Chapter 31 — A Jonin Powerhouse.
At this moment—
The difference in height between the two was far too great. As Uchiha Mikoto slashed toward his neck, her feet had already left the ground, leaving her with no leverage to push off from.
Iruzhen's right hand suddenly shot out and grabbed Uchiha Mikoto by the throat. With his left hand casually stroking his own neck, he revealed a cruel smile.
"Kid… are you scratching an itch for me?"
His fingers tightened as he prepared to crush Uchiha Mikoto's throat. But suddenly, his body stiffened.
He could no longer move.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu… success!"
Nara Shikaku's face was drenched in sweat as he shouted, "Hiashi!"
He didn't even need to say it.
The moment Uchiha Mikoto was captured, Hiashi had already activated his Byakugan and unfolded the Eight Trigrams Domain.
"Gentle Fist — Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"
After opening his Byakugan and unleashing Gentle Fist twice in such a short time, his chakra consumption had become severe. His face was pale as paper.
But his expression remained resolute.
He charged forward in a swift step, his slender body moving with remarkable agility. Green light flickered across his palms as chakra surged violently, striking toward Iruzhen.
The moment his palm made contact, Hiashi immediately sensed something strange.
It felt as though Iruzhen was wearing a layer of chakra armor, tightly wrapping around his entire body.
Hiashi roared and forced even more chakra out of his exhausted body. All thirty-two strikes were concentrated on a single point—
The enemy's chest.
Crack!
The defense finally shattered.
Iruzhen was blasted backward.
"Chōza! Suppress him!" Shikaku shouted.
Akimichi Chōza fiercely wiped the corner of his mouth.
"Human Bullet Tank!"
BOOM!
His massive body slammed violently into Iruzhen.
"Nawaki! Blow him up!" Shikaku yelled again.
At this moment, Senju Nawaki had finally regained his senses. Enduring the intense pain coursing through his body, he rolled on the ground and quickly climbed to his feet.
In the next second—
He perfectly demonstrated what it meant to be rich.
Pulling out a scroll, he spread it open. On it were ten large characters for "Explosion."
After unlocking one of them, a thick stack of explosive tags appeared in his hands.
At a glance—there had to be at least a hundred.
"Get back!"
After shouting a warning, he threw all one hundred explosive tags in a single motion.
"Holy—!"
Akimichi Chōza's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Startled out of his wits, his chubby body suddenly moved with incredible agility as he leapt away.
"Earth Release — Earth Flow Wall!"
Senju Nawaki raised a thick earthen wall to shield everyone.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A dense chain of explosions erupted.
Dust shot into the sky as violent currents of air surged outward. Shockwaves rolled across the battlefield while the earthen wall trembled violently, nearly collapsing.
When the explosions finally stopped and the dust slowly cleared—
Iruzhen's entire body was charred black.
His face was completely disfigured.
He was dead beyond doubt.
The group immediately collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.
Nara Shikaku suddenly smacked Senju Nawaki on the head with a hard knock.
"Idiot! I told you to blow him up—I didn't tell you to use that many explosive tags!"
"Well, you didn't say how many to use! How is that my fault?"
"Moron."
"Hmph! (ノ=Д=)ノ┻━┻"
Senju Nawaki huffed angrily, convinced that he had been the biggest contributor to the victory.
"Stop arguing already," Uchiha Mikoto said. "Hiashi, can you still use the Byakugan? Check on Hikaru and the others."
"I'm fine."
If killing a Chunin had already been this difficult, then facing a Jonin would be far worse.
Everyone's faces were filled with worry.
Hiashi forced himself to reopen his Byakugan and looked into the distance.
His expression suddenly changed.
"Minato is down. Shigeru is down. Only Hikaru is still fighting."
…
"Haah… haah…"
Kinoshita Hikaru looked utterly battered.
He had never expected a Jonin to be this terrifyingly powerful.
As the pinnacle of the ninja ranks, Jonin were capable of unleashing fierce taijutsu on the battlefield, casting genjutsu, and performing advanced ninjutsu powerful enough to make the very air tremble and blood run cold.
Beyond leadership ability, they were required to excel in ninjutsu, analytical skills, and combat judgment—true all-rounder shinobi.
Not to mention anything else—
Speed alone was enough to leave the three of them hopelessly behind.
They couldn't even touch their opponent.
How were they supposed to fight like this?
