Facing Shiraishi's near-total disregard for his presence, Aburame Tōzan was finally enraged.
The short flute in his hand released a piercing vibration as sound waves infused with special genjutsu surged forward, combining with a massive insect manipulation assault as he launched a ferocious attack on Shiraishi.
Genjutsu?!
The sonic wave froze Shiraishi in place in an instant, while insects poured in from all directions, swarming toward his position. Aburame Tōzan swore that Black Mist Shiraishi would pay dearly for daring to look down on him.
Fire Release · Dragon Flame Technique!
The immobilized Shiraishi suddenly dissolved into bubbles and vanished. In the next instant, from another direction, Shiraishi exhaled a roaring fire dragon that swallowed the insects almost immediately.
Although it was only a standard B-rank ninjutsu, the Dragon Flame Technique was highly versatile—clear proof of Shiraishi's solid foundation in Fire Release.
"I didn't expect your Fire Release to be this strong, Black Mist Shiraishi. I underestimated you," Aburame Tōzan said coldly.
His skin turned a bluish-purple hue as he formed seals. Once again, countless grotesque, venomous insects rose, forming a raging storm.
The Aburame clan's insect techniques were highly effective against Sunagakure's puppet masters, as the insects could automatically gnaw through chakra threads. Facing the onslaught of these vicious insects, Shiraishi withdrew the Scarlet Control Mirror.
Four Earth Clones of Shiraishi appeared instantly, positioning themselves to protect the main body. Moments later, massive waves of poisonous insects crashed into them, drowning the clones and triggering violent explosions as the clones detonated.
As the earth clones shattered, Shiraishi made his move.
The ground beneath him seemed to erupt like steam vents, as vast plumes surged upward.
"It's the Black Mist Technique!"
Black fog carrying a chilling cold spread across the battlefield. The recognition was immediate—Shiraishi's Black Mist had become infamous throughout the shinobi world. No reminder was needed; many shinobi instinctively retreated.
Since the Battle of Kikyo Pass, Black Mist had become one of Shiraishi's signature techniques. Every major village had studied it. Kirigakure had made some progress in replicating it, but their versions were still far inferior.
None of those imitations could suppress sensory perception or erase buffs and enhancements the way the original Black Mist could.
The mist erupted from underground, rolling outward in thick waves, blanketing the battlefield in pitch-black fog.
The icy chill crawled across Aburame Tōzan's skin, his expression shifting as his insects struggled to devour the mist—only to die from the strange toxicity hidden within it.
Taking advantage of Konoha being trapped within the Black Mist, Shiraishi's Round Pupils locked onto Kurama Arashiyama's position. His silver blade flashed faintly as explosive speed erupted beneath his feet, launching him straight toward Kurama Arashiyama.
Shiraishi knew the crux of this battle lay in one thing alone:
Kill Kurama Arashiyama.
If the Kurama clan head escaped, the southwestern battlefield would once again face overwhelming pressure from Konoha.
Sensing the impending danger, Kurama Arashiyama—fully aware of how dire the situation had become—shoved Kurama Congyun aside and turned to face Shiraishi head-on, hurling dozens of explosive tags in a chained barrage.
Earlier, Kurama Arashiyama had been able to engage Shiraishi so fiercely in close combat because he had been reinforcing himself through the Kurama clan's five-senses manipulation genjutsu.
Now, activating the Kurama clan's genjutsu one final time, Kurama Arashiyama reprogrammed himself to feel no pain. Under this extreme self-hypnosis, he ignored his injuries entirely, transforming into a raging storm as he charged in while Shiraishi evaded the explosions.
Knowing he was facing inevitable death, Kurama Arashiyama burned everything he had left.
"This… is the Will of Fire!"
His roar shook the battlefield.
With one remaining hand, Kurama Arashiyama lunged toward Shiraishi. His body generated a terrifying magnetic-like energy field, triggering an instinctive sense of mortal danger within Shiraishi.
