"Aren't you going to save him?"
A few dozen meters away, Xu Ming's golden-red eyes continued to radiate an intense heat. The temperature that had briefly been blown away by the Great Breakthrough Technique was rapidly restored, becoming even more extreme. Within a 60-meter radius, the temperature soared past 50 degrees Celsius—equivalent to the harshest deserts in the world.
Any living being directly exposed to such an environment would suffer from heatstroke within a minute, go into shock within three, and perish without medical intervention in five.
"Although I held back, I still seriously injured him. If he doesn't get to a hospital soon, he'll be dead within half an hour."
Xu Ming's gaze remained fixed on the Senju tribesman, who stood 40 meters away, enduring the scorching heat.
"So, in order to fight me, you're willing to abandon your own comrade?"
The Senju tribesman remained silent but swiftly began forming hand seals. Within seconds, a strong Wind Style chakra surged around him.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Waves!"
He raised one hand and lifted part of his mask with the other, revealing his mouth. With short, rapid exhales, he released bursts of Wind Style chakra—each forming sharp wind bullets that shot toward Xu Ming like a barrage of machine-gun fire.
"So, you still choose to fight..."
Xu Ming sighed softly and merely glanced at the incoming wind bullets.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each projectile exploded in midair before it could reach him, dispersing in strong shockwaves.
The explosion was caused by a rapid surge in temperature—an effect of Xu Ming's Golden Fire Eyes. By focusing his gaze, he could dramatically increase the heat in a specific area, forcing the air to expand instantaneously, triggering an explosive reaction.
"So that's how it works… Wherever those eyes focus, an explosion occurs."
The Senju tribesman murmured to himself, his expression hardening. He quickly resumed forming hand seals.
"Once you understand the principle, you can find a way to counter it."
"Wind Style: Wind Armor!"
In just two seconds, he completed eight hand seals, creating a fierce wind current that enveloped his body like armor.
"This technique can withstand C-rank ninjutsu and mitigate half the damage from B-rank attacks."
"The remaining force… my body can handle it."
With a deep breath, he reached for the short sword on his back, gripping it tightly. Wind chakra surged along the blade, forming a pale white aura around its edge, sharpening it to a terrifying degree.
"Although I've relied on ninjutsu so far, my taijutsu is just as formidable."
Whoosh!
As he spoke, he swung his sword, releasing a concentrated storm that blew away a portion of the surrounding heat.
Then, in an instant, his figure vanished into the wind.
This was an advanced Wind Style Body Flicker Technique—using wind chakra to reduce friction and amplify propulsion, pushing his speed beyond the limits of human perception. At this velocity, he became a blur, surpassing the reaction speed of the naked eye.
This technique made him an elite battlefield assaulter, capable of tearing through enemy lines like a storm of blades, cutting through all in his path.
Against such an attack, even an entire squadron of shinobi would struggle to survive.
BOOM!!!
Yet, Xu Ming's expression remained unchanged as he narrowed his eyes slightly.
A deafening explosion erupted.
The air itself seemed to detonate, unleashing a shockwave comparable to a level 11 storm.
BOOM!!
Within a hundred meters, the entire battlefield quaked.
Gale-force winds, bursts of fire, suffocating heat—chaos converged, creating a small-scale natural disaster.
It took over five seconds for the turbulence to subside.
In front of Xu Ming, a deep ravine scarred the earth. The soil, charred black, emitted wisps of smoke. Insects and plant roots, exposed in the torn ground, slowly burned, their embers glowing faintly.
Everything nearby had been obliterated. Trees, flowers, stones—everything had been swept away by the blast, reduced to dust or hurled hundreds of meters into the distance.
"I told you, you're determined to die."
Xu Ming sighed and looked up.
Buzz… Buzz…!!
A massive pale-white blade came slicing down from above.
At its edge stood the Senju warrior. His mask had been blown away, his clothes tattered, and his body covered in burns and blisters. Yet, his grip on the short sword remained firm.
Wind Style chakra extended from his blade, forming a deadly ten-meter-long wind edge, ready to strike down upon Xu Ming.
In the Senju tribesman's eyes, there was no fear—only resolve.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Blade!"
He wasn't aiming to kill Xu Ming—his faction had no desire to slay a genius from their own village. Their goal was a warning.
A warning to Xu Ming and Orochimaru.
To tell them that if they continued down this path, there would be consequences. That someone would take drastic measures to stop them.
"Burn."
Xu Ming's voice was soft, but his eyes burned with golden-red light, shifting to a brilliant, gilded hue—radiant, divine, and terrifying.
As his gaze met the descending wind blade, flames ignited.
Starting at the tip, golden fire spread, devouring the ten-meter-long vacuum blade in an instant before reaching the warrior himself.
The Senju tribesman's eyes widened in horror as the flames wrapped around him, engulfing his entire body.
"Aaaahhh…!!"
A high-pitched scream tore through the night.
The fire clung to him like a living entity, burning through his skin, searing his muscles, and consuming his blood and bones, layer by layer.
No matter how desperately he flailed, the flames refused to be extinguished.