The stench of blood, like thick grease, clung to everyone's mouths and noses.
The alarms on the second line of defense had long since fallen silent, replaced by the roars of the Oni Clan, the angry shouts of the ninjas, and the screeching of runic equipment overload. The green Forehead Protector of the Konoha Ninja gleamed blood-red in the setting sun, and the battle line resembled sheet metal repeatedly hammered by a giant sledgehammer, every inch emitting a mournful cry before it broke.
"Hold on! Hold on, you bastard!"
The hoarse roar was swallowed by the deafening sounds of battle. Konoha Jonin Satō Gō's arm was severed at the shoulder, and gushing blood splattered onto the cracked rune shield. The runes, which had been shimmering with a pale golden light, were visibly dimming. He gritted his teeth and looked at the gap in the defensive line. The sight there made his stomach churn—three ordinary samurai wearing standard armor from the Land of Fire were thrusting their spears at a demon soldier half a man's height. The spear tips struck the demon's bluish-black skin with a crisp "clang," and the next second, they were torn to shreds, spear and all, by the demon's claws.
"Don't waste your energy! Get out of the way!" Satō Gō roared, throwing three Shuriken. With the sharp sound of the kunai Kunai through the Space Break, he saw more ordinary soldiers shatter like waves crashing against rocks. Those well-trained samurai could easily kill bandits or hostile ninjas, but they couldn't even delay for a second in front of the Oni Clan. The demon soldiers' skin could withstand sword and axe blows, and the demon generals' claws could easily tear through iron armor, not to mention the demon generals and demon kings who could breathe ghost fire and Sky Splitter.
"Boom--"
A sudden, deafening roar erupted from the western flank. Satō Gō caught a glimpse of a silver streak exploding amidst the horde of demons out of the corner of his eye—it was Miyamoto Jūni's rune-infused mech activating. The ten-meter-tall metal giant gripped a rune-alloy longsword, its thrusters spewing blue flames. Each strike was accompanied by the hum of rune arrays, and dozens of demon soldiers were reduced to black smoke in the flash of the blades. However, when the demon commander, shrouded in crimson demonic energy, stepped out of the Yin Shadow, the mech's movements noticeably slowed.
"Captain Miyamoto! Left rear!" Satō Gō's shout had barely left his mouth when the Demon General's bone claws slammed into the mecha's left shoulder with Space Break sound. The alloy armor dented and shattered like paper, and sparks rained down on the battlefield littered with corpses.
"Shut up!" Miyamoto Jūni roared from the mecha's loudspeaker. The silver-white mecha suddenly ducked and spun, its long sword trailing a half-full moon, runes flowing across the blade as a dazzling band of light shattering the Demon General's head. "I'm going to be Konoha's strongest mecha pilot—"
When the blood mist, carrying the smell of rust, hit his face, Masataka Hatake gritted his teeth and broke half of his teeth.
He wiped his face, the runic white sword humming and vibrating in his palm, the runes on the blade dimming. Three gaps had been torn in the middle of the defensive line, and those blue-faced, fanged demons were pouring out of the cracks, crushing the corpses of Konoha Ninja as they charged forward.
" Masataka! Left flank!" Hidemune Hatake's roar, mixed with the sound of an explosion, rang out. His younger brother was being forced back by three ghost generals, the silver arc drawn by his short sword growing smaller and smaller. Masataka Hatake was about to rush over, he caught a glimpse of a dark figure crashing through the rune barrier out of the corner of his eye—it was a ghost general, carrying half a broken rune cannon barrel, black ghostly energy condensing into armor on its body.
"Damn it!" Masataka Hatake spat out the blood in his mouth, gripping the white talisman in reverse. "Emperor Hidemune, hold on! I'll kill this bastard and come right away!"
Kill! Kill them all!
Masataka Hatake's White Fang short sword drew a gleaming silver arc, severing the neck of the charging Oni Clan general. The demon's head fell to the ground, still grinning, hot black blood splattering on his face, carrying the stench of decay. He had barely caught his breath when he caught a glimpse of three companions surrounded by more than a dozen Oni Clan. Kunai and Ninjutsu could only leave white marks on the Oni Clan' tough skin before their chests were torn open by sharp claws in an instant.
"Useless!" Masataka spat out a mouthful of blood, and was about to rush forward to fight the ghost general when his younger brother, Hidemune, had already charged into the ghost horde with his broken blade. "Brother! Protect the civilian warriors behind us!"
The cries of the commoner warriors were like needles piercing their ears. Several warriors wielding iron swords and broadswords huddled behind a gap in the defensive line, watching their comrades being torn apart by the Oni Clan like chickens, their teeth chattering. A young man mustered his courage and plunged his iron sword into the demon soldier's lower back; the demon soldier merely groaned and then crushed his head with a backhand.
"Don't come any closer! Do you want to die?!" Hidemune's broken blade pierced the eye socket of a demon general, but the demon gripped the hilt tightly. He suddenly released his grip and Hand Seals: " Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"
Blue electricity exploded on the ground, temporarily repelling the surrounding ghosts. But more shadowy figures had already crossed the broken runic barrier, their countless eyes flashing red in the twilight like a surging tide.
Especially the three-zhang-tall ghost general let out an inhuman roar, and his giant hand slammed down with Sky Splitter pressure that tore through the air. Masataka Hatake used the rubble stirred up by his Earth Release to jump to the side, and his blade grazed the ghost general's arm, leaving a trail of Mars. Runes on the blade lit up with red light, which was the armor-piercing curse activated by the infusion of Chakra, but it only left a shallow mark on the ghost general's skin.
"This turtle shell is tough!" He grinned, a grin that looked more like a grimace. "You dead ghosts, weren't you beaten enough in your lives?"
