In order to counter the Black Cat's sudden ambush, Kurin abruptly halted his dash toward Kushina, spun around mid-motion, and launched a counterattack. As a result, he ended up facing the Black Cat with his back turned toward Kushina.
Turning your back on a ninja employing an extremely high-speed Lightning Release technique—regardless of their age—was a deadly mistake, even if that turn lasted less than a second.
Like teleportation, Kushina's figure suddenly vanished from her spot and reappeared ten meters in front of Kurin.
Such displacement within a split second easily created the illusion of "teleportation." In fact, Kurin had subconsciously sensed Kushina's presence before he became aware of what seemed like a straight "beam" passing by him.
Then, a fresh, pungent scent of blood spread alarmingly close to his nose. A warm, sticky sensation soaked the side of his clothes, prompting him instinctively to raise his hand and cover the side of his neck.
At the same time, his gaze locked onto Kushina. At that moment, this young ninja tightly gripped a shiny silver dagger in her right hand… no, it looked more like a fruit knife.
Well, indeed, it was just a small fruit knife—one Kushina had hastily grabbed when she left the room.
Kurin's palm and fingers covering his neck started to involuntarily tighten slowly, increasing pressure significantly. Pain surged through his mind, while his lungs felt as though directly exposed to air—the small fruit knife had effortlessly sliced halfway through the side of his neck.
Under such high-speed movement, theoretically speaking, even if Kushina had wielded not a blade but a brick, it would have functioned as effectively as a divine sword capable of cutting through anything.
"Leader!"
The other two enemies noticed their leader's sudden injury—it looked serious—and couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
With his still-free left hand, Kurin signaled them not to worry—he wasn't dying yet… Although Kushina had inflicted a life-threatening wound, it wasn't quite enough to kill Kurin immediately.
At this moment, his neck muscles were tensed, combined with the force from his hand, firmly clamping the severed arteries and veins to stop the bleeding first.
External blood loss was secondary; more importantly, he had to prevent the gushing blood from getting into his airway.
Getting blood into the lungs was certainly no pleasant experience.
Therefore, for now, he temporarily could not speak.
After all, Kushina was doing this for the first time and inevitably a bit clumsy. If her previous strike had beheaded Kurin, then there would have been no time left for him to save himself... As things stood, she had only caused minor blood loss, kept one of his arms occupied, limited his capacity for action, and taken away his voice.
However, there was perhaps one small advantage to this minor failure—it might count as lucky not witnessing the scene of a cute little girl silently chopping someone's head off.
As soon as Kushina completed her blazing-fast move, the Lightning Release radiating from her body flickered and vanished. After releasing so much chakra at once, the pain, strain, and overwhelming forces from all those sudden movements were just too much—she couldn't keep up the Lightning Release Mode any longer.
Objectively speaking, ending the Lightning Release Mode at that moment was the single most correct decision Kushina had made in tonight's battle—it might even have been the only correct one… though it wasn't a choice she made willingly; rather, it was forced upon her.
Because "Senken Zesshou" was a forbidden technique.
The damage it inflicted on the user's body was fast-moving and unstoppable. So far, not even Haseo had found a way to completely avoid it. And Kushina didn't possess Haseo's unique physical traits—the resistance to such corrosion or his regenerative abilities. If she had kept using this technique any longer, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Kushina staggered slightly, nearly collapsing to the ground. At that moment, Kurin signaled with coded writing to his two subordinates...
He was signaling with coded writing: "Mission continues."
Haseo's technique also had a "rub your head and you'll get lice" kind of effect. Even seasoned ninja like Tsunade ended up paralyzed after using it, even after breaking her own seals to borrow its power. Much less could Kushina, who was still so young.
So, after pulling off an attack worthy of a Jonin-level ninja, Kushina now had no choice but to rely on her cat sister… despite holding the belief that a ninja must ultimately depend on themselves when it matters most. Her current reliance on others was completely contrary to that principle.
After all, she was still very young—her actions couldn't perfectly match her ideals… In a battle far beyond her capabilities, she indeed needed help.
Three Kumo Shinobi rushed toward Kushina, nearly reaching out with five hands between them at once.
Black Cat blurred across the walls of the narrow alleyway, chasing desperately—but slightly behind. With such a short distance between the enemy and Kushina, it seemed like she wouldn't make it in time.
A fierce roar echoed through the alley again. That sound wasn't just rage—it reeked of helplessness and regret too.
What's the point of just screaming into the void?
Actually, yelling sometimes helps—call it instinct!
Just as the enemy hands reached for her, a figure crackling with blue lightning exploded into view right in front of Kushina. This sharp, timely arrival could best be described as…
Damn it! He just showed up like some creepy ghost.
Haseo's [Lightning Release: Mikage] made barely a sound, so both the enemies, Kushina, and Black Cat were startled by his sudden appearance.
But Haseo didn't flinch—not even a little. And he moved without hesitation, every motion sharp and decisive. Stepping back, he brought his legs together and twisted sideways, dodging one enemy's incoming arm. With one hand, he redirected the attacker's momentum while thrusting forward with the other—a specially-made flat kunai knife slicing through the air. The tight tension in his upper body unleashed immense force, instantly piercing the specially-made kunai knife through the attacker's chest cavity.
Snap. That was the crisp sound of a fracture.
Pfth. That was a heart breaking—physically.
Then Haseo stepped forward, swiftly lifting his knee to strike another enemy's abdomen cleanly. With one hand pressing down on the opponent's shoulder and the other forming a blade-like finger strike, he stabbed straight in.
[Lightning Release · Kurigara.]
Blade of Lightning surged from his palm, and once again he drove it through his opponent.
Next, he swept his palm sideways, and Kurigara sliced through the enemy's body before sweeping toward Kurin at the rear.
Kurin was a highly skilled ninja. Under normal circumstances, he would definitely have dodged such an attack. But now… first, he had already been severely injured by Kushina Uzumaki, rendering him completely unable to use ninjutsu.
Secondly, just as he prepared to dodge, a tail like a metal whip wrapped around his waist and pinned him in place.
Thus, Blade of Lightning sliced into him from the other side of his neck, completing what Kushina Uzumaki had started. The wet gurgling of something shifting inside could finally be heard.
Not that anyone actually wanted to hear that sound anyway.
At this point, Haseo finally got a chance to speak:
"Would someone mind explaining—why my cat looks like some kind of monstrous horror?"
Despite the tremendous change in the Black Cat's size and appearance, its chakra signature remained unchanged, so Haseo recognized it immediately. Calling it a monster might be a bit much, but it was still just as "cute"—now with a black tail thicker than a grown man's wrist.
That wasn't a tail you'd expect from a cat—it was more like that of a snow leopard.
"And also, why does it feel like my kinjutsu is suddenly everywhere? Lately, it seems like way too many people are using it."
Sure, "many" isn't really accurate—but shouldn't it be something only one person can use?
Putting Tsunade aside for now—since she simply unsealed a forbidden technique instead of truly learning Haseo's kinjutsu—how did Kushina Uzumaki end up with it? She's still a child! Why does she go all out... No, wait, why would she even learn such an advanced and complex jutsu? Who taught her?
Unfortunately, the scene yielded only three losers, a conveniently mute cat, and a visibly dazed Kushina Uzumaki...
No one was available to answer Haseo's questions.
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