Kurein—the Rain jōnin fighting "Fushiguro Tōji"—had never thought so clearly.
The black-haired man's movements before him, the splashing mud, even the entire world.
His heartfelt hatred and anger seemed to transform into a blazing fire that burned away all distractions, allowing him to perceive everything before him with unprecedented clarity, dragging long trails like time-lapse photographs.
Legend had it that the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan awakened under the stimulation of extreme emotions. Perhaps his current state was similar to theirs?
Thinking this, Kurein sidestepped a staff thrust from "Fushiguro Tōji," crouched low, and suddenly burst forward across the water's surface.
Water Release: Wave Riding Strike—a technique that created a water-rich environment and then used it for rapid sliding. In the Country of Rain's environment, the first step could be omitted, and its execution could easily be mistaken for an improved version of "water-walking" and overlooked.
Relying on the superior mobility of this non-lethal technique, Kurein had killed countless enemies.
It could be said that compared to those powerful Water Release techniques, this move was his most reliable trump card.
Ninjutsu was never simply about bigger being better.
Die, you Suna bastard!
"Hyaaah—"
Crystal-clear water twines around his kunai, forming a thin blade. Dodging the staff strikes raining down like a sudden storm, Kurein accelerated further, a low growl like an enraged beast squeezing from his throat as he slashed at his enemy with a blade as brilliant as scattered light.
Water Release: Water Blade Slash!
Although it was quite suspicious that a jōnin of "Fushiguro Tōji's" caliber had never appeared in any intelligence before this war, he was after all from Suna—that godforsaken place where ninja wanting to conceal themselves indeed had it easier than ninja from other villages.
Correspondingly, Kurein believed that his proud assassination combination technique was something this man had never encountered.
Desert hyenas should just go eat corpses!
To maintain stable breathing and conceal their traces, many ninja developed the habit of not speaking during battle. Kurein was certainly no exception.
But just roaring in his heart made Kurein's expression unconsciously contort, even a hint of anticipation for killing his enemy flickering in his eyes.
However, the killing blow he envisioned achieved no notable result.
"Ah... so that's how it is~"
The black-haired man with the dangerous smile relaxed his tensed legs at the last possible moment, leaning backward to avoid Kurein's horizontal water blade slash. He then thrust his three-section staff into the ground—flattened by his burst of chakra—using it as a pivot to kick upward with a perfectly executed scissors kick.
Although he couldn't instantly copy techniques like the Uchiha's Sharingan or strike so dramatically, with his meticulous perception ability, "Fushiguro Tōji" could still record how others' chakra transformed and flowed when they used techniques.
Leaving aside the possibility of subsequently reverse-engineering the technique, during battle he could judge from chakra changes whether the opponent had used a technique and roughly what category it fell into.
Both the Wave Riding Strike—using the water film for flexible high-speed sliding—and the Water Blade Slash—creating a thin water blade—he had seen clearly.
"Like this, right!"
One kick sent Kurein's kunai flying, nearly shattering his wrist in the process. As he flipped to land, "Fushiguro Tōji" sneered and manipulated the water flow to create a foothold in mid-air.
He stomped down hard, the stagnant water sphere exploding under the heavy impact, and his form shot toward Kurein using the recoil.
The ends of his three-section staff swept through the pooled water, splashing two arcs of spray while wide water blades formed at their tips like podao blades—making Kurein's temples throb.
According to intelligence from the past year, Fushiguro Tōji was supposedly a pure taijutsu-type ninja. Aside from some moves that didn't require nature transformation, he had never used release techniques.
Kurein didn't think anyone could conceal their abilities to this extent on the battlefield, especially since "Fushiguro Tōji" already had three Rain jōnin kills to his name.
So... from that brief contact just now, this bastard had learned Water Blade Slash?!
This was the drawback of having an active mind—even in battle, Kurein's thoughts transcended his ninja instincts, raising this disturbing possibility.
This wasn't even intentionally done by "Fushiguro Tōji."
Although Wind and Water Release had different underlying logics, they shared the same aspects in application. Having received Matazaburō's direct teachings, even without learning the other's Water Release techniques, imitation a passable approximation wasn't difficult.
Moreover, his three-section staff originally had similar functionality for applying Wind nature chakra—he just hadn't used it to maintain his disguise as a "taijutsu expert."
When it came to messing with people's heads,
Jujutsu sorcerers have always been highly skilled. They never needed elaborate schemes; they acted on instinct and achieved flawless results.
Of course, he had done some other underhanded things as well.
But thinking aside, in such a life-or-death battle, Kurein's movements couldn't stop just because of one thought.
Using Water Body Flicker again to avoid the heavy, crashing slash, Kurein forcefully reset his dislocated, swollen right hand, using the sharp pain to suppress extraneous thoughts.
But before he could remove bandages for temporary treatment, he saw "Fushiguro Tōji" charging toward another part of the battlefield.
Although regulations and systems varied between countries and villages, the promotion channels for ninja were similar.
Generally, graduating from the ninja academy made one a genin. Chūnin promotions mostly occurred through the Chūnin Exams or direct appointment by village leaders—the latter being extremely rare, as even the smallest village couldn't constantly monitor genin performance.
In fact, simply grinding seniority would allow any genin not particularly incompetent or unsuitable to become chūnin. And starting at the chūnin level, the strength floating between villages became extremely huge.
Small villages often used low-difficulty exams to inflate their chūnin numbers, thereby attracting more missions. As hard signs represent village strength, this applied even more to jōnin and tokubetsu jōnin.
In reality, many small village jōnin would need to fight half a day to win or lose against any random chūnin from the Five Great Villages—but ninja from the Five Great Villages were happy to admit them as jōnin... at least when counting their heads for payment.
