Chapter 167: Sage Art: Immovable Flame Slash
"Cough, cough," Bunjin lay on the ground in a disheveled state, coughing violently as he clutched his mouth.
Although he seemed to be at the end of his rope, Kyosuke and Orochimaru stopped a few meters away, not approaching him rashly.
The powerful attack just now had indeed hit its mark. However, if a Kage-level powerhouse were to lose their ability to fight just like that, they would not be worthy of the title of powerhouse.
"How cautious," Bunjin said, seeing that the two of them had not approached. He sighed and then slowly stood up.
When he saw the somewhat playful look in Kyosuke's eyes, he was stunned for a moment, and then a sense of sudden realization rose in his heart.
"Have my actions of gathering chakra been seen through by those eyes... no choice."
He looked down at his seriously injured arm and abdomen, and then at the two enemies who were at ease. Bunjin knew in his heart that if he wasn't careful today, he could easily die here.
For this, while he was preparing for a desperate fight, he also gave a look to a subordinate in the distance, signaling him to hurry and find Elder Chiyo to rescue him.
Seeing that his subordinate had successfully understood his meaning, Bunjin refocused his attention on the two of them.
"Facing an injured old man, do you need to be so cautious?" Bunjin said with a mocking tone, trying to buy some time with his words.
Hearing his words, Kyosuke sneered and said, "It's your own fault that your disguise is so low-level. You can't blame us."
"Oh, right," Kyosuke said, interrupting Bunjin's next words. His entire body was once again surrounded by sage art chakra, and at the same time, he said with a cold laugh, "Don't think that we haven't seen through your purpose of stalling for time. The reason we're wasting our breath with you here is because I also need some time to activate Sage Mode."
The moment his words fell, Bunjin's pupils suddenly widened. At the same time, Kyosuke and Orochimaru charged at him again.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Orochimaru, with a single move, directly used a signature ninjutsu of the Third Hokage.
Faced with Orochimaru's surprise attack, Bunjin, dragging his injured body, performed a set of perfect basic evasion maneuvers. Although the more than ten shuriken were fierce, they were all dodged by him without exception.
"Not bad, but you probably can't dodge this move," Orochimaru said with a low laugh, his single hand slamming on the ground.
"Secret Technique: Evil Snake Meander."
With Orochimaru's release of the jutsu, Bunjin felt a crisp crack from the ground beneath his feet. A sense of alarm rose in his heart, and at the same time, he was preparing to dodge to the side.
However, the reason this Evil Snake Meander was a secret technique was because of its suddenness and the instantaneous burst of power that it erupted from the ground. It was not so easy to dodge.
Looking at the snake head that was rapidly rushing toward him, Bunjin simply didn't bother to dodge. He was too late to release a ninjutsu, so he gathered all his strength and directly threw a punch.
This punch displayed the powerful physical fitness of a Kage-level powerhouse to the fullest.
It had to be said that the giant snakes summoned by the Evil Snake Meander were all strictly selected by Orochimaru. Compared with the same kind of snakes, they were excellent in terms of speed, strength, and size. This included the giant snake, which was more than ten meters long, that had just been directly killed.
This showed how powerful Bunjin's punch was.
"...It's more troublesome than I thought," Orochimaru said, his gaze deep as he swept over the enemy's injured parts and the constantly swinging fist.
The real difficulty of this ambush was indeed a bit beyond Orochimaru's expectations. Bunjin, after completely deciding to fight to the death, had erupted with strength that was actually three points stronger than before. If Orochimaru wanted to kill him before Chiyo arrived to support him, it would probably be a bit difficult.
"But I have a helper. Kyosuke-kun, let me see with my own eyes how much you've grown."
"Secret Technique: Snake Glare Curse Binding."
Orochimaru summoned a group of poisonous snakes to restrain Bunjin's figure, and then he turned his gaze to the figure that was under the cover of the poisonous snakes.
"Whew..." The poisonous snakes dispersed, and the enemy's figure had appeared in his line of sight. Kyosuke let out a light breath, his two Sharingan firmly fixed on the enemy's every move.
The Kusanagi sword, which had been held in his hand, had been re-sheathed. He held the scabbard with his left hand, and his right palm was held open, at the hilt. At the same time, the sage art chakra throughout his body was almost all condensed on the sword's blade.
Seeing this scene, anyone could probably tell that Kyosuke was brewing some kind of powerful finishing move, which was why he was in such a strange posture. But as the target, Bunjin could not feel the slightest trace of killing intent from the former.
However, this situation did not make him feel at ease. On the contrary, for the first time since the start of the war, he had a feeling of trembling that came from the bottom of his heart.
I'm going to die. If I can't take this sword, I'm really going to die, Bunjin thought, cold sweat instantly streaming down his forehead.
Seeing that the enemy had not yet launched an attack, and that he was actually a bit timid, the experienced Bunjin knew that if he continued like this, he would surely die. So, without any further ado, he took the initiative and charged at Kyosuke, who seemed to have no aura.
"Wind Release: Blade of Wind."
A buzzing sound rang out, and with a burst of chakra from his entire body, Bunjin, almost with an afterimage, swung his sword down at Kyosuke.
His purpose was clear. It was to see if he dared to fight to a draw. If Kyosuke hesitated for a moment, he would probably not only be unable to kill the enemy, but even he himself would be in danger.
But in his current state, Kyosuke's mind was unable to consider these factors. Because at this time, his entire attention was highly concentrated on the enemy, constantly looking for openings, and he simply had no time to think about so many problems.
Although Bunjin's full-power burst was very fast, in Kyosuke's eyes, he could still clearly see his movement trajectory.
Just as his arm had just been raised, preparing to swing down, a flash of light passed through Kyosuke's eyes.
Instantly, a white-hot flame filled Bunjin's vision.
The Kusanagi sword, unsheathed!
"Sage Art: Immovable Flame Slash."
This powerful iaijutsu was a sword technique that Kyosuke could only use after activating Sage Mode. Its power and speed were far greater than the few sword techniques he had mastered before.
Of course, with Kyosuke's current strength and swordsmanship level, even with the bonus of Sage Mode, he would need a long time to charge up to use this iaijutsu. That was why Orochimaru had summoned so many poisonous snakes to buy him time.
Fortunately, in the end, he had not disappointed and had hit Bunjin's body. Even if he couldn't kill him with a single sword strike, he would probably lose seventy percent of his combat power. After that, it would be impossible for him to withstand the combined forces of Orochimaru and Kyosuke.
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