"All-Seeing Art!" Toneri clasped his hands together, then slammed them onto the ground. Instantly, a large amount of dirt shot up, and a massive human-faced statue rose from the ground.
"Today, let me see just how strong you, the legendary Naruto, truly are." Toneri stood on the human-faced statue, looking at the Nine-Tailed Naruto, his eyes filled with even greater fighting intent.
"Roar!" The Nine-Tailed Naruto let out a low growl, then pushed off sharply, his massive figure charging towards the human-faced statue.
Toneri didn't hesitate either, manipulating the human-faced statue to meet him, and the two quickly collided.
"Boom~!" A deafening sound echoed, dust filled the sky, and a gust of hurricane-force wind blew up, scattering the surrounding sand and rocks, creating a hazy scene.
"Sister-in-law! Watch out!" Kirito saw a huge boulder flying towards Hinata. His pupils suddenly contracted, and he yelled out while also pouncing towards Hinata.
"Bang!" Kirito knocked Hinata to the ground, feeling something soft pressing against his face, and a rich fragrance filled his nostrils.
However, Kirito didn't have time to enjoy it. He quickly got up, looked at Hinata, and asked worriedly, "Sister-in-law, are you alright? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." Hinata rubbed her head. Then, she saw a puppet lunging at Kirito from behind him. Her expression instantly changed, and she pulled Kirito into her arms, turning at the same time to block the fatal blow for him.
"Pfft!" Before Kirito could react to what was happening, Hinata spat a mouthful of blood onto his face. At the same time, he saw the puppet that had injured Hinata.
"Damn it!" Kirito's face instantly changed. With one arm holding Hinata, he swung the Kyoka Suigetsu in his other hand towards the puppet.
However, Kirito, being only a Chunin, couldn't damage the puppet in the slightest. Instead, it seized the opportunity and struck him with a palm.
"Shinei!" Just as Kirito was about to be attacked by the puppet, a delicate shout came from the sky. Immediately after, a graceful figure descended from above, her fist landing on the puppet and sending it flying.
"Bang!" The puppet, as if hit by a cannon, crashed into the nearby wall and became embedded in it, raising a cloud of smoke.
"Sister Sakura!" Kirito saw Sakura standing in front of him and breathed a sigh of relief. If Sakura hadn't arrived in time, he probably would have been killed.
"Are you two alright?" Sakura looked at Kirito, her beautiful eyes filled with deep concern.
"I'm fine, but sister-in-law..." Kirito supported Hinata, looking at the blood covering Hinata's body, his face filled with worry.
"Let me check on her." Sakura looked at Hinata, seeing her blood-stained appearance, and quickly channeled her Chakra to perform a healing jutsu.
With the help of Sakura's healing jutsu, Hinata's pretty face slowly regained its color.
Kirito watched Sakura heal Hinata, a wave of fear washing over him.
He wasn't afraid of the puppet almost hitting him, but of Sakura's punch just now.
That puppet, with his strength, he couldn't have harmed it in the slightest.
However, Sakura, with just one punch, sent that puppet flying, even embedding it in the wall, unable to move. One could imagine the power of Sakura's punch.
These past few days, Kirito had taken advantage of Sakura quite a bit. If Sakura had aimed that punch at him, he probably wouldn't have survived.
However, along with the fear, Kirito also felt a bit of secret joy, because this meant Sakura tacitly approved of him taking advantage of her.
Otherwise, Sakura's fist would have landed on him long ago, and she wouldn't have given him the chance to take advantage. The first time could be attributed to her being drunk, but what about the subsequent times?
Chapter 37: One-Time Skill — Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation
"Bang bang bang!"
The sound of battle was incessant, the entire building had become a pile of rubble, and two massive figures were fiercely clashing in mid-air.
At the same time, Sai and Shino were also clashing with the puppets, the intensity of their battle no less than that of Naruto and Toneri.
Sai, Kiba, and Shino all possessed the strength of elite Jonin. Although these puppets only had the strength of Anbu, one rank below them, they couldn't withstand their sheer numbers, and the three fell into a bitter struggle.
"Alright, she should be fine now." Sakura glanced at Hinata, who had fainted from blood loss, and said to Kirito, "You stay here and take care of her. I'll go help Sai and the others."
"Okay, Sister Sakura, be careful." Kirito nodded.
With Sakura, a Kage-level Ninja, joining the battle, the pressure on Sai and the others, who had been struggling, was greatly reduced.
