"I won't die!" Ya leaned against the tree trunk to his feet, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "Don't charge head-on!"
Shino didn't rush.
He was never impulsive. The moment his tooth was flung away, his Kikaichū silently swarmed from his sleeve, crawling along the pine needles on the ground towards the Toneri.
Instead of a direct attack, they dispersed, circled, and infiltrated. Hundreds of insects split into a dozen groups and approached simultaneously from different directions. They were not fast, but their advantage was that they were silent.
His tactics were clear: since a frontal attack would be repelled by repulsion, he would erode the insects from all angles simultaneously, and some insects would eventually find a gap.
Toneri looked down at the ground. The tiny black beetles were converging on him, their size blocking all escape routes.
" The Kikaichū of the Aburame Clan," Toneri uttered the name. "The ability to control swarms of insects for attacks with no blind spots is indeed a troublesome ability."
He lifted his foot and lightly stomped on the ground. Emerald green Chakra spread outward from him, forming a ring with a diameter of five meters.
All the Kikaichū within the circular area lost their way at the same moment—they didn't die, but their senses were completely severed.
The swarm of insects circled and collided within the ring, like a group of bees that had lost their queen.
Shino's face beneath his collar was expressionless, but his fingers tightened slightly.
He did not give up, and his hands Hand Seals again. A second wave of Kikaichū poured out from his sleeves. This time, they did not approach the Toneri, but instead wove a huge insect net around him.
The insect webs droop from the tree canopy, rise from the ground, and converge simultaneously from all directions.
Since we can't get close to him, we should block his vision and restrict his movement.
The insect net stopped when it was about two meters away from the Toneri.
The repulsive field held the insect web in place, and the insects struggled to flap their wings but could not advance an inch further.
But Shino had already achieved his goal— Toneri's vision was obscured by the insect web, even if only for a brief moment.
That was enough. As the insect net rose, Kurenai threw out three Shuriken, which shot towards Otsutsuki Toneri's left, right, and above.
The Shuriken grazed through the gaps in the insect net and embedded itself in the tree trunk behind Toneri, trapping him in a triangular formation.
Then, Red's figure slashed in from the front, her Kunai aimed straight for her throat. She was faster than Kiba, and her angle was more cunning than Shino's insect.
This strike was devoid of any fancy moves; it was simply the most direct killing technique honed through countless real battles.
The Toneri raised his hand.
The Kunai pierced his palm, but was blocked by a barrier of emerald green Chakra. The tip of the blade was only an inch away from his palm, but it could not go any further.
"Your Shuriken throwing is very accurate, and your positioning awareness is excellent. But your Kunai power."
Toneri swung his hand back, unleashing a burst of repulsive force.
Hong was thrown back, tumbling twice in the air to dissipate the force, and only managed to regain her balance after taking three steps back upon landing. Her wrists were numb, and the area between her thumb and forefinger was throbbing with pain.
Hinata moved.
She slipped through the gap in the insect net at the same moment the Toneri flicked the red arrow.
With his Byakugan open, the meridians and acupoints on Toneri's body became clearly visible.
Gentle Fist, Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms.
The first palm struck Toneri's shoulder well acupoint, Toneri dodged to the side. The second palm followed closely behind, grazing his robe and leaving a scorch mark on the Chakra.
The third, fourth, and fifth palm strikes rained down in quick succession, each one faster than the last.
Toneri kept retreating.
He wasn't forced to retreat, but rather he was observing. He turned to the side, tilted his head, and moved his feet, each movement perfectly avoiding Hinata's palm strike.
"Your Gentle Fist is very standard, but it seems to lack the determination to kill me. This kind of Gentle Fist can't hit me."
Toneri stopped dodging. He raised his hand, using a repulsive barrier to meet Hinata's palm strike head-on.
The Gentle Fist's Chakra collided with the repulsive field, and the two forces were locked in a stalemate in the air for a moment before Hinata was thrown back. Her back slammed into a cedar tree, and excruciating pain spread from her spine throughout her body.
it hurts!
Hinata forced herself to stand up, wiped a trace of blood from the corner of her mouth, and looked at Otsutsuki Toneri rushing towards her.
Such powerful Chakra!
Hinata had only ever seen such a massive amount of Chakra in three other people.
Madara Uchiha, Shinsei, Naruto Uzumaki.
And now, this is the fourth person.
A person possessing such a massive amount of Chakra is undoubtedly an extremely powerful ninja.
Seeing Otsutsuki Toneri's effortless demeanor, Hinata Hyuga couldn't help but feel a sense of despair. Could she truly defeat such an enemy?
Is this what they call destiny?
If it were him, what would he do?
Hinata couldn't help but think of Shinsei, the boy who was unparalleled among all his peers.
If it were him, would he accept this so-called fate?
No, he won't!
Suddenly, the image of a young boy appeared in Hinata's heart. That handsome boy would only smile and shatter this so-called destiny with his fists!
That's the only technique we can use!
I need some time.
A figure blocked Otsutsuki Toneri's path.
It's Teacher Hong.
"If you want to take my students away, you'll have to step over my dead body!"
Kurenai Yuhi's hands formed Hand Seals in an instant. Her firm and piercing eyes looked at Otsutsuki Toneri.
Genjutsu, Gold Binding Kill!
The Toneri paused, frozen in place. His limbs seemed bound by invisible chains, and he remained Fudo.
Without hesitation, Kurenai gripped her Kunai and charged forward, the blade tip aimed at the Toneri's throat.
She didn't hold back; against an enemy of this caliber, holding back would be tantamount to suicide.
Kunai as the kunai was about to strike his skin, Toneri suddenly raised his hand.
A palm struck Hong's right shoulder, the sound of bones shattering clearly audible.
Hong was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into a cedar tree that snapped in half. She slid to the ground, her right arm hanging limply, and a mouthful of blood gushed from her mouth.
Toneri flexed his wrists and a very faint smile appeared on his face.
" Genjutsu, a low-level Ninjutsu. It creates illusions by interfering with the opponent's Chakra."
"Those with the Byakugan can see through Chakra flow naturally and have extremely strong resistance to Genjutsu. Do you think I, with the Tenseigan, would be fooled by your low-level Genjutsu?"
Hong wanted to answer, but a mouthful of blood welled up and blocked her throat.
She could only support herself on the ground with her left hand as she tried to stand up, but her legs trembled so much that they couldn't support her weight.
Toneri stopped looking at her and turned to Hinata.
What else do you have?
A white whirlwind slammed into him from the side. His Fang Over Fang.
Toneri raised his hand to block, and Ya's body flipped in the air, then bounced up again after landing, crashing into him from another angle.
He was blocked the second time, but the third and fourth times, he was like a bouncing ball that never stops, constantly bouncing, getting up, and rushing forward again.
Akamaru, in sync with his rhythm, attacked simultaneously from the opposite direction. The man and the dog crisscrossed as they charged, weaving a relentless net of attacks around Toneri.
Toneri frowned slightly, and the emerald green repulsive field unfolded again, sending both Kiba and Akamaru flying.
His teeth smashed into a pile of rubble, his leather jacket on the back was torn, and his back was covered in bloodstains.
Akamaru lay beside him, his left foreleg limping, and he was still trembling when he tried to stand up on three legs.