Annihilation

After realizing that the Third Water Shadow would not intervene, Kaguya Qiong let out a smug laugh, swept her big hand, and launched a massacre against Shin'yu and the others.

The Kaguya clansmen swarmed forward. White figures flashed, bone blades swept through the air, and these battle-crazed maniacs rushed over in a frenzy, bloodthirsty red light burning in their eyes.

"How crude. They don't even have the most basic formation or coordination." Kakuzu did not stint on his contempt. He rapidly formed hand seals and pressed one hand against the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Spear!"

Ripples spread across the flat ground. Amid violent tremors, the earth and stone thrust up rows of sharp rock spears, impaling the Kaguya clansmen who had failed to dodge in time and pinning them within the solid stone forest.

"Kill them?" Kakuzu turned his head toward Shin'yu and asked in a low voice.

"Mm." Shin'yu nodded faintly.

"As ordered." Kakuzu gave a low chuckle, tore open his shirt, and four masks split away from his swelling body. Black Line knitted together, transforming into four tentacled monsters the size of a person.

The Kaguya clansmen trapped among the rock spears were not dead. Relying on the properties of the Dead Bone Pulse, they skillfully formed hard bone armor over their bodies, shattering the rocks and breaking free. Their desire to kill had not diminished in the slightest.

Uchiha Hikari suddenly ducked, and a bone blade slashed horizontally over the back of her head. Her gaze sharpened slightly as her Three-Tomoe Sharingan opened instantly. As she caught the opening after her opponent's attack, she also spotted the gap in his bone armor.

She gripped the handle of the scythe on her back.

"Whoosh!"

A streak of Brilliant Light blossomed. Before the attacker could even form bone armor, he was severed at the chest, blood spraying like ink.

Such a bloody sight did not frighten the enemies into retreat. Instead, it stirred their ferocity, and in the blink of an eye, two or three of them charged forward without fear of death.

"Willow Dance!" The enemy directly ahead shouted. Bone spikes burst from his elbows, knees, and shoulders at once as he lunged headfirst at her like a powerful porcupine.

Hikari narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly, ignoring the enemies to either side. Within her dynamic vision, she effortlessly predicted the trajectory of every bone spike. She leaned back lightly, raised one long, straight jade leg high, and struck first, smashing it down on the man's head and dissolving all his attacks.

"Crack!"

With a crisp crack of breaking bone, his head drove his body into the ground, smashing out a human-shaped crater. The impact sent waves of air rolling outward. Amid her disheveled black hair, Hikari's eyes were cold and bright like an orchid in the night, while her twin jade peaks swayed slightly from the impact.

Taking advantage of this moment, the enemies on both sides also closed in.

Azure Light flashed and vanished. The enemy on the left was split in half, while Sword Qi raised a wall of wind that blew the spilling organs far away.

The enemy on the right froze for a moment, then a swiftly fired iron fist tore through the air and pierced his lower abdomen from behind.

Kakuzu gave a cold laugh and tugged the Black Line from his wrist backward, dragging the man's body toward himself. With a crack, he snapped his neck.

Though the three slaughtered their enemies as easily as chickens and dogs, the others showed no fear. In an instant, even more enemies charged at them.

"Leave the one in the middle to me!"

Kaguya Qiong grinned viciously and personally joined the fight. She roughly shoved several clansmen aside, leaped high into the air, and produced two ghastly white bone blades from her hands before chopping down fiercely.

Shin'yu remained where he stood, one hand behind his back as he held the scabbard in his other hand horizontally above his head, easily blocking Kaguya Qiong's strike.

The ground beneath his feet exploded in an instant, and a violent blast of air erupted, whipping Shin'yu's black hair wildly in the wind. Yet he stood straight as a pine, and Frost Descent One Heart did not budge at all.

He turned his wrist, and the slender blade knocked aside Kaguya Qiong's arms. What appeared to be an effortless motion carried Kaguya Qiong's entire body into a spin along with the blade before slamming her viciously into the ground.

Shin'yu raised his foot and stomped toward Kaguya Qiong's twisted face. A chill ran down her spine, and she rolled away in a panic. The ground shook with a tremendous boom, sending her body uncontrollably into mid-air.

The scabbard swung toward her face, carrying a heavy Wind Sound. Kaguya Qiong hurriedly erupted with Chakra, and ribs pierced out of her body, branching and crossing before her chest.

"Clematis Dance!"

