Seeing that the Sunagakure Jonin beyond dead, Shin'un immediately felt relieved and left the pit.
Feeling the fact that nearly a third of the Chakra accumulated in his body over the past month had been wasted in his previous reckless squandering, Shin'un felt a pang of heartache.
"The bulk of the chakra consumed was still from the initial Lightning Release: Lightning Pillar; it accounted for the majority of the one-third of the Chakra used."
While making plans in his mind, Shin'un controlled the excess Chakra in his body to flow back into his Qi Sea space, leaving only the normal level of Chakra in his body.
The Chakra in the Qi Sea is ultimately accumulated bit by bit, and it's like a trump card in crucial moments.
Before the [ Qi Sea ] skill's ability to absorb Natural Energy to replenish Chakra is activated, it's best to conserve the Chakra within it.
Using Chakra in such a near-wasteful way, one can only experience it briefly.
As a ninja, one cannot develop the habit of Chakra recklessly.
While it does feel really good to recklessly squander Chakra...
"Boom!"
A short, sharp explosion suddenly rang out in the distance.
Shin'un immediately looked toward the forest where the sound came from.
If nothing unexpected happens, the one fighting there will be either Yūichi or Shiina Kō.
Shin'un had just taken a step, intending to go and help his teammates, when he saw movement coming from the forest again.
This time it was a broad water blade shaped like a full moon.
The water blade shot out from the dense forest, stained with bright red blood. After slicing through several thick trees, it still traveled a great distance with undiminished power, striking the ground not far from Shin'un.
After a soft, muffled thud, a fairly deep crater immediately appeared on the spot.
Upon seeing the familiar water blade, Shin'un immediately understood.
The one who fought the Sand Ninja earlier should be Shiina Kō.
Orochimaru specially modified her Ninjutsu, making it unique in the entire Shinobi World, resembling a full moon, carrying immense power while also possessing a sharp and broad water blade.
It is an upgrade based on Water Release: Round Slash, with special enhancements to impact, sharpness, and attack range.
According to Shin'un's assessment, in terms of both power and difficulty, the modified Water Release: Round Cut Slash completely surpasses the original C-rank Ninjutsu; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a completely new Water Release Ninjutsu.
Unfortunately, while Orochimaru was enthusiastic about modifying Ninjutsu, he became quite lazy when it came to naming it.
At that moment, under Shiina Kō's expectant gaze, Orochimaru named this brand-new Water Release Ninjutsu " Water Release: Great Circle Slash".
"Crunch~ Crunch~"
As the sound of footsteps crunching on dry branches rang out, Shiina Kō's figure appeared.
He held a Sunagakure head in his right hand and the upper half of another Sunagakure Chunin's body in his left.
Noticing that Shin'un was right in front of him, Shiina Kō immediately smiled and spoke.
" Shin'un!"
Although he was already used to it, Shin'un still couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine when he saw Shiina Kō, who was holding his head in one hand and half of Sunagakure's Shiina Kō, laughing and calling his name.
Shivering, Shin'un still took the initiative to approach Shiina Kō.
Looking at the Sunagakure corpse, which was only half-dead, Shin'un asked a question.
What's going on?
Shiina Kō walked out of the forest, glanced at the surrounding battle scene, swallowed hard, and then answered.
"Sorry, the Ninjutsu was too powerful; it caused this immediate effect upon impact."
Upon hearing this, Shin'un expressed his understanding and Chunin out the Sunagakure who had died not far away, whose lower body had also disappeared.
Same, same.
"This is different..."
Shiina Kō pointed to the huge, hundred-meter-long mark left by the Lightning Pillar.
He said, with a slight stutter:
"The power is completely different; they're not even in the same league."
"You..."
Shin'un saw Shiina Kō staring blankly at the marks left by the Lightning Pillar. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Yūichi shout from the other side.
"This... this... this!"
Upon hearing this sound, Shin'un turned his head to the other side and saw Yūichi appear carrying two Sunagakure heads, staring at the huge mark left by the Lightning Pillar with a look of astonishment, his mouth wide open, his chin almost touching his chest.
Shin'un glanced at Shiina Kō beside him, whose expression was complicated, and then at Yūichi, who looked utterly astonished. He helplessly rubbed his forehead, feeling speechless.
