"I'm fine, Kirito. Why are you here?" Hinata looked up and asked, puzzled.
"Sister-in-law, I promised you I would come to rescue you," Kirito said seriously. "Now Naruto and the others have also arrived, but we got separated."
"Naruto is here too?" Hinata's face filled with joy when she heard Naruto had arrived.
Hinata naturally had deep faith in Naruto's strength, and she firmly believed that Naruto would definitely find a way to rescue her.
As Kirito found Hinata, Sakura and Naruto, with the help of Sai and others, also reunited.
"Where's Kirito? Didn't you find him?" Naruto asked, frowning.
"My insects haven't detected Kirito's information nearby," Shino shook his head.
"I can smell him, but he's far away," Kiba also frowned and said.
"Where is he?" Naruto quickly asked.
"There," Kiba pointed to the distant palace.
Sakura and Naruto's eyes narrowed upon hearing this. It was clearly the place of Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
"How did Kirito get teleported there?" Sakura frowned and said.
"No! We must go find Kirito as soon as possible," Naruto clenched his fists and said. "Hinata should also be there, if nothing unexpected happens. We can just take them both and leave."
"Mhm!" Sakura and the others nodded.
"Let's go!" Naruto no longer hesitated and ran directly towards the palace.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Everyone's speed was very fast, but the palace seemed to be moving with them. No matter how fast they ran, they always remained a certain distance from the palace.
"Damn it, how far is that palace from us? Why don't we get closer!" Kiba cursed angrily.
"This isn't going to work. By the time we get there, we'll probably be out of stamina," Naruto frowned, then looked at Sai.
Sai nodded, then took out a scroll, unrolled it, and quickly began to draw on it.
"Super Beast Scroll: Birds Between Clouds!" Sai formed hand seals, and a large amount of Chakra instantly poured into the scroll.
A giant bird suddenly appeared on the Super Beast Scroll. The bird was black and white all over, as if it had come alive, and flapped its wings, soaring high.
"Screech~" The big bird cried out.
The few people exchanged glances, jumped onto the big bird, and rode it towards the palace.
"Boom!" Just as the big bird was flying towards the palace, a loud bang came from the palace.
"Oh no! Something happened at the palace!" Naruto's expression changed, and he immediately used his Sage Fox Mode, instantly disappearing from the big bird.
"I'm going ahead. You all hurry and catch up!"
Chapter 35: Zanpakuto — Kyoka Suigetsu
"Sister-in-law, don't you have the Byakugan? Why didn't you use it to observe these patrolling puppets and find an opportunity to leave?" Kirito asked Hinata, puzzled.
"I don't know why, but my Byakugan is completely useless here," Hinata said, frowning.
"Is that so?" Kirito nodded, then said, "I've figured out the patrol patterns here. I'll take you out now."
"Okay!" Hinata nodded heavily.
"Go? Go where?" Just then, an eerie voice exploded in Kirito and Hinata's ears.
Hearing this voice, cold sweat trickled down Kirito's back. He stiffly turned around, and what greeted his eyes was Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
"I didn't expect you to find this place," Ōtsutsuki Toneri narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Kirito.
"Draw! Draw!" The moment Kirito saw Ōtsutsuki Toneri, he shouted to the system in his heart.
He didn't know how he was exposed, but that wasn't the most important thing now. He had to draw something useful now.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for drawing a consumable — Crescent Sky Rush!"
Kirito's eyes lit up. Without any hesitation, he used it directly.
A giant phantom of a cleaver appeared in Kirito's hand, and he swung it down at Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
"Crescent Sky Rush!!!" Kirito roared, and a pale blue, crescent-shaped slash was released from the curved blade.
"Whoosh!" The slash tore through the air, heading straight for Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
Toneri's eyes narrowed. He could feel that this slash was not simple. He dared not be negligent and quickly extended his right hand to block in front of his chest.
"Bang!"
The slash hit Toneri's arm, and a powerful force erupted, pushing Toneri back dozens of meters.
"Boom!!!" Toneri's figure crashed into the wall, shattering it into pieces, and debris splattered everywhere.