Though she managed to block the attack in time, the blow still shattered her bones. Its force penetrated her internal organs, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

"Camellia Dance!" She spread her arms, and the bone blades moved with them, like drifting willow catkins, blending completely into the air as they stabbed and swept at every part of Shin'yu's body, producing a rapid succession of piercing whistles.

Shin'yu rotated his blade so quickly that it left afterimages. Every time, he precisely caught the bone blades, blocking all the savage thrusts three feet away.

The key was that he had used only one hand from beginning to end.

Kaguya Qiong grew more frantic with every exchange. Shin'yu's Calm as Water fighting style infuriated her. The more casually he fought, the more anxious and enraged she became. Her attacks turned increasingly ruthless, until she even lost her composure.

Suddenly, Shin'yu caught the fleeting, tiny opening she exposed. Holding the scabbard in reverse, he used Immortal Guides the Way, driving the hilt straight forward along the centerline and striking the tip of her nose hard. Even with the Dead Bone Pulse, the unexpected blow left her seeing stars.

In her panic, she instinctively erupted with Chakra, sharp bone spikes shooting from all over her body and turning her into a hedgehog.

Shin'yu's expression remained calm. With a slight flick of his wrist, a deft force drew Frost Descent One Heart half a foot from its sheath. An iron-blue gleam splashed out, neatly severing several bone spikes at once as the blade swept toward Kaguya Qiong's throat. A frigid aura rapidly spread, making her break out in goosebumps.

"Dammit, don't underestimate me!"

Her heart hardened, and she actually reached for the sharp blade with her bare hand. A flash of light passed, and several fingers dropped to the ground with soft plops. Kaguya Qiong took the chance to lower her head, narrowly avoiding the fatal edge.

Shin'yu's front kick struck her squarely in the chest, sending her skidding along the ground like a tattered sack. At the same time, he fiercely flung the scabbard in his hand. Frost Descent One Heart flew from its sheath with a clear dragon's cry like a meteor flying in reverse, its hilt once again striking Kaguya Qiong's forehead.

Shin'yu moved, shooting forward like an arrow. He caught the rebounding Guardian God Sword with a backhand grip, Autumn Dew on Leaves flooding into the blade. In that instant, man and sword became one, transforming into a dazzling streak of light as he crossed paths with Kaguya Qiong!

"Slash."

The blade spun like a flower and slid into its sheath like a swimming dragon. A head rolled to his feet amid streaming blood, its terrified expression forever frozen on its face.

This sight sent a chill through Minazuki Sora, who had been closely watching the battle from start to finish.

Kaguya Qiong was a humanoid tyrant with Kage-level strength, yet Shin'yu had beheaded her in merely a few moves! She had not even had time to unleash her strongest ultimate technique!

Elsewhere, with the cooperation of Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu unleashed five types of elemental Ninjutsu in one breath. Wind and fire raged, lightning streaked through the air, water poured down, and the earth shook, quickly annihilating the surrounding enemies.

These fools who knew only how to charge mindlessly had not avoided Kakuzu's Ninjutsu at all.

For the final blow, he controlled a combined wind-and-fire Ninjutsu and blasted it toward Uchiha Hikari. Hikari spun the Blaze War Fan and used Uchiha Reflection to reverse the attack. Gale winds wrapped around rolling flames, devouring the bodies of the last few enemies.

The battle had come quickly and ended even faster. When Kakuzu recovered all the stitched bodies, the smoke and dust gradually dispersed as well.

Shin'yu found a scroll on Kaguya Qiong's headless corpse. Opening it, he saw that it was the Oikawa Family's ancestral Hundred Hands Style Swordsmithing Rare Book.

At last, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Lord Water Shadow."

"N-no, I dare not accept that. What are your orders, Lord Shin'yu?" Minazuki Sora broke out in a cold sweat and tiptoed forward.

"Today's matter had nothing to do with the Land of Iron, correct?"

"Of course. The Kaguya Clan gathered to rebel. We Hidden Mist ninja were deeply grieved and could only annihilate them..."

"Ah, ah, that's too serious." Shin'yu waved a hand. "The Kaguya Clan's elderly and children are innocent. There is no need to kill them all. That Iron Cutting Merchant Association can continue operating as well. Consider it a farewell gift."

Leave some room for others, and it would be easier to meet again in the future. Minazuki Sora was deeply moved by the goodwill Shin'yu had shown, and immediately held a banquet to entertain the three of them.

After another round of drinks, Shin'yu and the others rose to take their leave and headed for Takeo Castle in the Land of Iron.