The feeling of briefly transforming into a humanoid turret by unleashing the Lightning Pillar was exhilarating, but explaining it to my teammates now is proving difficult.
"Alright, now's not the time to be surprised."
"Don't forget, our mission is to bring our target to the border of the Land of Fire and wait for Lord White Fang."
"Furthermore, we don't yet know if there are other Sunagakure pursuers behind us, so it's best to leave as soon as possible."
Shin'un decided to stop explaining and instead use his authority as captain to lead the two away from there.
" Kō-chan, call our security personnel out."
Shin'un's previous authority as captain came into play. Although he was still puzzled, Shiina Kō obediently took out a small whistle from his vest pocket.
He brought the Shiina Kō to his lips and blew a melody – this was the code.
After discovering the Sand Ninja chasing them, Shin'un told Yakushi Nonō to hide to the side. After the battle ended, the agreed-upon signal was this melody.
After hearing this melody, Yakushi Nonō will naturally appear.
Shiina Kō held up his small whistle, played the melody on repeat several times, and then stopped.
She turned her head and looked again at the shocking traces of the battle.
Shin'un noticed this detail, pondered for a moment, as if realizing something.
His consciousness immersed itself within his body, refining a large amount of Chakra and channeling it into the Qi Sea space in his lower abdomen...
Gradually, the remaining Chakra rapidly dissipated, and Shin'un's face gradually turned pale.
Shin'un only stopped moving Chakra when the amount of Chakra remaining in his body was approaching the red line.
At this moment, Shin'un's face was also quite pale, and he was covered in a cold sweat.
Caught off guard, Shin'un's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
" Shin'un!"
" Shin'un!"
Yūichi and Shiina Kō immediately noticed that something was wrong with Shin'un in front of them, so they put down the Sunagakure corpses they were holding and went to Shin'un's side.
"Damn, I went too far."
Feeling weak all over and dizzy, Shin'un, who had brought this situation upon herself, felt a pang of regret.
" Shin'un, what's wrong?"
Shiina Kō knelt down, cupped Shin'un's head in his hands, placed it on his knees, and asked with concern.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I just used up too much Chakra when I used that Ninjutsu, so I'm a little weak now."
As he spoke, Shin'un looked weak and was panting heavily.
Upon hearing Shin'un's words, Shiina Kō was slightly taken aback, then seemed to think it was only natural, and took out a Military Rations Pill from behind him to feed it to Shin'un.
Shin'un swallowed the Military Rations Pill, but still looked weak.
"This!"
The sound came from the other side, and the group turned to look.
It was the Yakushi Nonō had been hiding her identity all along.
Emerging from the forest and seeing the marks left by the Lightning Pillar, she was clearly surprised, but her composure was far greater. After a brief moment of surprise, she immediately focused her attention on Shin'un.
After all, among everyone present, Shin'un was the only one who could possibly unleash such a powerful Ninjutsu.
With a look of surprise, Yakushi Nonō saw Shin'un lying weakly on the ground.
Seeing Shin'un so weak that he collapsed on the ground, Yakushi Nonō visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and the disbelief on her face lessened.
Although Yakushi Nonō's series of changes were subtle, Shin'un noticed them all.
Seeing her breathe a sigh of relief, Shin'un also breathed a sigh of relief.
He drew Chakra into his Qi Sea, pretending to be nearly depleted of Chakra, just to impress Yakushi Nonō.
After all, once they return to Konoha, Yakushi Nonō will definitely report on everything that happened on the way back.
At that time, the Konoha High Command, headed by the Third Hokage, will surely know that he used a powerful Lightning Release on his return journey, the power of which could reach a hundred meters.
He's only thirteen years old; even the most talented person has their limits.
As the saying goes, being one step ahead makes you a genius, being three steps ahead makes you a monster, but being ten steps ahead makes you a prodigy.
Everything in excess is bad; being treated as a monster can get you beaten to death...
Although he is Orochimaru's disciple, the Hokage's grand-disciple, and one of the most upright members of Konoha.
But it's safer to pretend that you're out of Chakra.
Besides, he was also afraid that the Hokage version of Ōtsutsuki Chenxiang, the historical manipulator who had been hidden for thousands of years, and the omnipresent mastermind behind the scenes— Black Zetsu —would notice him.
What if the other party dislikes me and it might affect his plan to resurrect the Moon Mother, or even organize people to plot against me?
It's best to play it safe.