Rumble—!
Explosions continued to roar from the outside.
One ninjutsu after another slammed into the sphere formed by Adamantine Sealing Chains, only to be violently deflected and smashed into the surrounding ground instead.
In an instant, thick clouds of dust surged upward, swallowing the area.
"Attack—! Keep attacking!!"
Sando roared, his voice hoarse as he barked orders.
The smoke completely blocked his vision. He couldn't see Yagami or Kushina at all.
But he knew one thing clearly—
Someone like Yagami would never be taken down so easily.
To be safe, Sando chose the most brutal option: indiscriminate bombardment.
Under the relentless assault, the smoke grew denser and denser, spreading outward for hundreds of meters.
"Cough—cough—!"
"Stop!!"
After a long stretch of nonstop attacks, Sando finally shouted for a halt when he heard someone choking inside the smoke.
Haa… haa…
Heavy panting echoed nearby.
Maintaining such high-intensity ninjutsu had drained the Sand shinobi severely.
"Quick—sense it! What's going on in there?!"
Sando snapped at the sensory ninja beside him, eyes locked on the densest part of the smoke.
"Lalala—!"
Just as the perception technique spread—
Clink.
A faint sound of chains brushing together rang out.
Whoosh—!!
Something tore through the air.
"Not good!"
A powerful sense of danger crashed down on Sando.
His face went pale as instinct took over—he scattered chakra and leapt away without hesitation.
Boom—!
The sensory ninja, eyes still shut, was cleaved in half by a sudden slash.
Blood exploded across the ground.
Organs spilled out grotesquely.
Sando, ever cautious, narrowly escaped again.
"Cough… damn, that almost suffocated me."
Yagami's voice drifted calmly out of the smoke.
Once Kushina released the Adamantine Sealing Chains, his chakra flow surged back to life.
Hearing that familiar voice, the Sand shinobi were shaken to their core.
After such overwhelming bombardment…
They were still alive?!
"Cough—cough—!"
Kushina emerged as well, coughing as she hurriedly covered her nose and mouth.
Her cheeks were faintly red—whether from the stuffiness inside the chains or from standing so close to Yagami, even she wasn't sure.
Yagami swept his gaze around.
Then—
He stepped away from Kushina and vanished.
The battlefield was still blanketed in smoke, visibility ruined.
The perfect hunting ground.
"Eh?"
Kushina turned hurriedly—
Yagami was already gone.
At that very moment, screams erupted from all directions.
Puff—! Puff—!
"AAAAAAH—!!"
"Ugh—!!"
Yagami moved like a shadow through the smoke.
With Kagura's Mind's Eye perception, every Sand shinobi stood out clearly to him, even in total blindness.
Combined with his lightened body technique, his speed became terrifying.
There was no resistance.
No counterattack.
Because by the time they sensed him—
The black blade in Yagami's hand had already slid cleanly across their throats.
Screams overlapped endlessly.
The stench of blood spread through the air.
Fear—unknown, unseen—wrapped tightly around the battlefield.
"Fall back!! Retreat—get out of the smoke!!"
Sando's hysterical roar rang out once more.
He had already lost count of how many times he'd shouted like this today.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—
Even without his command, the Sand shinobi had already begun fleeing in every direction.
Facing an invisible enemy…
No one could stay calm.
"Wind Release — Great Breakthrough!"
"Wind Release — Vacuum Wave!"
"Wind Release — Wind Scythe!"
Once outside the smoke, they turned back in unison and unleashed their techniques.
Huuuu—!!
Layered winds fused together, howling violently across the battlefield.
In moments, the smoke and dust were completely blown away.
The air cleared.
Visibility returned.
Yagami and Kushina stood exposed once more.
The Sand shinobi froze.
Yagami's weapon dripped steadily with blood.
And scattered across the ground—
More than thirty bodies lay collapsed in pools of red.
All of them were their comrades.
"Heh. Pretty quick reaction."
Yagami snorted, flicking his wrist.
The black blade Shūsui snapped downward, flinging off the blood that clung to it.
The sword gleamed once again, dark and clean.
Just like before.
Gulp… gulp…
The sound of swallowing echoed repeatedly.
The Sand shinobi stood frozen in shock.
In just a handful of breaths…
Over thirty people had been slaughtered.
If this continued, there wouldn't be enough of them left to even die properly.
Kushina stared at Yagami, eyes unfocused, something indescribable stirring within her.
She was stunned by how effortlessly he had harvested their enemies.
Yet unlike the Sand shinobi, she felt no fear—
Only an overwhelming sense of calm.
A strange, absolute sense of safety.
Silence fell.
Even the sound of the breeze felt unbearably loud.
Facing Yagami now, the Sand shinobi felt utterly powerless.
Only now did they truly understand—
They had underestimated him.
Not just a little.
The gap between them wasn't something numbers could fix.
It was a difference in dimensions.
Panic spread silently through the ranks.
Every heart grew unbearably heavy.
"Why are you all standing there?"
Yagami spoke, his tone casual, merciless.
"This is it? This is what you brought to invade the Land of Fire?"
No one answered.
The Sand shinobi stayed silent—not out of pride, but because none of them could speak.
Two days ago, when the advance force was formed…
They had joined eagerly.
Dreaming of glory.
Dreaming of making a name for themselves in the ninja world.
And yet...
They hadn't even encountered Konoha's main forces.
They were stopped by just two people.
And annihilated.
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