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"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Red!"
Uchiha Shun, positioned high above, hurled a barrage of kunai fused with fire chakra toward Ebizō as he sprinted below.
Ebizō dodged swiftly, manipulating his arm-mounted shield blades to deflect the trickier shots. But the moment the flaming kunai struck, they exploded, scattering deadly shrapnel in all directions.
Forced into evasion, Ebizō flashed through hand seals—Body Flicker Technique!—darting away from the blast radius. When he couldn't fully avoid the shards, his inner shield blades snapped into place, blocking the remnants.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!"
Hagane Kotetsu's hands blurred. From his mouth, a machine-gun volley of chakra bullets spat forth, raking toward Ebizō. Though weaker than Danzō Shimura's infamous version, these projectiles packed enough force to crack Ebizō's shields on impact.
Some blades shattered; others were knocked clean away.
Seizing the opening, Umino Yoru struck.
"Water Release: Starch Syrup Pellet Barrage!"
A flood of sticky, glue-like orbs shot from his mouth. This technique—a modified version of the basic Water Ball Jutsu—was weak in direct damage but devastating for immobilization.
Even Uchiha Shun paused, impressed. "What kind of jutsu is this? It's… shockingly effective."
Eyes narrowing, he adapted instantly. With a flick of his wrist, kunai zipped through the air, their trajectories interweaving mid-flight to box Ebizō in from every angle. Each throw was precisely calculated, as if Shun had mapped Ebizō's every possible dodge path.
(Yoru noted: Shun's tactical genius might rival a "Wisdom 10" rating—his predictions were unnervingly accurate.)
Cornered, Ebizō had no choice but to retract his remaining shields, forming a tight defensive shell.
Yoru didn't relent. More syrup pellets splattered against the shields, gumming up their mechanisms. Ebizō's chakra threads—the lifelines of his puppetry—snagged uselessly in the glue.
Gritting his teeth, Ebizō jettisoned the compromised blades and lunged sideways—only for Kotetsu to pepper his path with Vacuum Bullets.
Meanwhile, Shun switched tactics: Explosive-tagged kunai rained down.
BOOM! BOOM!
The valley echoed with detonations.
Above it all, Daibā (the giant hawk) occasionally flapped its wings, hurling gale-force winds to disrupt Ebizō's footing.
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### The Tides Turn
After 30 kilometers of relentless pursuit, Ebizō's arsenal was exhausted. His movements grew sluggish; his breath came ragged.
But Yoru wasn't faring much better. The side effects of his Yellow Curry Pill gnawed at him—though his Gluttony Technique staved off total collapse.
Kotetsu's chakra was depleted but stable. Shun, aside from spent weapons, remained fresh.
Then—Ebizō made his move.
A needle-thin syringe flashed in his palm. Before anyone could react, he stabbed it into his own heart.
"NO!" Yoru's blood ran cold. "Pull up—NOW!"
Daibā rocketed skyward just as Ebizō's body erupted.
Rippling, crimson chakra—dense as liquid—coated him like a second skin. His muscles bulged; veins throbbed under the strain.
A forbidden drug. One that mimics the Eight Gates' power.
Yoru's jaw tightened. "He's burning his life force."
Ebizō's speed quadrupled. In a blur, he outpaced Daibā—a creature famed for its supersonic flight.
"Impossible…" Shun muttered.
Yet Ebizō didn't attack. Instead, he fled.
(Yoru's relief was short-lived: Had Ebizō used this earlier, the Umino Unit would've been annihilated in the valley.)
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### The Trap Sprung
Minutes later, Yoru (now alone atop Daibā) found Ebizō collapsed in a forest clearing, his drug-induced frenzy spent.
But Yoru didn't descend.
"Come out," he sneered. "I know you're there."
Silence.
With a smirk, he lobbed a kunai toward Ebizō's limp form—
CLANG!
A stealth-coated lizard puppet materialized, deflecting the blade.
"Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel Technique!"
A whirlwind of razor-edged gusts sheared upward. Daibā countered with a wingbeat hurricane, neutralizing the assault.
From the puppet's belly, Satetsu Arashi emerged, his mechanical arm gleaming.
"White Blood Demon!" he roared. "Fight me like a real shinobi—or are you only brave from the skies?"
Beside him, Ryūri Gyoku (his wife) knelt to heal Ebizō, her hands glowing green.
Yoru's laugh was ice. "Another arm to lose, Arashi?" He nodded at the man's prosthetic. "Or perhaps your head this time?"
Arashi seethed—but Gyoku gripped his shoulder. "The drug's backlash is killing Uncle. We must retreat."
Grudgingly, they loaded Ebizō into the lizard puppet and vanished into the trees.
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