed most of his hand seals.
He suddenly leaned close to Maki's ear, his warm breath brushing the girl's earlobe:
"Watch closely. This is real Fire Release."
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
White-hot waves of flame surged out between their cheeks. Maki felt half her body burning hot from the heat.
The sea of flames instantly engulfed the Sunagakure ninja in the front ranks, screams rising one after another.
She stared wide-eyed at the hellish scene, her heart racing uncontrollably.
She feared that destructive power, yet could not suppress her longing for it.
"All Wind Release ninja!" Pakura's roar pierced the flames. "Use Wind Release!"
Their Wind Release gathered together, forcibly tearing an opening through the sea of fire.
Without Water Release, Sunagakure had actually resolved the crisis this way.
But that