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"Hey—!"
"Kakashi!"
Almost the instant Kakashi's figure shot out, Obito, still maintaining his Transformation Jutsu, couldn't help but cry out.
"Idiot, shut up!"
Hozuki Mangetsu, beside him, suddenly roared at him.
At the same time, he kept observing the sky, his head still tilted upwards.
Before Obito could run towards Kakashi, Hozuki Mangetsu's figure suddenly darted out, pressing both of them down with one hand each, pinning them to the ground.
"Heads down!"
Hearing his voice, Obito, who had been hot-headed a second ago, paused, instinctively lowering his head as his companion requested.
The next moment.
"Whoosh—"
A scorching wind suddenly swept past the scalps of the three, emitting an extremely sharp friction sound that subtly vibrated their eardrums.
Looking ahead, a large expanse of dense forest in front of the three was completely leveled by this sweep, leaving behind numerous tree stumps with smooth cross-sections.
"That guy…"
Hozuki Mangetsu glared bitterly at the figure that had swept through a large section of the forest and finally landed in the distance, his brows tightly furrowed.
'Damn it.'
'Why am I fighting so desperately for Konoha people?!'
However, even before his brain could react, his body had already begun to move.
His footsteps landed on the ground, splashing large amounts of snow, and as fine white waves of snow billowed, they propelled his slender figure forward in an unyielding charge towards the woman.
A narrow Ninjutsu blade extended from the young man's side, tracing a clear arc of light.
"Oh?"
"Even in this situation, do you still wish to fight like a cornered beast, young man?"
The frivolous female voice, with a slight drawl, seemed to mock Hozuki Mangetsu's futile resistance.
But in reality, the figure that had landed on the ground, the moment Hozuki Mangetsu charged, had delicate curved blades spring from both sides of her arms, showing no sign of slackening.
At the same time, the edges of the head armor covering Tsurugi Hyori's ears subtly swayed, and the ends of the two signal reception lines, like feathers, flickered with faint light.
This was the new Chakra armor, Falcon Type, specially modified for her by 'The Guild'.
This armor not only allowed her to glide for long periods in the sky but also granted her super-high detection and perception abilities.
Almost the instant Hozuki Mangetsu's figure moved, she saw through all his actions.
"Clang!"
The cold curved blade on the side of her forearm slashed, colliding with the narrow Ninjutsu blade, sparking tiny flames.
Tsurugi Hyori's body lunged forward, and her other arm lashed out like a whip, seemingly about to pierce Hozuki Mangetsu's body.
However, the young man's figure suddenly leaped backward, his entire body seeming to blur in that instant.
"Mist Shunshin."
"Pfft!"
The rapidly shooting curved blade pierced through the figure, but only tore the illusion into two halves, dissolving into countless fine mist droplets.
Tsurugi Hyori's cruel smile froze slightly.
Before she could even raise her head further to search for Hozuki Mangetsu's figure, a low hum sounded in her ear.
"Ninjutsu: Hidden Mist Jutsu – Modified."
Originally, in the severely cold the Land of Snow, this Ninjutsu, only suitable for humid areas, was not ideal. However, Hozuki Mangetsu found a new approach, using the floating refractive surfaces formed by mist droplets solidifying in the ultra-low temperature environment to extensively construct an area of 'snow blindness'.
His figure was hidden among countless cold, solidified, yet still floating liquid droplets. Not only his footsteps when moving, but even his heartbeat and breathing seemed completely concealed, silently infiltrating the center of this vast white snowstorm.
"Eyes, throat, heart, spleen…"
"Which part do you want to be taken first?"
Hozuki Mangetsu's flickering voice echoed eerily from the depths of the snowstorm.
Then, Tsurugi Hyori, who had been on guard a second ago, upon hearing his words, inadvertently revealed a playful look on her beautiful face.
"Oh, little brother, which part do you want to take?"
The moment he heard this, Hozuki Mangetsu's brow instinctively furrowed, and even his footsteps paused for a moment.
However, it was this brief pause.
"Whoosh!"
A flying Kunai directly pierced through the mist, shooting towards his face with a whistling sound.
Almost instinctively, Hozuki Mangetsu arched his body backward, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Even so, he could still clearly feel a burning pain on his cheek.
'She can see me?'
The instant he realized this, Hozuki Mangetsu immediately rolled to the other side, moving erratically left and right, trying to shake off the opponent's lock, while continuously releasing corresponding Perception Chakra towards the ground according to a secret method to determine the opponent's position.
