"Hey… don't be an idiot."
"Don't rush in. You're definitely not his match."
Seeing the hungry gleam in Leech's eyes, like a predator finally spotting prey, the Iwa swordsman hurriedly tried to stop him.
More than anyone else here, he understood just how dangerous that Konoha shinobi was.
Even in Iwagakure, he had always believed swordsmanship stood above everything else.
Normally, no one ever argued when he called himself the best swordsman in the village.
And to be fair, his skill with a blade really was exceptional.
But if he were compared to that Konoha shinobi in a pure sword fight… they weren't even on the same level.
That man had casually killed three people while surrounded by more than a dozen enemies, then rescued his comrades without suffering a scratch.
From the Iwa swordsman's point of view, the enemy's kenjutsu had probably already reached Kage level.
And right now, Leech was only an elite jōnin at best.
"What, you looking down on me now?"
"I'm Iwagakure's number one swordsman!"
Hearing himself dismissed so bluntly, Leech frowned, clearly irritated.
He threw those words over his shoulder, then kicked off the ground and charged straight toward the front line.
"Hey! Leech!"
The Iwa swordsman reached out instinctively, trying to stop him, but Leech had already burst forward, slipping right past his grasp.
"Kagaribi, aren't you overreacting a little? There's only one enemy."
Seeing the anxiety written all over his face, Kitsuchi spoke up from the side, puzzled.
"Yeah," Wenya said with a grin. "Even if Leech really can't handle him alone, there are this many of us here. It's not like we'd just stand around and watch him die."
In truth, it wasn't just the two of them.
The rest of the Iwa shinobi also felt like Kagaribi was making too much of it.
One after another, the Rock shinobi started laughing and teasing him.
"Keh… sword fights aren't like ninjutsu battles," Kagaribi said bitterly. "Life and death are decided in an instant."
Seeing that nobody was taking it seriously, he quickly explained what had happened in his earlier clash with Yagami.
By the time he finished, the laughter around him was gone.
Several of them wore grim expressions now.
Without waiting for another word, Kagaribi leapt forward as well, rushing toward the battlefield.
"Wenya, take another squad and support him!"
Watching Kagaribi charge ahead, Han thought for a moment before giving the order.
"Yes, sir!"
Wenya answered at the same time.
Then they immediately dashed toward the front.
The violent wind scattered the flames and dust across the battlefield.
And at last, Yagami came clearly into the sight of the Rock shinobi.
He stood there completely unharmed.
The Sand shinobi nearby frowned.
"So after throwing a stone at me…"
"…you expect me not to return the favor?"
Ignoring the confused looks from the Rock shinobi around him, Yagami slowly swept his gaze across the tightly packed enemy formation.
Then he smiled.
They still didn't know anything about his abilities.
That was why they were standing so close together.
If this attack landed cleanly…
…his prestige would probably soar through the roof.
Yasakani no Magatama.
The name flashed through his mind.
Yagami brought both hands together in front of his chest.
A dazzling golden light burst forth, arcs of electricity flickering violently around it.
Brilliant particles began to gather in front of his arms.
"Stop him!!"
The moment he saw Yagami move, Sumashi shouted on instinct.
He had no idea what Yagami was about to do—
—but an overwhelming sense of danger suddenly crashed down on him.
"Earth Style: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!"
"Earth Style: Rock Spear Forest!"
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter!"
At Sumashi's warning, the surrounding Rock shinobi snapped back to their senses.
Hand seals flashed everywhere.
A barrage of ninjutsu surged toward Yagami from all directions, sealing off every path of escape.
"Too late."
Just as the attacks were about to hit him, Yagami slammed a foot into the ground and shot straight into the sky.
The longer Yasakani no Magatama was charged, the more light bullets it could release.
But now that his charge had been interrupted, he had no choice but to fire early.
"What the hell is this…?"
As Yagami soared into the sky like a blazing second sun, Sumashi felt a chill crawl across his body.
For some reason, his whole body was screaming at him.
Even the corners of his eyes twitched violently.
Every instinct he had was warning him—
danger.
"Spread out! Everyone, move!!"
Alarm bells rang in his head as Sumashi roared at his comrades.
He didn't know exactly what was coming or how it would strike—
—but staying grouped together was obviously suicide.
"HOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
But before anyone could fully react to what he meant—
a blinding radiance exploded across the sky.
In an instant, the entire battlefield was bathed in golden light.
Even the shinobi fighting in Konoha's trenches were drawn to it, their eyes pulled upward by that terrifying glow.
"Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique!"
The moment he saw the countless spheres of light raining down like a storm, Sumashi's hair stood on end.
Without hesitation, he dove straight into the earth.
The next second—
the dense barrage of golden light smashed into the battlefield.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Golden explosions erupted one after another across the ground.
Crackling lightning spread wildly through the area.
Anyone caught near the blasts, even if they survived the initial impact, was instantly struck by the electrical shock, paralyzed where they stood—
and then swallowed by the flames born from the photon explosions.
"What the—?!"
Leech, who had been charging in from behind in search of a duel with Yagami, froze mid-step.
His body jerked to a sudden halt.
Then he hastily sprang backward several times, retreating as fast as he could.
If he had been even a little faster just now—
he would have entered Yagami's bombardment range himself.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!"
The rain of light continued for seven or eight full seconds.
And with each passing moment, the screams of the Rock shinobi trapped inside the bombardment grew fewer and fewer.
When the final ray of light crashed down, Yagami descended from the sky.
By then, everything within a hundred-meter radius around him had been reduced to a wasteland of shattered craters.
The ground was littered with severed limbs, broken bodies, and spilled organs.
Because photon explosions carried no gunpowder smoke, the air wasn't thick with ash.
Instead—
it was saturated with the heavy, nauseating stench of blood.
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