Malphegor
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HGBW: Ch. 70
🕑 Added 2025-03-07 16:38:38 +0000 UTCA flash of cold light.
Two sharp sword slashes streaked through the air like meteors, instantly appearing behind Shinnosuke and his shadow clone.
The swords were aimed directly at the lower back of both the real body and the shadow clone.
Then—
Puchi!
Accompanied by the simultaneous sound of blades piercing flesh, Shinnosuke attempted a swift retreat using the Body Flicker. However, an excruciating pain exploded from his lower back, halting his escape.
At the same time, a horrifying realization struck him.
The chakra flowing through his system, circulating ceaselessly, was suddenly cut off... just as if he had been struck by a Gentle Fist acupoint strike.
The Body Flicker was forcibly interrupted. His retreating figure came to an abrupt halt.
Then, as if his bones had been extracted, his body collapsed like a limp snake—wracked with pain, completely drained of strength.
Immediately after, the deadly swords that had impaled his back, driven with overwhelming force, nailed him to the ground of Training Ground No. 3. And it wasn't just Shinnosuke.
His shadow clone suffered the same fate.
However, as the original body, Shinnosuke was pinned to the ground by the Kusanagi Sword piercing through his back, while his shadow clone was impaled and nailed down by another ninja blade wielded by Tanaka.
Poof!
"Ahhh!"
As the dust settled, Shinnosuke's agonized scream finally rang out, accompanied by the sound of his shadow clone dispersing into white smoke.
The cries echoed through the training ground, reaching the ears of all the watching ninjas.
Apart from Minato and the Sannin, even the gathered clan leaders of Konoha stood in silence.
It wasn't until Shinnosuke's miserable wail reverberated for three whole seconds that they snapped out of their daze.
Then, in unison, their shocked and disbelieving gazes fixed on his pinned figure.
What just happened?
How did he get pinned to the ground so suddenly?
No, something's wrong! My eyes never left the boy for a second. He didn't even move!
Then how did the swords suddenly appear in Shinnosuke's body?
Could those swords also use the Flying Thunder God Technique?
The scene left even Fugaku and those who had previously witnessed Tanaka's abilities utterly shaken.
Let alone the other clan heads.
Shikaku, the man known as Konoha's greatest tactician, was so stunned that his genius mind momentarily shut down.
Inoichi, who had been using sensory ninjutsu to monitor both fighters since the battle began, stared with wide eyes. His pupils shrunk to pinpricks as if they were about to pop out.
Chōza, who always had a bag of chips in hand, was so shocked that his mouth gaped open wide enough to fit a whole egg. His chips fell to the ground unnoticed.
N-No way... Even Jiraiya was dumbfounded.
Before the battle, he had considered the possibility of Shinnosuke losing.
But he had never imagined he would lose this badly.
Not even a chance to fight back.
In an instant, both his real body and shadow clone were impaled like pinned-down crabs, nailed to the ground by a sword.
As expected. So, on the night the main house was exterminated... those clan members were actually all killed by you.
Orochimaru had already suspected this.
Previously, he had maneuvered between Hiruzen and Danzō, with both factions trying to win him over. As a result, he had been able to utilize both ANBU and Root for his own purposes.
But after the main house was wiped out, he gathered all intelligence from both factions and repeatedly simulated that fateful night, trying to put himself in Tanaka's position.
The conclusion he reached left him utterly shaken.
Tanaka didn't rely on any external forces to exterminate the main house.
He did it with his own strength and intellect.
From setting up the scheme to executing the plan, and finally, facing off against the main house in direct combat—he had been involved in every step, personally taking action.
Because of this, when Orochimaru first met Tanaka in the conference room, he couldn't help himself. He had gone so far as to test him with the Kusanagi Sword.
"I really worried for nothing."
Tsunade stared at Tanaka.
Her reaction wasn't much better than the other two Sannin. She, too, had been deeply astonished by that attack, which seemed to traverse space and time.
Before the assessment began, she had considered the possibility that Tanaka would win. In fact, she was certain that if he revealed his trump card, victory was inevitable.
But she never imagined that the ANBU commander wouldn't even last a single strike against a kid.
Flying Thunder God Slash. No… this is an even more advanced space-time ninjutsu.
First, he infused chakra into both swords, then used the Byakugan to pinpoint Shinnosuke's tenketsu. Through space-time ninjutsu, he instantly teleported both weapons behind Shinnosuke, right in his blind spot.
Because the swords were infused with his chakra, the moment they pierced through Shinnosuke's body, that chakra would spread like fine needles, striking his tenketsu and cutting off his chakra flow entirely.
Upon witnessing this, Minato was utterly shaken.
As a fellow practitioner of space-time ninjutsu, he understood better than anyone just how terrifying that single slash had been.
There was no need for the user to personally wield the blade.
No need for a shadow clone to attack.
By combining space-time ninjutsu with the Byakugan and Gentle Fist knowledge, Tanaka was able to teleport his weapons directly behind Shinnosuke and his shadow clone—before striking with a lightning-fast thrust.
I never expected that you not only mastered space-time ninjutsu but even developed a derivative technique that surpasses the Flying Thunder God Slash.
In the field of space-time ninjutsu... you've gone farther than I have.
Minato was confident, but never arrogant.
In an actual battle, the outcome might vary.
But in terms of pure mastery over space-time ninjutsu, he now acknowledged that he had fallen behind Tanaka.
"Shinnosuke!"
Seeing his son impaled and pinned to the ground like a crab, Hiruzen's face twisted in shock. After a brief moment of disbelief, he immediately flickered to Shinnosuke's side.
In his heightened emotions, he even forgot to use his usual discretion. Normally, in public, he would only address his son by his ANBU codename to avoid favoritism.
But this time, his real name slipped out instinctively.
"Tanaka!"
Staring at his son's tragic state, his expression darkened. An uncontrollable surge of anger flickered in his eyes.
However, before he could say anything, a voice suddenly rang out—forcing him to swallow his outburst along with his rising fury.
"Ahhh!"
