Under the spiraling force of the Rasengan, the attacks of the five Sand shinobi were instantly deflected, throwing them off balance.
In the next second, Veigar's short blade flashed once more.
Shhh—
A razor-thin wave of pressure burst forth from the blade, slicing through the air with a hiss. The blade's edge, sharpened by invisible energy, was nearly impossible to guard against.
Pfft. Pfft. Pfft…
"Ah—"
"Ah! Agh—!"
"Aaagh—!"
In less than a second, all five of Veigar's attackers let out final cries of agony and collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
"This is impossible!"
Tanjiro, who had been dodging incoming iron pellets, turned pale with shock. He had never imagined that the Veigar who had been surrounded just a heartbeat ago could transform into a feral beast, baring his fangs in a brutal counterattack.
Teleportation Jutsu.
Veigar, having just slain the Sand shinobi, remained in peak condition. Without hesitation, he cast Teleportation Jutsu, darting through the escape path created by Gamajay, reuniting with the toad and landing squarely atop his head.
"You've done well, Gamajay."
The moment Veigar landed on him, Gamajay turned and leapt away at full speed, his immense bounds something ordinary shinobi had no hope of matching.
"It's my duty, Veigar-sama!"
Veigar, panting slightly, hadn't seen Gamajay in some time, and it seemed like the toad wasn't quite as dimwitted as he remembered.
He was wrong.
Gamajay was still Gamajay, when it came time to be foolish, he never failed to deliver.
"Veigar-sama, it's been ages since you summoned me to play."
"Did you forget about me?"
"Did you… find someone new?"
Veigar raised a hand to his forehead, half-tempted to smack the idiotic toad beneath him.
Someone new, my ass.
They were literally still being hunted, and this toad wanted playtime?
Only Gamajay would bring up nonsense like this mid-escape.
Was this really something a battle toad would say?
Ignoring Gamajay's nonsense, Veigar kept his eyes on their pursuers.
Though Gamajay's jumps covered great distance, and ordinary shinobi would have no chance of catching up, speed-specialized or jōnin-level enemies were a different matter entirely.
Like Tanjiro.
"Don't even think about escaping."
Seeing Gamajay, Tanjiro became even more convinced, Veigar had to be one of Konoha's hidden prodigies.
After all, only a select few could summon the toads of Mount Myōboku. Apart from Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin, there was only the famed Minato Namikaze in recent memory.
And now… Veigar.
Another Konoha shinobi who could summon the Myōboku toads.
Gritting his teeth, Tanjiro led the charge after Gamajay. Behind him were one jōnin, a special jōnin, and three Chūnin from the Sand proficient in high-speed combat.
"Gamajay, faster!"
Glancing at the pursuers rapidly closing in, Veigar urged Gamajay on, then immediately began weaving hand signs.
Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Two shadow clones of Veigar appeared atop Gamajay's head.
Wind Release: Multi Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Veigar cast Wind Release: Shuriken, while his two clones simultaneously performed Multi Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.
In an instant, more than twenty wind-infused shuriken hurtled toward Tanjiro and his team.
Whssh. Whssh. Whssh—
Charging at the front, Tanjiro barely slowed. Twisting his body, he nimbly evaded the barrage of Wind Shuriken.
His allies, however, weren't so lucky.
Special Jōnin Sahara Ryūsei, seeing the storm of shuriken, stepped up to shield his teammates, raising an earthen wall in a flash.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
But Ryūsei's barrier was no match for Veigar's enhanced shuriken. With chakra ten times stronger than most, and Wind Release's inherent cutting power, Veigar's shuriken were easily beyond A-rank in destructive force.
The earth wall crumbled like soft tofu.
"Ah—!"
Ryūsei, having just leapt in front of the attack, was the first casualty, his body sliced nearly in half from shoulder to hip.
"Gah! Aagh!"
Two more Sand shinobi fell, one dead, the other missing an arm.
Only one jōnin and one Chūnin remained unscathed. Witnessing the carnage, they halted pursuit, choosing instead to watch Tanjiro press on alone.
"Damn brat…"
Tanjiro didn't need to look back to know his comrades had fallen. Cursing Veigar under his breath, he pushed himself harder, burning chakra to double his speed.
Gamajay touched down again, preparing for another leap, only for Tanjiro to suddenly appear midair, kunai in reverse grip, diving straight toward Veigar.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
Veigar, anticipating the strike, cast Wind Release: Great Breakthrough simultaneously with his two clones.
A triple-layered gale erupted, slamming into Tanjiro mid-flight and blasting him away.
Boom!
Gamajay leapt again, carrying Veigar to safety as the two clones vanished, their chakra depleted.
No time to waste. Veigar shoved two Soldier Pills into his mouth, trying to recover as much chakra as possible.
Tanjiro hit the ground hard but quickly climbed back to his feet, eyes locked on the distant figures of Veigar and Gamajay.
"You're not… getting away!"
With a shout, he vanished from his position and resumed the chase.
Not long after, Gamajay caught up with Shikatsu, Jun, and Nanaki, whom he had dropped off earlier.
A massive shadow passed overhead, landing just in front of them.
Seeing Veigar and Gamajay, the trio broke into relieved smiles. Jun even called out joyfully:
"Captain Veigar! You're okay?!"
"That's such a relief!"
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