The Hidden Mist had deployed three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen: Raiga Kurosuki, Fuguki Suikazan, and Juzo Biwa. With the Mist striking from both sides in a pincer maneuver, the Hidden Sand forces were instantly thrown into chaos.
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
On the battlefield, Pakura, dressed in her sleek combat attire, conjured dozens of crimson orbs of fire. She moved with a graceful yet lethal trajectory, hurtling toward her enemies like a storm of violent energy.
However, her opponent, Fuguki Suikazan, stood his ground with the sentient blade Samehada. With a rapid series of hand signs, he unleashed a staggering amount of chakra.
A Great Waterfall Technique erupted, instantly washing over the battlefield. Standing atop the surging water, Fuguki wore a cruel, predatory smirk.
As a primary intelligence officer for the Mist, Fuguki's abilities were a natural hard counter to Pakura. Although both were elite Jonin, Fuguki held a clear advantage: his massive chakra reserves, the damp environment, and his mastery of Water Style suppressed Pakura's Scorch Release at every turn.
As the mist and spray filled the air, Juzo Biwa lunged toward the Shiraishi Human Puppet with his Executioner's Blade.
Having analyzed data from the original Shiraishi's previous encounter with Juzo, the puppet reacted with mechanical precision. Its Core of Reincarnation Eye locked onto Juzo's position, tracking him through specialized thermal sensors.
The puppet clones, aided by an internal super-computing array, were far more emotionally stable than a human; their combat maneuvers were the product of cold, hard calculation.
In the shinobi world, intelligence is everything. Compared to Shiraishi's last encounter, the puppet was perfectly prepared. Its silver blade generated a localized Gale Blade, carving a path of fierce counter-offensives through the thick fog.
This brat... his raw power hasn't increased much—he even feels a bit weaker—but his tactics and experience are on a different level, Juzo thought. It's as if he used our last fight to build a perfect counter-strategy.
Juzo split into two Water Clones, attacking from different angles. The puppet Shiraishi flicked its fingers, and dozens of Flying Water Shuriken shot out from its chakra threads.
The high-speed shuriken collided with Juzo's blade, triggering violent steam explosions. The searing heat forced Juzo back several steps, only to find the puppet already positioned behind him.
They traded blows—a heavy punch from Juzo infused with a concussive water pulse against the puppet's palm, which hummed with a sharp Gale Blade. As the shockwave of their collision rippled through the air, Juzo's eyes narrowed.
This kid... his movements are flawless, but those little human habits are gone. There's something strange about him. He's... too hollow.
Indeed, while the puppet's combat was perfect, Juzo felt an eerie lack of presence. There was no battle-lust, no adrenaline—just a machine fighting without a single heartbeat of emotion.
"Kid, you're impressive," Juzo grunted. "To fight with such calm that your heart rate doesn't even flicker."
His words put the puppet on high alert. It instantly formed a seal, summoning the Scarlet Control Mirror from a scroll. Dozens of chakra threads shot into the earth, pulling up twelve Earth Clones of Shiraishi. Under the puppet's masterful control, the clones formed a small army and charged Juzo.
Before leaving the Sand Village, the original Shiraishi hadn't taken the Mirror to the Land of Rivers. However, when the puppet took over, it had retrieved the weapon for the battlefield.
The Mist had already gathered intelligence on the Mirror, and Fuguki had briefed Juzo before the mission. Dozens of Mist mobile units joined the fray, helping Juzo intercept the swarm of Earth Clones.
The Sand was now at a massive numerical disadvantage.
On the front lines, fifteen Jonin from the Kaguya Clan were slaughtering their way through the Sand ranks with savage brutality. Their dead bone pulse(Shikotsumyaku) bloodline limit made them a nightmare for the Sand ninjas, who relied heavily on mechanical puppets.
"Maki, watch out!"
Facing a Kaguya ninja, Shikasa deployed all his puppets. He used his specialized mirrors to coordinate several units, but under the sheer ferocity of the Bone Pulse's close-quarters combat, his puppets were reduced to scrap metal in seconds.
Shikasa yanked Maki back with a chakra thread just as a Kaguya Jonin's bone blade whistled past her. He then used the remaining puppet parts to stall the enemy.
The trio of Ryoji, Bizen, and Mai held three different sectors, fighting desperately. Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. Fukuyama fell, his head severed by a Kaguya Jonin.
"Senior Fukuyama!"
Fukuyama had been one of the original members of the mobile unit alongside Shiraishi. Though he wasn't the strongest and was often quiet, he was fiercely loyal.
He had acted as a "big brother" figure to the team, looking after Mai and the others in their daily lives. His death sent the trio into a frenzy of grief and rage.
"Damned Mist!"
Having learned from the battle at Kikyo Mountain, the Mist had intentionally increased the humidity of the air to its limit, dampening the effectiveness of the Sand's explosive tags.
Yet, the Sand's resilience surprised them. Pakura and Shiraishi were the emotional pillars of the camp; as long as they fought, the Sand soldiers refused to break.
We must crush them now!
The Mist high commander exchanged a look with Raiga Kurosuki in the distance. Suddenly, a violent, terrifying chakra began to radiate from the Mist camp.
A dark, bone-chilling cold swept over the field, accompanied by a surge of strange, bubbling corrosive liquid that charred the very ground it touched.
A middle-aged Mist Jonin stepped forward, his body gradually becoming enveloped in a faint, blood-red Version 1 Tailed Beast Shroud. As the bubbles intensified, six blood-red tails sprouted from his back.
This was... the Six-Tails Jinchuriki (Utakata)!
"Everyone, get back!" Pakura's face went pale. She had never expected the Mist to deploy three swordsmen and a Jinchuriki. This was an overkill force specifically designed to wipe them out.
The six tails lashed out simultaneously, spraying a massive deluge of Corrosive Liquid over the Sand camp. Anyone touched by this fluid would be dissolved into nothingness—bones and all.
The Sand ninjas stared in horror. Against a transformed Jinchuriki, ordinary shinobi were defenseless.
"Scorch Release: Blazing Sun!"
Facing the Six-Tails' attack, Pakura's eyes burned with resolve. She activated her ultimate secret technique, transforming her entire body into a massive sphere of fire.
She lunged upward into the falling corrosive rain, intending to use the extreme heat of her Scorch Release to vaporize the acid before it hit her comrades.
The burning fireball spun in mid-air like a giant, blooming lotus of flame. Within the center, Pakura gritted her teeth against the backlash of her own jutsu.
"While I can still hold it... retreat! Move now!"
At that exact moment, as the Forest of Asura vanished, the massive barrier protecting the area collapsed. Shiraishi stepped out of the woods, hovering on a platform of silver Magnet Release sand.
The orange cat sat quietly by his side, still mourning Asura's passing. Shiraishi, having sealed the black rod into a scroll, gripped the Sage's Blade (now in its Silver Blade form) at his waist and expanded his chakra sensory range.
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