"Sister-in-law! Let's go!" Kirito grabbed Hinata's small hand, leaped into the air, and then fled towards the outside of the palace.
"Swish, swish, swish!" The puppets also discovered the two and chased after them.
"Kirito, where are we going now?!" Hinata looked worriedly at the puppets chasing behind them and anxiously said to Kirito.
"Let's get out first. Naruto and the others must be rushing here after hearing the commotion," Kirito said as he fled.
"Mhm, okay!" Hinata nodded obediently, then fled with Kirito towards the outside of the palace.
"Pfft!" Toneri's figure slowly stood up from the ruins.
At this moment, Toneri's clothes were disheveled, and blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth.
Enduring the severe pain in his right arm, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Toneri's right hand was already broken, but even more horrifying was the shallow wound that had appeared on his right arm.
"What terrifying attack power!" Toneri's pupils contracted.
He could feel that Kirito was merely a Chunin, but both this time and the last, Kirito had given him an extremely strong sense of danger, even making him feel the threat of death.
"If that move had gone any further, even I would have had to pay a heavy price!" Toneri gritted his teeth, his eyes flickering.
One must know that his strength was also at the Six Paths Realm level. It could be said that apart from Naruto and Sasuke, no one would be his opponent.
"No matter what, I cannot let them leave, or there will be endless trouble," Toneri's eyes were filled with killing intent.
"Swish!" Toneri's figure suddenly appeared at the location where Kirito and Hinata were. Then, he flipped his palm and struck out at Kirito.
"Kirito, be careful!" Hinata's pretty face turned pale with fright as she saw Toneri suddenly appear, and she cried out.
Kirito's eyes also narrowed. He hadn't expected Toneri's speed to be so fast.
"Crescent Sky Rush!!!" Kirito shouted loudly.
Toneri, having been traumatized by Kirito's shout, quickly stopped his movement and dared not attack rashly again, channeling Chakra for defense.
He was afraid; he was afraid that Kirito would use that kind of attack again.
However, Kirito had no "Crescent Sky Rush." That move was just a one-time consumable and could not be used a second time.
Kirito continued to flee, pulling Hinata along, while simultaneously shouting to the system in his heart: "Draw! Draw!"
He still had one draw chance left.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for drawing the Zanpakuto — Kyoka Suigetsu!"
As the system's voice fell, a katana appeared in Kirito's hand.
"Huh?" Kirito was stunned after hearing the system's reward.
Although Kyoka Suigetsu was very strong, arguably one of the strongest Zanpakuto in the Shinigami anime, what he needed now was a high-power skill. This Zanpakuto was useless to him.
Aizen once said that a Shinigami's battle is a battle of spiritual pressure, and spiritual pressure is everything.
The reason why the Kyoka Suigetsu Zanpakuto was so strong in his hands was because of his spiritual pressure. Spiritual pressure could also be said to be this world's Chakra.
He was only a Chunin now. How strong could his spiritual pressure be? Could it hypnotize Toneri, who was at the Six Paths Realm? Could it create illusions and control him?
At this moment, Toneri also realized that Kirito had just been bluffing him and hadn't used any skill at all.
Indeed, he was only a Chunin. How could he continuously use such high-power skills? Using it once would be enough to drain all his Chakra.
Toneri didn't hesitate and continued to chase after Kirito.
Watching Toneri continue to pursue, Kirito gritted his teeth and raised Kyoka Suigetsu.
"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu!" Kirito lightly shouted, and the Chakra from his entire body poured into Kyoka Suigetsu.
As Kirito's words fell, Toneri only felt a blur before his eyes, and then Kirito and Hinata's figures had vanished.
"What's going on? Where are they?" Toneri frowned, his eyes filled with confusion.
Could Hinata's speed be that fast? Or was that Chunin's speed that fast? In just a blink of an eye, the two figures had disappeared.
Seeing Toneri frozen in place, Kirito knew that the other party had fallen for it. He quickly grabbed Hinata's small hand and continued to run.
Now, those puppets were also rapidly approaching them. He had to escape from here as quickly as possible.
"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!" As soon as the two took a step, the puppets also rushed towards them. Hinata didn't hesitate and directly used her ultimate technique.
