"Explosion Release…? Akaishi-senpai, don't tell me this was prepared especially for me?"
Blocking Akaishi's incoming punch, Kyoichi caught sight of the blast in midair from the corner of his eye. He pulled back several steps and, during the brief pause in their high-intensity taijutsu exchange, voiced his question.
This wasn't the kind of battle where one had no time even to catch their breath.
They were human, not machines.
Once the pace was forced to its peak, it was inevitable that it would fall back, allowing strength to be gathered again before surging once more.
"That's right."
Akaishi also used the chance to draw in air, not denying it but admitting frankly:
"You're a genius whose name even the Tsuchikage remembers. Naturally, someone like you deserves special preparation. And judging by how things stand now, I still underestimated you."
At this point, he sighed from the heart.
The Explosion Release prepared for Kyoichi hadn't landed on him at all. Now that his trump card was revealed, there was no chance to use it as the final straw to crush him. Today's mission was already heading toward failure.
"But at least it hasn't been a total loss. We've dealt with one of your allies. Next time… we'll deal with you traitors."
With the mention of "next time," it was clear — Akaishi was preparing to withdraw. He had no intention of fighting Kyoichi to the death here.
"Dealt with my ally?"
Kyoichi's lips curved into a look of pity.
"Akaishi-senpai, it's not that I underestimate you — it's that you've underestimated my ally."
It wasn't arrogance toward his former comrades.
Rather, it was that the woman fighting at his side today was no ordinary weakling. This seemingly fragile figure was the same one who, in the future, would force Uchiha Obito to unleash the forbidden Izanagi to escape death — nearly ending the Fourth Shinobi World War prematurely.
Though Konan had not yet reached her peak, at seventeen she was no child. Most of her techniques were already matured. With Amegakure — the strongest hidden village beneath the Five Great Nations — as her opponent, her combat experience was more than abundant. If these Iwa-nin thought they could make Konan falter… it would take Akaseki himself, the arm of the Tsuchikage, to personally step in.
Besides…
Kyoichi was a sensor.
Even if focusing on battle dulled his perception at long range, Konan wasn't far. He could clearly feel her chakra — still steady in the air above. What had fallen wasn't her, but a member of Iwagakure's Demolition Unit.
"…What?"
Seeing the smile on Kyoichi's face, Akaishi-senpai heart jolted. A wave of unease hit him.
The next second—
"Shen!!"
Slate roared.
The smoke in the air, washed by the growing rain, dispersed. From within it emerged Konan once more, her snow-white paper wings unfurled, visible to all.
"Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm!"
Kyoichi seized the instant of Akaishi distraction, rapidly forming seals. Slamming his palm down, he unleashed a jutsu meant to shatter terrain and ruin enemy formations.
With the strike, the ground roared violently.
Massive fissures split open. The earth sank and collapsed; nearby hills tilted and toppled; boulders broke loose and crashed down cliffsides.
In an instant, the landscape was utterly transformed.
Even the Iwa-nin, masters of Earth Release, were forced to leap away like startled monkeys, dodging falling rocks and collapsing pits.
"Monster!"
Caught in the chaos as well, Akaishi blurted out.
He knew the Tearing Earth Turning Palm. He also knew exactly how much chakra such a wide, destructive version of it required. Yet Kyoichi, after casting it, looked unruffled — as if he had only used the most basic Clone Technique, not a massive terrain-shattering jutsu.
Indeed, Kyoichi's strength wasn't just in his mastery of high-level Earth Release, but in the terrifying depth of his chakra reserves.
"Earth Release: Earth Clone Jutsu!"
Kyoichi wasted no time. He created five earthen doubles in quick succession.
Then—
"Earth Release: Earth Spear Guns!"
The clones, gaining movement the moment they emerged, launched a wide, indiscriminate attack against the Iwa-nin.
Perfect timing.
Konan was above, no allies around — there was no need to worry about friendly fire.
So Kyoichi unleashed a full-scale offensive.
Thick, razor-sharp spears of stone burst from the ground, forcing the Iwa-nin to scatter and leap about frantically, while still guarding against possible strikes from above.
And indeed, Konan seized the chance Kyoichi created.
"Dance of the Shikigami: Paper Spear Rain!!"
With a wave of her hand, spears of paper fell from the sky, pelting down upon the Iwa-nin.
At that moment—
"Earth Release: Rock Titan Technique!!"
Akaishi acted. Pouring vast chakra into the ground, he raised a towering stone giant, more than ten meters high. Its thick arm stretched out, forming a shield against the rain of paper spears.
Standing atop its shoulder, Akaishi bellowed:
"All units, retreat — now!!"
The battle had gone far enough.
First they lost Kazetsuchi, their sensory ninja. Then Shen, a member of the Demolition Unit. Slate's team clearly couldn't take down that blue-haired woman, and Akaishi himself had no chance of breaking Kyoichi.
If they dragged this out, once the Koeda Clan's jōnin reinforcements arrived, they would suffer a disastrous loss.
So Akaishi chose to cut his losses.
Slate and the others didn't resist; they turned and fled without hesitation, not even retrieving Shen's body.
Akaishi, as leader, shouldered the rear guard. He directed the stone titan to lash out at Kyoichi and Konan — not to win, but to stall.
After barely a minute of delay, he used Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique to escape underground, abandoning the battlefield.
The titan collapsed in a thunderous crash.
And with that, the raid ended abruptly.
The curtain fell, announcing its close.
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