"Genjutsu: Fox Heart Technique!"
The moment Yumiko's voice fell, Sora only felt the scene before his eyes sway slightly, as if a faint mist was spreading, and the faint, indistinct whisper of a fox seemed to ring in his ears.
'So Kumo-nin can also use such obscure genjutsu.'
Sora snorted coldly in his heart. Of all things, why use genjutsu?
If it were an ordinary special jonin, even if they could break it, their mind would inevitably be dazed for an instant.
But for him, who possessed the Azure Dragon Fruit and had experienced the test of the Sharingan's genjutsu, there was no need to deliberately mobilize chakra to resist. The majesty of the Azure Dragon within him, as if provoked, erupted on its own!
Bzzzt!
An intangible, formless, yet vast and mighty dragon's might centered on Sora, abruptly spread out!
The sensation flashed by, so fast it was almost imperceptible.
But in Yumiko's perception, it felt like crashing into an indestructible steel barrier with a terrifying recoil force!
"Ugh... ah!"
Yumiko let out a short cry of pain. Her eyes behind her glasses widened suddenly, filled with disbelief.
She felt that the moment her genjutsu chakra touched the other's mind, it was ruthlessly crushed and rebounded by a more overbearing, more ancient and majestic force!
Genjutsu backlash!
It felt like a needle had been viciously jabbed into her brain, causing waves of sharp pain. Her vision blurred and doubled for an instant.
'H... how is this possible?!'
'My genjutsu... was instantly rebounded?! This guy... isn't he a taijutsu user?! How can his mental power be...'
Yumiko was horrified in her heart. She couldn't understand it at all!
A Konoha Anbu who looked only about ten years old, clearly specializing in taijutsu, how could he possess such formidable mental power, strong enough to rebound her meticulously cultivated genjutsu?
This simply defied logic!
However, in the midst of battle, the situation changes in an instant. There was simply no time for her to ponder this illogical point.
Just as she was frozen in a brief moment of stiffness due to the genjutsu backlash—
Sora moved!
He had been waiting for this exact moment!
'Third Gate: Gate of Life, Open!'
Boom!
Green energy steam erupted instantly from Sora's body. Although only the Third Gate was opened, combined with Sora's formidable physical constitution, the speed unleashed at this moment had already reached an extremely terrifying level!
A cold glint flashed in Sora's eyes as he powerfully pushed off with his foot!
Thud!
The sandy ground was kicked into a shallow pit. His figure vanished from his original spot like a ghost, leaving only a faint green afterimage in the air!
'Not good!'
Yumiko's pupils constricted sharply. A strong sense of crisis made her scalp tingle!
She desperately wanted to retreat, wanted to form hand seals for defense, but the pain in her brain and the stiffness of her body made her fatally slow by a critical beat!
Her vision couldn't even capture Sora's specific movements. She only saw a blur of green rapidly enlarging before her eyes!
But as a sensory ninja, her chakra perception clearly captured Sora closing in at a terrifying speed, carrying an intense oppressive force. However, the speed was simply too fast, making defense completely impossible!
The next moment!
An indescribable tremendous force smashed violently onto the arm she had hastily raised in defense!
Crack!
The clear sound of bone fracture rang out!
"Ahhh—!"
Yumiko screamed in agony. Excruciating pain shot through her arm as her entire body flew backward uncontrollably.
But Sora's attack did not stop!
Having landed a hit, his figure stuck close like a shadow to the flying Yumiko. His right fist, covered in fine dragon scales and shimmering with green light, struck out again!
This punch aimed straight for Yumiko's chest!
Fast! Accurate! Ruthless!
Without the slightest hesitation or mercy!
Sora understood clearly that in such a group battle with a disparity in strength, once an advantage is gained, the opponent's effective force must be reduced at the fastest possible speed!
Mercy towards the enemy is cruelty towards oneself and one's teammates!
Thump!
