Anko had no time to worry about Mizushoku. Komainu's mountain-collapsing, sea-flooding offensive suppressed the two ninja.
"Damn!" Anko cursed under her breath, her gaze sweeping the messy ground, suddenly bending to grab a spear dropped by a Wasabi guard.
Ninja Academy learning—cultural knowledge was one part, jutsu requirements limited only to the Three Basic Techniques. Students spent most time on various taijutsu and ninja tool, weapon training.
However, spears weren't her specialty, but no matter how unproficient, right now she could only rely on the weapon's length advantage to contend with Komainu's blade.
With a low shout, Anko gripped the spear shaft tight, wielding the long spear like a heavy staff, sweeping with all her might.
Komainu's eyes flashed with contempt, his blade slanting upward, precisely striking the spear's middle section.
CLANG—!
In the collision sound, the purple-haired female ninja only felt overwhelming force transmit from the spear body, both arms violently shaking, the long spear nearly slipping from her hands. She staggered back several steps before barely stabilizing, chest heaving violently.
Just as Komainu deflected the spear!
Shizune's left hand flashed like lightning across the special hidden weapon tube on her right arm.
"Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Over a dozen extremely tiny gleaming points almost impossible to detect, like a poisonous bee's stinger, silent yet fast as lightning, from extremely cunning angles, separately shot toward several joints and vital points around Komainu's body! Precisely her refined secret poison senbon!
Komainu's reaction was also extremely fast! He violently spun, the long blade dancing a curtain of cold light before him!
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
Most senbon were precisely deflected and bounced away, sparks flying. Still several senbon cunningly penetrated gaps in the blade light, viciously piercing Komainu's blade-holding right arm outer side, left thigh and waist soft ribs.
Komainu's tall body slightly stalled, movements pausing for an instant. He looked down expressionlessly at that small senbon embedded nearly halfway into flesh on his arm, and the ominous dark purple circle rapidly spreading around the wound. He extended his left hand, two fingers like iron pincers, precisely gripping the senbon tail, violently pulling!
Tssss!
A stream of thin black blood sprayed out with the senbon!
The dark purple around the wound spread at visible speed, blood vessels under the skin presenting eerie blue-black color.
"This is poison senbon, specially formulated nerve paralysis toxin. You can't dispel it."
Shizune's taut nerves relaxed slightly, her gaze unconsciously glancing toward where Itachi fiercely battled Gaishoku, judging whether support was needed.
"Shizune-senpai! Watch out!!"
Anko's horrified shriek rang like thunder!
Shizune's pupils suddenly contracted, violently turning her head! She saw Komainu's weathered face showing not half a trace of poisoning pain or panic! Both eyes still like cold pools, only indifference! As if the spreading dark purple didn't exist at all.
The blood-stained long blade, carrying even more decisive killing intent than before, chopped straight down toward Shizune's head!
How is this possible?!
This scene defying reason made Shizune's brain instantly blank! The slight delay from long absence from ninja ranks became a fatal opening at this moment!
She only had time to block with a kunai above her head, simultaneously straining to leap backward!
CLANG—!!! CRACK!
Ear-piercing metal breaking sound and bone's wail rang simultaneously!
The long blade shattered the kunai, momentum reduced but still viciously slashing Shizune's hastily raised right arm. The hidden weapon tube shattered like paper, the blade edge deeply embedding into arm bone, emitting teeth-grinding friction!
"Ughhh—!"
Intense pain made Shizune's vision blacken. Fortunately with kunai and hidden weapon tube protection, though Shizune's right arm was severely injured, the blade only cut to bone, unable to cleave her person and hand into two halves.
Even so, the right arm injury immediately cost Shizune more than half her combat capability!
At this time, the slug on Shizune's body erupted with even more powerful chakra, supporting her body, healing her injuries.
Anko's eyes blazed with fury, treating the spear in hand as a javelin, using all her strength to hurl it viciously toward Komainu's back. Simultaneously—
"Hidden Shadow Multi-Snake Hands!"
