"Boom!"
The moment Shin'un looked up, the tiger-shaped puppet didn't waste any words, and its two huge claws, stained with blood and flesh, slammed down on his head.
Damn it!
Shin'un stared wide-eyed at the enormous claws slowly approaching in his eyes. His Chakra flowed unconsciously, and a layer of dim electricity quickly appeared and swirled around his entire body as he entered the Lightning Body Flicker state.
With a swift movement, Shin'un twisted his body, using the lightning-fast speed brought by his Lightning Body Flicker to escape the attack range of the tiger claws above his head.
But just as Shin'un bent his knees and was about to jump away from his spot, he suddenly realized something and couldn't help but look back.
"Watch out!"
"Whoosh~"
"Whoosh!"
"..."
Within the slowed field of vision created by [ Extreme Reaction ], Shin'un could clearly see that most of the dozen or so Konoha Ninja behind him, including Hyuga Daisuke, had already reacted and collectively used Body Flicker Technique to dodge the Tiger Puppet's attack.
Unfortunately, based on Shin'un's observations, only those Konoha Ninja like Hyuga Daisuke who sensed the attack beforehand, or those positioned on the periphery of the attack, were able to escape the tiger claw attack from above.
Apart from Shin'un himself, based on Shin'un current observation, none of the dozen or so Konoha Ninja within the tiger claw's attack range will escape.
"Really..." Noticing this, Shin'un straightened his knees, which had been bent in preparation for jumping away, and quickly brought his hands together.
As the leader of this team, Shin'un naturally couldn't stand by and watch his subordinates die in front of him, within his power.
"Is there no other way but to tough it out?"
Looking up, Shin'un saw two large tiger claws slamming down from the sky. In a flash, he decided to abandon defensive Ninjutsu that would only allow him to passively take hits, and instead begin preparing more proactive offensive Ninjutsu.
Once the thought was made up, Shin'un acted swiftly, using the extreme speed brought by his Lightning Body Flicker state to almost become a phantom as he Hand Seals.
Lightning Release: Great Lightning Spear!
As the Chakra within his body rapidly evaporated, the enormous Lightning Spear formed from the ferocious and violent electric current on Shin'un's right arm instantly solidified.
Raising his head, Shin'un looked at the massive tiger paw that was thundering down on him from above. He slightly bent his knees and, maintaining his Lightning Body Flicker posture, leaped into the air.
"BOOM!!!"
The next moment, a huge thunderclap and shockwave were generated, sweeping outwards and blowing away countless raindrops falling from above, creating an area shrouded in smoke and dust in the downpour.
"What! What is Jonin Hirakawa planning to do?"
Not far away, Hyuga Daisuke, who had already escaped the tiger's paw's reach, saw with his Byakugan that had been activated in his eye sockets the Hand Seals that Shin'un performed throughout, which were like a phantom, as well as the huge Lightning Spear that appeared on Shin'un's arm in an instant.
Before Hyuga Daisuke could figure out Hirakawa Shin'un's intention in using Lightning Release, the ferocious Lightning Spear and the giant tiger paw had already collided.
As the shockwave from the battle between Hirakawa Shin'un and the giant tiger puppet hurtled toward him, Hyuga Daisuke instinctively placed his arms in front of his face and pushed off with his feet to block the fierce shockwave.
"Phew~~~"
"Whoa!!!"
Gritting his teeth, Hyuga Daisuke stood firm in the wind and waves like a stubborn rock, his clothes flapping loudly in the wind.
"No matter what, it's just a single exchange that created such a powerful shockwave, almost like a C-rank Wind Release technique... that's just ridiculous..."
Having regained his footing, Hyuga Daisuke was secretly surprised.
"In a battle of this caliber, ordinary Jonin would have no chance of intervening!"
Despite his surprise, Hyuga Daisuke didn't forget to keep his Byakugan open to maintain his ability to observe the battle ahead.
What made Hyuga Daisuke anxious was that, perhaps because of the collision between Hirakawa Daisuke's ferocious Lightning Spear and the tiger's paw, the air currents in front of him were mixed with wisps of Lightning Release Chakra like electric currents.
These fragments of Lightning Release Chakra mixed with the Chakra of Hirakawa Shin'un and the Giant Tiger Puppet he was fighting ahead, severely interfering with his observation of the area ahead.
"Tch~"
Hyuga Daisuke couldn't help but open his mouth and scoff to express his emotions, but the blast of air in front of him directly stirred up the mud on the ground, filling his mouth with colorful mud.
"Ptooey... cough cough!"
Spitting out the food in his mouth, Hyuga Daisuke pondered to himself.
"What's going on? Judging from Lord Hirakawa's Lightning Body Flicker speed and his usual reflexes, he shouldn't have been unable to dodge the giant tiger puppet's attack."
Why stay put and directly confront the giant tiger puppet's powerful attack?
"I don't understand..."
As he pondered, Hyuga Daisuke remained filled with doubt, and could only stand still, maintaining his Byakugan as he observed forward.
"Ah~~~"
"Forehead!!!"
Suddenly, a human-like object was seen being swept up by the wind and waves, rolling out from the center of the most violent storm ahead.
Seeing this, Hyuga Daisuke's eyes lit up. If he remembered correctly, the Genin who had been blown out by the waves had been standing not far behind Hirakawa Shin'un.
This reminded him that Hirakawa Shin'un wasn't the only one standing in that area, but probably only a few people, including himself, were able to escape from that giant tiger's paw in time.
"Is that so?" Hyuga Daisuke's doubts vanished, replaced by a hint of respect for Hirakawa Shin'un, who was fighting the giant tiger puppet ahead.
"Was it because of the Konoha Ninja behind them who couldn't escape the attack that they went head-to-head with that giant tiger puppet?"
Thinking this, Hyuga Daisuke opened his Byakugan and looked at the battleground not far away, hoping that after those few short seconds, the Lightning Release Chakra floating in the air around him that was obscuring his vision would have dissipated, and he could use his Byakugan to see the result of the brief battle between Hirakawa Shin'un and the giant tiger puppet not far ahead.
"Please don't let anything happen..."
Hyuga Daisuke frowned, thinking earnestly.
After all, the two fighters were not even in the same weight class.
Although Hirakawa Shin'un has shown great strength when fighting ordinary ninjas in the past, this time his opponent is a giant puppet from the Sand Ninja.
No matter how you look at it, Hirakawa Shin'un's close-range fight with the giant tiger puppet feels like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
After realizing that Hirakawa Shin'un was only staying behind to engage the giant tiger puppet at a disadvantage because of the other Konoha Ninja around him, his attitude towards Hirakawa Shin'un changed from respect to admiration.
Whether from his heart or from reality, he absolutely did not want Hirakawa Shin'un, the leading genius of Konoha's new generation, to have any accidents here.
Moreover, if something were to happen to Hirakawa Shin'un here, who would deal with the giant tiger puppet?
Although there are hundreds of Konoha Ninja behind him, this giant tiger-shaped puppet in front of him is doomed to die today...
My thoughts are a jumbled mess, but they can all be summed up in one sentence.
" Lord Hirakawa can't get into trouble!"