Boneclaw!
If someone made a list of chakra and summoning beasts under the S-rank danger rating, which could give even a Kage-level ninja trouble, a mature boneclaw would definitely make it to the top five.
It wasn't that Kage-level ninjas feared a peak AA-level boneclaw. But this summoning beast was notoriously hard to kill.
It had a peculiar set of powers and innate skills that made it deadly to any ninja below Kage-level.
Even an average S-rank ninja, whose combat power was high enough to deal with multiple experienced Elite Jonin, dreaded facing boneclaws.
One mistake could lead them to their death.
So, what made a boneclaw deadly enough to make even an S-rank ninja flinch?
To understand that, you needed to have a look at its profile:
[Name: Boneclaw
Danger Rating: Peak AA+ (Infinitely close to S-level danger rating)
Chakra Nature Affinities: Fire, Yin, Bone (It's similar to, but not the same as Shikotsumyaku—Dead Bone Pulse)
Notes on the Known Special Abilities and Innate Skills: Bone Growth, Hardening, Nightmare Illusion, Corroding Flames, Flaming Claws…
Bone Growth: Manipulate bones, extend them, retract them, and use them in all possible combat forms, including shooting them as projectiles.
Hardening (Passive): A passive innate skill that makes its bones harder than earth-attribute reinforced chakra metal alloy.
Nightmare Illusion: Eye contact with boneclaw passively pulls individuals with weaker wills into a Genjutsu, where they experience horrible nightmares. It can actively use this skill to use the Yin Release chakra to increase the power of the illusions multiple times.
Corroding Flames: Bone-chilling flames that not only burn the body but also siphon stamina and mental power, leading to extreme mental and physical fatigue.
Flaming Claws: Hard claws imbued with Fire Release chakra, granting the claws more cutting power.]
Yeah.
If you don't have a strong enough willpower or spiritual power, you should just stay away from it and avoid making eye contact with it.
Boneclaws could even pull seasoned S-rank ninjas into Genjutsu filled with nightmares, and then finish them off.
They were like the Uchiha clan of the summoning beasts, who also had a power similar to the Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse) of the Kaguya clan.
Naturally, the best opponents to fight them were none other than an S-rank or a group of peak Elite Jonin-level Uchiha clan ninjas, who had at least awakened three-tomoe Sharingan.
Sharingan's Genjutsu casting, resistance, powerful innate Yin Release chakra, and abundant ocular power made it possible for the Uchiha clan ninjas to face boneclaws without fearing their Nightmare Illusion capabilities.
And that was exactly what Uchiha Hiroshi was planning to do.
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Uchiha Hiroshi unsheathed the straight katana sword from his back and said, "I am the best person to face that abomination. Leave the boneclaw to me."
The ANBU leader, Crane, and Senju Tatsuya nodded and agreed.
There was no need to even think about it. It was better to leave that nightmarish abomination to the Genjutsu experts. And if the Genjutsu expert was an S-rank Uchiha clan ninja, even better.
Senju Tatsuya finally exhaled and stated, "I will deal with that Feral Hound and Shimada Ryunosuke. I specialize in Taijutsu and Water Release, Earth Release, and Lightning Release Ninjutsu."
"I can counter both the flames of the Feral Hound and Ryunosuke's Water Release."
The ANBU leader chimed in, "In that case, I will lead the ANBU operatives and the ninjas from your squads for proper coordination. No problem there, right?"
"That's fine." x2
Senju Tatsuya and Uchiha Hiroshi agreed without a hint of hesitation.
However, at the next moment, Senju Tatsuya hesitated a bit. "But what about the other S-rank ninja hiding in the dark?"
"I will hold him."
The ANBU leader, Senju Tatsuya, and Uchiha Hiroshi turned their heads at the source of the reply simultaneously.
It was Senju Seimei who had replied just now.
Uchiha Hiroshi raised an eyebrow and asked seriously, "You sure?"
Seimei nodded and replied with the same seriousness, "I am. I won't gamble with my life. I will do my best to hold him off, at least until one of you ends your battle and comes to support me."
Though I hope it won't come to this. I should be able to handle an S-rank Shinobi now…Probably. Seimei chuckled nervously in his head.
He could fight and kill a group of Elite Jonin. But an S-rank ninja?
