Clang!
The three slashes of Swallow Reversal crashed violently against the chakra shield formed by Puppet Art: Mechanical Light Shield Block, producing three heart-stopping sounds.
The fleeing Suna shinobi, even while scattering in panic, couldn't help but turn their heads to look. Their eyes were filled with shock—the sheer noise and force generated by the clash of the two left their eardrums aching as if pierced by steel.
Under the watchful eyes of the Suna shinobi, the Mechanical Light Shield Block protecting Chiyo began to show cracks, little by little. First, two cracks spread out from the sides, and then one appeared directly above the point where the Mikazuki Munechika had landed.
The three cracks slowly crept toward one another until, at last, they converged at a single point. At that moment, the chakra shield reached its absolute limit—and shattered in an explosive burst.
The instant the Mechanical Light Shield Block shattered, Hoshiyomi's Mikazuki Munechika descended mercilessly. Chiyo, seeing this, turned pale with fright.
Fortunately, she did not lose her wits despite her terror. The moment the shield shattered, she used her puppet arm to block for just an instant, while simultaneously unleashing the maximum speed her body could muster, retreating a single step.
That instinctive action saved her life.
The Mikazuki Munechika's length would have been enough to split her head open, but that single step back let her evade most of the blade. Even so, the tip carved a deep wound from her left shoulder down to her right waist. It looked terrifying, but in truth it only cut through muscle, without severing bone.
Seeing this, Hoshiyomi couldn't help but click his tongue. What luck. But even if she dodged one strike, can she dodge a second?
With that thought, he advanced again, lifting Mikazuki Munechika for another blow.
At this point, both of Chiyo's hands were useless, and her body was marked by that grievous wound. Escape was almost impossible. Staring at the oncoming blade, even she could not think of any way out.
It seems today is the day I meet my end.
Resigned to her fate, Chiyo closed her eyes in despair.
But at that very moment, Hoshiyomi's gaze sharpened. His Shunpo flared, pulling him back a step. The blade that had been aimed at Chiyo shifted instantly, sweeping instead toward the ground where he had just been standing.
With a BOOM, the ground where Hoshiyomi had stood suddenly churned. A figure burst forth from the earth, twisting mid-air to barely dodge the incoming sword energy.
The figure landed and looked at Hoshiyomi's grim expression, offering a slight smile:
"As expected of Konoha's Silver Moon. To think you could detect such a sneak attack."
Hoshiyomi snorted coldly at the man with the oversized head.
"No wonder they say Sunagakure's Elder Ebizō is full of schemes. To think you'd even use your own elder sister as bait… I almost fell for it just now."
The newcomer was none other than Ebizō—Chiyo's younger brother, and a senior elder of Sunagakure.
Ebizō was genuinely surprised that Hoshiyomi had dodged his his sneak attack. As the captain of Suna's Anbu, responsible for intelligence and assassination, he was no novice.
Hoshiyomi was actually correct; he had been lying in ambush here for some time, precisely to completely deceive Hoshiyomi and strike a fatal blow at the critical moment.
But Ebizō hadn't expected Hoshiyomi's sensory ability to be so exaggerated that he could retreat and counterattack in such a dangerous situation.
If he hadn't spent years on assassination missions, making his senses exceptionally sharp to such subtle changes in aura, he might have been the one to die just now.
In that instant, Ebizō reached a conclusion: Hoshiyomi's strength absolutely surpassed Sakumo's. Within the entirety of Sunagakure, perhaps only the Third Kazekage, Ryūnosuke, could suppress him.
If he and Sakumo were to attack Sunagakure together, there was no way the village could withstand such a combination. That was why this Gekko Hoshiyomi must die!
If they could pay a heavy price today to eliminate him, it would only benefit Sunagakure in their future negotiations with Konoha.
With this in mind, Ebizō had made his decision. He put on a smile as he spoke to stall for time:
"Konoha's Silver Moon, what are you saying? My elder sister and I are true siblings—how could I ever scheme against her? I only just barely managed to arrive here in time."
While saying this, Ebizō was secretly using a coded message with his hands to signal Chiyo to hurry up and heal herself. When their main force arrived, they would deal with Hoshiyomi together.
Having narrowly escaped death, Chiyo hesitated as she watched her brother. Not because she distrusted him, but simply because she felt that even with the two of them, and even with the aid of numerous Sunagakure shinobi, they still might not be able to stop Hoshiyomi from escaping.
While the siblings each held their own thoughts, Hoshiyomi left them no openings at all. Sakumo had long ago told him what kind of man Ebizō was.
If there weren't a hidden army nearby, Ebizō would never have shown himself so easily.
So the moment Ebizō appeared, Hoshiyomi had already spread his full sensory ability. By now, he had faintly detected the location of the Suna unit lying in wait.
Once he confirmed the enemy's position, he lost interest in dragging things out. For one thing, he knew that Chiyo could no longer be finished off today. For another, the sword shadow he left behind when fighting the Three Jewels Suction Crushing was nearly out of time.
Without hesitation, Hoshiyomi smiled at Ebizō and said:
"If you're still planning to stall for time and wait for your army to surround me, you can forget it. Today, she got lucky and dodged my blade — but next time, I doubt her fortune will hold.
And one last warning: don't think of using Kuugetsu or Minato to lure me into a trap again. If you try it once more…"
Upon hearing this, Ebizō's face changed. He was just about to give the command for the ambushing Suna unit to attack Hoshiyomi when he saw Hoshiyomi suddenly move.
Hoshiyomi thrust Mikazuki Munechika into the ground. Through Nature Transformation, his chakra had completely converted to Fire Release.
Nearly eighty percent of Hoshiyomi's chakra—along with the ghostly blue chakra flames stored within Mikazuki Munechika—was unleashed without reservation.
BOOM!!!
From beneath the feet of the concealed Suna forces in the distance, dozens of massive pillars of fire erupted upward.
The sudden blaze caught everyone off guard. The Suna unit that had been preparing to act was struck without warning; countless shinobi were instantly swallowed by the raging sea of flames.
"How dare you!"
Ebizō roared in fury, his eyes bloodshot. But when he turned back toward Hoshiyomi, he found that his figure had already vanished without a trace.
Only the fading echo of his last words lingered in the air:
"If there's a next time… this will be the consequence."
Ebizō stared blankly in the direction Hoshiyomi had disappeared. Could this really be… the legendary space–time ninjutsu?