Sora leaned against the cold rock, his eyes maintaining a vacant, lifeless appearance, yet inside his body was operating like a high-speed furnace.
The consumed soldier pills were continuously transforming into streams of thermal energy, constantly surging towards all parts of Sora's body.
'A little more... Just a little more recovery...'
'The Azure Dragon Fruit's digestive ability is truly a lifesaver, even though I usually eat so much I almost ate the orphanage into poverty...'
...
The battle in the distance had reached a fever pitch.
Although the Baku was tough-skinned, thick-fleshed, and terrifyingly strong, its most powerful absorption ability was greatly reduced after its nose was injured, and its movements were somewhat clumsy.
The Iwagakure Jonin was highly experienced. He didn't engage in direct confrontation at all, instead constantly using Earth Release to alter the terrain, draining the Baku's stamina.
"Earth Release, Quagmire of the Underworld!"
The ground beneath the Baku instantly transformed into a vast muddy swamp, causing its massive body to slowly begin sinking.
The Baku roared in fury, struggling to break free, but only sank deeper.
The Tanuki standing on its head continuously used Wind Release to slice through the surging mud, while also having to deal with the harassing attacks from the tall, thin Chunin.
"Wind Release, Vacuum Serial Wave!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several wind blades slashed towards the tall, thin Chunin attempting to get close, but they were nimbly dodged by the opponent using the Substitution Technique.
"Earth Release, Stone Staff Thief!"
While dodging, the tall, thin Chunin didn't forget to form hand seals. A hard stone staff erupted from the ground, slamming hard into the Baku's leg.
The damage wasn't significant, but it was extremely insulting, making the Baku even more frantic.
Seeing the opportunity, a flash of ruthlessness passed through the Iwagakure Jonin's eyes. His hands completed hand seals at an extremely fast speed:
"Earth Release, Rock Fist Technique!"
His right fist was instantly encased in hard, heavy rock, its volume swelling several times. However, he didn't attack directly. Instead, he changed hand seals again, channeling all his chakra into it!
"Earth Release, Added-Weight Rock Technique!"
A heavy, earthy yellow glow instantly covered the enormous rock fist, its weight multiplying several times over!
"Now! Break!"
The Iwagakure Jonin roared, charging out fiercely from the flank, leaping up. His heavy fist, carrying the force of a thousand jun, smashed down like a meteor towards the Baku's most vulnerable side of the head!
Simultaneously, the tall, thin Chunin also placed both hands on the ground:
"Earth Release, Earth-Style Dome Prison!"
A hemispherical earthen prison instantly temporarily trapped the Baku's legs. Although it was quickly shattered by the Baku's struggles, this momentary restraint was enough!
Boom!!!!!
An incredibly heavy, dull thud sounded, like a mountain rock splitting apart!
The Baku let out a shrill, extreme cry of misery. Its enormous head was struck hard by this heavy fist infused with the Added-Weight Rock Technique. A large portion of its skull instantly caved in!
Blood and brain matter sprayed out from the shattered area!
The massive body convulsed violently a few times, finally emitting a final, unwilling whimper before collapsing to the ground with a crash, kicking up a cloud of dust, completely silent.
"We... we did it!" The tall, thin Chunin gasped for breath, a look of joy appearing on his face.
The Iwagakure Jonin also landed on the ground, breathing slightly heavily. He dispersed the rock on his arm, looked at the dead Baku, and snorted coldly:
"Hmph, beasts are just beasts."
Meanwhile, the Tanuki standing on the Baku's corpse, affected by the similar symbiotic contract, also suffered some kind of backlash. His body shuddered violently, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His aura instantly weakened by more than half.
"Now!"
A flash of sharp light appeared in the Iwagakure Jonin's eyes. His hands formed seals again:
"Earth Release, Headhunter Technique!"
A rocky arm suddenly reached out from beneath the Tanuki's feet, grabbing his injured ankle which made movement difficult!
The Tanuki wanted to form seals to resist, but his severe injury and the backlash made him a step too slow.
