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At this moment, the dust and smoke on the ground had gradually dissipated.
The situation behind the earth barrier was revealed!
Shimura Himiko, as well as the bandit ninja group, arrived almost at the same time!
When they saw the dead ninja and Sosuke standing there, they were extremely astonished.
Although they had a general understanding of Sosuke's strength, seeing him come out unscathed from a coordinated assassination using ninjutsu and even counter-killing the two opposing ninja, it left Shimura Himiko somewhat incredulous!
However, Shimura Himiko didn't have time to continue being surprised. After assessing the situation, Shimura Himiko was the first to speak.
"Sosuke, come over here. I'll take care of the remaining guys."
She was worried that Sosuke might have lost his combat strength after killing the two ninja, so she hurriedly asked him to come behind her. After all, in her eyes, Sosuke had become her uncle's disciple, and protecting his safety was of utmost importance.
Upon hearing her words, Sosuke looked up at her and slowly walked towards her.
Shimura Himiko's purple hair fell on her shoulders, and her beautiful eyes stared attentively at the group of ninja, prepared for their sudden attack.
Meanwhile, the leader of the bandit ninja group had an extremely unpleasant expression!
He didn't expect that both of his subordinates, whom he had risked exposing his identity to save, would be killed!
The other ninja also looked at each other, clearly realizing that these two ninja from Konoha were extremely powerful and not just insignificant characters.
It was very likely that they would all perish here today.
This thought made everyone's faces extremely unsightly.
At this moment, the leader of the bandit ninja spoke.
He shouted with a deep voice.
"You guys are Konoha ninja, right? Why are you attacking us? Keep in mind that we haven't offended anyone from Konoha."
He still wanted to try and deceive his way out of this.
Upon hearing his words, Shimura Himiko coldly replied.
"What's the matter, fellow shinobi from the Land of Sand? Still trying to deceive us?! Your presence has severely violated Konoha's territorial boundaries. Will you surrender or fight to the end?"
Indeed, upon hearing Shimura Himiko openly state their identities, their faces became even more embarrassed.
Under the current circumstances, it was impossible to make peace. Seeing the stance of these two individuals from Konoha, it seemed that they had no intention of letting them go.
The leader's face turned extremely gloomy, and he signaled to several of his subordinates with his eyes.
A battle was about to break out.
On the other side, Shimura Himiko quietly communicated with Sosuke.
"How is it?! Sosuke, can you still hold on in your current state?"
Upon hearing her words, Sosuke naturally smiled and looked at the bandit ninja who were restless on the other side, his eyes showing a hint of coldness.
Although the previous battle had left him somewhat fatigued, this level of exhaustion was not enough to affect his combat power. Shimura Himiko clearly underestimated his strength.
Since there was no need for negotiations between the two sides, battle was the only means to resolve the problem.
In an instant!
The bandit ninja made their move!
Although they were all ordinary Chunin-level ninja, if they coordinated well, the ninjutsu they released would be difficult to deal with.
Several bandit ninja from the opposite side charged towards Sosuke, Shimura Himiko!
They were doing so to buy enough time for their leader and the others behind them to release their prepared ninjutsu!
Shimura Himiko confronted them, engaging in swift combat, but Shimura Himiko's alluring gaze was mostly directed towards their backs.
As expected!
Behind them, the leader of the bandit ninja and several other ninja stood in place, swiftly forming hand seals!
"Earth Release: Rock Shelter Collapse!" "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!" "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Several ninjutsu were unleashed in coordination!
Suddenly, the ground where Sosuke, Shimura Himiko stood turned into a marshy swamp.
Making it difficult for them to move an inch! Moreover, not only that, a wildly raging Wind Release was approaching them, and even huge rocks were falling from above their heads!
If they were hit, they would definitely be seriously injured!
At this moment, Shimura Himiko also demonstrated her superior Taijutsu skills. She effortlessly kicked away the two ninja she was fighting with and quickly formed several hand seals.
"Illusion Jutsu: Art of Darkness."
Immediately, her hands seemed to be enveloped in a whirlwind!
"Wind Release: Beast Wave Palm!"
With a forceful swing of her arm, a huge air crescent swiftly slashed forward!
Not only did it divert the giant rocks falling from above, but it also forcefully sent the two ninja next to her spinning and flying!
The bandit ninja leader and the others who were releasing their ninjutsu from the back were now even more alarmed. Under the effect of the Art of Darkness, their field of vision turned pitch black, and they couldn't see the sharp air crescent cutting towards them!
A series of howls sounded as the intense slashing wind shockwave hit them. At least several of their ribs were broken, and blood started pouring out.
The battle on Sosuke's side was also quite simple.
After receiving the knowledge from Kyōka Suigetsu earlier, Sosuke had already undergone a tremendous transformation!
Facing the falling boulders from above and the two Chunin in front of him, this kind of situation was clearly not enough for him to be concerned about.
Sosuke had a slight smile on his face, lightly placing his palm on Kyōka Suigetsu, and took a light step on the ground.
He once again used the Shunshin!
Easily evading the boulder's attack, he appeared behind one of the ninja!
Shunshin was a high-speed movement with a rotating nature that allowed him to swiftly move to the enemy's back and launch a sudden attack!
In this way, Kyōka Suigetsu in Sosuke's hand reappeared, gently pushing forward!
"Juinmaru!! Behind you!"
An anxious shout was barely uttered when the ninja named Juinmaru in front of Sosuke felt a sharp pain in his chest!
A snow-white blade tip emerged from his chest!
"Well... your sins have tainted your whole being... go and atone for the lives you've taken..."
With Sosuke's soft whisper, he slowly fell to the ground, lifeless!
The ninja across from him was also looking at Sosuke in astonishment, unable to believe that this masked Leaf ninja could kill his companion so easily!
Fear filled his face!
He turned around! Desperately trying to escape!
Continuing to charge forward would certainly mean certain death!
However, before he could run a few steps away...
"Hadō #4. Byakurai!"
With a low whisper behind him, a dazzling blue lightning suddenly pierced through his heart!
He looked down in terror at the blood pouring out of his chest, his eyes filled with a sense of dread. His body slowly lost strength, kneeling down, blood foaming from his mouth, trying to say something but unable to utter a word.
In his final moments, he wondered if he wouldn't have endured all of this if he weren't a ninja... but there was no one to answer his question."