The demon general's roar turned into a furious shriek, and his other hand suddenly stretched out several meters, the bone spurs at his fingertips grazing Masataka Hatake's side, tearing up a patch of flesh. Masataka Hatake groaned, using the momentum to crash into the broken wall, and looked up to see that something had happened to Hidemune Hatake —his brother's short sword had been stomped to the ground by the demon general, and another demon general's bone spear had already pierced through Hidemune Hatake's shoulder.
" Hidemune!"
He rushed forward like a madman, pouring all his Chakra into the rune-adorned White Fang Blade. The runes emitted a blinding white light, and the blade swelled into a three-foot-long energy blade. This was the Hatake Clan's most treasured secret technique, which, if overused, would burn his meridians. But he couldn't care less now. He cleaved the demon general who was stepping on the blade in two with a single strike, and then caught his swaying younger brother.
"Brother..." Hidemune Hatake coughed up blood and laughed, "I think... I can't hold on any longer..."
"We have to hold on, even if we can't!" Masataka pushed his younger brother behind the broken wall, then turned to face the Ghost General who was charging at him again. "The ninjas of Konoha aren't so cowardly as to let these bastards bully us!"
"Captain Miyamoto! The southeast corner is about to collapse!" The voice on the communicator was choked with sobs.
Masataka looked up and saw the rune-inlaid mech at the far left of the defensive line shaking violently. Miyamoto Jūni's mech, which was originally the Sea God on the battlefield, was now like a tin toy thrown into a washing machine, with sparks flying with every collision. The ghost general, who was half a head taller than the mech, grinned and swung his fist. Black ghost energy condensed on his fist, and each blow dented and deformed the mech's alloy shell.
"Shut up." Miyamoto Jūni's voice came through the communicator, hoarse and metallic. He drew the long sword from his back, runes flowing across the blade, tracing a blinding trail of light. " Konoha's land isn't so easy to tread."
The mech suddenly ducked, its long blade sweeping across the ground, slicing through several Oni Clan that were trying to ambush it. But the Ghost Commander's fist had already arrived, slamming heavily into the mech's back. A clear "crack" was heard, and the mech's thrusters exploded instantly, sending it sprawling to the ground amidst thick smoke.
" Jūni!" Masataka's eyes widened in horror.
The fallen mech suddenly flashed a blinding red light, and the cockpit canopy exploded with a bang. Miyamoto Jūni stood on the wreckage, covered in blood, the long sword in his hand still humming. His left arm was twisted unnaturally, yet he still slung the sword over his shoulder, a ferocious grin spreading across his face. "I heard... the Ghost Commander's head is harder than diamond?"
The Ghost General roared and pounced, his claws whistling as Sky Splitter. Miyamoto Jūni stomped off the ground, his entire body merging with his longsword, transforming into a streak of white light that pierced the heavens and earth. It was the final burning of his life's cultivation and the power of his runes; the blade sliced through the Ghost General's protective ghostly aura, cleaving from his left shoulder to his right abdomen.
"Ugh--!" Ghost General let out a deafening roar of pain, and black blood gushed out like a fountain.
But Miyamoto Jūni was also engulfed by the raging ghost energy. White light exploded inside the Ghost General's body, but it couldn't stop the hand covered in bone spurs from falling. Masataka watched helplessly as the figure was annihilated in the black flames, leaving not even a trace of ash. Only the broken sword fell to the ground with a "clang," still trembling slightly.
"Damn it..." Masataka gritted his teeth, and suddenly Hidemune Hatake in his arms let out a final sigh. He looked down and saw that his cousin Hidemune Hatake had died from the invasion of ghost energy into his heart meridian.
In the medical station at the midpoint of the defensive line, a green light flashed rapidly. Hōō Aiko's forehead was covered in cold sweat as she pressed her hands against the wound of a ninja with a severed leg, her Chakra flowing into his body like a stream. "Hold on! Your artery has been reconnected!"
The surrounding area was littered with groans of the wounded, some with broken arms, others burned by demonic energy. Akira Senju was directing the logistics ninjas to move the seriously wounded to the underground bunkers. " Hōō Aiko commander! The passage behind us is almost cleared. You're medical-nin, so retreat first!"
"Three more wounded! Treat them and leave!" Hōō Aiko didn't even look up. Her green Chakra was already starting to dim; eight hours of intense treatment had almost completely drained her strength.
Suddenly, the space cracked open like shattered glass.
"Watch out!" Kaima Senju shoved the wounded man aside and thrust his Kunai into the crack. But a sharp claw covered in black scales had already emerged from it, carrying a foul stench as it headed straight for Hōō Aiko's back.
"Minister Aiko!" Akira Senju lunged forward with Earth Splitter eyes, only to be knocked away by another figure that sprang from the Yin Shadow. It was a demon general wielding a bone blade, grinning as he stomped on Senju Sei's ribs until they were crushed.
Hōō Aiko felt a chill run down her spine. She whirled around and saw only the Demon King's fanged face. Claws had pierced her chest, and the green Chakra light vanished like a extinguished candle flame in an instant from her unfocused pupils. As she fell, she was still in the posture of reaching out to heal the wounded.
"No--!" Kaima Senju roared, Hand Seals: " Earth Release: Earth Spear Technique!"
Several long, earthen spikes emerged from the ground, only to be casually shattered by the Ghost King. The Ghost General's bone blade was already before him, easily slicing open the neck of this Senju elite. Logistics and defense captain Koboku Ito, had just raised his rune shield when he was cleaved in two by another Ghost General's giant axe.
The medical station instantly transformed into a slaughterhouse. The cries of the wounded were drowned out by the savage laughter of the Oni Clan, and the green medical light was completely extinguished, leaving only black blood and bits of flesh smeared across the pristine white ground.