Sora was also secretly alarmed.
'Super Strength combined with the power of the Gate of Limit, it actually only forced her back three steps.'
'Truly worthy of being Pakura. Her physical toughness and reaction speed are first rate. Moreover, the temperature on her palms, I could feel the scorching heat even through chakra. The Scorch Release truly lives up to its name.'
'I really don't know how she ultimately died to shuriken in the end.'
Both of them had their own thoughts, but their movements did not pause in the slightest.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Sizzle. Sizzle. Sizzle.
The sounds of fists and feet colliding and the sounds of high temperature scorching the air continuously rang out.
Sora combined the speed and strength of the Eight Gates with the foundational level Super Strength. His offensive was like a storm, each punch and kick containing power capable of shattering stone.
Pakura, relying on her rich combat experience and precise control over Scorch Release, moved nimbly, often avoiding Sora's heavy blows by a hair's breadth. At the same time, those hands wrapped in scorching chakra, like poisonous snakes, constantly searched for openings in Sora's defenses.
For a time, the two fought to a standstill. Their figures moved at high speed across the field. Ordinary Suna-nin could not clearly see their movements. They could only see green steam and orange flames constantly colliding.
Only that one Suna jonin saw a bit of the method. His hands quickly formed seals.
'Hmm.'
Among the Suna-nin present, aside from Pakura, there was only this one jonin. Therefore, Sora had kept part of his attention on him. After forcing Pakura back with a punch, Sora gave that Suna jonin no chance to finish his seals.
Almost the instant Pakura retreated, Sora had already crossed several meters. A fist imbued with Super Strength aimed straight for that jonin's face.
That Suna jonin's pupils shrank sharply. His hand seal posture abruptly halted. In haste, he could only cross his arms to guard in front of him. All the chakra in his body frantically surged towards his arms, attempting to block this heavy blow.
But he underestimated the Super Strength enhanced by the Gate of Limit too much. He also did not anticipate Sora's attack would be so swift and fierce.
"Thud."
The moment fist and arm collided, that Suna jonin felt a force far exceeding his imagination crash into him. The defense of his arms shattered like paper. The chakra barrier was directly torn apart. The remaining force of the fist did not diminish, heavily smashing into his chest.
"Gah."
A mouthful of blood wildly sprayed from his mouth. His entire person was sent flying backward at high speed. A terrifying deep dent caved in on his chest. His eyes were wide open, clearly already dead.
From Sora throwing the punch to the Suna jonin's death, it was merely the span of a breath.
The surrounding Suna-nin instantly froze. That was a veteran Suna jonin.
He actually couldn't withstand a single move.
Pakura was even more alarmed. Her body, having just stabilized, shook violently. A storm surged in her heart.
'What fast reactions. What ruthless methods. While entangled with me, he could still spare attention to lock onto another jonin, and kill with one strike. This brat's combat awareness is more terrifying than veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles.'
She originally thought Sora was only remarkable in chakra and taijutsu. Only now did she realize with a start, the most frightening aspects were his overall control and decisiveness in killing.
Sora pretended to spit out a bit of blood and shook his fist. He glanced at that jonin's corpse. There was not the slightest fluctuation in his eyes.
'Almost enough.'
In his perception, Fox and the other two had now gone very far. There was no need to remain within the Suna encirclement anymore.
But he never forgot Orochimaru's presence. The Eight Gates and Super Strength were open cards. Showing them a bit was fine. It should still be within a "reasonable" range. But other abilities definitely could not be exposed.
Thinking of this, Sora intentionally showed an opening. His movements seemed to slow by half a beat, as if the energy spent instantly killing the Suna jonin was too great.
"Got you."
Pakura snapped back from the shock of Sora killing her jonin and immediately seized the opportunity. Her scorching palm aimed straight for the opening at Sora's side.
Sora "hurriedly" defended, crossing his arms to block.
Boom.
Scorching power transmitted through his body. Sora grunted. Using the force, his figure flew backward. At the same time, his hands quickly formed seals.
"Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique."
Another dragon's breath fireball shot out, blocking Pakura's pursuit route.
"Kill someone and still want to run."
Pakura snorted coldly, quickly avoiding the fireball, and was about to give chase again.
But she saw Sora forcibly twist his body in mid air. Both feet fiercely stomped on the rock wall behind him.
"Crash."
The rock wall shattered. Sora shot back like a cannonball. He pushed the power of Super Strength and the Gate of Limit to the extreme. His fist carried an indomitable momentum, smashing towards Pakura.
"Final blow."
Pakura felt the power of this punch and did not dare to meet it head on. She activated Scorch Release with all her might, forming a high temperature barrier in front of her.
Boom.
The fist force and the high temperature barrier collided fiercely, erupting with a shocking shockwave.
Pakura was shaken back seven or eight steps by this tremendous force before stabilizing her posture. Her qi and blood churned.
Sora, using the recoil force, did not pause at all. He quickly rushed in the direction opposite to Fox and the other two. His speed was so fast only a green afterimage remained.
"Chase. Cannot let him escape."
Pakura suppressed her churning qi and blood. Her face was covered with frost. Alarm and anger surged in her heart.
She was actually forced to this point by a brat. And he withdrew so calmly. Moreover, it was after killing a jonin right in front of her.
