Fu'en, who excelled at using Genjutsu and Sealing Technique, was also rapidly forming hand seals. This Kunoichi floated in mid-air as if weightless, her eyes filled with coldness.
"You little brat, how dare you underestimate us!"
She stared intently at Ino, when a sudden chill ran down her spine. She turned around in surprise, only to see another Ino stab her heart with the short sword, Akisui.
"You?" She subconsciously pointed downwards, "Weren't you down there? When did you get behind me?"
Ino twisted the sword clockwise, then quickly pulled it out.
She hadn't mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique yet, but she had been practicing Shisui's Body Flicker Technique for some time.
Three seconds after she killed Fu'en, the Ino standing on the ground as an illusion slowly disappeared.
Shisui's Illusion Body Flicker Technique could create dozens of indistinguishable figures at the same time. His speed was fast and his Genjutsu mastery was high, which earned him the title "Shisui of the Body Flicker." Ino's speed wasn't that fast, and her Genjutsu was average, but leaving one illusion was no problem.
Fudō, the Earth Release Ninja, saw his companion die. Perhaps practicing Earth Release had turned his brain into muscle, as he actually used Earth Release: Hardening Technique on himself to increase his defense.
Ino didn't say a word and immediately served him with a Big Ball Rasengan.
Fudō was smashed to pieces. Only his two feet and two hands remained on the ground; his torso had been pulverized by the Big Ball Rasengan.
Only Kazuma was left on the field.
Ino drew her sword and charged forward.
Her swordsmanship was basically a combination of Konoha-Style Swordsmanship: Dance of the Crescent Moon and some of Kimimaro's Taijutsu, so it wasn't particularly brilliant.
But Ninja battles in this era emphasized "speed above all." Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique highlighted speed, and even Might Guy's fight against the Dance King was about speed being power. Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?
Might Guy didn't care how many Ninjutsu you knew, how many Yin-Yang transformations you mastered, or what Bloodline Limit or Bloodline Elimination you possessed. He just charged in and fought!
Ino hadn't reached that level, but for a quick victory, the combat style combining Taijutsu and Ninjutsu was still faster.
She kicked towards Kazuma's face. Her 6 points in "Strength" were average among Ninja, but her 8 points in "Speed" made her movements extremely agile. Coupled with Shisui's Body Flicker Technique, half a second ago, her figure was still in the distance; half a second later, she had rushed right in front of him.
As one of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve, Kazuma was skilled. He raised his tin staff to parry, then went on the offensive, thrusting the staff towards her heart.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a blue light appear in Ino's palm. He very alertly swung his staff horizontally.
Ino hadn't accumulated enough Chakra for a Big Ball Rasengan, so she could only meet him with a Rasengan.
With a muffled thud, it was unclear what material Kazuma's tin staff was made of; it was unusually heavy and sturdy. The Rasengan only slightly deflected the staff's head.
Kazuma mocked, "Fool, truly foolish. Are you actually trying to compete with this old man in Taijutsu?"
This guy was a bit like Asuma, primarily using Taijutsu, supplemented by some Earth Release Ninjutsu and Wind Release Ninjutsu, making him a standard Jonin.
He roared, thrusting his tin staff towards Ino's forehead. As she lowered her head to dodge, the tin staff, originally as hard as steel, suddenly extended, wrapping around her neck like a nine-section whip.
"Genjutsu: Tree Binding Death." Ino seemed to have no intention of dodging, calmly forming hand seals in front of Kazuma. The moment the nine-section whip wrapped around her body, her figure also disappeared.
Kazuma felt as if he was tightly bound by a large tree that appeared out of nowhere.
"Child's play!" He understood Konoha Village's traditional Genjutsu. With a shake of his arms, his entire Chakra quickly circulated, dispelling the Genjutsu by disrupting his Chakra flow.
His combat experience was also rich. Hearing footsteps behind him, he swept his tin staff horizontally behind him without even looking.
"Puff!" An Ino was struck, turning into a puff of white smoke.
Shadow Clone Technique? This is bad!
He quickly retreated, spinning his tin staff, making it impenetrable.
"Compound Ninjutsu: Poison Pufferfish!" Ino used her original Ninjutsu. Her main body exhaled poisoned Chakra, one Shadow Clone used Water Release to greatly transform the toxins, and another Shadow Clone used Wind Release to shoot the poisonous liquid at the enemy like fine needles.
Kazuma's skill was indeed remarkable. His tin staff danced, impenetrable to water, blocking all the Poison Pufferfish.
"You little brat, let's see what else you have—" He suddenly changed his expression mid-sentence.
He blocked the poison needles, but not the poison.
Each time the Poison Pufferfish was blocked by the tin staff, it left a little toxin. This amount wasn't fatal, but accumulating over thousands of blocks, the tin staff became a poisoned staff. His right hand, holding the staff, had turned completely black and purple, and the toxins were rapidly rushing up his arm towards his heart.
Given the intensity of this poison, once it entered his heart, he would surely die.
Kazuma decisively cut off his right arm, then ran away.
How could Ino let him escape? Dealing with a Ninja with a severed arm, unable to form hand seals, and without a weapon, was simply easy and pleasant.
A Rasengan struck his back, then Akisui slashed across his neck. Kazuma's head flew into the air, and his body stood for a few seconds before crashing to the ground.
"Hmph, you're far worse than Asuma-sensei, truly. Whether it's character, ideals, Ninjutsu, or Taijutsu, you're no good." Ino remembered that a severed head supposedly still had consciousness for about ten seconds. So, in a rather morbid fashion, she squatted down and chatted with Kazuma's head for a couple of sentences.
Only when Kazuma had completely lost all signs of life, and she had sensed twice to confirm he had no other means of resurrection, did she turn and leave.
The battle traces on the scene didn't need to be cleaned up. Without the support of these Ninja, if the Lord of the Land of Fire didn't want to die, he would definitely make the right choice.
Ino took all the Underworld Soil and went to a secluded corner, openly summoning the Shinigami.
As Ino's silly friend, a true "death" buddy, the Shinigami arrived quickly. Seeing these soils filled with the aura of the deceased, he was also very happy.
He had servants and a main gate, but his "house" had many damaged areas. Now with this Underworld Soil, he could just burn bricks to repair his house.
Ino timely brought up the matter of trading for Yin Kurama.
The Shinigami thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
Ino got angry: "You're not being a good friend, are you? What kind of friendship do we have? You're not even willing to help me with such a small favor?!"
She ranted for five minutes, expressing her dissatisfaction. The Shinigami was somewhat moved, wondering if he was being too harsh?
After much deliberation, he still couldn't part with Yin Kurama. As the most important part of the Ten-Tails, this thing was too valuable.
However, Ino was indeed a good silly friend.
What to do?
The Shinigami felt his original "house" was too old and dilapidated. He planned to build a new "house" on the same site. So he proposed a new additional condition: as long as Ino helped him with one more small favor, he would release Yin Kurama.
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