Encounter and Battle
The group left the cave and went to Uzumaki Hane's house. They went straight inside and waited for Uzumaki Hane.
The five of them remained in the training ground when Suzuki suddenly spoke up, "Lady Guren, what if Uzumaki Hane discovers our presence and stops showing up?"
Guren looked at Suzuki and said, "Then what do you think we should do?" Guren thought to herself, if Uzumaki Hane really hid, it would be really difficult for them to find him.
Seeing that Guren was already somewhat tempted, Suzuki continued, "The Priestess of the Land of Demons is someone close to Uzumaki Hane. If we capture her, we won't have to worry about Uzumaki Hane not coming out."
Although somewhat reluctant, Guren wanted to complete Orochimaru's orders as quickly as possible, so she nodded in agreement.
He shouted to those behind him, "Gozu, go to the Land of Demons and bring that priestess back!"
A burly man stepped forward and respectfully said, "Yes, Lady Guren." Then, he quickly left.
Meanwhile, below the platform in the crater, scalding magma was slowly flowing. Suddenly, the magma churned violently, and Uzumaki Hane leaped out, creating a wave of magma. Uzumaki Hane landed steadily on the stone steps and slowly walked onto the platform.
Just now, when Guren and the others arrived, Uzumaki Hane was cultivating in the lava. Sensing someone approaching, Uzumaki Hane's first thought was that Shion had sent people. However, those soldiers wouldn't enter this area, and Shion wouldn't be coming anytime soon. So, the most likely explanation was that the enemy had come looking for them. He just didn't know if it was Danzo's people or Akatsuki's. Uzumaki Hane Fudō and slowly concealed himself in the lava, wanting to gather any information.
Uzumaki Hane stepped onto the platform, walked straight into the passage, and left the crater. She immediately sensed the presence of people inside the house; it seemed they were waiting for her. Disdaining to ambush them, Uzumaki Hane headed directly towards the house.
As soon as Uzumaki Hane appeared, Guren noticed her, stood up abruptly, and headed for the door. Her two subordinates followed suit, glancing warily in Uzumaki Hane's direction before slowly emerging from Guren house. Finally, Suzuki, completely unaware of what was happening, realized Uzumaki Hane had returned upon seeing Guren and the others leave and followed them out. At this moment, Uzumaki Hane came into view, and Suzuki whispered, "That's Uzumaki Hane."
Guren's face revealed a dangerous expression as she sized up Uzumaki Hane. Meanwhile, the two subordinates behind her already had a bloodthirsty look in their eyes.
Meanwhile, Uzumaki Hane was also sizing up the group in front of him. He spotted Suzuki immediately, surprised to encounter him here. This time, he wouldn't let him escape; a murderous glint flashed in Uzumaki Hane's eyes. However, Suzuki was the weakest among them. Uzumaki Hane's main attention was focused on the woman at the front, who posed the greatest threat. Observing the woman's appearance and clothing, Uzumaki Hane guessed, "If I'm not mistaken, you should be Orochimaru's subordinate, a ninja from Otogakure. Why are you allied with Danzo's people?"
Guren looked at Uzumaki Hane with some surprise and said, "Oh, you know me. But Orochimaru is very interested in you, so I came to take you back."
Uzumaki Hane remained noncommittal, saying, "Orochimaru is interested in me, but I'm more interested in your Crystal Release. I've heard you're skilled in Crystal Release, able to crystallize all sorts of things. Today, let me see just how strong your Crystal Release is."
Guren's lips curled up, her entire body surrounded by shimmering crystal particles, and she said, "You even know this? It seems I can't let you leave today."
"Crystal Release: Crystal Shuriken!" With rapid movements of her hands, countless shimmering, snowflake-shaped crystal Shuriken, under Guren's control, danced towards Uzumaki Hane like snowflakes.
Uzumaki Hane's right hand instantly transformed into lava, erecting a Magma Wall in front of him to block the incoming crystal Shuriken. Cracks appeared on the Magma Wall as it was struck, and it was eventually shattered by the countless crystal Shuriken. The remaining Uzumaki Hane Shuriken continued to fly towards Chakra, Uzumaki Hane reserves were instantly filled with power. Having frequently trained in Chakra Enhanced Strength, Uzumaki Hane Yu's Chakra control had also greatly improved, allowing him to execute the attack with ease.
With swift movements of her hands, Uzumaki Hane Yu deflected the incoming crystal Shuriken. As the Shuriken continued to rain down, Uzumaki Hane nimbly dodged the swirling snowflakes.
Immediately after, Uzumaki Hane unleashed two punches at Guren, two Rock Fist attacking the group.
Seeing the Rock Fist hurtling towards her, Guren had no choice but to stop attacking. Her figure flashed quickly, dodging the Rock Fist. Bang, bang, two large lava craters were left on the ground, emitting black smoke.
Uzumaki Hane naturally wouldn't let Guren go so easily, and quickly rushed towards Guren.
Suddenly, Uzumaki Hane felt several whooshing sounds behind her. Looking up, she saw several huge crystal pillars falling from the sky. Judging by their speed, they could easily smash a person into mincemeat.
Uzumaki Hane's figure flashed, constantly dodging the crystal pillars. Bang, bang, bang, several deep craters were smashed into the ground.
While in mid-air, Uzumaki Hane's hands instantly transformed into lava, unleashing countless Lava Shuriken that shot towards Guren and the others.
Guren looked at the still-smoking crater on the ground, knowing the extreme heat of the lava, and naturally wouldn't defend herself bare-handed. "Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Blade!" Guren's hands were surrounded by shimmering crystal particles, and a blue crescent-shaped crystal blade immediately appeared in her hands.
Guren swiftly swung her hands, deflecting the Lava Shuriken one by one, while simultaneously using her feet to push off and avoid the attack range of the Lava Shuriken.
Suzuki had no time to dodge Uzumaki Hane's Lava Shuriken. He held a Kunai in each hand and tried to block the Lava Shuriken, but there were too many. Suzuki's right hand was accidentally hit, and he groaned Kunai his kunai fell to the ground. Without his right hand, Suzuki was even more unable to defend himself. Soon, he was stabbed repeatedly and fell to the ground with a scream.
Behind Guren, two of her subordinates suddenly swelled up and transformed into two monsters.
A monster was covered in grotesque bone spikes, and its hands had transformed into sharp bone knives. It swung its bone knives rapidly to deflect the incoming Lava Shuriken. The bone knives were already showing signs of burning, but this only provoked the monster, causing it to let out a bloodthirsty roar.
The other monster was over two meters tall, its body oozing an unknown substance that transformed into a thick layer of armor, enveloping it. Its right hand transformed into a massive cannon, which it carried on its shoulder. Lava Shuriken struck the monster, all blocked by the armor, but soon the armor began to smoke, showing signs of burning. The monster, however, remained unfazed. It aimed its shoulder cannon at Uzumaki Hane, and with a deafening boom, the cannonball exploded directly in front of Uzumaki Hane.