A dull impact sound rang out.
Yumiko's body flew through the air like a kite with its string cut, tracing a parabolic arc before crashing heavily onto the sandy ground over ten meters away, tumbling several more times before coming to a stop.
She lay limp in the sand. Her sternum was visibly sunken, blood continuously spilling from her mouth. Her body twitched slightly, her gaze unfocused. She had clearly lost consciousness, her fate unknown.
Instant kill!
From the genjutsu rebound to the violent assault, the entire process took only two or three breaths!
The key figure who had caused Sora and his team to be surrounded—Yumiko—hadn't even had time to display more of her abilities before being cleanly and efficiently dealt with by Sora!
'One down!'
Sora slowly let out a sigh. He didn't even glance at the fate-unknown Yumiko in the distance, instead swiftly scanning the entire battlefield with his eyes.
The situation was not optimistic!
Grey Wolf had already fallen to the ground, motionless. The sand beneath him was stained red. The tall, thin Kumo jonin was walking towards him with a vicious grin, seemingly intending to deliver a final blow.
'Grey Wolf!'
Sora's heart tightened.
Night Owl's situation was slightly better. Relying on agile movement techniques and speed, he was still maneuvering against the bald Kumo jonin, but was clearly at the end of his rope. His movements were getting slower and slower, and defeat was only a matter of time.
And the captain, Fox...
Sora looked towards the most intense part of the fight.
The battle between Fox and Toroi had reached a white-hot intensity.
The clashing sounds of ding ding dang dang were incessant. Bolts of lightning and wind blades flew everywhere, each exchange carrying deadly intent.
Fox's combat experience was extremely rich. His Wind Release chakra blade technique was sharp and fierce, often launching attacks from inconceivable angles.
But Toroi's Magnet Release was far too troublesome!
His huge shield could not only easily block Fox's attacks, but the magnetic force attached to it continuously interfered with Fox's chakra shortsword.
Sora could even see that Fox's specially-made shortsword, which should have been unaffected by Magnet Release, was now vibrating slightly in its blade. Fox's movements would occasionally show an unnatural hint of stiffness.
Clearly, the intensity of Toroi's Magnet Release exceeded expectations, affecting even weapons made of such special materials.
More importantly, Toroi's square shuriken appeared unpredictably. The Lightning Release chakra attached to them was highly penetrating, forcing Fox to expend a great deal of energy dodging and parrying.
Fox was already at a disadvantage, only holding on through sheer effort. His defeat was probably also just a matter of time.
'This is a huge trouble...'
Sora analyzed rapidly in his mind:
'The captain is completely tied up by Toroi. Defeat is inevitable sooner or later. Grey Wolf's fate is unknown. We must rescue him immediately. Night Owl can't hold on much longer either...'
'We must save one first to relieve the pressure!'
His gaze quickly shifted between Grey Wolf and Night Owl.
Saving Grey Wolf meant facing the tall, thin Kumo jonin head-on. The fact that the other could take down Grey Wolf in the same time it took Sora to instantly kill Yumiko showed he was an exceptionally strong fighter even among jonin. Once entangled, the consequences would be hard to predict.
Moreover, Grey Wolf's injuries were unclear. Even if saved, he would lose his combat ability in the short term and instead become a burden.
Saving Night Owl meant facing the bald Kumo jonin known for strength and defense.
Night Owl still had speed. With the two of them cooperating, perhaps they could resolve the opponent faster, or at least form a stalemate.
'Go to Night Owl's side!'
In a flash, Sora made his decision.
As long as he and Night Owl quickly dealt with the bald one, they could free their hands to face the tall, thin Kumo ninja two against one, and then go support Fox!
This was the only chance to break the current deadlock!
With his mind made up, Sora hesitated no longer.
Pushing off with his foot, he rushed at high speed towards the battle between Night Owl and the bald Kumo jonin!
'Hang on, Night Owl!'
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