"My usable range of magnetic fields has expanded. It's almost as if I'm absorbing the power of the earth itself."
Although Kiyohara didn't really understand the underlying principles at work, he could clearly feel his body growing lighter and lighter.
If he had to describe it, it was as though the gravity acting on him had been reduced.
"Hiss—haa—!"
White hot vapor still lingered around the corners of his mouth, spreading outward as he breathed.
Kiyohara took a step forward and could distinctly feel a force beneath his feet, as if something were pushing him onward.
Just as plants absorb the sun's light and heat, after Kiyohara began rotating, he naturally started drawing the surrounding magnetic force into his body.
"Rin is in danger."
Kakashi's Sharingan had caught sight of Rin being besieged by enemies. Meanwhile, he himself was being held back on this side, and anxiety inevitably surged in his heart.
He and Obito had made a promise—to protect Rin no matter what.
Otherwise, when he someday went to the Pure Land, how could he possibly face Obito?
What's more, even setting Obito aside, Kakashi already regarded Rin as his most important companion.
"No good. There are too many of them."
Genma spat out his senbon, indicating that he couldn't break through either.
It wasn't just their position that was swarmed with enemies—there were still opponents approaching from afar.
As time dragged on, the number of enemies would only continue to grow.
The senbon he had just thrown were all blocked by the enemy using Water Release ninjutsu, forming a flowing shield of water.
"The distance is too far. My genjutsu has a limited range."
Kurenai frowned.
Whether ninjutsu or genjutsu, all jutsus had limitations in distance.
Right now, they had been split into several separate zones, each person scattered apart, with distances ranging from dozens to several hundred meters between them.
The one who was the farthest away was Rin, since she could mostly only evade attacks, causing the distance to be dragged farther and farther.
Suddenly, Kurenai thought of something—she wanted to ask whether Kiyohara could throw his shuriken that far.
But when she turned her head, she noticed that something seemed off about Kiyohara.
"Kiyohara…?"
Kurenai murmured.
From a distance, it looked as though Kiyohara was giving off steam.
"Are you alright, Kiyohara?"
Kurenai asked while dealing with her enemies.
"I'm very well—better than I've ever been."
Kiyohara drew his shinobi blade, and with a reverse grip, slashed a Mist Village chūnin who had approached too close, severing his head in a single strike.
Thud!
The head flew through the air.
Kiyohara's draw and slash were more than just a little faster than before—they were on a completely different level.
Kurenai widened her eyes as she stared at Kiyohara, who suddenly looked as though someone had pressed an acceleration button on him, confusion filling her gaze.
This was—
She could feel that Kiyohara had used some kind of ninjutsu.
But Kiyohara offered no explanation. He simply lifted his head and looked in Rin's direction.
Then, he took a single step forward.
Force is always mutual.
When Kiyohara concentrated magnetic force beneath his feet and generated a repulsive force with the ground below, what would happen?
The answer had already been given by Magnet Release Kiyohara himself.
The earth was fixed in place. When a powerful magnetic force pushed downward against the ground, an equal force in the opposite direction would push upward on Kiyohara's body!
In other words, if the earth could not be moved, then what would move was—
Kiyohara himself!
His body was like a stone hurled by a trebuchet, violently flung forward by the power of rotation!
Bang!
Kiyohara shot into the battlefield like a bolt of lightning, charging straight toward Rin's position.
"Huff…
…huff…"
Surrounded by Mist shinoni darting through the forest, Rin felt a wave of despair rise in her heart.
Her stamina had been severely drained. She was already on the verge of exhaustion, her vision darkening.
There were simply too many enemies.
Their total numbers weren't even half of the enemy's, and on top of that, the white mist in the distance was visibly rolling toward them, surging like a tide.
It spread across the sky and land, as if it were about to engulf the entire area.
If this dragged on any longer, they would undoubtedly suffer devastating losses.
Rin could sense that the surrounding Mist shinobi weren't in a hurry to kill her—they were deliberately wearing her down.
They intended to use her as bait, to lure her companions into rushing over to save her!
When companions panicked and rushed to rescue her, they would inevitably expose openings, making it easy to make fatal mistakes in battle.
After eliminating those particularly strong comrades, they would then capture her—the medical shinobi.
Rin looked in Kakashi's direction and could see him attempting to form hand seals.
Using the speed boost provided by "Chidori," he intended to charge straight over.
Unfortunately, Kakashi was repeatedly stopped by enemies, who deliberately drained his chakra and focus.
"If this keeps dragging on, your companions won't have much strength left."
Uekichi, the Mist shinobi holding two somewhat damaged shinobi swords, spoke with a ferocious grin on his rough face.
It was obvious he had just gone through a fierce battle.
Taking advantage of Rin's momentary distraction, Uekichi slashed his sword across her back, leaving behind a gash.
Blood flowed down Rin's back. Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep, and she immediately used medical ninjutsu to stop the bleeding.
"As expected of those despicable Kirigakure shinobi…"
Rin let out a muffled groan and drew her kunai.
A burning pain radiated from her back, and she could feel that many gravel fragments were clinging to Uekichi's blade.
It was likely residue from striking rocks formed by Earth Release ninjutsu.
This would only make her wound even harder to heal.
But now was not the time to dwell on such things.
Rin had already prepared herself for sacrifice.
She could not become a burden to her companions.
She wanted to muster her last strength and continue resisting.
She hoped that, at the very end, she could still be of help to her teammates.
At the same moment, a white head emerged from the concealed bushes.
White Zetsu observed the situation here and, through the psychic network, swiftly transmitted the information across the entire Land of Fire, all the way to Madara.
This was White Zetsu's underground network.
And it was also Madara's greatest reliance for observing the shinobi world.
"Should we make a move?"
White Zetsu asked Madara.
Madara had specifically reminded them to pay close attention to the people around Obito—these were all important chess pieces.
If it weren't for Obito, people like Kakashi, Rin, or even Kiyohara would never have drawn Madara's attention.
"Don't be impatient."
Through a certain ninjutsu, Madara linked into White Zetsu's field of vision.
Techniques that borrowed another's perspective weren't uncommon in the shinobi world—for example, the "Third Eye" used by Rasa and Gaara, which could even detach from the main body to gather intelligence.
"Something interesting is happening."
Madara's aged face remained calm and unreadable.
Such jutsus consumed a great deal of chakra, but even though he was old and barely able to move freely, he still had the "Gedo Statue" as a fallback.
"Something interesting?"
Tobi the Spiral Zetsu asked in confusion.
"Is it poop?"
He hurriedly asked other White Zetsu companions through the psychic link.
Lacking the corresponding organ, he was unusually concerned about such matters.
"No… it should be—Kiyohara!"
White Zetsu looked toward another area, where a figure was rapidly streaking past, crossing several hundred meters and kicking up a straight line of dust along the ground.
That speed was unbelievably fast.
…
Uekichi had just sensed something tremble when he suddenly felt a rush of wind sweep past his ear.
Years of combat experience made him instinctively use a ninjutsu—without even looking, his body transformed into a pool of water that scattered across the ground.
Water Body Flicker Technique!
His reaction also alerted the other Mist special jōnin surrounding Rin that something was terribly wrong.
But just because Uekichi managed to evade didn't mean they could.
Slash!
With the swing of Kiyohara's shinobi blade, a spray of blood blossomed in the air.
The pale-blue electric currents clinging to the blade greatly enhanced its sharpness and piercing power.
This was the conductivity of chakra metal!
Like a hot knife cutting through butter, half of a Mist shinobi's body slowly slid down onto the ground.
"The enemy has arrived—don't let your guard down!"
Uekichi shouted from the side after escaping first with the Water Body Flicker Technique.
He had never imagined that Kiyohara's speed could be this terrifying.
Was he a shinobi specializing in body-flicker techniques?
(End of Chapter)