A crimson crystal dragon carried Guren hurtling toward him, her green, fur-collared haori flapping in the wind, the white camellia embroidered at her waist swaying gracefully.
Beautiful as the sight was, it concealed a terrifying killing intent. Crystal Release could not only create crystals but also transform other substances into crystal, so ordinary Water Release, Earth Release, and Wood Release were all ineffective against Guren. Only pure elemental attacks such as Wind Release and Lightning Release could avoid being countered.
Unfortunately, Naoki Senju had only learned Water Release and Wood Release so far, with third-rate Medical Ninjutsu thrown in at most. Guren's Crystal Release was practically his absolute nemesis.
Yet rather than thinking of avoiding the fight, Naoki Senju felt an unprecedented surge of fighting spirit. His adrenaline soared, his mind became exceptionally clear, and he longed to clash with a powerful opponent and experience the thrilling moments of battle.
Humans were strange creatures like that. Even as they feared death, they staked their lives to experience the thrill between life and death. That was why extreme sports were so popular.
And in the shinobi world, almost everyone pursued battle, grew stronger, then continued fighting. Since it could not be avoided, he might as well enjoy it. At that moment, Naoki Senju truly became part of this world!
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall."
Calculating how little chakra he had left, he unleashed his first, relatively simple Water Release ninjutsu.
Guren curled her lips in disdain. This Water Release brat doesn't know his place. He actually dared to blunder into Lord Orochimaru's territory. I absolutely can't let him disturb Lord Orochimaru.
Standing atop the crystal dragon's head, Guren formed hand seals again. The Water Formation Wall Naoki Senju had cast turned into crimson crystal, then shattered into countless tiny, sharp crystal fragments that shot out in every direction.
The open Gobi was instantly covered in beautiful, translucent crystals, with the few available hiding places receiving particular attention. At a glance, the sunlight reflecting off the crystals was blinding.
Guren was in no hurry to search for Naoki Senju, either. The open Gobi was flat, with very few places to conceal oneself. Since he was nowhere around her, he had to be...
Above!
Naoki Senju leaped down from above with a poisoned kunai in hand, his target none other than Guren atop the crystal dragon's head. Yet the ambushed Guren showed no sign of panic and actually formed seals with her right hand alone.
"Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Mirror."
The crystal mirror that suddenly appeared intercepted Naoki Senju's surprise attack perfectly. Then, "Guren" emerged from the mirror little by little, holding a crystal kunai aimed at Naoki Senju's neck.
"You're not a ninja from the Land of Rice Fields. Tell me the truth. Where did you come from, and what's your purpose?"
Held at knifepoint by the Crystal Clone, "Naoki Senju" ignored the kunai pressed against his neck and smashed the Crystal Clone apart with a single punch, sending fine crystal fragments raining down.
But in exchange, the crystal kunai cut a deep wound across the Wood Clone's neck, though not a drop of blood flowed out.
"That's a clone! Where's the original?"
Standing atop the crystal dragon's head, Guren finally grew serious. Such a lifelike clone-even my Crystal Clones can't do that. Only Konoha's Shadow Clones should be capable of it. Is this Water Release brat from Konoha?
Has Konoha discovered Lord Orochimaru, or was he just passing through the Land of Rice Fields?
After thinking for a while, Guren concluded that he was probably just carrying out a mission in the Land of Rice Fields by chance, because Konoha would not send a brat like this to search for Lord Orochimaru.
That made it all the more important not to let this Water Release brat return to Konoha alive. Having made up her mind, Guren quietly formed seals with her left hand behind her back and called out:
"Ninja from Konoha, I'm a jonin from Kusagakure. This was a misunderstanding during a mission. Why don't we stop here?"
Guren scanned her surroundings, trying to find the "Konoha brat," but the only answer she received was a shower of shuriken falling like rain.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."
Faced with the shuriken blotting out the sky, any other ninja would surely have panicked and scrambled to respond. But Guren paid these shuriken no heed at all, and a cold smile spread across her face.
"Found you, Konoha brat."
Her left hand finished forming seals behind her back. Every shuriken within three meters in front of Guren turned into translucent crystal and dropped to the ground. At the same time, two more crystal dragons rose into the air and charged straight toward Naoki Senju's hiding place.
Just as Guren thought victory was assured, another unexpected change occurred. The Wood Clone that the Crystal Clone had badly wounded fell from midair again, landing directly behind Guren. At the same time, multiple thorny vines sprouted from its body, attempting to bind her.
"You're too naive! Attacks like that are useless against my Crystal Release!"
Starting with its vines, the Wood Clone became encased in translucent crystal. Guren did not destroy it outright, because she still did not know what sort of clone it was that could continue attacking after being so badly wounded.
A Konoha ninja would have immediately recognized this as Wood Release ninjutsu-a Wood Clone-and become more vigilant. Unfortunately, Guren was not a Konoha ninja.
With two mournful cries, the two crystal dragons shattered into scattered crystal fragments, and Naoki Senju stepped out from behind his hiding place.
"You bastard!"
Guren formed seals again, consciously putting distance between them. She had completely failed to see how the "Konoha brat" had dealt with the two crystal dragons. In other words, the "Konoha brat" possessed ninjutsu with high burst power, and she absolutely could not get too close.
Seemingly ignoring Guren as she formed seals, Naoki Senju walked toward her with a casual, languid air, speaking to himself:
"Have you heard of datura? Datura contains large quantities of alkaloids such as hyoscyamine and atropine..."
"Damn it, what are you talking about?!"
Unable to understand the technical terms, Guren rudely interrupted Naoki Senju. Left with no choice, he could only explain it in a way she could understand:
"In other words, datura contains a large amount of toxins that can stimulate the spinal reflex system. Datura is also one of the main ingredients in anesthetics, and those vines just now were modified using datura as their basis."
Only then did Guren's expression change drastically. Although her Crystal Release had interrupted the Wood Clone's attack, the thorns on its vines had already pierced her skin.
"Crystal Release..."
Just as Guren tried to mobilize her chakra, she instantly went limp. Without a supply of chakra, the crystal dragon beneath her also broke into crystal fragments and disappeared. Guren fell helplessly from midair. The vines' toxicity far exceeded her expectations; now she could not even adjust her posture as she fell.
Is this the end? Lord Orochimaru...
The heavy impact she expected never came. Instead, she felt as though someone had caught her in their arms, filling her with warmth, but Guren no longer even had the strength to open her eyes.
"You're pretty heavy... Don't be so quick to think about dying. You attacked first this time. I was only forced to defend myself."