Even Seimei wasn't sure that he could win the battle against such an opponent in a short time.
And if that S-rank Shinobi possessed a powerful Kekkei Genkai, it would be even more troublesome.
Then, he would have no choice but to expose some of his trump cards.
It wasn't that he was a fan of hiding his power. He never did. He had always been upfront about his power.
But he rarely showed his trump cards.
After all, before reaching a certain level of power, trump cards could be a genuine game-changer when fighting against stronger enemies.
But he also knew that no power was truly invincible.
Every power had a weakness, and once the cunning enemy ninjas smelled it, they would surely create strategies to counter it.
But if the situation demanded, he wouldn't shy away from using those trump cards.
He had a lot of them.
At most, he would create some new ones to compensate for the ones that he had already exposed.
All those thoughts ran through Seimei's mind in less than half a second before he focused his gaze on the three individuals in front of him.
The ANBU leader, Crane, said, "Very well. Seimei, let's go with the plan. You will battle the other S-rank ninja when he/she shows up."
"Until then, you will fight under my command against the Shimada clan ninjas."
"Understood," confirmed Seimei.
"Be ready. They will attack within a few moments, including those summoning beasts," said Senju Tatsuya.
Then, he turned to Crane, the ANBU leader. "Crane, I will leave the battlefield to you. Finish those bastards off, but protect yourself, Seimei, and our ninjas well."
On the battlefield, injuries were inevitable. Death, too.
But a competent leader with a decade of battle experience could reduce the casualties.
"I will do my best."
The ANBU leader replied. His mind was already working at full speed.
After all, he needed to place the right ninjas at the right places to make sure the Konoha ninjas had an advantage, even when they were facing multiple opponents.
That said, each Konoha ninja was an elite.
An average Chunin from Konoha could fight two or three Chunin-level ninjas from the independent ninja clans without disadvantage.
Proper training, access to powerful Ninjutsu, and a solid upbringing in ninja academies from a young age made the ninjas of Konoha and the other four hidden villages of the major elemental nations stronger than those of other entities.
And these other entities included, but were not limited to, the independent ninja clans and hidden villages of different nations, excluding the five major elemental nations.
Senju Tatsuya looked at Shimada Ryunosuke before saying to his teammates, "I will take my battle against Ryunosuke and his summoning beast, Feral Hound, far from this battleground."
"Fighting here may lead to casualties among the ninjas in our ranks. Nobody wants to see that happen. Not me. Not the Shimada clan leader."
Uchiha Hiroshi stated, "I will do the same, too."
Seimei nodded silently.
Indeed. When two S-rank ninjas battled, things could escalate beyond control.
Staying near them without the strength of a full-fledged Jonin at the very least could send you to the hospital.
…Or to the Pure Land.
In short, you would end up as collateral damage.
With that, Senju Tatsuya and Uchiha Hiroshi flickered away while eyeing their opponents.
Shimada Ryunosuke, the Feral Hound, and the Boneclaw also followed them.
They would fight their own battles. Considering the presence of opponents of equal caliber, none of them wanted to risk targeting lower-level ninjas.
At least, not until they dealt with the risk factors.
Otherwise, even if they won the battle, a lot of their teammates or clansmen would be killed, making the victory completely hollow and meaningless.
This was the very reason why, during the large-scale battles, a full-fledged Jonin never targets the enemy Genin and Chunin until all the enemy Special Jonin or higher-ranked ninjas are killed.
Training ninjas was hard and costly.
So, they at least tried to follow a code to keep the casualties to a minimum.
After all, enemy ninjas weren't the only threat. They had to deal with chakra beasts, too.
If a hidden ninja village from the Elemental Nation ended up losing half of its active ninjas in a couple of wars, they wouldn't have enough manpower to keep themselves or their countries safe from the rampages of the chakra beasts.
And that would be disastrous.
Seimei understood this. And the others understood this as well.
But Seimei didn't dwell on those thoughts for long.
Because his battle was about to begin, too.
The ANBU leader, Crane, commanded, "Ninjas of Konoha, Charge!!!"
Meanwhile, the deputy clan leader of the Shimada clan also ordered his clansmen, "Let's go, my fellow clansmen. Let's show these Konoha scum the power of our clan."
"Move."
And with that, ninjas of both sides charged forward, ready to slit the throats of their opponents.
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