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The iron sand transformed into countless long spikes, interlocking to form a barrier. Sakumo landed on the ground, now fully encased within the iron sand barrier.
Chiyo appeared outside the barrier, while the Kazekage floated in the air above it, seemingly unsupported by any external force.
However, the Kazekage wiped his face, revealing a cut from which blood trickled.
He was injured.
Looking down at Sakumo, the Kazekage spoke, "Among Konoha's shinobi, I must admit your strength is formidable."
The cradle of geniuses... Konoha. Why do such outstanding individuals always emerge from there?
Sakumo, weary, let out a deep breath. Whether the Kazekage admitted it or not didn't matter to him.
He glanced at Chiyo, who was controlling her puppets, and then at the Kazekage, who floated within the barrier.
He was trapped.
Chiyo wasn't about to let Sakumo off easily, and her puppets attacked once more.
Sakumo had no choice but to engage in battle with the puppets again, all while dodging the ever-encroaching black spikes.
Their piercing power was something he couldn't underestimate.
In this situation, Sakumo couldn't afford to stop moving. If he did, he would be overwhelmed by the combined attacks of his two adversaries, leaving him with no chance to fight back.
He couldn't allow himself to get injured either.
Chiyo's poisons were not something to take lightly.
Whenever he sensed her using poison, Sakumo would quickly use a Wind Release technique to blow it away.
Facing two opponents of this caliber at once, even he couldn't hold out for long.
If it weren't for his enhanced reflexes from his Basic Inner Technique, the large reserves of chakra he had built up, and the Thunder Breathing technique Jin had taught him on the spot, he would have already been defeated.
But now, he couldn't find an opportunity to counterattack.
Being dragged down to exhaustion was only a matter of time.
He pursued the Kazekage, slashing at him, but the enemy moved freely within the barrier, and Chiyo's assistance prevented any substantial hits.
Sakumo had no intention of retreating.
He knew that if he tried to retreat, these two would do everything in their power to stop him.
It seemed as though being worn down to death was his inevitable fate.
So he resolved to at least take one of them down with him.
Taking advantage of a brief respite, Sakumo pulled a kunai from his tool pouch, one wrapped in numerous explosive tags, making it bulky. He held it tightly in his mouth.
Where the leaves dance, the fire burns. The flames will continue to illuminate the village and cause new leaves to sprout.
For Konoha.
Seeing the explosive tags clenched in Sakumo's teeth, both the Kazekage and Chiyo recognized the danger.
They immediately slowed their attacks.
The enemy was preparing for a desperate final stand.
With his abilities, even if he fought recklessly, he could at least heavily injure one of them, and in the worst case, he might take one of their lives.
As Sakumo searched for an opening, a sudden voice rang out.
"Reikodan! Jibaku!" (Spirit Gun! Self-Destruct!)
"Fūton: Daitoppa!" (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)
"Gōhanka no Jutsu! Reikodan Dai-Baku!" (Combined Jutsu! Great Spirit Gun Explosion)
A violent gust of wind blew in from the distance, pushing a blue orb toward them.
As the owner of the Reikodan relinquished control, the orb began to expand outward.
The three of them simultaneously locked eyes on the figure that suddenly appeared in the distance.
Sakumo couldn't help but murmur the name of the person.
"Uchiha Jin."
Chiyo immediately sent a puppet hurtling toward Jin.
"Get a grip!"
Jin shouted.
"At least take me with you before you go dying!"
As Jin's angry voice echoed, the puppet's weapon instantly pierced through Jin's body.
But Jin spread his arms wide, grabbing the white puppet in a tight embrace.
"Take me back alive, you bastard!"
Instead of blood, flames began to emit from Jin's body.
With a loud bang, Jin's figure turned into white smoke and disappeared, merely charring the white puppet.
It seemed like a joke.
But the Reikodan he left behind was no laughing matter.
The orb rapidly expanded.
Chiyo and the Kazekage's eyes widened in shock, and they quickly moved to retreat.
The iron sand barrier couldn't hold up.
Sakumo was freed, and with a swift movement, he sped away from the center of the Reikodan faster than the two could.
The Reikodan, now fully expanded, exploded at that moment.
"Boom!!"
The blue orb swallowed everything around it until it finally dissipated, leaving a massive crater in its wake.
Sakumo stood on the edge of the crater, gazing at Chiyo and the Kazekage in the distance.
Jin was gritting his teeth.
"That bastard! Don't waste my Reikodan!"
That had been all of his chakra.
Back to square one.
It was truly a pitiful situation.
On the battlefield, Sakumo shook his head with a faint smile.
In the end, Jin had been more afraid that he wouldn't make it back and had come to save him.
If Jin had returned alone, he could easily have been labeled a missing-nin.
Sakumo didn't know what to say.
"But I owe you one, Jin."
Sakumo—no, White Fang—gripped his sword with both hands, watching as the Kazekage and Chiyo approached, riding on iron sand.
"The outcome is already decided. Any resistance is meaningless."
The iron sand swirled once more behind the Kazekage.
Chiyo's ten puppets were ready to strike.
Sakumo, however, sheathed his sword and even removed his mask.
After being silent for so long, he suddenly began to speak.
"I've always wondered about something."
Sakumo placed his sword back into its scabbard.
"Why does the third level of Basic Inner Technique require such an enormous amount of chakra?"
The chakra required for the first level was attainable by any academy student.
The second level only needed the amount of chakra a genin would have.
But the third level required chakra on the level of a tailed beast, far beyond even the Hokage.
How was it supposed to be achieved?
"What are you trying to say!" The Kazekage couldn't understand what he was talking about.
The iron sand barrier reformed once more.
"Die with my son and daughter-in-law!" Chiyo could no longer bear to see him alive, even for a second longer.
But every time she tried, it failed.
Sakumo was encased within the barrier, surrounded by ten white puppets.
The situation seemed hopeless once again.
"I still don't know the answer, but I think I've found a way to achieve it."
Sakumo crouched, white chakra beginning to swirl around him, gradually forming a giant, towering figure around him.
The giant stood over several dozen meters tall, enveloping Sakumo within.
"What...is that?" Both of them were dumbfounded.
This wasn't a ninjutsu battle anymore; it was like they were facing a giant mecha.
"It's about using willpower! To forcefully establish it!"
Sakumo had figured it out when he was jolted back to reality by Jin's shout.
Willpower was even stronger than chakra.
"What is that thing!"
The two sensed something ominous and launched their attacks simultaneously.
But Sakumo calmly drew his sword from its sheath once more.
The giant mirrored his movements.
It swung its blade toward the two of them, slowly but with incredible speed.
This strike.
White light erupted, stretching over a hundred meters.
This strike.
Cut through the two of them, shattering the distant mountains.
This strike.
The name of White Fang!
Echoed throughout the shinobi world!
"Boom!!"
(End of Chapter)