Chapter 136: Taijutsu Upgrade - Breaking into the Enemy Lines
A forest of sharp, rocky spires growing in the desert, its paths winding and twisting, the ground cracked and crisscrossed.
The wind, rising again, flowed slowly through the eroded rock pillars, emitting a mournful wail.
Even though Sunagakure had gained the upper hand, the terrifying scene of that sword strike, along with the imposing figure of the lone wolf, was deeply etched into the hearts of all the Sunagakure forces present.
It was almost a nightmare!
The Sunagakure commander let out a long breath, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.
The incredibly dramatic special effects of that sword strike had almost scared him to death.
However, in actual combat, under the combined attack of the Collaboration Ninjutsu: Wind Release: Super Great Sickle Weasel Technique's vacuum wind blades, the sword had exploded so easily.
This allowed the Sunagakure commander to instantly analyze many things.
He raised his head, gazing at the temporarily silent battlefield, his eyes no longer showing any contempt.
He frowned, pondered for a moment, and then speculated:
"It seems that brat won't be able to use that technique a second time in a short period."
"Even if he does try again, this time we only need to send four squads to ensure complete victory. Sending the rest of our forces to handle Manda will be enough to hold off that snake."
Thinking of this, the Sunagakure commander let out a deep breath, thankfully saying:
"Fortunately, it's just a brat. If Orochimaru had come personally, we wouldn't have been enough to stop him."
"Let's finish this quickly."
The Sunagakure commander took a deep breath and was about to give the order when a Sunagakure chunin, his face filled with terror, rushed over, stepping carefully across the jagged stone pillars scattered on the ground. His expression was as if he'd seen a ghost.
As soon as he got close, he opened his mouth wide, gasping for breath like a drowning fish, and cried out in alarm:
"Commander!"
"Something's wrong!"
The Sunagakure commander, who had just finished his analysis and was feeling confident of victory, even marveling at his own extraordinary tactical intelligence, was suddenly interrupted.
His face stiffened, and he looked up, puzzled, asking:
"Hmm? What is it now?"
"Commander!"
"That—that brat, he's... he's not human!"
The Sunagakure chunin was terrified, his arm trembling as he pointed in a direction behind him, shaking like a leaf.
"No, calm down. Explain clearly—how is he not human?"
The Sunagakure commander's lips twitched slightly as he asked in a low voice:
"And what exactly happened?"
The Sunagakure ninja swallowed hard and turned his head.
"Look over there!"
The Sunagakure commander frowned immediately upon hearing this, looking up to see that under the enchanting moonlight and in the quiet night breeze, the forest of stone pillars suddenly trembled.
In an instant, the deafening light of ninjutsu turned the surrounding area a ghastly white!
Then an unimaginably fast figure soared into the sky, tracing a crescent moon as it descended, grazing the edge of the ninjutsu, as if spreading its wings and gliding!
A pair of scarlet eyes reflected the moon in the sky, shining brightly!
With the boy's whirling figure, a crescent-shaped arc of light followed like a shadow!
Pebbles, clods of earth, wind blades, weeds, desert shrubs!
After this rapidly spinning sword light, wielding a wild dance of moonlight, swept across, everything was thrown into chaos!
"Ahhhhh!!!"
"Ugh! Pfft!"
"Help!"
"Get away from me! You demon!"
"Don't come any closer!"
The next moment, the screams of the Sunagakure ninja suddenly tore through the silent air, bringing this silent slaughter to center stage!
The Sunagakure commander's eyes widened instantly.
"Why—why can this brat fly?!"
"It's like—it's like a bird flying in the sky!"
The Sunagakure chunin immediately shouted urgently:
"Commander, make a decision quickly, or he'll break through to us!"
"Huff... huff..." The Sunagakure commander was instantly drenched in sweat, the pressure increasing dramatically.
Faced with this completely unfamiliar tactic, he panicked.
However, as an elite member of Sunagakure, he quickly made a decision. He immediately turned to his elite troops and ordered in a deep voice:
"Sakuta, Inae, and Takaji—you immediately lead your teams to intercept Manda."
"Don't let it break into our lines!"
"If that snake gets through, everything will be over!"
Then the Sunagakure commander's eyes flashed with malice. He clasped his hands together and shouted:
"The rest of us—our four squads and the entire army will stop this brat."
"We will kill him!"
On the other side, Tsukasa sprinted through the jagged stone forest, gripping the Kusanagi sword in one hand and manipulating wire with the other. He picked up ninja tools from the ground and threw them, then, pulling on the wires with both hands, he leaped high into the air and swung into the shadows.
