In the Land of Rice Fields, Neji, Kurotsuchi, Atsui, Chōjūrō, Temari, and Kankurō successfully linked up with Anko's recon squad.
Anko provided Kabuto's location and requested to join the assault squad.
However, Neji, as the team leader, refused.
He understood exactly what Anko was thinking. It was nothing more than seeing Kabuto as Orochimaru's successor and still having unresolved feelings about everything related to Orochimaru, so she wanted to meet Kabuto and fight him.
There was nothing inherently wrong with that, but the timing was terrible.
A full-scale ninja world war was about to erupt. Fights driven by personal feelings like that needed to be shelved.
On top of that, Anko still had Orochimaru's curse mark on her shoulder. If Kabuto was able to control that mark, Anko would instantly become a liability.
And that was not acceptable for an assault squad.
After turning Anko down, Neji led the team straight toward Kabuto's laboratory for a surprise attack.
When they arrived, there was no hesitation at all. Neji immediately used Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm) to blast the door apart, and the six of them filed in one after another.
Inside the lab, Karin—who had been arguing with Suigetsu a moment ago—suddenly coughed dryly. "Something's wrong! It feels like someone's coming! No, they're heading straight for the lab!"
When it came to Karin's Kagura Shingan (Kagura's Mind Eye), Suigetsu, Anko, and Jūgo all trusted her completely.
So they immediately regrouped around Kabuto.
These last few days, Kabuto had seemed a little unhinged. Ever since he swapped in the Rinnegan, it was like he'd obtained some kind of power that made him floaty and smug.
There was nothing to be done about it. Sage eyes had that kind of special power.
"Oi, Kabuto, we've got intruders!"
Almost as soon as Karin finished talking, there was an explosive crash at the door. The next second, people charged in.
The lab wasn't very big, so the two sides ran into each other right away.
Neji quickly swept his gaze over them and recognized a few faces. "Kabuto is mine. You all handle the others. Be careful around the woman named Guren—her Crystal Release is dangerous."
Back when they were trying to wipe out Orochimaru, Natsuki had given them intel on various people.
Crystal Release Guren had naturally drawn Konoha's attention. Her Crystal Release really was dangerous—it could crystallize an entire human body, including their blood, and then shatter them with a single smash. That was nothing to take lightly.
It was just that, during the operation against Orochimaru, they hadn't run into Guren. Neji hadn't expected to find her here under Kabuto instead.
"Got it. Let's go! Unryū Kaen Zan (Cloud-Style Flame Slash)!"
Atsui was the impulsive type. He had long since been itching for a fight. He charged forward with both hands gripping his sword, swinging it in wide arcs as he poured Katon (Fire Release) chakra into the blade, making it look like he was dancing with a sword of flames.
Clang! Steel met steel.
Suigetsu drew the Executioner's Blade to meet him, the massive sword radiating a chilling aura.
Chōjūrō was taken aback. "The Executioner's Blade? And you're from the Hōzuki clan?!"
Suigetsu glanced at him, then his eyes lit up the moment he saw the bandaged sword Chōjūrō pulled out. "Sōtō: Hiramekarei (Twin Swords: Hiramekarei)? Ha! You're from Kirigakure, right? You came all this way to deliver that blade to the great Suigetsu-sama?"
You couldn't blame Suigetsu for being excited. His dream was to collect all seven blades of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Now that Hiramekarei had walked right up to him, how could he possibly let it go?
"Oi, fire-sword guy! I wanna fight that glasses punk! Buzz off!" Suigetsu snapped impatiently.
"So hot."
Atsui couldn't care less what the enemy wanted. All he cared about was how much fun the fight was. This big-sword-wielding guy felt like a perfect opponent. There was no way he'd just hand him over.
So the clash between the two grew even fiercer.
Neji was already charging straight at Kabuto, firing another Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm) from a distance.
Kabuto responded by using Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push) to repel the attack, then lifted his hand to cast Banshō Ten'in (Universal Pull), trying to drag Neji over.