Sakura sent a puppet flying with one punch, clean and decisive, no longer showing the shyness and panic she displayed when Kirito took advantage of her.
[Ding! make-out paradise Mission: Knead Hinata's steamed bun with both hands for ten minutes. Remaining time: one hour. Reward upon completion: 800 passion points.]
Suddenly, the system's notification sound rang in Kirito's mind.
Kirito's expression instantly changed. He never expected the system to suddenly issue him a mission at this time, and such a mission at that.
Touching steamed bun, and for ten minutes at that, Kirito was filled with embarrassment and awkwardness.
If it was just touching steamed bun once, he could have accidentally touched it while Hinata was unconscious.
But to touch it for ten minutes, how could it be an accidental touch?
More importantly, he had to use both hands! And he had to knead!
What if Hinata woke up because of his actions?
He glanced at Naruto, who was fighting Toneri. At this moment, Naruto was gradually falling into a disadvantage.
800 passion points, plus the 200 passion points he still had, would be just enough for another draw. If he drew another one-time skill like the Kamehameha or Crescent Sky Rush, he could provide remote support to Naruto. Perhaps he could give Naruto remote assistance and help him find Toneri's weaknesses.
Thinking of this, Kirito glanced at Hinata, who was unconscious in his arms, and took a deep breath.
Touch it!
Kirito silently recited a phrase in his heart, then closed his eyes and extended his right hand to place it on Hinata's steamed bun. A warm sensation spread throughout his body, and Kirito's heart rate suddenly quickened.
"Mm." Hinata, in her unconscious state, let out a faint whimper.
Kirito was startled by the whimper. When he looked at Hinata, who was still unconscious, he breathed a sigh of relief.
It's already come to this, just keep kneading!
Kirito gritted his teeth and continued to knead.
"Bang bang bang!"
Naruto and Toneri's battle was inseparable, both of them were injured, especially Naruto, whose body was covered in bite marks and bleeding profusely.
Sakura's battle with the puppets was also very fierce, with bodies falling from the rubble one after another.
Time slowly passed in everyone's battle, and Kirito's time kneading steamed bun was finally nearing ten minutes.
But just then, Hinata finally woke up.
Hinata felt a strange tingling sensation throughout her body, as if an unusual feeling of comfort.
Hinata slowly opened her eyes, and what met her gaze was Kirito's profile. Only then did she realize that she was lying in Kirito's arms. Her already pale face instantly turned crimson, like a ripe apple.
Kirito also noticed that Hinata had woken up. He really wanted to withdraw his hand before Hinata reacted, but he looked at the system's countdown, which only had about ten seconds left.
Kirito gritted his teeth and did not withdraw his hand.
And precisely because Kirito did not withdraw his hand, Hinata finally noticed Kirito's hands freely moving on her steamed bun.
Hinata's pretty face grew even redder, and she fell into a state of bewilderment, her mind blank.
He's taking advantage of me? Why would he do that?
Just as Hinata was in a daze, the ten minutes finally arrived. Although Kirito was reluctant to let go of the soft steamed bun, he had no choice but to release his hands.
Kirito's sudden release of his hands left Hinata puzzled.
Why did he suddenly let go?
Of course, Hinata wasn't puzzled because she didn't want Kirito to let go, but because she didn't quite understand.
Kirito could have let go the moment she woke up, and she wouldn't have noticed at all. Why did he have to wait so long to let go?
While Hinata was puzzled, Kirito shouted to the system in his mind, "Draw!"
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have drawn a one-time consumable — Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation!]
A strange ring, formed by the fusion of four colors of flames—green, white, purple, and red—spun wildly, its edges displaying the four colors, and its entire body a hundred zhang in size. The ring slowly rotated, and within it, it was dark, a darkness purer than that of a spatial black hole.
Kirito laboriously raised the Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation in his hand and shouted to Sakura, "Sister Sakura, take my sister-in-law and leave first."
Sakura heard his words and turned to look at Kirito. When she saw the Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation raised high in Kirito's hand, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.
She felt a strong aura of death emanating from the Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation that Kirito held high, something that even she, as a Kage-level Ninja, was unwilling to touch.
She vaguely felt that if Kirito unleashed this Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation, everything in the surroundings would be swallowed by the explosion, and even she would be affected!
"Swish!" Sakura quickly arrived beside Hinata, took her away, and at the same time shouted to Sai and the others, "Hurry and go!"
Sai and the others were also startled by the Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation in Kirito's hand. Hearing Sakura's words, Sai and the others immediately followed Sakura and left.