Ten thick venomous snakes shot from her sleeves, fangs bared, viciously biting toward Komainu's neck and blade-holding right arm. The offensive was fierce, carrying long-suppressed rage!
Komainu seemed to have eyes in his back! He didn't even glance at the whistling spear, only slightly sidestepping, letting the spear tip tear his haori. As for the biting venomous snakes, he completely ignored them!
Puff! Puff!
The snakes' fangs viciously embedded into flesh!
Komainu's throat emitted a low, beast-like roar! He completely ignored the snakes biting his body, eyes only remaining on the severely wounded Shizune on the ground! The long blade raised again, target pointing directly at Shizune's vulnerable neck!
Ten snakes were pulled taut under Komainu's violent movements, enormous pulling force dragging Anko. She bit her teeth, maintaining the jutsu, restraining Komainu's movements.
Komainu's blade swing was stalled by this sudden enormous pulling force! The blade edge dangerously swept past less than half a foot from Shizune's neck!
Shizune seized this hair's breadth survival chance, forcibly enduring heart-tearing pain and dizziness from blood loss. Her left hand wrapped in green chakra, she unhesitatingly pressed her palm on her right hand's wound.
"Mystical Palm Technique!"
Supported by the shoulder slug's transmitted vast sea-tide-like pure chakra, the Mystical Palm's radiance blazed unprecedentedly bright! Severed blood vessels were forcibly reconnected and sealed at visible speed, torn muscle tissue frantically wriggled and regenerated under powerful life force! The blood torrent was almost stopped within seconds!
The wound rapidly healed, Shizune's face pale as paper, body uncontrollably trembling slightly.
Even more chilling was Komainu.
Wounds at neck and arm, enlarged by pulling, were bleeding. Toxin under the skin stubbornly spreading, even making half his face present eerie blue-black.
But the man himself seemed completely unable to feel pain—a killing weapon ignoring wounds and deadly poison.
Even those eyes' cold indifference showed no change, movements showing no delay!
Komainu tore away the snakes on his body, Anko thrown to the ground.
The samurai raised his blade again, target still the weak Shizune!
Victory's scales, under Komainu's inhuman performance, irretrievably tilted toward despair's abyss.
Komainu's long blade, carrying termination's will, again tore through air, slashing toward Shizune!
Just as that icy blade edge was about to touch the hair before Shizune's forehead—
A figure abruptly, without warning, appeared between Shizune and the life-taking blade!
No earth-shattering momentum, no ten-thousand-zhang radiance entrance. The instant he appeared, one foot precisely, carrying ten-thousand-jun force, viciously stomped down!
CLANG—BOOM!!!!
A deafening roar seemingly about to overturn the entire courtyard suddenly erupted!
That foot covered with ninja footgear didn't stomp the ground, but like Mount Tai pressing down, firmly and solidly stepping on Komainu's katana blade body descending like thunderbolt!
With that stomping point as center, a ring of condensed to extreme circular air blast violently exploded! Flagstones underfoot as if suffering meteorite impact, instantly cracking, pulverizing, collapsing! Spider-web cracks frantically spreading several meters away!
Time seemed frozen at this moment.
Komainu's eternally ice-sealed face showed violent distortion for the first time!
His blade-holding right arm muscles bulged like iron, veins standing out one by one, trying to withdraw or press down that stomped blade!
However, the force on the blade body like roots in earth—heavy, vast, utterly immovable! No matter how he mobilized strength, that blade that once slaughtered countless, actually seemed cast under the opponent's foot!
Smoke and shattered stone slowly drifted down.
The figure blocking before Shizune, single foot steadily stepping on the blade body.
He slightly turned his head, revealing half a young yet terrifyingly calm face, gaze sweeping over the shocked Shizune behind him and struggling-to-rise Anko.
"Sorry I'm late."
The gentle voice instantly dispelled that suffocating despair.
He met Komainu's eyes that had completely transformed into crimson ferocity from rage and alarm.
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild