102 Chapter 102
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When Yoei was first forged, it sacrificed one of its traits to save Kyomu's life due to the "Guardian Angel" attribute. As a result, Yoei fell from a mythical weapon to a divine artifact.
Fortunately, Yoei retained the divine artifact trait of "continuous evolution," which meant it had the chance to evolve back into a mythical weapon level, given the opportunity. Clearly, the Sand Village's divine artifact, the Three-Star Fan, presented such an opportunity for Yoei.
Although consuming the Three-Star Fan wouldn't immediately elevate Yoei to the mythical level, further progression was certain.
With Yoei excited, Kyomu naturally put in extra effort.
His swings became faster and stronger with each strike, pressuring Karura, who wielded the Three-Star Fan, into a corner.
Her palms numbed from the impact, panic flashed in Karura's eyes. She couldn't keep up at this rate.
Bursting with all her strength, Karura deflected one of Kyomu's powerful strikes and retreated swiftly.
But Kyomu wouldn't let her escape so easily.
Instant Shadow Sword Technique!
In a blink, Kyomu crossed over ten meters, suddenly appearing behind Karura. Beforehand, he had swung his sword at his original position at an extremely fast speed while simultaneously leaving behind a shadow clone.
Now, Karura faced an assault from the blade in front, Kyomu himself and his shadow clone, along with the psychological impact of an illusion, from behind, instantly falling into a dire situation.
The shadow clone left by Kyomu executed hand seals, rapidly consuming its shared chakra to summon nine large fireballs, much like Pakura's technique.
Whizzing through the air, the fireballs followed closely behind the blue-white blade, encircling Karura and cutting off nearly all her escape routes.
Determined, Karura did not heed the imminent attacks but instead prepared her defenses.
Sand Armor! Sand Shield!
Almost instantly, Karura's body was coated in a thick layer of sand, hardening into armor-like protection. Simultaneously, living sand surged from the ground, forming an impenetrable cocoon around her for a second line of defense.
Boom!
The combined force of the blue-white blade and the nine fireballs struck the Sand Shield. The intense heat turned the sand into glassy particles, but further harming Karura proved difficult.
Soil or sand, after all, has a good defense against high temperatures.
However, Karura was unaware of Yoei's unique ability to cut through chakra-based defenses, a fatal oversight.
Both Sand Armor and Sand Shield, primarily composed of sand, were bonded by chakra. Since Yoei could slice through certain chakra-based artifacts, it became the perfect counter to "absolute defenses."
Without resistance, like a blade through a sandpile, Kyomu easily penetrated Karura's defenses, feeling the blade's contact and knowing he had inflicted damage.
Inside her defenses, Karura was stunned to see the blade's tip protruding through her chest, disbelief written all over her face.
Was her absolute defense that fragile?
No, she quickly realized the trick and the chilling answer flashed through her mind.
But before she could ponder further, she dodged forward at the first sign of injury and picked up the Three-Star Fan she had placed on the ground.
Full Power, Fan the Winds!
Karura swung the Three-Star Fan behind her, generating a windstorm mixed with wind blades, and her Sand Armor disintegrated back into sand, joining the windstorm with the Sand Shield.
To Kyomu, this counterattack seemed like a sand dragon whirlwind, dangerously close.
But no matter, against chakra-based attacks, you can always trust Yoei.
Sheathing his sword and flipping his wrist, Kyomu forcefully swung down.
With no resistance, the imminent sand dragon was split in half, but what followed made Kyomu realize Karura's deep malice and cunning.
The core might be chakra, and Yoei could slice through it, but the speed and kinetic energy given to the sand by the chakra were beyond Yoei's control.
Sand whirled furiously, its rapid velocity making it as deadly as thousands of needles, tearing through Kyomu's clothing and leaving varying cuts on his skin.
"Seems I guessed right," Karura confirmed her suspicion, "But being able to slice through chakra doesn't mean you can cut through everything else."
With a method to counter, Karura, despite her injuries, raised the Three-Star Fan again, planning a dense combo attack using her control over sand to challenge Kyomu and the other Leaf ninjas.
But she underestimated Kyomu's body flicker speed, his physical strength, and his recovery rate.
Ordinary ninjas, bombarded by such dense and fast-moving sand, would suffer moderate injuries at least.
But Kyomu's month-long consumption of minerals and plants under the "Gluttony" passive skill wasn't in vain. His external defense and recovery speed far exceeded that of an ordinary ninja's fragile body.
While the blade could wound, attacks like this sandstorm were less effective.
Just superficial scrapes, not even qualifying as minor injuries.
Instant Shadow Sword Technique!
In a flash, Kyomu vanished, reappearing as Karura swung her Three-Star Fan again, her controlled sand forming a roaring sand sea. With speed and immense force, it pressed heavily towards Kyomu and the Leaf ninjas behind him.
A shadow clone, after stealing a kill and throwing Guy out of the attack's range, left him safe from the sandstorm.
Simultaneously, Kyomu's other clones and his original body rescued Genma, Ebisu, and others, also claiming their near victories.
In a short span, saving allies and stealing kills, Kyomu pushed his speed to the limit.
Still, he couldn't help but feel frustrated.
"If last month's passive skill were still in effect, I would have cut you down by now!"
Facing the incoming sand dragon, Kyomu took a deep breath, his body crackling with electric light.
Lightning Release chakra surged within him, maximally stimulating his cells, boosting his speed, strength, and explosive power to new heights.
Simultaneously, a shadow clone appeared beside Kyomu, performing a high-speed hand seal sequence to unleash an A-rank Water Release technique.
Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!
The shadow clone expelled a massive water orb, a third the size of a soccer field, matching the approaching sand dragon's scale.
This was Kyomu deliberately conserving chakra. Under normal conditions, an A-rank Water Release technique would cover an even broader area.
The water orb charged forward, with Kyomu swiftly following with a slash.
The air howled with the pressure, the blade gleaming with electric light from the abundant Lightning Release chakra, creating a long, indigo blade that merged with the water orb, turning the Great Waterfall Technique into a deep blue spectacle.
This combination of Lightning and Water Release was inherently compatible.
Boom!
Then, it collided with the oncoming sand dragon.
Lightning beats Earth, naturally countering the sand controlled by Karura. Moreover, Kyomu's technique wasn't just Lightning Release; it also included wind pressure from the blade, neutralizing the whirlwind within the sand dragon.
The exploding water further weighed down the sand, and infused with Lightning Release chakra, Karura would find controlling the surrounding sand nearly impossible.
Seeing this, Karura's heart raced, and fear crept into her gaze towards Kyomu.
"Such a young age, yet so deeply understanding of the five elemental ninjutsu's interaction and possessing exceptional battle judgment and adaptability.
A formidable opponent indeed... worthy of the one who gravely injured Elder Ebizo.
It's clear now that his forbidden technique can't be used at the moment, which is good news for me, and this information is crucial for the village."
With that thought fleeting, Karura decisively turned and led the remaining Sand ninjas to retreat.
Her current injuries made a direct confrontation unrealistic, and she needed to report her gathered intelligence, allowing no room for error.
Kyomu, eager to pursue, became momentarily anxious.
Using body flicker techniques, he chased without hesitation, simultaneously not forgetting to deploy shadow clones and illusions to easily dispatch nearby Sand ninjas.
Indeed, pursuing and killing simultaneously.
Within moments, Kyomu caught up, but Ren's reminder echoed behind him.
"Captain Kyomu, other Sand ninja squads are about to encircle us."
Kyomu didn't respond, his body's electric glow intensifying, pushing his chase to the limit.
Iai Sword: Nine Dragons Flash!
With unparalleled speed, strength, explosiveness, skill, and Yoei's adjusted weight, Kyomu's peak strike shot forward.
The blade divided into three, then nine, blocking all of Karura's escape routes with overwhelming force. Focusing solely on retreat would be suicidal.
Karura, fully aware, halted and twisted her body.
Half-turning, she swung the Three-Star Fan, whipping up another windstorm behind her.
This time, however, Karura was disappointed.
Point-breaking surface is feasible, but surface-breaking point is nearly impossible, or rather, unimaginable.
The nine blades unhesitatingly tore through the intercepting twister and continued towards Karura with undiminished force.
Her pupils shrinking, Karura had no time for thought, instinctively hiding behind the Three-Star Fan to evade the impact.
But Kyomu's pinnacle strike, even without the previous month's passive skill boost, wasn't something Karura could defend against hastily.
Boom!
The Three-Star Fan, along with Karura, was blasted away by the exploding blade, with Kyomu, who had followed the blade closely, already upon her, unleashing a barrage of shuriken.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
The air tore as some shuriken were tied with exploding tags.
Karura, clutching her chest in despair, pushed her limits to dodge, once more using the Three-Star Fan to scatter the incoming shuriken rain. She landed in a crater, momentarily relieved as Kyomu's attack was deflected.
But then, an unexpected turn occurred.
Ting, ting, ting.
Three collided shuriken changed trajectory mid-air, falling back towards the grounded Karura, each connected by resilient, barely visible steel wires.
Subtle moves can achieve great results.
Kyomu formed a hand seal, spewing a fire dragon that rapidly traveled along the wires to the Three-Star Fan, while Yoei in his right hand spared no effort, striking fiercely at Karura's side.
Karura made the best decision.
Dropping the momentarily controlled Three-Star Fan, she propelled herself backwards, sliding a long distance along the ground.
She escaped with her life, but the Three-Star Fan became Kyomu's trophy.
Karura's eyes briefly flared with hatred and caution. With a strong will, she suppressed the urge to fight to the death, continuing her retreat with the remaining Sand ninjas.
Kyomu yearned to pursue further but had to consider his team behind him.
He remembered Ren's earlier warning about the upcoming Sand ninja squads.
Holding the Three-Star Fan, Kyomu looked back at the Sand ninjas left behind, still entangled with his team, unable to flee. His eyes flashed with determination.
Those left behind would become victims under his blade, feeding the Bloodlust buff and strengthening his foundation.
Kill!
(End of Chapter)
