The ninja stumbling toward them suddenly stretched his arms wide, as if trying to pull Hozuki's body into an embrace. It was practically a suicidal move, since Haseo's blade was already locked on his throat.
But just then, a sudden surge of intense chakra erupted from him. A violent current of Lightning Release first surged through his right fist, then spread outward across his entire body.
At the same time, his speed spiked dramatically, matching Haseo's "Lightning Release: Mikage"—a combined ninjutsu-taijutsu technique—under normal conditions.
Something wasn't right.
Haseo realized it in an instant and immediately tried to retreat—but by then, it was already slightly too late.
Clearly, whether it was Haseo's speed or his own, the enemy had calculated everything with precision.
Lightning chakra now crackled over the enemy's right arm as he swung it like a curved greatsword, mercilessly cutting through Hozuki Nagatsuki—who was still standing—and slicing her clean in half. Without losing momentum, he charged straight at Haseo, who stood just behind her.
Given how ruthless that strike was, there was a high chance those two nearly identical figures weren't brothers at all.
Faced with such a professional ambush, Haseo could only raise his left arm defensively while swinging his longsword at the enemy's left side—the part not yet covered in lightning chakra. With their speeds so evenly matched, he had no choice but to trade blows head-on.
Haseo took the full force of the attack and went rolling violently through the air.
Meanwhile, the enemy's left arm had been completely severed at the shoulder, blood spraying as it hit the ground.
Haseo crashed sideways into a wall with immense force. His sword clattered to the ground, and amid a swirl of dust, he fell down after it.
The enemy had chosen to go for a sudden assassination—even at the cost of one arm.
"Cough… cough! So you actually ambushed me? What kind of ninja are you? Someone like you deserves to die without kids—yet still somehow end up with grandkids!"
Struggling back to his feet, Haseo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, picked up his sword, and slid it back into its sheath… By now, his left arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, dangling uselessly at his side. It had clearly been broken—badly.
Of course, what Haseo had just said was just a bitter joke; he'd mixed up his words—on purpose. After all, what kind of ninja wouldn't ambush?
Every good ninja is, at heart, a master of disguise. Ninja fight for results, not methods. Deception and trickery—if they get the job done—are no different from techniques like Rasengan or Kurika.
Haseo simply hadn't expected that bulky guy to be such a brilliant actor—or rather, he had unconsciously assumed earlier that the enemy was from Mist Village. But now… he was clearly one of Kumo's own.
When Haseo looked up again at the towering ninja, he saw that the man was now fully engulfed in violent lightning chakra. This was unmistakably Cloud's signature Lightning Release Chakra Mode—the ultimate embodiment of the Raikage's power itself.
But the opponent couldn't possibly be the Raikage himself. Otherwise, Haseo wouldn't have only lost an arm just now. However, considering this person could use such advanced ninja techniques, his status and strength within Kumo were self-evident.
...So this offensive against the Uzumaki was actually a joint operation between two hidden villages.
Although previously they had conflicts over the Two-Tails, in that incident both were victims—Kumo lost the Two-Tails to Konoha, while Mist fell into the minefield laid by Haseo, suffering heavy losses among the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist.
Yet when their goals aligned later on, these earlier conflicts didn't really hinder their cooperation anymore… Nobody wanted the Uzumaki going anywhere near Konoha.
No wonder they arrived somewhat late; joint operations were naturally harder to coordinate—At this moment, Haseo connected the dots.
The enemy was now armored up, so there was no way Haseo could easily break his limbs again like before.
However, that last exchange still left Haseo at a huge disadvantage. His left hand had gone completely numb right now, meaning he couldn't form [Hand seals]… His combat effectiveness, you could say, had dropped to less than ten percent.
What about the enemy? Losing one arm was merely a negligible "loss control" for Haseo. The Kumo ninja using Lightning Release Mode wouldn't need [Hand seals] in the upcoming battle anyway.
The enemy's severed arm was already clotting fast, clearly showing he knew his previous mutual injury strategy paid off, thus he truly didn't care about losing an arm.
Judging from how brutal his attacks were, although Kumo and Mist shared the same target—the Uzumaki—perhaps the ninja participating from Kumo had received a secret order: if they encountered Konoha's Jonin named Haseo in the Land of Whirlpools, he would become the top priority to eliminate, even higher than dealing with the Uzumaki.
For Kumo, Haseo stood out among Konoha's ninja, after all, he had repeatedly obstructed Kumo's plans, causing them immeasurable damage.
There was something called "real, gut-wrenching pain," so for Kumo, Haseo was worth eliminating at any cost.
The longer Haseo stayed alive, the worse it would be for Kumo.
"Even if we consider the same Lightning Release Chakra Mode, there must be differences in intensity. The current ninja definitely couldn't reach the level of the Third Raikage, whose body could withstand direct attacks from tailed beasts.
However, if breaking through his defense was necessary, [Water Dragon Blast] might manage it, or maybe [Wind Release] which countered Lightning Type. Alternatively, using an extremely powerful Lightning Release like [Senken Zesshou] would work too. But… Right now, the only jutsu available to me are [Mikage] and [Kurika]."
Having multiple chakra natures simultaneously was Haseo's core feature, and the rapid composite hand seal technique allowing him to utilize this characteristic was the lifeline of his abilities as a ninja. Without this ability, the more Haseo analyzed his situation, the more he realized how dire his predicament had become.
This was a formidable enemy—not just because of inherent strength, but also because he precisely targeted Haseo's weakness… With his growing reputation, more and more intel on Haseo had fallen into enemy hands.
This was unavoidable.
The enemy had the advantage in intelligence. With them hidden and him exposed, he was ambushed and caught completely off guard.
Once deprived of jutsu, his speed became comparable to theirs, which meant the battle would devolve into close combat. However, Haseo's Lightning Release lacked strong defense and wasn't as balanced between attack and defense as his opponent's techniques. Haseo specialized in powerful attacks but had weak defenses, so a direct melee confrontation would naturally put him at a disadvantage.
"No choice then. Let's give it a try."
Thinking this to himself, arcs of electricity around Haseo began growing wilder and more intense.
In this situation, there was no need for restraint — he could go all out with his Lightning Release.
Despite being at a disadvantage, Haseo remained calm. After all, he wasn't helpless here. Besides, this was a large-scale chaotic battle involving nearly a hundred people, not some absolute one-on-one duel.
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