"The Rinnegan, huh? So the other Rinnegan is here."
Neji was surprised, but not afraid. In fact, he was excited. Last time, he hadn't been able to match Pain, and that had left him feeling frustrated. Now that he was facing the Rinnegan again, it was the perfect chance to wash away his previous shame.
His Byakugan suddenly shifted to blue, and he raised his hand to unleash his own gravitational pull, locking into a stalemate with Kabuto's Banshō Ten'in (Universal Pull).
The space between the two of them warped under the strain, scaring everyone else into backing away quickly.
Kurotsuchi had already closed in on Guren.
The girl might still be young, but her talent was excellent, and her confidence ran deep. Even knowing that Guren's Crystal Release was dangerous, she deliberately chose the most dangerous opponent to take on.
She whipped through hand seals. "Doton: Tsuchi Ishisō (Earth Release: Earth and Stone Bamboo Shoots)!"
In an instant, sharp stone spires erupted from the ground beneath Guren's feet, forcing her to quickly retreat.
Guren countered by forming Crystal Shuriken, sending a dense flurry of snowflake-like blades flying at Kurotsuchi. Fortunately, Kurotsuchi raised an Earth Wall in time to block them.
After exchanging ninjutsu, both women decisively charged in, shifting to close-quarters combat.
Kurotsuchi used Gan no Shō no Jutsu (Rock Palm Technique), her legs coated in stone like two massive pillars as she kicked at Guren.
Guren, in turn, formed a crystal blade around her arm. One hand defended while the other attacked. The two traded blows back and forth, neither giving an inch. For a while, it was impossible to tell who held the upper hand.
On the other side, Karin hid behind Jūgo. Seeing three more enemies on the opposing side, she immediately slipped further back.
"Um, Jūgo, you handle them. I'm gonna take cover."
Karin's combat strength wasn't very high. Her specialties were sensing and healing, so every time a real fight broke out, her first rule was to run. Fortunately, her teammates knew what she was like and didn't complain.
Jūgo activated his curse mark, his arm mutating into something strange and enormous, and the amount of chakra he released was nothing to sneeze at.
"What do we do? This guy looks really strong. Can we even beat him?" Chōjūrō was, as always, chronically lacking in confidence.
"We can, for sure."
Kankurō spoke up. "Chōjūrō, you and I will take him. Temari, stay back and provide support. Kabuto with a Rinnegan is no joke, so keep an eye on Neji for us."
Temari hefted her giant fan. "Don't worry. I'll support whenever I need to. And Neji isn't exactly weak himself."
She'd heard a bit from Shikamaru about Neji's Tenseigan (Reincarnation Eye). She knew the Tenseigan and the Rinnegan were both Sage eyes, so she didn't believe Neji would be outclassed by Kabuto.
Reassured, Kankurō unstrapped the puppet from his back and sent chakra strings into it, bringing it to life.
The puppet he controlled was no longer the old Crow puppet from before, but the original body puppet of Sasori of the Red Sand—the one Granny Chiyo had taken back and handed over to him. With that, Kankurō's strength had risen dramatically.
"Aka Higi: En-dan (Red Secret Technique: Flame Bullet)!"
He manipulated the Sasori puppet's arms upward, and the emitters in its palms spewed out a torrent of flames.
Jūgo's hand transformed again, turning into a massive shield-like shape that blocked the flames cleanly. But in that moment, Chōjūrō rushed in, swinging Sōtō: Hiramekarei (Twin Swords: Hiramekarei) and firing off a millstone-sized chakra blast that smashed straight into Jūgo.
"This guy's not useless at all."
Kankurō was honestly impressed.
Seeing Chōjūrō's timid attitude earlier, he'd assumed the kid wasn't very strong. But once the fight started for real, it turned out he was plenty capable.
Sure enough, anyone chosen to be part of the assault squad was no pushover.
(End of Chapter)
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