The three had engaged him head-on from the very beginning and were completely suppressed.
Now two of them were already severely injured…
He remembered that in the original story, Namikaze Minato had killed all the enemies by himself. Yet now, even with nine people fighting together, they still couldn't win.
Could it be that the protagonist was only meant to act alone?
Otherwise, there would be no need to pretend to be dead while waiting for an opportunity.
That's right.
Minato was waiting for an opportunity. And he wasn't the only one—all three of them were waiting for a chance to strike.
Just then—
Kinoshita Hikaru heard a massive explosion in the distance.
The corner of his mouth twitched. There was no need to guess—if that many explosive tags had gone off, it was definitely Nawaki's doing.
As the "Crown Prince of Konoha," Nawaki came from a family with astonishing wealth. Explosive tags were something he carried in stacks.
For ordinary people, even if they wanted to do something like that, poverty alone would stop them.
"Kid, die peacefully. I'll remember you."
Iruwa Yoshi said with admiration. He truly respected this kid. No matter what kind of blow he suffered, he always managed to climb back to his feet.
Before today, if someone had told him he would be tied down by a mere kid, he wouldn't have believed it even if they beat him to death.
But now—
He believed it.
This world truly had geniuses.
Perhaps to the Kumo ninjas, the Byakugan held the greatest value. But for Konoha, all of those people combined might not be worth as much as the boy standing before him.
"Is that so? Then I really should thank you."
Iruwa Yoshi suddenly burst forward like a flash of lightning.
His legs moved with terrifying agility—sweeps, kicks, whip-like strikes, stomps, spinning blows. Each move flowed seamlessly into the next, unpredictable and fluid beyond belief.
Kinoshita Hikaru was forced to dodge repeatedly, weaving away from the vital strikes.
Bang!
Defense would eventually fail.
Iruwa Yoshi seized a brief opening and kicked Hikaru square in the stomach. Chakra erupted from the strike, sending Hikaru flying instantly.
Iruwa Yoshi stepped forward, swinging out another sweeping kick with overwhelming force.
As the leg cut through the air, a violent gust followed in its wake, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound. It was a fully charged strike.
He stepped forward again, raising his right leg high—preparing to deliver a fatal blow.
Boom!
Hikaru slammed heavily onto the ground. The impact rattled his mind, leaving his thoughts momentarily scattered.
No…
He suddenly bit the tip of his tongue.
The intense pain snapped him awake. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as a chill crept through his body.
Rolling quickly to the side, he barely avoided the fatal strike before scrambling back to his feet.
[Breaking through limits. Rubber Fruit proficiency +1. Proficiency is now full. Upgrade?]
At that moment, the system's voice sounded in his mind.
Hikaru's face lit up with joy.
"Upgrade!" he said quickly.
[Upgrade successful. Rubber Fruit — Intermediate Level.]
A warm current surged through his body.
He could clearly feel the transformation within himself. From the inside out, an endless well of stamina seemed to emerge. His once heavy body suddenly felt incredibly light.
He clenched his empty hand, feeling the power surging through his body, and broke into a bright grin.
Ever since his Rubber Fruit proficiency reached 99, he had been unable to break through that final barrier no matter what he tried.
Now he finally understood.
From the very beginning, what he lacked had been a truly intense battle.
Iruwa Yoshi's eyes flickered with uncertainty.
After suffering such a heavy blow, the boy looked as if nothing had happened.
Was this kid made of iron?
Not only that—perhaps it was just an illusion, but Iruwa Yoshi felt as if the more the boy was beaten, the more energetic he became.
What kind of lunatic had developed such a monstrous physique?
"Damn it!"
Hikaru stopped defending and launched into a rapid offensive instead.
His body moved like a nimble monkey, leaping and darting everywhere.
Soon he realized such attacks were too exhausting.
So he changed tactics—targeting the lower body instead.
Iruwa Yoshi suddenly felt a chill in his groin.
This brat had no sense of martial honor.
He had also considered using genjutsu to deal with Hikaru, but Hikaru never made eye contact with him. There was simply no opportunity.
With the fruit upgraded, Hikaru's physical strength had surged dramatically. He could finally restrain his opponent.
He no longer hesitated.
Seizing a brief opening, he struck decisively.
In that instant, the tide of offense and defense reversed.
Hikaru wrapped his body tightly around Iruwa Yoshi.
"Gomu Gomu — Octopus!"