Yet there were things that had to be done—no matter the cost.
"Damn it! A student who hasn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy, forcing open the next Gate. So you've already given up on your own life, huh?"
Fu Yamanaka spat out, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth—proof that even that brief clash of chakra had left him seriously injured.
Looking at Shiki Uzumaki's current state, his hair rising with the surge of chakra.
The ground beneath them cracked under the immense pressure.
Whether it was fists or legs, the terrifying chakra pouring off him made it impossible for Fu Yamanaka to muster any fighting spirit.
Fu Yamanaka began scanning the surroundings with his sensing abilities. He needed to escape!
If he could just avoid engaging Shiki Uzumaki for a while, without even needing to launch an attack, Shiki would collapse on his own.
After all, forcibly opening the next Gate within the Eight Gates meant using one's very life force to fight.
"In that case," Fu Yamanaka said coolly, "I'll let you burn for a bit," before preparing to flee.
Shiki stared at him, eyes seemingly devoid of emotion. But only Shiki himself knew the fury raging in his heart.
You really think you can escape?
Watching Fu Yamanaka start running, Shiki realized this speed was far beyond what a regular Chunin could match.
Even as he fled, Fu Yamanaka kept forming hand seals nonstop, leaving layer upon layer of illusory traps (Genjutsu) along his path.
Explosive Tags were rigged together with Kunai to create deadly traps.
Though these traps might make even a Chunin sigh in despair, against Shiki in his current state, they clearly weren't enough.
Still, Fu Yamanaka never truly expected those traps to stop Shiki Uzumaki—delaying him momentarily was their real purpose.
In fact, this was precisely why he, as a Sensor-type ninja, dared to carry out missions alone.
"Cursed brat, just die here!"
Boom!!!
The sonic explosion came crashing through, before Fu Yamanaka's grin had even fully faded.
That red-haired figure cloaked in wild green chakra already stood before him.
Crash! Boom! Bang!
Explosions rumbled behind him one after another. Yet compared to this looming presence, everything felt too slow—just too damn slow.
"N-No... please!!"
Almost instinctively, Fu Yamanaka whimpered in a trembling, feeble voice.
Shiki fixed him with a cold gaze, slowly raising his right arm high into the air.
Sena is dead.
Not because of anything she did—Sena is gone.
The kind-hearted Sena who always tried to protect those she could help—she's gone.
Her once cheerful smile now lingered only as a permanent memory inside Shiki's mind.
She still wanted to become an excellent Medical Ninja.
She still wanted to support the orphanage and take in more children.
She still wished to see Shiki grow into an independent ninja.
She was the last family Shiki had left in Konoha.
"Therefore… YOU MUST DIE!!!"
Above Shiki's raised right arm surged an aura so terrifying it was suffocating.
Even the Chakra Air Wave generated by Shiki opening the Fifth Gate [Eight Gates] was converging toward his right hand in this moment.
A storm began to violently swirl around Shiki.
The saplings recently planted along the roadside were now completely uprooted, and even the larger trees were swaying uncontrollably.
Even the clouds in the sky had been scattered by this powerful gust of energy.
And Fu Yamanaka standing before Shiki Uzumaki could no longer even keep his eyes open.
Such intense chakra!
How could someone possess such overwhelming power?
This ninjutsu must've reached S-rank level!
But how could a child who hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy possibly unleash an attack this terrifying?
"What's happening over there?"
Homura Mitokado suddenly exclaimed in shock, pointing through a window toward the distant storm.
But before he could finish speaking, a strong gust of wind blew through the window, lifting papers all across the room.
As the Third felt that gust of wind, he could already sense the immense power behind it.
"Is it an A-rank Wind Release technique?"
Even Koharu Utatane marveled at the whirlwind lifting countless objects into the air.
At this moment, the Third shook his head and said, "No, that's not Wind Release. That is a technique capable of reaching near S-rank!"
Meanwhile, the kneeling ANBU beside him also looked outside in astonishment. He had just arrived to report that *Root* was conducting a major operation within Konoha.
Their Hokage's direct subordinate ANBU commander, Yamato, was already thoroughly investigating the matter and would probably report back after some unknown amount of time.
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect Root to cause such chaos before he'd even finished reporting.
No way could this ANBU agent have imagined that such a devastating attack came from a kid who hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy.
"Koharu! Homura! We have to go—*now!*"
The Third ordered, then dashed out the window.
Even if he couldn't stop this technique from occurring, he must at least confine it within the barrier.
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