Kaguya Nobunaga knelt on the ground, but only his lower body remained intact. His upper body had already been severed and lay nearby, with blood gushing from the open wound.
Kaguya Nobunaga's eyes were glazed as he stared at his mutilated body. It took a moment for the pain to register, and when it did, he screamed in agony, his hands clutching the ground, unable to find relief in the soft grass.
He couldn't comprehend the ninjutsu used by the Konoha ninja. The speed was beyond anything he could block with his bones. He hadn't even felt the pain before his body was cleaved apart. Such a technique was beyond anything he had encountered before.
Reaching out in vain, Kaguya Nobunaga no longer had the strength to fuse himself with his bones. The relentless loss of blood sapped his energy and life, and soon, he succumbed to blood loss.
"Damn it, to die in a place like this," Kaguya Nobunaga muttered, "But at least I fought someone worthy... No regrets."
The Kaguya clan did not fear death. Their lives were dedicated to the thrill of battle, especially against powerful foes. Even in later generations, when the Kaguya clan rebelled against the Hidden Mist Village, they chose to fight to the death rather than surrender, taking as many enemies with them as possible—a testament to their clan's tradition.
Kaguya Nobunaga regretted dying so soon, as he hadn't fully savored the battle. Yet, he found solace in the fact that his final fight had been thrilling, and he hadn't died of boredom.
Fumori Masaki observed Kaguya Nobunaga's lifeless hand fall to the ground. However, instead of approaching, he pulled out a kunai, exhaled softly, and infused it with wind chakra. Although kunai weren't designed to absorb chakra like specialized weapons, the wind chakra temporarily enhanced its cutting power.
Masaki took careful aim at Kaguya Nobunaga's neck and hurled the kunai with force. It severed the head cleanly, propelled by the wind chakra, sending it flying.
"Such caution... he didn't even give me a chance to strike back."
Earlier, Kaguya Nobunaga had feigned death, knowing his corpse would hold research value for Konoha. He hoped to lure the Konoha ninja close and make one final attempt to kill his opponent. However, Masaki wasn't fooled. His keen senses detected the faint life signs still present in Kaguya Nobunaga. Without hesitation, he threw the kunai from a distance, ensuring his enemy's death.
This time, Masaki saw no more life energy from Kaguya Nobunaga. To be certain, he approached the body and contemplated his next move.
Typically, sealing would be the best option, but Masaki didn't possess such techniques, nor did he have any preservation agents. Transporting the corpse back to the battlefield risked its destruction by the Hidden Mist ninja, which would prevent Konoha from gathering valuable information.
With no better option, Masaki concealed and disguised the body as best he could and then swiftly turned back toward the main battlefield.
The battle between Konoha's Fourth Unit and the Hidden Mist forces raged on. Although Konoha's reconnaissance teams ensured they wouldn't lose their way in the mist, it didn't significantly boost their combat effectiveness. Even Konoha's strongest ninja found themselves evenly matched against the Mist's elite soldiers—trained in harsh conditions due to the Water Country's limited resources. Although this wasn't the infamous "Blood Mist" era, the brutal training policies had already begun to take shape, yielding significant results.
Fortunately, Konoha had Hyūga Masato, an elite Jōnin, on their side. With Kaguya Nobunaga now dead, the Mist ninja were at a disadvantage. However, the elite Mist ninja continued to fight fiercely, holding out hope that Nobunaga would return to the battlefield.
Unbeknownst to them, Nobunaga had already lost his life, and he would not be leading them out of this dire situation.
As the Mist began to dissipate, the Hidden Mist ninja stopped maintaining it, realizing it only wasted chakra. They chose to conserve their strength for the ongoing battle.
Hyūga Masato moved swiftly across the battlefield, his Gentle Fist style proving devastating in close combat. Even when surrounded, he remained unshaken, finding opportunities to take down his opponents one by one.
Konoha's situation had turned favorable. Masato's only concern was the potential return of Kaguya Nobunaga. He silently hoped that Masaki had successfully eliminated him.
Suddenly, a familiar presence appeared within Masato's Byakugan vision. With a swift strike, he sent a Mist ninja crashing to the ground, the corners of his lips curling upward. It was Fumori Masaki, confirming that Nobunaga was indeed dead; otherwise, Masaki wouldn't have returned.
"Remarkable," Hyūga Masato thought. "Although not purely a taijutsu specialist, Masaki managed to defeat an awakened Dead Bone Pulse user."
Rimi, who had also been worried about Masaki, caught sight of him emerging from the woods. In her moment of surprise, a Mist ninja nearly struck her, but she swiftly countered, though not without suffering a minor injury.
Masaki nodded at Rimi and, with a swift motion, hurled bone spurs he had collected. Enhanced by his wind chakra, the spurs became even deadlier, piercing several Mist ninja who failed to dodge.
When one of the Mist ninja saw the bone spurs, his eyes widened in disbelief. The other Mist ninja quickly realized what this meant—Kaguya Nobunaga was dead.
Masaki waved more bone spurs before the Mist ninja, a smile playing on his lips. Their morale crumbled as they accepted the reality of Nobunaga's death. Under Hyūga Masato's command, Konoha's forces surged with renewed vigor, leaving the Mist ninja with no hope of victory.
With their commander gone, the Mist ninja's vice commander recognized the raid had failed utterly. He knew the only option now was to retreat and preserve their remaining forces. Hyūga Masato, anticipating this, moved to maximize Konoha's gains, aiming to eliminate as many Mist ninja as possible.
After a fierce battle, only a few Mist ninja managed to escape. The rest were either killed, seriously injured, or captured by Konoha. Although they didn't achieve a complete annihilation, Hyūga Masato was satisfied, knowing that the remaining Mist forces posed little threat.
As the battlefield was cleared, Masato approached Masaki, who was checking Rimi's wounds. Despite the intense fight with Nobunaga, Masaki had emerged unscathed, thanks to his skill and caution. However, he had been genuinely concerned for Rimi when she was nearly struck by the Mist ninja.
"Masaki, we have you to thank for this victory," Masato said with a smile. "You've earned great merit today—Hokage-sama will be pleased."
"It was thanks to your guidance and support that I could complete my new technique," Masaki replied. "Without it, killing Nobunaga wouldn't have been so easy."
"The Dead Bone Pulse is indeed formidable. With Nobunaga gone, the Kaguya clan no longer has anyone else who has awakened it," Hyūga Masato remarked. "The Hidden Mist will feel this loss deeply, and our burden in this war will lessen."
"Yes," Masaki agreed. "Now we can focus on returning the wounded to the village for recovery, but we should also reinforce this front with any recovered fighters."
"Agreed," Hyūga Masato said. "By the way, what happened to Nobunaga's body? Was it destroyed by your new technique?"
"No, I didn't know how to preserve it, so I left it where it was," Masaki explained. "I can take you to it."
Masaki and Masato returned to the site of the battle. As they approached the disguised location, Masato was impressed by the bone spurs scattered across the ground. Nobunaga had indeed been a formidable opponent.
Masaki uncovered the disguised area, relieved to find Nobunaga's body still there. He had been concerned that someone might steal it—perhaps even that elusive black figure lurking in the shadows for centuries. However, knowing that such a figure wouldn't be interested in research, Masaki felt reassured.
"With this corpse, we can gather valuable information about the Hidden Mist Village," Masato noted. "Speaking of sealing techniques, this reminds me—Konoha should request support from the Uzumaki clan. Their sealing and barrier techniques would be invaluable here."
When the Hidden Mist Village first attacked the Fire Country's coast, the Uzumaki clan had foreseen the danger and warned the coastal defenders. They had even sent aid multiple times, playing a crucial role in protecting the coast alongside the samurai forces. Originally, Tobirama had intended to send reinforcements to the Uzumaki clan after dealing with the Land of Lightning, but the Mist's focus on the northern front had reduced the pressure on the Uzumaki, so Tobirama held back.
Now, with the Mist's main forces occupied elsewhere, the Uzumaki likely had the capacity to send help to the mainland. Masaki nodded in agreement, deciding to ask Uzumaki Mito to write a request for assistance.