In an instant, two giant lions appeared on her fists, fiercely colliding with the puppets.
"Boom~" A huge explosion rose in front of the two, and smoke billowed.
"Hmm?" The huge explosion also woke Toneri, who was in the illusion. He looked up and gazed forward.
"An illusion?" Toneri frowned, muttered to himself, and then chased after Hinata and Kirito.
"Oh no! He woke up from the illusion!" Kirito's face changed drastically as he saw Toneri rushing over. Now, he and Hinata were surrounded by puppets, making escape very difficult.
"Bang!" Just as Toneri's attack was about to land on Kirito, a loud bang sounded, followed by a golden light that landed in front of Kirito and Hinata, blocking Toneri's attack.
"You, are you Ōtsutsuki Toneri?" Naruto, enveloped in his Tailed Beast Cloak, looked coldly at Toneri.
Chapter 36: Sakura's Fist
Toneri's eyes narrowed as he saw Naruto enveloped in the Tailed Beast Cloak, his eyes filled with deep apprehension. This aura was even more powerful than his own!
"You two go first, I'll handle him," Naruto turned and said lightly to Kirito and Hinata, his aura growing even larger.
"Mhm!" Hinata nodded heavily, then quickly left with Kirito.
"Stop them!" Toneri's eyes slightly narrowed, and he commanded the surrounding puppets to block Kirito.
"All of you, stay here!" Naruto's nine tails from his Tailed Beast Cloak whipped wildly, forcing all the puppets back. At the same time, his body turned into an afterimage and rushed towards Toneri.
"Bang!" Naruto and Toneri collided, and in an instant, the entire building shook.
"Damn it, this guy is really strong!" Toneri felt as if his wrist was about to dislocate. Naruto was too strong!
And most importantly, he couldn't see Naruto's attack trajectory at all. Whenever he was about to attack Naruto, Naruto would disappear out of thin air, making him unable to attack.
Sweat beaded on Toneri's forehead. He knew this wasn't good; he had to end the fight quickly!
Toneri formed hand seals, and green Chakra quickly covered his entire body. At the same time, nine black orbs also floated around him.
"Truth-Seeking Orbs?" Naruto's eyes narrowed as he saw the nine black orbs around Toneri, showing a look of shock.
"Boom!"
Toneri pushed his single hand forward, and the Truth-Seeking Orbs shot out, directly attacking Naruto.
Naruto dared not be careless. He pushed off with his feet, and his entire body leaped into the sky, dodging the Truth-Seeking Orbs' attack.
"Bang!" The Truth-Seeking Orbs slammed heavily onto the ground, cracking it.
Naruto looked at Toneri, his expression becoming serious. Just as he was about to rush towards Toneri, Toneri suddenly appeared beside him, and then his claw, covered in green Chakra, grabbed at his chest.
Naruto's expression hardened, and he crossed his arms to block Toneri's attack.
However, this claw, covered in green Chakra, actually pierced directly through his arms, and even through his chest.
"Huh? What's going on? Is it similar to Obito's Sharingan?" Naruto was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted. The Chakra in his body was rapidly being devoured by Toneri.
"Not good!" Naruto's face changed drastically. He could feel that the Chakra in his body was rapidly draining away. Even with the Nine-Tailed inside him, he couldn't resist Toneri's devouring. Naruto quickly jumped away, creating some distance from Toneri, and stared at him with sharp eyes.
"Phew, I almost forgot, you're the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki," Toneri exhaled a mouthful of stale air, a glint flashing in his eyes.
"Is this the Nine-Tailed's Chakra? It tastes quite good," Toneri licked his lips, a hint of greed in his eyes. This pure Chakra made him somewhat intoxicated. If he could obtain the Nine-Tailed's Chakra... "Is that so? Then how about I let you taste my fist?" Naruto's eyes gleamed with a cold light. With a thought, the Nine-Tailed's Chakra completely enveloped him.
"Rumble~" Naruto's body continuously grew larger, destroying the building completely, while he stood tall on the ruins.
"Is this the Nine-Tailed?" Toneri narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flickering within them.