Ebara retraced his steps.
A few paces in, he met pursuers.
Thirty-odd ninjas, led by Flame Shadow Tomo Hikari, charged toward him.
Seeing Ebara return alone, Tomo didn't hesitate, leading his men straight at him.
"Let's play," Ebara said, diving into the crowd.
He grabbed a ninja's stabbing hand and twisted.
"Ah!" the ninja screamed, his wrist bent 180 degrees, nearly merging with his arm.
Ebara snatched the falling kunai, holding it to his chest.
Clang!
Metal clashed as a long sword struck the kunai, sparking brilliantly.
Nagano Soku, one of Yoen's top ninjas, second only to Tomo.
When his strike missed, Nagano flicked his wrist, aiming the sword at Ebara's neck.
Ebara, anticipating it, ducked just in time.
His kunai thrust toward Nagano's chest.
Nagano didn't dodge, as if blind to it.
At the last second, a yellowish armor coated Nagano.
Snap!
The kunai broke against it.
"Earth Style: Rock Armor!" Tomo's voice rang out.
Unlike Nagano, a close-combat expert, Tomo excelled at ninjutsu.
One led the charge, the other covered—perfect synergy, letting Yoen survive between great nations.
In that moment, Nagano repositioned, his sword slashing down like a mountain cleaver.
"Substitution Jutsu!"
Ebara vanished, replaced by a rock, which Nagano sliced cleanly in half.
Nagano and Tomo scanned for Ebara.
Spotting him ahead, they charged with their ninjas.
"Say hi to your doctor for me!" Ebara said, hands flashing through seals in under half a second.
"Earth Style: Earth Spear!"
Rock-like spears erupted under the ninjas' feet.
Caught off guard, many were pierced—legs, stomachs, chests.
Some were hit so badly they'd never recover.
Only Nagano, Tomo, and a few chunin dodged.
"Not bad," Ebara said, nodding approvingly.
"How about this one?"
His hands formed the final seal.
"Earth Style: Mountain Earth Jutsu!"
Rumble!
The ground shook.
Nagano, Tomo, and their ninjas stumbled, forced to stop.
"What's that?" a chunin cried, staring at the road's sides.
Two massive, twenty-meter-wide hemispheres, like earthen hills, had appeared.
Worse, they rolled toward them with crushing force.
Too vast, too fast to dodge.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Dragon Bullet!"
"Yoen Sword Style: Mountain Might!"
Tomo and Nagano unleashed their trump cards.
A barrel-thick lightning dragon surged from Tomo, striking the right hemisphere.
Boom!
It only kicked up dust, vanishing instantly.
Simultaneously, Nagano's sword slashed the other hill with unstoppable force.
The rolling stopped.
Nagano and Tomo grinned.
But then, the hills rolled faster.
"Fire Style: Flame Ball!"
"Water Style: Wave Crash!"
"Wind Style: Gust Flow!"
"Earth Style…"
The other ninjas finished their seals, bombarding the hills.
Their jutsu were like eggs against stone, unable to slow or damage them.
The hills closed in, leaving a five-centimeter gap.
The ninjas were squeezed, nearly flattened.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed from the wounded, staining the hills red.
Nagano and Tomo fared little better, desperately channeling chakra for ninjutsu or swordplay to escape.
Futile.
The thick hills crushed their breath, let alone their hopes.
"This high-level Earth Style is something else!" Ebara said, satisfied.
With enough mastery and chakra, it could trap tailed beasts.
With Mu's power (Chapter 51), crushing two jonin and some chunin was child's play.
Ignoring Tomo's group, Ebara headed to the other battlefield.
A figure flew toward him—Jiraiya.
By sheer coincidence, Jiraiya landed in a sliding kneel before Ebara.
Ebara laughed. "Knew I was coming to save you, so you're giving me a grand bow? Good son!"
"Get lost, you skirt-chaser!" Jiraiya snapped, swatting Ebara's hand from his head.
"Who said I ditched you? I'm back, aren't I?"
Jiraiya stood, his gaze caught by the massive hills.
Then he saw Tomo and the others, trapped and immobile.
"Took them down easy, huh? How's your side?" Ebara asked.
Jiraiya's ease at Ebara's strength (Chapter 51) wasn't surprising anymore.
"Pretty much handled," Jiraiya said vaguely.
His lie was exposed instantly.
Yoen ninjas, led by two jonin, chased him.
One jonin, face bloodied, limped heavily, as if his leg was injured.
His face flushed with shame and rage.
Spotting Jiraiya, he roared, "Shobi Saiji, don't run! I'll make you feel what it's like to get stabbed!"
Jiraiya: "…"
Ebara understood why Jiraiya slid in that way.