Kirito saw Sakura and the others retreating from the battlefield, so he shouted to Naruto, who was fighting Toneri, "Brother Naruto, be careful!"
After speaking, Kirito threw the Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation in his hand towards Toneri.
Naruto initially didn't want to pay attention to Kirito, but he suddenly felt a dangerous aura. He turned to look and saw a lotus flower carrying a terrifying aura flying towards him and Toneri.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. He could feel that in his current state, being swallowed by this lotus flower would surely lead to death.
He didn't hesitate at all and turned to flee.
Naruto noticed the Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation, and Toneri also noticed it, but his speed was a little slower than Naruto's. By the time Toneri noticed it, the Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation had already arrived in front of him.
The Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation instantly bloomed, and a terrifying ball of fire exploded, directly engulfing Toneri. The terrifying high temperature caused Toneri to let out a painful roar.
"Ah~ Ah~!" Toneri screamed tragically, black smoke rising from his body. Moreover, his muscles and bones began to melt under the scorching high temperature of the Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation!
Chapter 38: The Abandoned Kirito
The Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation seemed not to be satisfied with engulfing Toneri; the aftershocks of the explosion still hadn't dissipated, spreading outwards, destroying everything in their path!
Sakura carried Hinata and fled to a safe distance. She watched the scene in shock, filled with relief.
Not only Sakura, but Naruto also watched the scene with lingering fear.
"How can Kirito have such a terrifying attack?" Naruto looked at the terrifying explosion range, his heart trembling.
If that move had hit him, even at his peak, he would be severely injured if not dead.
"Oh no! Kirito is still in the aftershocks of that explosion!" Hinata reacted first, anxiously looking at the center of the explosion ahead.
"What should we do?" Sakura also asked worriedly.
"We must go in and save him!" Hinata said with a determined tone.
"But that explosion is too terrifying! If we go in, we'll just be committing suicide." Kiba said, frowning.
Sakura and Hinata looked at Naruto at the same time.
At this moment, only Naruto had the strength to save Kirito.
"I..." Naruto's face was full of embarrassment. In his current state, entering the aftershocks would also be certain death.
"Sigh!" Naruto sighed. He had to admit one thing: he was scared.
"Naruto!" Hinata grabbed Naruto's shoulder, her eyes pleading.
"I can't save him..." Naruto lowered his head, saying guiltily.
"I'll save him!" Sakura bit her red lips, then was about to rush into the aftershocks of the explosion.
"Don't be impulsive!" Naruto quickly pulled Sakura back, shaking his head and stopping her, "Even I can't withstand the aftershocks of that explosion, let alone you?"
"Then what can we do? Am I supposed to just watch him die?" Sakura shook off Naruto's hand, staring at him angrily.
"I..." Naruto opened his mouth, but found he didn't know what to say. He really didn't dare to rush in to save Kirito.
"Rumble~" Just then, a rumbling sound came. Everyone looked up and saw the ground beneath them rapidly collapsing, spreading towards them.
"Not good! Let's go quickly, this place is collapsing due to the explosion!" Naruto's expression changed. He grabbed Sakura and Hinata and ran.
Sai also didn't hesitate, drawing a large bird to carry Shino and Kiba into the sky.
"Kirito!" Sakura looked at the aftershocks of the explosion, her eyes welling up, and she screamed hysterically.
At this moment, she felt as if her heart was being torn apart.
Naruto landed on the large bird with Sakura and Hinata, looked back, his eyes filled with guilt.
"Kirito, Brother Naruto is sorry for you." Naruto murmured.
"Naruto, what about us now..."
"Go back!" Before Sai could finish his sentence, Naruto interrupted him, saying in a deep voice, "The Moon has suffered such a powerful attack, it probably can't withstand it and is starting to collapse. We need to quickly find the teleportation array to Earth and teleport back, lest the teleportation array be destroyed."
The explosion of the Buddha's Wrath Reincarnation might not cause devastating damage to the Moon, but Naruto didn't know that. He only saw the ground continuously collapsing. At this rate, the Moon would eventually be destroyed.
Once the Moon was destroyed, the teleportation array would surely be destroyed as well. By then, they would all be trapped on the Moon, unable to return.
"Okay!" Sai heard Naruto's words and didn't hesitate, searching for traces of the teleportation array.
"Naruto, can we really not save Kirito?" Hinata, with her head bowed low, sat dejectedly on the large bird, speaking in a faint voice.
"He is a Ninja. He knows he faces danger at any time." Naruto sighed and said slowly.