Inside the temporary stronghold, Anya—her injuries healed—began experimenting with integrating ninjutsu into swordsmanship, starting with Lightning Release.
There was a ready model to study: Raiga Kurosuki of the Seven Pursuers. Back then, Anya had used her Sharingan to penetrate his sword techniques and had already clearly understood how the lightning chakra within his sword moves operated.
After quietly recalling the details for a moment, Anya exited her room and walked to an open field, where the ninja blade in her hand began crackling with lightning energy.
[Lightning Release: Thunder Fang]
Lightning flashes surrounded Anya, unleashing a wide-range electric assault upon the ground.
[Lightning Release: Lightning Strike]
[Lightning Release: Falling Thunder]
One after another, several techniques were channeled through the ninja blade. Anya felt generally satisfied with the power—they were far superior to the Fireball Jutsu, which felt about as effective as a weak massage. Of course, such attacks still wouldn't be enough to seriously threaten someone as formidable as the Tsuchikage. Yet the paralyzing force contained within the lightning chakra could not be completely ignored by the Tsuchikage either. Should he expose the slightest opening, it would mean instant death.
As she trained, Anya fell into deep thought, already mentally designating the Tsuchikage as her imaginary opponent and beginning to devise new countermeasures.
In Anya's hands, the combination of Lightning Release and swordplay quickly became smooth and effortless. Still, to boost its effectiveness, she focused on enhancing both speed and piercing force.
Once her training ended, Anya began developing even more lightning-based sword techniques. With lightning chakra surging through her body and combined with the continuous strikes of Dance of the Blade, the open field soon became a storm of crackling electricity, so intense that Anya's figure became indistinct within the flashes. This new move deserved a name—Lightning Blade Art.
Although it surpassed Dance of the Blade in power, it burned through chakra like wildfire. If she had developed this sword technique earlier and combined it with Minato's Flying Thunder God technique, the final blow that struck the Tsuchikage wouldn't have merely left him injured—it would've cost him an arm.
At that moment, an anxious voice crackled into Anya's consciousness: "Captain, can you hear me?"
Startled by the call, Anya's heart immediately tightened—something must have gone wrong.
She responded immediately: "Inoichi, speak briefly."
"Yes, Captain. Our general assault has failed. Mist forces and an unknown faction have intervened. Battlefield barriers are everywhere, and our squads have been scattered."
"What?" Anya's heart sank. "Can you confirm if they're still alive?"
"I don't know, Captain. First, we must rescue Tsunade-sama. She's injured. Right now, the Tsuchikage is fighting her. The situation is critical."
The string of bad news shattered Anya's composure. Gripping her blade tightly, she transformed into a streak of lightning and shot toward the battlefield. She had known something was wrong—the war had gone too smoothly, and now Minato was gone. "Hang in there," she silently pleaded. "Don't you dare give up."
Filled with anxiety, Anya first activated the Division Technique. Her spirit energy, shaped by the Spirit Control Technique, fragmented into countless threads that shot toward the battlefield.
Unrestricted by spatial limitations, her soul threads spread out over a vast area. Through extensive searching, Anya successfully located one of her team members outside a certain barrier—Shisui Uchiha. Without hesitation, she immediately summoned the Eagle Puppet and flew toward him.
Shisui stood in the center, surrounded by a group of ninja. He was clearly injured now, his movements sluggish, but using the insight granted by his Sharingan, he continued to hold on amidst the assault. At times, he even managed to kill two opponents with his illusionary Shunshin technique.
Anya, seeing this, no longer held back. Dropping from the sky, he drew his ninja blade in one smooth motion — his Sword Art: Draw Technique slicing through the air like a ripple across a still lake. Piercing screams rang out as within seconds, not a single enemy remained standing around Shisui. All that was left was deathly silence and corpses scattered across the ground.
Amidst the fallen bodies, Anya stood alone beneath the setting sun's glow, radiating quiet power. Shisui could only stare in stunned silence — it was a moment he'd never forget.
"Don't space out. Where are the remaining few? Do you know?" Anya quickly asked.
Shisui nodded. "There were too many pursuers, so we had to scatter and draw them away. I still remember their general direction."
"Good."
Anya formed hand seals with both hands, rapidly creating a Lightning Release: Shadow Clone. "Shisui, take my clone and find the remaining two team members."
"Huh…" Shisui looked hesitant at this moment.
Anya frowned. "What's wrong?"
Shisui questioned, "Captain, there are still many Konoha ninja being attacked by enemies here. Aren't you going to help them?"
Why should I care about their lives or deaths? Anya nearly said aloud, but realizing this wasn't the time to argue with Shisui, he chose to explain instead. "Tsunade-sama is in great danger right now. I must prioritize her safety first. Besides, my Lightning Release Shadow Clones only have enough power to ensure our squad's safety."
Hearing this, Shisui already understood Anya's meaning. In his captain's heart, the safety of squad members outweighed that of other Konoha ninja — something completely contrary to Shisui's own long-held beliefs. Yet indeed, this wasn't the time for discussion. Finally, he nodded. "Understood, Captain. Follow me."
Having successfully convinced Shisui, Anya hesitated no further. Mounting the Eagle Puppet, he sped swiftly toward the battlefield's center where he had already sensed powerful chakra fluctuations. Without a doubt, an injured Tsunade would never defeat the Tsuchikage in her current condition.
Just as Anya had predicted, Tsunade stood panting, staring upward at the Tsuchikage above. Barrier after barrier had been set up around her. Though her gaze remained sharp, her chakra reserves were nearly depleted, and unknown poison within her body began clouding her mind, making her vision blur. What pained her most was still the defeat suffered in this war.
Looking down at Tsunade, the Tsuchikage realized she had already reached her limit. He wasted no more time. Killing intent flashed through his eyes as a transparent barrier transformed into a cone-shaped prison locking all space around Tsunade.
The surrounding Konoha ninja watched helplessly with bloodshot eyes, yet they were firmly blocked, completely unable to rush forward for rescue.
Is it over? Tsunade already knew the might of Dust Release. Yet now, she couldn't possibly escape its attack range anymore. That sharp gaze turned into regret — just before her end, she inexplicably thought of Anya. She sighed inwardly. "I, an old woman… I wonder if you'll even shed a tear for me, kid."
Just as the Dust Release was about to strike... a shocking killing intent locked onto the Tsuchikage.
The killing intent sent a chill down Tsuchikage's spine, casting a shadow of death over him. He had no doubt that if he activated Dust Release, he would die the very next moment.
"Who?" Tsuchikage canceled his Dust Release and forcibly shifted his body backward through the air.
Just as Tsuchikage retreated, a dark cloud abruptly materialized in the sky. Intense air currents collided violently, and thick clouds rained down continuous bolts of lightning. Lightning clashed with the sword light, bursting downward in blinding brilliance. The entire barrier became engulfed in radiant glow, and at that instant, the ninja at the heart of the battlefield felt as if a godlike roar had echoed through the heavens.
When the lightning faded, deep craters of varying depths pockmarked the ground, and the barrier had been blasted into fragments.
Anya swiftly used Shunshin to catch Tsunade as she began to fall and softly said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."
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