She immediately flashed, rapidly chasing in the direction Sora fled, leaving behind a group of Suna-nin on the spot who looked at each other in dismay, their hearts still trembling.
...
Sora moved at full speed. Pakura chased closely behind, killing intent gleaming in her eyes.
She absolutely would not allow this Konoha brat with astonishing potential to leave alive.
One in front, one behind, like two bolts of lightning, they swiftly weaved through the mountain forests. Their speed was shockingly fast. In just a moment, they had left far behind those Suna-nin who tried to follow, disappearing from sight.
Detecting that only Pakura's chakra signature remained behind him, Sora's eyes moved slightly. His speed slowed a little.
Continuously fleeing like this was also not a solution. Pakura's tracking ability was not weak. If he could not make her withdraw knowing the difficulty, she would probably keep.
Thinking of this, Sora suddenly stopped his figure, turning to face the rapidly approaching Pakura.
"Brat, why aren't you running anymore? Chakra exhausted."
Pakura stopped ten meters in front of Sora. The Scorch Release fireballs floating beside her glowed even brighter.
"Just thought, perhaps there's no need to run anymore."
Sora spoke calmly. Although maintaining the Gate of Limit consumed a lot, with his physique he could still sustain it for a short time.
"Arrogant." Pakura snorted coldly. Wasting no more words, her hands formed seals. "Scorch Release, Multiple Instant Steam Murder."
Instantly, several scorching fireballs shot towards Sora like meteors, blocking all his dodging space.
Sora's gaze sharpened. Instead of retreating, he advanced. Both feet fiercely stomped the ground.
"Boom."
The ground exploded into a small crater. Sora's figure passed through the gaps between the fireballs like a ghost, instantly closing in on Pakura.
Pakura's heart was alarmed. She didn't expect Sora could still erupt with such astonishing instantaneous speed. She immediately changed her move. Both palms covered with scorching chakra met Sora's fist.
"Thud. Thud. Thud."
Close combat erupted again.
Sora combined the speed of the Eight Gates with the explosive power of Super Strength. His offensive was like a violent storm, each strike heavy and forceful, forcing Pakura to constantly block and dodge.
Pakura, relying on her rich experience and the peculiarity of Scorch Release, her palm strikes sharp, the high temperature scorching, often used exquisite footwork to dissolve Sora's fierce attacks, while searching for counterattack opportunities.
Her Scorch Release chakra was extremely penetrating. Even though Sora had chakra protection, prolonged contact could still cause a burning pain.
The two moved at high speed through the mountain forests. Wherever they passed, trees snapped, rocks shattered, the ground left with scorched black palm prints and cracked fist pits.
The more Pakura fought, the more alarmed she became.
This brat was not only astonishing in strength and speed, his combat awareness and resilience were even more beyond imagination.
Her Scorch Release actually could not break through his defenses in a short time. Instead, she needed to concentrate all her spirit to deal with that continuous onslaught of heavy blows.
'This brat's taijutsu. He's simply a monster. When did Konoha cultivate such a person.'
Sora similarly had a clearer understanding of Pakura's strength.
Truly worthy of being a hero of Suna. Her combat experience was seasoned, her use of Scorch Release superb. If not for relying on the hidden resistance and recovery brought by the Azure Dragon Fruit, he probably would have been defeated long ago.
In a short time, neither could gain the upper hand over the other.
After exchanging another blow, both simultaneously leaped back, facing each other across a dozen meters, breathing slightly heavily.
Pakura looked at Sora, whose aura was still steady. Her eyes were extremely grave.
She found she actually had no certainty of victory.
Continuing to fight, even if she could win, it would probably be a costly victory. Moreover, if the other party was determined to escape, she might not be able to stop him.
'This child absolutely cannot be left alive. But today.'
Pakura's thoughts raced, weighing the pros and cons. Pursuing alone deep into enemy territory was too risky. What if Konoha had another ambush.
Sora keenly caught the apprehension in Pakura's eyes. He knew the timing had arrived.
He deliberately took a deep breath, adopting a posture to continue attacking, and said in a low voice, "Still want to continue? Suna's Pakura."
Pakura's eyes flickered. Finally, she snorted coldly. "Hmph. Brat, consider yourself lucky this time. Next time we meet, I will definitely take your life."
After saying this, she did not hesitate anymore. Her figure leaped a few times and disappeared into the dense forest. She had actually taken the initiative to withdraw.
'Finally scared her off.'
Looking in the direction Pakura disappeared, Sora slowly let out a breath of turbid air and deactivated the Gate of Limit state.
A wave of fatigue surged up, but it was still within bearable limits. However, he still pretended to be physically exhausted, kneeling on one knee on the ground, while forcibly forcing out a mouthful of blood.
...
In the distance, within the lush canopy of a large tree, an inconspicuous small white snake slowly poked its head out from between the branches and leaves. Its golden vertical pupils gazed in the direction Pakura disappeared. Its tongue lightly flickered.
"Hehehe. The Eight Gates, Super Strength, and that extraordinary Fire Release. Truly a pleasantly surprising specimen."
"Twelve years old, can open the fifth gate, taijutsu attainments astonishing, chakra control far surpassing peers. Sora-kun, the secrets you hide are even more than I imagined."
"I am becoming more and more interested in you."
A flash of human-like greed and pleasure passed through the small white snake's eyes. Then it silently merged into the shadows, disappearing without a trace.
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