But…
How was he discovered?
Although he had been embedded in Konoha for some time, Hozuki Mangetsu believed he had never neglected the skills he learned from Hidden Mist. He should have reached a considerable level by now.
"Little brother, where are you running off to?"
From the center of the snowstorm, Tsurugi Hyori's voice, tinged with a hint of arrogance, came through.
"Hmph."
Hozuki Mangetsu's body was slightly crouched, and the narrow Ninjutsu blade in his hand suddenly whistled as it swept towards the figure in front of him.
However, almost the instant the sound of the blade cutting through the air began, the woman opposite him seemed to receive some signal, unhesitatingly turning and kicking towards him.
The calf encased in Chakra armor exploded with a dull thud in mid-air, fast and heavy.
Hozuki Mangetsu quickly retreated, taking several more leaps backward.
Just being hit by the aftershock of that attack was almost unbearable.
If he had taken a direct hit…
He probably wouldn't have had a very pleasant outcome.
The moment he thought this, Hozuki Mangetsu's expression suddenly froze.
'Just now, she…'
'So that's it.'
Hozuki Mangetsu's figure once again submerged into the snowstorm.
This time, however, he didn't use the silent steps unique to silent killing techniques as before. Instead, his footsteps lightly trod on the snow, making a subtle rustling sound.
"It seems you're only this good, old woman."
His voice was slightly hoarse, but carried undisguised sarcasm: "My mission was just to stall you for a bit. By now, Kakashi and the others hiding in the forest, waiting to provide support, should have already taken out your fallen companion, right?"
"But don't worry, your death isn't far off either."
In the snowstorm, Tsurugi Hyori's face suddenly stiffened. She gnashed her teeth, uttering each word in disbelief:
"Old! Woman?!"
Almost the instant she heard this address, she couldn't hold back.
The feather-like antennae on both sides of her head armor flickered rapidly, and all the delicate movements and sounds around her became increasingly clear.
Amidst these countless complex sounds, the enraged old woman, at her fastest speed, distinguished the wind and snow, human voices, footsteps, and heartbeats.
Immediately after, she sharply turned her head backward.
"Die, you brat!"
Her rapidly moving figure, enveloped in a roaring explosion sound within the snowstorm, had the curved blades extending from both sides of her arms even covered with a thin arc of Chakra light under this full concentration. Her speed at this moment was incredibly fast.
Her entire being was like a sharp blade, whistling as it tore through the entire snowstorm.
"Clang—!"
The young man hidden deep within the snowstorm was suddenly pierced through by this blade.
Hozuki Mangetsu's expression seemed to freeze with it.
Pierced straight through the chest.
Tsurugi Hyori watched this scene, her smile growing even brighter.
However, before her smile could fully spread.
He looked up.
Hozuki Mangetsu's face also showed a smile of unknown meaning.
He slowly opened his mouth, forming a silent word.
'Got! You!'
Tsurugi Hyori's expression froze, even carrying a hint of confusion.
But Hozuki Mangetsu had no intention of giving her a chance to speak.
Almost the instant he opened his mouth, his originally complete figure, in the center of the howling snowstorm, abruptly turned into a puddle of water.
It was the Hozuki clan's Bloodline Limit.
"Hydrification Jutsu."
"What is this thing?!"
Two voices, one after another, sounded almost simultaneously.
Tsurugi Hyori's eyes widened, a look of terror on her face as she watched her arm pass through the water, and the somewhat viscous liquid, like some living creature, began to spread upwards along her arm.
On the other side, Hozuki Mangetsu's figure slowly emerged from the snowstorm.
He watched the old woman gradually being covered entirely by his Water Clone, and the water was rapidly solidifying due to the Land of Snow's extremely low temperature, forming layers of thin ice pillars like chains on the old woman's body surface. With a hardness comparable to steel, they slowly adhered to her skin, armor, and limbs.
Hozuki Mangetsu looked at the woman, who was rapidly becoming cold from the quick loss of body heat, and muttered:
"Not only is she old, but is her brain not working well either?"
"Just a little bait and she immediately took it."
"Honestly, what a waste of my time."
As he mumbled this, slowly walking out of the gradually subsiding snowstorm, he looked around, and his gaze couldn't help but freeze again.
"Where did those two go?!"
"Rin, we…"
"Shhh!"
