Chapter 72: Capturing Suikazan Fuguki Alive
Water Dragon Bullet was one of the most classic high-level Water Style techniques, possessing both exceptional control and devastating destructive power. Any jonin who specialized in Water Style inevitably mastered this technique.
At this moment, Ao chose to use precisely this technique against Hyuga Ritsu.
The water dragon lunged toward Ritsu with bared fangs and outstretched claws. Ao kept his eyes locked on his target, prepared to manipulate the dragon's trajectory at any moment, ready to chase Ritsu down wherever he fled.
However—
Ritsu didn't dodge.
He stared at the approaching water dragon, clenched his teeth, eyes wide, and chose to meet force with force. His palms, wreathed with azure lion heads the size of cartwheels, struck head-on against the water dragon. With brutal, domineering palm force, he physically shattered the technique.
Water sprayed everywhere, cascading to the ground in torrents.
Ao stared in disbelief.
Breaking through a high-level Water Style technique with bare hands—what kind of monster was this?
He'd heard tales before about the Third Raikage from the northern Cloud Village—a monster who could engage Tailed Beasts in hand-to-hand combat. He'd always thought those were exaggerated rumors. But now, witnessing his own high-level Water Style technique shattered by Ritsu's bare hands, he couldn't help but believe.
Perhaps such monsters truly did exist in this world.
Of course, amazement aside, he didn't forget to retreat immediately. He understood clearly that he absolutely couldn't engage this kind of monster in close combat. Once Ritsu closed the distance, death would be his only outcome. Fortunately, breaking through the water dragon had impacted Ritsu significantly enough that he couldn't pursue in one continuous strike, giving Ao the opportunity to fall back.
Or perhaps Ao had been so terrified by Ritsu demolishing his Water Dragon Bullet with bare hands that he didn't dare seize that sliver of opportunity for a counterattack. Instinctively, he chose to create distance, waiting for Fuguki and the others to provide support so they could fight Ritsu together.
Compared to Ao's shock and horror, Ritsu felt nothing but exhilaration.
Without using Rotation—the Hyuga clan's absolute defense technique—relying solely on Gentle fist Twin Lion Fists, he'd broken through Water Dragon Bullet. This meant his casual strikes now carried the destructive power of high-level Water Style techniques. This level of combat prowess had absolutely entered the ranks of the shinobi world's current peak powerhouses.
His confidence swelled uncontrollably.
His killing intent blazed even hotter.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
Ritsu raised his hand and struck at empty air. The power of this palm strike was particularly magnificent. If his previous attacks had the power of small-caliber artillery, this strike was comparable to large-caliber cannons.
Ao dodged the first palm, but the massive tree beside him—thick enough to require three men linking arms to encircle it—was pierced clean through at trunk level. An entire section of the trunk simply vanished, and the unsupported crown crashed thunderously to the ground.
Witnessing such power, cold sweat poured down Ao's face.
He couldn't imagine what would happen if such an attack landed on him. Most likely, he'd be obliterated beyond recognition, just like Biwa Juzo—already crushed beyond recognition by that purple serpent. Kaguya Daizo remained alive, discarded to one side by Ritsu, but he was a cripple who couldn't even manage to end his own life.
Ao exerted every ounce of strength to evade.
But Ritsu's palm strikes came too fast. Unlike ninjutsu that required hand seals, he could attack with a mere raising of his hand. Ao barely dodged three palms, then the fourth caught his right leg. In an instant, the leg disappeared as though blown off by an explosive tag, leaving only a mangled, blood-gushing wound.
"Ao!"
Suikazan Fuguki, having evaded Manda to rush over as support, witnessed this scalp-numbing scene.
But Ao shouted loudly: "Run! Run quickly! This kind of monster isn't something we can handle—"
The Byakugan Killer's final words cut off abruptly. Ritsu's fifth Vacuum Palm obliterated Ao's body below the neck. Only his head rolled far away, that white eye still staring wide, though no trace of awareness remained within—only death's cold emptiness.
"Ao!"
Suikazan Fuguki's heart turned to ice.
But when he saw Ritsu turn to face him directly, he felt in an instant as though Death itself had reached out and gripped his heart tightly. He spun around and fled without looking back.
He completely disregarded Ringo Ameyuri and Hoshigaki Kisame, who had accompanied him on this mission.
Only his own survival occupied his mind.
However—
"You can't escape!"
Ritsu had no intention of letting this bastard—who'd twice come after him—get away. Moreover, he held tremendous interest in the Hair Techniques that Suikazan Fuguki had mastered.
"Manda!"
Ritsu contacted his summoned beast, who was currently rampaging freely across the battlefield.
Just then—
Thunder roared like a great tide crashing against the shore, echoing beneath the moonlit sky.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon!"
Ringo Ameyuri swung the Thunder Swords—Kiba—releasing magnificent lightning shaped like a dragon that struck Manda directly, forcing the serpent to emit an agonized cry. When the lightning faded, only a charred husk remained.
Two seconds later, Manda suddenly burst from underground, using his massive, pristine body to block Suikazan Fuguki's escape route. Ringo Ameyuri's Lightning Style technique had indeed been powerful, forcing Manda to shed his skin. His true body had burrowed underground just in time to survive the ordeal.
"Human, you cannot escape. If you don't want that brat to beat you into pulp, be good and let me devour you!"
Manda looked at the corpulent Suikazan Fuguki, immediately drooling with hunger. Humans with this kind of fatty, rich flavor were absolutely delicious to eat.
Unfortunately, that damn brat Ritsu was far more stingy than that fool Orochimaru. He absolutely refused to let Manda eat humans, instead forcing him through violence to accept offerings of cattle and sheep as payment for fighting.
"Damn it, I don't want to die!"
The extremely life-greedy Suikazan Fuguki let out a desperate, unwilling roar. He formed hand seals with both hands, mobilizing nearly all the chakra in his body, and forcefully spat—
"Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
From his mouth poured vast torrents of water that instantly formed an enormous ellipsoid water prison approximately seven to eight kilometers in diameter, enveloping Manda, Ritsu, Hoshigaki Kisame, Ringo Ameyuri, and Suikazan Fuguki himself within.
Submerged in water, Ritsu remained calm.
He watched as Suikazan Fuguki wielded Samehada, fusing with the great blade to assume a half-shark appearance, then— Swimming at high speed in the direction away from Ritsu.
Even though he'd created the combat environment most suitable for himself, even though he'd successfully completed fusion with Samehada, Kaguya Daizo's capture alive and the brutal deaths of Biwa Juzo and Ao had completely destroyed his confidence in fighting Ritsu. His entire mind focused on escape, on getting far, far away from Hyuga Ritsu.
But he didn't know that Manda was equally skilled at swimming.
Moreover, Manda's massive body meant a mere flick of his tail propelled him tremendous distances. Carrying Ritsu, the serpent closed the distance to Suikazan Fuguki's vicinity in mere moments.
"Eight Trigrams: Rotation!"
In that instant, Ritsu released the Summoning Jutsu, sending Manda back to Dragon Cave. Simultaneously, he released chakra, spinning like a top in the water, forcing all the liquid within the ellipsoid water prison to rotate violently.
Within mere seconds, the ellipsoid water prison's internal balance shattered completely, and the water cascaded in all directions. The half-shark Suikazan Fuguki remained in relatively good condition, attempting to escape with the flowing water.
However—
In the next second—
"Shikotsumyaku: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
Ten finger bones pierced through Suikazan Fuguki's calves, causing him to stumble and crash to the ground. Before he could struggle to his feet, a sharp white bone pressed against his throat.
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