A suicidal, mutual-destruction technique.
If he confronted it head-on, he would die.
Sand automatically rose to protect Shiraishi as the Black Mist concealed his movements. At the same time, he clenched one hand—
Treasure-Gathering Art, activated.
Clatter—!
Kurama Arashiyama's blood suddenly shattered from within.
Earlier, when Shiraishi had severed Kurama Arashiyama's arm, he had injected a portion of metal-infused chakra into Kurama Arashiyama's bloodstream. That chakra absorbed metallic elements from within the Black Mist, gathering and compressing inside Kurama Arashiyama's body.
With the activation of the Treasure-Gathering Art, the metal within his blood detonated violently.
Kurama Arashiyama dropped to one knee.
Without the slightest hesitation, Shiraishi raised his silver blade and brought it down toward his head.
But at that very moment—
Kurama Arashiyama locked eyes with Shiraishi.
In his final act of resistance, his spirit erupted into a massive venomous serpent, formed entirely from mental energy, lunging toward Shiraishi.
"Black Mist Shiraishi—while I'm here, you won't succeed!"
Aburame Tōzan's voice rang out again from behind. Using insects for sensory tracking, he rushed in at maximum speed to stop Shiraishi.
But Shiraishi didn't even turn his head.
For the third time, Mirage Technique activated, slipping past Aburame Tōzan's interception as Shiraishi's silver blade met the serpent head-on.
Facing Aburame Tōzan's interference and Kurama Arashiyama's final counterattack, Shiraishi had only one thought—
Cut it down.
With clean, ruthless bladework amplified by explosive psychic force, Shiraishi decapitated the giant serpent in a single slash. At the same time, a line of blood opened across Kurama Arashiyama's throat.
As blood dripped down, Kurama Arashiyama's final thought was of the Kurama clan's only remaining son—
Kurama Murakumo.
Shiraishi's decisive execution of Kurama Arashiyama was like a slap across Aburame Tōzan's face. Every boast he had made earlier now mocked him in cruel irony.
"Damn it!" Aburame Tōzan roared.
He detonated massive swarms of venomous insects in a furious counterattack against Shiraishi. But as Mirage Technique flickered again, Shiraishi effortlessly rendered the assault meaningless.
"Father—!"
Witnessing his father's brutal death—on top of his younger brother's earlier loss—Kurama Murakumo completely lost control.
As he screamed, the ultimate genjutsu power buried deep within the Kurama clan's bloodline awakened.
A horrifying surge of mental energy exploded outward, fueled by Kurama Congyun's rage.
An indiscriminate, annihilating genjutsu swept across the area. Numerous Konoha and Sunagakure shinobi were unable to escape—their mental worlds were consumed instantly, leaving their bodies brain-dead.
Even Aburame Tōzan was affected. His face drained of color as the psychic shock struck him.
"Calm down, Murakumo!"
There was no response.
Kurama Murakumo's eyes quickly lost focus. The first-time awakening of the Kurama bloodline had exhausted him completely, and he collapsed unconscious.
Shiraishi had already withdrawn the moment Kurama Murakumo went berserk. Though heavily injured, he activated medical techniques to stabilize himself.
At this point, the balance of the battle between Sunagakure and Konoha had fully reversed.
As the mobile unit captain, Kakashi Hatake saw the devastating losses suffered by the Kurama clan. He swiftly disengaged from Nagase Bizen and Morimoto Ryoji, retreating to Aburame Tōzan's side.
"…We're retreating."
Nara Shikagawa's voice echoed through the sensory network into both Aburame Tōzan's and Kakashi's ears.
As Konoha's foremost strategist, he understood better than anyone:
With the Kurama clan crushed under Shiraishi's onslaught, Konoha's morale had taken a severe blow. Combined with the continuing erosion of the battlefield by Black Mist, withdrawal was now unavoidable.
If you want to read more, join my Patreon/kazama677
I will drop 1 bonus chapter for every 50 Power Stones