As Amegakure sat firmly in the recognized top spot beneath the Five Great Villages, Kurein, as a veteran jōnin, had a clear perception of his fellow ninja's strength.
Among the Rain ninja present, only the few true jōnin could stop "Fushiguro Tōji." Those tokubetsu jōnin wouldn't last more than a few exchanges against him.
Gritting his teeth, ignoring the possibility of lasting damage to his right hand, Kurein formed seals again despite the pain.
"Water Release: Rushing Torrent!"
A rapid torrent surged forward, engulfing "Fushiguro Tōji" as he hurled his three-section staff toward a Rain tokubetsu jōnin, attempting to force him to defend. But the latter just sneered, spurting out a stream of water from his palm that struck the rear section of the staff, pushing it forward an extra distance and easily piercing the tokubetsu jōnin's skull.
A flash of crimson rose to the surface, mocking Kurein's futile effort, then instantly washed away without a trace.
"—!"
Leaping from his hiding place onto the water's surface, Kurein looked down at his comrade sinking to the bottom, silent.
Standing on the water as well, "Fushiguro Tōji" leisurely swung his three-section staff, watching him with a mocking expression.
Then Kurein looked around. Ambushed by Suna, the hundred-plus chūnin were down to less than half.
Of the five jōnin, besides himself and the one already killed by "Fushiguro Tōji," the remaining three were crumbling under siege from Suna ninja.
As for tokubetsu jōnin, they weren't much different from chūnin—just exceptionally outstanding in one particular area.
Amegakure's main business was assassination, and this plan to ambush Suna's camp via the hidden path naturally involved assassination-specialized tokubetsu jōnin.
But an assassin whose traces had been discovered was nothing.
Even if they had accepted them from the beginning might not return alive, wasting comrades' lives like this was too heartbreaking.
But at the very least, at least make this bastard pay!
With this resolve of burning his bridges, Kurein silently drew a new kunai, black flames burning in his eyes.
"Hmm... so no other tricks? That sliding-around technique of yours was quite interesting."
"Fushiguro Tōji" rolled his shoulders, his gaze gradually turning dangerous. "In that case, these guys are useless—"
—!
A presence that seemed to make the very air tremble suddenly erupted from "Fushiguro Tōji," his form even becoming unstable.
Maximum conversion of Yang Release chakra. Using Tenketsu Unlocking Technique to open several major tenketsu's chakra release limits and dump chakra outward, then using the enhancement tattoos all over his body to restrain it externally, forming a chakra outer shell similar to a Tailed Beast Coat.
Simultaneously, the chakra outer shell could bypass the internal chakra circulation, directly stimulating the meridian system from outside—maximally activating cells throughout his body without affecting Yin Release circulation, multiplying Yang Release's effects exponentially.
This was Hii Kōri's Yang Release secret technique: "Seven Essence Release Gates!"
"?!"
Reading the implication in his words, Kurein—who had intended to make a final desperate struggle—could no longer maintain his silence. He frantically chased after the retreating black-haired man, letting out a mournful cry like a cuckoo weeping blood: "Come back!"
But with his speed, how could he possibly catch up to "Fushiguro Tōji" now?
And then, hell descended.
In an instant, a nauseating stench of blood filled the barrier-sealed battlefield.
Taijutsu—although there were types requiring chakra usage, the vast majority were purely fighting skills relying on chakra-enhanced bodies.
In terms of striking range, attack distance, and application scope, taijutsu had no advantage over ninjutsu. Ninja trained taijutsu merely to maintain physical flexibility and establish a foundation for refining chakra—in most ninja's eyes, this was undeniable common sense.
But... what was this?
What was happening?
"No way..."
Sounds heralding death howls echoed within the barrier.
Not the familiar clash of kunai or blades, not the click of mechanisms, not the sounds of various release techniques.
Just the sound of a swinging staff continuously tearing the air apart.
Exaggerated. And terrifying.
The black three-section staff and the black-haired man's arms were almost invisible. Only the cascading sounds of air being rent and the ground—dried and torn by the scorching heat of the staff—proved their existence.
Shuriken were beaten into twisted scrap metal, kunai and ninja swords snapped, release techniques were smashed to pieces, bodies caught in the claw-like wind pressure were torn apart—all achieved merely by a reinforced body swinging a three-section staff.
"No way! You bastard!"
Floating helplessly like a withered leaf in a raging river, barely managing to dodge and weave within the storm, Kurein's eyes no longer held hatred or fighting spirit. All color in his violently trembling pupils was infested by fear.
Didn't want to die. Didn't want to be killed by this strange thing. Didn't want to end his life accomplishing nothing—even this most basic cry of life could only be manifested by his body's instinct.
"What the hell are you?!"
"Don't make me sound like some kind of monster. It's just a gap in perception between us."
Why did the disparity in view cause such inner turmoil?
Like the "nose"—which should exist but people ignore—so-called vision wasn't merely the images captured by our eyeballs, but the images understood by our brains. Our vision could be protected and obscured by our emotions, environment, knowledge, feelings, common sense, and so on.
"Human beings are fragile things that cannot survive outside their own boxes."
Having absolutely no intention of discussing philosophy with "Fushiguro Tōji," the verge of collapse Kurein let his expanding fear drive him, both hands gripping his kunai as he charged futilely: "DIE—!!!"
Rapid. Swift. Fierce.
Years of training were etched into his body. Even if his consciousness collapsed, his trained body would not betray him.
But such a simple thrust was full of flaws to a ninja accustomed to high-speed combat.
One staff strike knocked Kurein into the ground. Removing his jaw, then crushing his shoulders and knees, eliminating his ability to commit suicide or move, "Fushiguro Tōji" carried this cripple toward the barrier's edge.
"Quite a haul, isn't it?"
***
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