"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Countless snakes, their blood-red mouths wide open, lunged toward Ras. Just as the snake heads were about to touch his arm, Ras's figure vanished from the spot.
"Hmph."
He casually tossed aside Tazuna's corpse, whose neck he had just snapped, and suddenly reached back with both hands.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't you think this is going a little too far...?"
Asuma's face twisted into a bitter smile when he saw Ras's hands tightly gripping his wrists, which were holding the chakra blades.
The difference in their strength was just too vast. So vast that even though Asuma had managed to find the perfect moment to strike, he couldn't inflict a single scratch on the man.
"Arghhhh!"
Asuma's bitter smile quickly turned into a scream.
Ras tightened his grip, the sound of bones snapping echoing sharply—he had crushed both of Asuma's forearms.
"Get lost!"
A massive serpentine arm swept through the air as Anko swung it with all her strength, forcing Ras to release Asuma.
"Are you okay, Asuma?!"
Anko positioned herself protectively in front of him, her eyes full of unease as she glared at Ras.
Even Asuma couldn't defeat this guy?
"Not good… My arms are useless, a few ribs are broken, and I think there's some internal bleeding."
Even as he said that, Asuma stubbornly forced himself upright, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.
"What terrifying chakra..."
Karin didn't dare look directly at Ras. In her sensory perception, his chakra was like a savage beast—devouring and horrifying.
"I feel it too. My scalp's going numb."
Naruto's face was tense. He extended an arm to shield Sasuke and Karin, glancing toward the others.
"You guys okay? Shikamaru, Ino, Choji?"
"We—we're fine. But Tazuna-san..."
Ino shook her head lightly and looked at Tazuna's corpse.
That old man who loved to drink and brag, who dreamed of changing his homeland's miserable fate... was gone.
"Now's not the time to mourn for others, Ino."
Karin fought to suppress her fear and held Ino's trembling hand, whispering softly to comfort her.
"I know."
Ino nodded. The grief in her eyes quickly faded, replaced by determination.
Though the six of them couldn't do much to change the battle, not one of them ran.
"This is bad. My strength's below yours, so if even you can't handle him..."
Anko completely lost her appetite for dango. A guy who could overpower Asuma—there was no way she and six kids could win.
"Any other reinforcements?"
Even though it was a long shot, Asuma still asked Anko with a sliver of hope.
"There are, but by the time they get here, we'll probably be dead already."
Even at the brink of death, Anko managed a strained joke.
Ras didn't interrupt their exchange. Instead, he watched them thoughtfully.
Emotion—something Amado once said he lacked.
No, not "lacked," but "was deficient in."
He couldn't understand why this woman was cracking jokes at such a time. If it were him, he'd focus entirely on eliminating his enemy, not chatting with a cripple.
"Forget it. I'll go first. See if you can take the kids and run!"
Seeing Ras still standing there motionless, Anko knew full well that Asuma couldn't escape in his current state—but she still charged ahead.
"Too slow."
Ras suddenly raised his leg and kicked Anko square in the face, sending her flying.
A one-hit knockout?
The "Anko" he had kicked apart dissolved into countless snakes that slithered up Ras's body.
"Run!"
Sasuke and Naruto instantly understood what she meant and threw down smoke bombs.
Before the snakes could wrap around him, Ras unleashed a violent surge of chakra, blasting both the snakes and the smoke away.
When the smoke finally cleared, only Tazuna's corpse remained on the ground—beside it, his fallen sake bottle.
"Go! Hurry!"
In the forest, Anko was supporting Asuma as they leaped swiftly through the trees.
At this speed, any ordinary genin would have been left far behind.
Fortunately, the students under their care were all from shinobi clans—trained even before enrolling in the Academy. None were left behind, allowing Anko to increase her pace with confidence.
"It's no use, Anko. He's too fast. We'll be caught soon. Let me stay behind to buy you some time..."
"Shut up! If Takeshi found out you said that, he'd slap you senseless."
Anko barked coldly.
"A Konoha shinobi never abandons their comrades. The Third, the Fourth, and the Fifth Hokage all upheld that principle."
Asuma tried to protest, "But..."
"No buts! Miko Teruhiko is carrying out a mission nearby. If we're lucky, we'll run into them soon."
Anko didn't let him continue, cutting him off firmly.
"Sigh... Let's hope so."
Asuma wasn't a pessimist, but after their recent encounter, he knew full well the enemy would catch up soon. And when that happened...
He glanced at Anko, silently making up his mind.
If that time came, he would fight to the death—to buy them even a sliver of hope.