What the hell is this?
When he found himself barely able to move, a corner of Yuki's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
So that's it. He's the Jōnin from the "Grass Ninja Village," the ones who specialize in cheap imitations from other nations. It seems he's done his homework on the "Gentle Fist."
Only now did Yuki suddenly remember the hallmark of the Grass Ninja Village. Lacking in original talent, they weren't adept at developing their own techniques. Instead, they almost exclusively focused on copying various ninja arts from others.
However, through long-term imitation, the ninja of Grass Village had gradually mastered methods to counter other villages' techniques. And the techniques of their nearest neighbor, the Leaf Village, were naturally the most thoroughly studied.
Yes, "Revolving Heaven" is indeed an amazing "Absolute Defense." Even our "Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm" can't replicate that kind of defense. But just because we can't imitate it doesn't mean we can't crack it.
"The leaves on the 'Forest Lizard' are adhesive. Now, let's see how you run."
With Yuki firmly pinned in place, Hannya's figure swiftly emerged from the darkness, rushing straight towards him with a surging, palpable killing intent.
A straight-line charge at top speed provided immense penetrating power for the next strike. While it carried risks—making it harder to clearly see one's surroundings—it was perfectly suited for hitting a "stationary target."
"Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm — Heaven and Earth Technique!"
While sprinting, Hannya suddenly retracted his arms. As the distance between them closed, he abruptly thrust them forward, both palms striking almost simultaneously at Yuki's upper and lower vital points.
The "Heaven and Earth Technique" was the most powerful move of the "Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm." It injected turbulent chakra into the enemy's forehead and heart through the palms.
The secret of this move lay in the surface appearance of launching both ultimate strikes simultaneously, while in reality, there was a subtle time difference between the two palms' attacks. This made it extremely easy for defenders to misjudge, resulting in them blocking one attack only to be struck by the other.
Using his strong forward momentum as a boost, combined with Jōnin-level chakra strength and considerable skill in taijutsu, Hannya didn't believe this kid—who could no longer use the powerful defensive skill "Revolving Heaven"—stood a chance.
"I will take your life. Die in peace."
What nonsense is that? How can I die in peace? Hearing the roar from not far away, Yuki gritted his teeth.
While he could break free from these sticky leaves using the "Gentle Fist," no matter how he calculated, he didn't have time to execute "Revolving Heaven" again. So, he might as well use the leaves themselves as a defensive layer.
Within seconds, Yuki was ready to receive the next attack.
Yes, he intended to forcefully take this "Heaven and Earth Technique." It might sound brainless, but there didn't seem to be any particularly good alternative other than to endure it.
First, the thickest part of the leaves covering my body is facing the attack's direction. Then, let "Kaguya" pull my body backward, putting me in a retreating, floating state to reduce direct impact force. Finally, release flexible chakra to cover my body's surface and immediately block the relevant chakra points...
The actions described sound lengthy, but in reality, from the moment Yuki was pulled back by "Princess Kaguya" to the moment he was struck and sent flying by the two pursuing palms, only two or three seconds had passed since he'd been bound by the leaves.
Hmm? Why does this kid feel so strange when these two palms hit him?
As Yuki was sent flying by Hannya's "Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm — Heaven and Earth Technique," the latter couldn't help but frown.
On the surface, Yuki's slightly petite body—compared to an adult's—flew backward under the bombardment of those two heavy palms. Everything seemed perfectly normal.
No, he wasn't knocked away by my force. This kid seemed to move back on his own just now. But he clearly couldn't move.
As a taijutsu expert, Hannya naturally knew that jumping back at the same moment of receiving a blow could dissipate most of the impact. This kid clearly didn't know that trick.
But it didn't matter. He was still dead. Watching Yuki being blasted into a nearby forest like a kite with a broken string, Hannya's eyes still held strong confidence.
The "Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm" wasn't an ordinary slap. In addition to Hannya's own physical power, these two palms carried the powerful killing effect of injecting chakra turbulence into the target's body, causing damage from the inside out.
So even if one could retreat in time to neutralize part of the force, the chakra turbulence blasted into the body would still destroy the heart and brain, making it impossible to stand again.
However, just as Hannya stood there, taking a deep breath to relieve the physical fatigue from the strenuous exertion, a figure in a white robe suddenly stood up in the forest dozens of meters away and sprinted away at high speed without looking back.
Quack, quack, quack.
At that moment, Hannya seemed to feel three crows flying over his head, each with a mocking look in its eyes.
"You little brat, if you have what it takes, just run! If you succeed, I'll go back and commit seppuku!"
Although he didn't understand how Yuki had survived the attack, Hannya knew this wasn't the time to dwell on it. He had to give chase immediately and finish that kid off.
But the moment he tried to move his legs, Hannya felt a slight wave of exhaustion.
Oof, my stamina and chakra are almost depleted. I need to recover while chasing him. I can't catch up in one go.
Noticing this, the experienced Hannya immediately pulled out a few stamina-replenishing "Grass Ninja Village Special Soldier Food Pills: Chocolate Flavor, Autumn Limited Edition" from his side pocket, stuffed them into his mouth, and stood up to chase into the depths of the forest.
Meanwhile, Yuki's figure was also moving swiftly through the dark jungle, though he wasn't exactly running. He was floating.
Yes, Yuki was floating now, because his body hadn't yet recovered from the powerful impact earlier. So, once he was out of Hannya's sight, he switched to a mode of travel where "Princess Kaguya" carried him, allowing him to drift forward at high speed.
Good grief, that taijutsu was so strong it almost killed me on the spot.
At this moment, Yuki's face was very pale, and there was a faint trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. Clearly, taking the "Heaven and Earth Technique" head-on had caused significant damage.
Fortunately, the "Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm" was ultimately a degraded version of the "Gentle Fist," so dealing with it wasn't too difficult.
At the moment of being struck earlier, in addition to quickly retreating, floating, using the leaves as a shield, and creating a flexible chakra barrier to resist the impact, Yuki had done something Hannya would never think of in his lifetime: he had sealed the chakra points on his forehead and heart.
The core principle of the "Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm" was to inject chakra into the enemy's body in a turbulent manner. The reason it evolved this way was because Grass Ninja lacked the "Byakugan" and couldn't accurately inject chakra into specific points, so they could only roughly infuse a general area to cause damage.
But no matter what, in the end, "chakra" needed to enter the body through the openings of the "chakra points." Otherwise, it would at most cause surface damage and couldn't penetrate the interior at all.
Having clearly understood this principle, Yuki simply sealed the points at the two attacked areas from the inside, preventing Hannya's chakra from entering his body. Thus, the power of the "Heaven and Earth Technique" was greatly reduced, resulting in him still being alive.
Sure enough, that guy came chasing after me like this. But as long as I can reach that place, the outcome of this battle will be decided.
While rushing through the dark jungle, Yuki looked toward the towering peak not far away and continued forward with all his strength.
Almost a quarter of an hour later, when Yuki finally climbed to the summit of the highest nearby mountain, Hannya finally caught up.
"The scenery here is nice, but it's a bit wasteful as your grave."
Looking at Yuki, whom he had cornered on the mountaintop, Hannya wore a smile that belonged to the victor.
"Yeah, the scenery is nice. Look, the moonlight is so beautiful."
Looking at Hannya, who still had no idea what was coming next, Yuki also wore a smile that belonged to the victor.