"Chakra-metal arm shields?!"
Umino Yoru's eyes sharpened, his heart pounding.
He had almost charged straight into those bladed shields—nearly bisected at the waist.
As expected of a Kage-level fighter. Even severely wounded, Ebizō remained a terrifying opponent, far beyond what ordinary shinobi could handle.
Now, Ebizō's chakra strings flickered at his fingertips, manipulating the razor-edged shields like blooming petals of death, scattering them toward Yoru in a lethal barrage.
Yoru activated Wind Breathing, faint blue markings appearing along his neck as he burst into motion, pushing his speed to the limit just to evade.
The shields curved unnaturally mid-air, effortlessly slicing through four shadow clones disguised as puppeteers, reducing them to puffs of smoke.
"Damn… he's strong."
A cold sweat dripped down Yoru's back.
Without Might Dai keeping him occupied, suppressing Ebizō is nearly impossible.
This would have to be a war of attrition.
Yoru immediately dispatched six armored puppets to swarm Ebizō while his real body rushed to Might Dai's side.
Dai lay collapsed on the ground, barely conscious. After unleashing the Eight Gates' Sixth Gate and his ultimate technique, Morning Peacock, his body had reached its absolute limit.
Though not as dire as opening the Death Gate, his muscles were shredded, his chakra pathways scorched. Without immediate treatment, he'd be out of commission for weeks—a death sentence mid-retreat.
Yoru pressed a high-energy honeyed ration into Dai's mouth, then channeled Yang Release chakra into his stomach, accelerating digestion to stabilize his condition.
Under the healing energy, Dai's old training injuries—even years of accumulated damage—began repairing themselves.
Soon, the taijutsu master was snoring like a baby, utterly spent.
Yoru left a shadow clone to carry Dai to safety, then turned back to the battle.
---
Meanwhile, Ebizō was dominating the six armored puppets.
With terrifying precision, he wedged micro-blades into their joints, disabling two instantly and turning the remaining four into clumsy targets.
The shadow clones inside the puppets scrambled to adjust, but Ebizō was too fast, too experienced.
Then—two Sand puppeteers broke through the battlefield.
"Elder Ebizō! We're here to assist!"
Ebizō didn't even glance at them. Instead, he flung two shield fragments straight at their throats.
CLANG!
The "Sand ninja" blocked with their puppets—but the force was all wrong.
"You're fakes."
A flick of his wrist, and the shields pulverized the imposters into smoke.
Shadow clones.
Another "Sand ninja" came sprinting, chased by an armored puppet.
"Elder! Help—!"
Ebizō lashed out again—then realized his mistake too late.
He twisted the blade's trajectory, but the puppet behind the real Sand ninja cut him in half mid-sprint.
The man's torso hit the dirt, organs spilling, intestines still twitching.
"Elder… why…?"
Blood bubbled from his lips, his eyes wide with betrayal.
"AAAAARGH—!"
Ebizō snapped.
His attacks turned feral, dismantling two more puppets in a storm of steel.
Yoru immediately sent reinforcements, but Ebizō was already coughing blood—his injuries flaring up.
Realizing the battle was unwinnable, the elder retreated, abandoning even his trapped subordinates.
No time to verify who's real anymore.
Yoru's hidden clones unleashed Water Style: Starch Syrup Field, trying to trap him—
But Ebizō sliced through them like paper, escaping the sticky trap with a Body Flicker.
Even weakened, a Kage-level ninja was unstoppable.
Explosive tags barely slowed him. Pursuing puppets were dismantled mid-chase.
In the end, Yoru could only send two shadow clones to track him while focusing on mopping up the remaining Sand forces.
---
Twenty kilometers later…
The giant white hawk "Big White" soared over the misty valleys, carrying Yoru, Uchiha Shun, and Hagane Kotetsu.
Below, Ebizō ran—bloodied but unbroken.
He's weakening.
Yoru's grip tightened.
This ends now.
---