The Iwagakure Jonin had already charged close like a leopard. A heavy Earth Release, Rock Fist smashed mercilessly into his chest!
Crack!
The clear sound of shattered ribs was heard.
The Tanuki's body flew backwards like a kite with its string cut, smashing heavily against the valley rock wall, then sliding down limply. Half of his mask shattered, and blood and fragments of internal organs continuously spilled from his mouth. It was clear he wouldn't survive.
'Lord Danzo's mission... failed...'
His final thought was not fear of death, but despair over the mission's failure. He was clearly thoroughly brainwashed.
...
The scene was now left with only the panting Iwagakure Jonin and the tall, thin Chunin, as well as the two Iwagakure Chunin lying on the ground, one dead, one injured.
"Hmph, Konoha's Anbu, nothing special."
The Iwagakure Jonin spat, dispersing the rock on his arm. His gaze swept over the chaotic battlefield, finally landing on the bound Sora.
The tall, thin Chunin also let out a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face:
"The Jonin-sama is still the best! Now not only can we obtain the intel, but we can also capture a kid with a strange secret technique. This will definitely be a major achievement when we return!"
"Don't be careless. First, that kid..."
The Iwagakure Jonin's words were cut short as a sudden change occurred!
At this very moment, when their minds were most relaxed!
That Sora, whom they had regarded as a "lamb for the slaughter," moved!
'Now!'
Hum!
An ancient and imposing aura flashed by and vanished.
Sora's hands were instantly covered in dense, tough, azure dragon scales. His five fingers transformed into sharp claws. With just a light struggle, the ropes binding his wrists snapped like paper!
Simultaneously, the muscles in his legs rapidly swelled, dragon scales emerged, and a faint aura of wind quietly encircled them.
No hand seals, no precursor signs of chakra eruption, not even a hint of killing intent leaking out!
There was only pure, extreme speed!
The next moment!
Boom!
The rock Sora had been leaning against suddenly cracked with spider-web-like fissures. Sora's figure had already vanished!
"What?!"
The smile on the tall, thin Chunin's face instantly froze. All he saw was a blur before his eyes as an azure-colored afterimage, like a ghost, appeared right in front of him!
Too fast! So fast his vision couldn't capture it, his brain couldn't even react in time!
'What... happened?'
'That kid... wasn't he tied up... under a genjutsu?'
This was the tall, thin Chunin's last thought.
Thud!
The dull sound of claws piercing flesh clearly reached the ears of everyone present.
Sora's dragon claws had already accurately and mercilessly pierced into the tall, thin Chunin's heart area, giving a squeeze and a pull!
The tall, thin Chunin's body stiffened violently. The shock and disbelief in his eyes instantly solidified before his consciousness quickly sank into eternal darkness.
Instant kill!
A true, instantaneous kill!
"Bastard!"
The Iwagakure Jonin was both shocked and furious. He reacted extremely quickly, almost leaping backwards in retreat the moment the tall, thin Chunin was attacked, while his hands flew through hand seals.
He never imagined that this kid who looked only seven or eight years old, chakra exhausted and under a genjutsu, had been pretending all along!
Moreover, this burst of speed, this bizarre beast-transformation ability, this ruthless and decisive method... far exceeded his expectations!
'Damn it! This kid is even more dangerous than that guy with the Tanuki mask!'
Alarm bells rang wildly in the Iwagakure Jonin's mind. He instantly elevated Sora's threat level to the highest.
"Earth Release, Earth-Style Wall!"
A thick earthen wall instantly rose, blocking the space between him and Sora.
But Sora didn't even glance at that earth wall. Earlier, when choosing between the two, he specifically picked the Chunin-strength tall, thin ninja because he was more confident in dealing with this one.
Fortunately, he successfully instantly killed the tall, thin Chunin.
And now, since he had chosen to act, he had to finish this quickly!
The commotion here was likely to attract others, whether from Konoha, Iwagakure, or other factions. None of that would be good for Sora.
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