Changing direction, he suddenly pounced on the Sunagakure ninja—some reacting, some not—fighting to the death, eliminating any Sunagakure members who tried to stop him.
His objective was singular: to break into Sunagakure's central command and complete the unfinished decapitation strike!
As Tsukasa eliminated wave after wave of Sunagakure members blocking his path, his experience in combat grew rapidly.
Through constant battle and ruthless practice, his fundamental abilities—particularly his basic taijutsu—rapidly improved, quickly surpassing adequate proficiency and reaching genuine mastery.
His footwork became swifter, and his swordplay more precise.
His previously disorganized taijutsu and swordsmanship, along with this improved foundation, allowed Tsukasa to conceive many new applications and explore how to fuse these elements together to form the basic outline of a higher-level fighting style.
However, just then, as Tsukasa was sprinting toward his next target, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, and a warning bell rang in his mind.
He instinctively stopped, leaping backward.
The next moment, a violent gust of wind, flying from afar, slammed into his previous position.
Collaboration Ninjutsu: Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!
In an instant, the wind burst open, unleashing a dense barrage of wind blades that tore the ground apart.
The violent gusts blew Tsukasa backward, shoving him more than three meters across the ground. Six bloody gashes instantly appeared on his body from the passing wind blades!
He raised his head, pulled on a wire, and leaped onto the top of a stone pillar. His crimson eyes narrowed instantly.
At Sunagakure's central command position, four squads, along with the Sunagakure commander—twelve elite Sunagakure soldiers—were coldly watching him.
Their hands simultaneously formed hand seals, and wind spheres were already condensing, ready to be launched.
The surrounding environment and atmosphere suddenly changed.
The seemingly insignificant genin were all quietly withdrawn, and the aura of the ninja surrounding him from the shadows was completely different from before.
Tsukasa narrowed his eyes slightly, a smirk playing on his lips.
He warily surveyed his surroundings, then licked his lips and chuckled:
"That's more like it!"
"It's no fun sending those weaklings to their deaths all the time."
With that, Tsukasa took a running start, his fingers unfurling as he leaped into the air, charging toward the center of the enemy ranks.
Immediately, over ten Sunagakure chunin jumped down from in front and behind him, launching a close-quarters attack!
A kunai, crackling with burning explosive tags, hurtled toward him!
Tsukasa raised an eyebrow, bent low, and reduced friction with a chakra-enhanced slide.
Then, with a sudden tug of his left hand pulling on the wires, his speed increased dramatically. Before the explosive tags detonated, he caught the kunai with two fingers, then, without looking back, flung it to his side!
BOOM!
A hot wind blew past his head.
Ignoring the chaos around him, Tsukasa leaped into the air, charging into the center of the enemy encirclement.
With a powerful kick, he stomped on a Sunagakure shinobi's face, sending him sprawling. He then dodged a sword slash, his Sharingan flashing, instantly hypnotizing the Sunagakure ninja before him.
He raised his palm to strike the shinobi's jaw, crouching to dodge a horizontal sword strike while simultaneously sweeping his legs, knocking down two more Sunagakure forces.
Using the momentum, Tsukasa braced himself on the ground, somersaulting into the air and swinging his Kusanagi sword with a powerful blow, knocking down another enemy.
Amidst the onslaught of four attackers, he unleashed a series of devastating sword techniques. To the astonishment of his enemies, he turned and circled behind them with incredible speed, then delivered a devastating slash, cutting down all four.
The sword light, reflecting the moonlight, continuously flashed out, and the enemies before him fell one after another.
His taijutsu became increasingly refined through constant battles.
Parrying techniques, counter-attacks, feints, and various footwork techniques, enhanced by his combat intuition, were used at more than double their normal effectiveness!
These scenes made the Sunagakure commander, watching from afar, bloodshot with rage.
The Sunagakure chunin standing beside him shouted urgently:
"Commander, don't wait any longer—he's too strong!"
"Attack directly!"
"Even if we sacrifice some men, as long as we can kill that brat, it'll be worth it!"
The Sunagakure jonin gritted his teeth. He had never imagined that a mere child could be so powerful.
Even the ten elite chunin squads that had been dispatched to surround him couldn't do anything to him! They couldn't even force this brat to reveal any more of his abilities.
"It's come to this."
The Sunagakure commander's eyes sharpened, and he immediately roared menacingly:
"Everyone, listen to my command!"
"Combined ninjutsu coverage! Blast that area to ashes!"
End of Chapter 136
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