Deep in the dense forest, two heads quietly peeked out from among the pine needles, looking at the two figures fighting in the distance.
The larger figure was astonishingly fast, and his attacks were both fierce and heavy, but his movements were straightforward. Even Nohara Rin, the least skilled in Taijutsu in the Hatake Squad, could easily discern his intentions.
The smaller figure, however, moved like a leaping rabbit or a soaring falcon, graceful as a startled swan, lithe as a swimming dragon.
Although his absolute speed wasn't as fast as the opponent's, his reactions and counter techniques were quite Apprentice, staying almost right next to the opponent's figure, leaving deep marks from time to time.
The aftershocks of their exchange caused the surrounding thick, giant trees to tremble continuously, and even the surrounding accumulated snow shook and fell like raindrops, raising large swathes of white mist.
Obito, watching this scene from a distance, could barely restrain his urge to act immediately, scratching his ears and cheeks in impatience.
Conversely, Nohara Rin, who should have been flustered with worry, displayed considerable judgment at this moment.
The girl, still in her 'Kazahana Koyuki' guise, scanned her surroundings, finally settling on 'Kazahana Sayuki,' waving to him and lowering her voice:
"Obito, come a little closer."
"Huh?"
Uchiha Obito leaned over, puzzled.
The next moment, the girl suddenly kicked him in the backside, sending him directly out of the depths of the pine forest, where he fell into the snow with a splash, letting out a cry of 'Ouch!'
At this moment, Kakashi and Rouga Nadare, both fully focused on each other, paused. Their gazes almost simultaneously swept towards 'Kazahana Sayuki' who had fallen at the edge.
The moment he saw the other party, Kakashi instinctively frowned, looking somewhat puzzled at that idiot Obito, wondering what he was up to.
But then, he suddenly realized something and looked up at Rouga Nadare's expression.
Sure enough.
A fierce look suddenly appeared on the face of the man with the high ponytail, as he stared intensely in the direction of 'Kazahana Sayuki'.
'This damn brat is too troublesome, not to mention Sahara Kiri, who is somewhere behind.'
'If I can just capture this guy first…'
Rouga Nadare thought to himself, and out of a certain apprehension towards the brat in front of him, he almost immediately made up his mind.
Both their figures paused in unison.
The next moment, Kakashi and Rouga Nadare simultaneously lunged towards 'Kazahana Sayuki'.
"Get lost! You damn brat!"
The six nozzles on Rouga Nadare's back armor almost simultaneously surged with torch-like Chakra radiance, propelling his body at an unbelievably fast speed, abruptly rushing towards one side of the snowy ground.
Kakashi's Shunpo was almost pushed to its limit as well, the roaring Red Fang in his hand blooming with a beautiful red glow like the morning sun.
At the same time, he shouted:
"Lord Daimyo! Open your eyes!"
Obito, who had just been pushed out, hadn't even had time to question Rin behind him about what trick she was playing at such a moment, when he heard the roars of the two in the field.
Almost instinctively, he obeyed Kakashi's command.
Those scarlet Sharingan suddenly appeared deep within 'Kazahana Sayuki's' eye sockets.
Coincidentally meeting Rouga Nadare's ferocious and violent gaze.
"Demonic Illusion: Sharingan."
In just an instant, Rouga Nadare, who was maintaining his charging posture, showed a fleeting look of bewilderment in his eyes.
Unfortunately, for a Ninja, such a brief flicker of a moment can sometimes decide many things.
"Lightning and Fire Release: Red Fang—!"
The sudden flickering lightning spread over Kakashi's entire body like a climbing vine, forcing his already extremely fast Shunshin to increase its speed by another notch in that instant. The Red Fang in his hand burst with an arc of light, and amidst the subtle Chakra nature conflict, he swung this blade without hesitation.
"Clang!"
A cold light flashed.
Half of his calf, along with the Chakra armor covering it, was severed into two.
Intense pain abruptly awakened Rouga Nadare's consciousness, which had been deluded by the Genjutsu, and then the loss of his center of gravity made him involuntarily fall to the ground.
At this moment, Uchiha Obito had also reacted, completely disregarding his current identity, and lunged at Rouga Nadare, who was still trying to resist.
Kakashi behind him, meanwhile, pushed his short blade forward.
"Pfft!"
A Kunai and a blade, one from the front and one from the back, pierced straight through Rouga Nadare's body.
His tall figure suddenly froze in place, glaring fiercely at the two.
Until, he gradually fell silent.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr