Chapter 70
"What should we do, Haneda?" Kakashi asked again.
"Swift Release is very fast, but it has a flaw—high inertia. It's hard to change direction mid-attack."
"Watch the direction of his attacks."
"He's coming!"
Suddenly, a blurred figure flashed behind Kakashi. The man touched his chin, slowly raising his right leg. As he kicked down, a wooden board was slammed into a tree trunk, knocking the tree over.
It was a substitution jutsu!
If that hit had landed on Kakashi, he would have been either dead or gravely injured!
Haneda's Sharingan stayed locked on the opponent, but his reactions were always just half a beat slower than Ichiro's. Unless the distance was close enough, it was hard to restrict the enemy.
"Stay close together, don't separate!" Haneda instructed, sweat forming on his tense forehead as he kept a vigilant eye on Ichiro, determined to protect his comrades.
"You've already come up with a strategy?"
"But in the face of absolute speed, all strategies are useless." Ichiro sneered contemptuously.
He began moving rapidly again, this time not directly attacking Haneda and his team. Instead, he started circling them at high speed.
Before long, dust was swirling in the air, stinging their eyes and making it uncomfortable. But Haneda couldn't afford to blink. He was the only one who could track Ichiro's movements, and to protect Obito and Kakashi, he couldn't let his guard down for even a second.
Suddenly, a shadow flashed.
Haneda immediately calculated the distance of the movement, and in an instant, he dashed forward. As he closed in on Ichiro, the sound of chirping birds filled the air, with lightning flickering and gathering around his blade.
"Chidori Stream!"
Clang!!
Zzzz!!!
The short blade collided with the long sword, and the powerful energy attached to it exploded in an instant.
At the same moment, Kakashi made his move!
A flash of silver light from Kakashi's blade aimed directly at Ichiro's heart, but Ichiro didn't dodge, allowing Kakashi to strike.
Screech!!
Kakashi's silver blade struck as if it had hit steel, sparking against Ichiro's skin. His full-force attack only left a faint white mark, not even breaking the skin.
"You little brats, is this all you've got? Try hitting harder!"
Ichiro grinned, baring rows of metallic, steel-like teeth gleaming with a cold light.
It was Steel Release!
The enemy before them, Ichiro, was a rare dual-Kekkei Genkai user!
Fear, terror, and a growing sense of hopelessness weighed heavily on Asuma and Obito.
"Use Lightning Release: Chidori! He won't dare take it head-on, Kakashi!" Haneda shouted.
He had noticed that Ichiro was willing to take Kakashi's blade head-on but avoided his Chidori, indicating that Chidori could definitely harm him.
"Got it!"
Kakashi was about to use Chidori when Ichiro suddenly retreated several meters at lightning speed, causing Kakashi's Chidori to miss completely.
"What now, Haneda?" Kakashi asked reflexively.
"Use that move—you know which one, Kakashi."
"Look into my eyes."
"Understood." Kakashi smiled slightly, realizing Haneda's plan.
At that moment, Haneda began making hand signs, and in an instant, over a dozen shadow clones appeared.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
As Haneda's clones formed a protective wall around everyone, hope reignited in Obito and Asuma.
Haneda had defeated a Mist Village jounin before, and with his cooperation with Kakashi, there was a real chance they could take down a dual-Kekkei Genkai user.
Besides, Haneda and Kakashi's confident demeanor clearly showed they had a solid plan.
"Just a bunch of shadow clones?"
"Heh... what good will numbers do? You're just paper tigers pretending to be lions."
Ichiro stood on a tree branch, looking down at Haneda and Kakashi. As for Asuma and Obito, he completely ignored them. Genuine genin weren't worth his attention.
"Kakashi, here!" Haneda tossed three Fuma shuriken to Kakashi while charging his blade with Chidori.
"Got it!"
Kakashi immediately flung the three Fuma shuriken—one high, one left, and one right—aiming at Ichiro. Meanwhile, Haneda used Lightning Release chakra to stimulate his legs, enhancing his speed. He charged forward with a Lightning Body Flicker, his Chidori Stream ready to strike from below.
"Fuma shuriken? How boring."
Ichiro didn't even feel the need to dodge, but out of habit, he slightly sidestepped to avoid the first shuriken. At the same time, he swiftly moved between the remaining two, closing in on Haneda.
As the Chidori's crackling sound approached, Ichiro's speed allowed him to grab Haneda's right hand, which was wielding the Chidori Stream.
"Damn!"
"It's over!" Obito and Asuma thought, feeling a wave of helplessness and despair. They wanted to intervene but were blocked by Haneda's shadow clones.
Seeing Haneda's Chidori caught barehanded, Obito and Asuma were overcome by a sense of powerlessness and dread.
But suddenly, Haneda burst into smoke—it was a clone!
At Ichiro's flank, one of the Fuma shuriken transformed into Kakashi, whose eyes locked onto Ichiro's.
"Genjutsu—Hell Viewing Technique!"
Horrific and bloody images assaulted Ichiro's mind, preventing him from escaping with Swift Release.
Simultaneously, the remaining Fuma shuriken turned into Haneda, whose Chidori was crackling by Ichiro's head.
"Chidori Spear!"
A flash of lightning struck Ichiro's head, and a bolt pierced his heart.
Blood sprayed.
Ichiro, using sheer willpower, barely avoided the fatal blows, but his right chest and left shoulder bore large, charred wounds, emitting the scent of seared flesh.
As Ichiro tried to retreat, a crimson flash appeared.
It was Haneda's three-tomoe Sharingan!
"Genjutsu—Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"
Haneda gave Ichiro no time to escape, immediately using his most skilled genjutsu.
In an instant, Ichiro was trapped in a blood-red world. Four massive stakes pinned his limbs down.
"It's over. This is my world," Haneda said calmly.
"I never thought a dual-Kekkei Genkai user like me would fall to a couple of kids!" Ichiro growled, fury and resentment boiling inside him.
Haneda ignored Ichiro's anger and spoke quietly, "You're not the first."
"Now, answer my questions, and I'll leave your body intact. Who sent you? How did you know about us?"
"Don't tell me you don't know."
"Hardly anyone outside knows that I possess a fully developed Sharingan and specialize in genjutsu."
"Heh, do you think I'll tell you anything now?!"
Suddenly, a dark force tore through the blood-red world, completely removing Ichiro.
Back in reality, Haneda clutched his eyes in pain, unable to comprehend why his Shackling Stakes Technique had failed!
"Haneda!"
Kakashi, using Chidori, rushed forward to end Ichiro's life.
But against Swift Release, his speed was no match.
Boom!
Kakashi was kicked into the air, landing in front of Obito, and Haneda followed soon after.
"Just a couple of kids. How could I possibly lose?!"
"Now, it's your turn."
Ichiro bared his steel teeth in a savage grin, turning his gaze to Obito and Asuma.
At that moment, pure despair gripped their hearts.
***
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