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Chapter 145: A Hundred Kills in an Instant!
🕑 Added 2025-08-22 14:11:48 +0000 UTCChapter 145: A Hundred Kills in an Instant!
Hyūga Retsu silently accepted the Yin Release Mask and was about to put it on.
"You don't need to wear this mask," Nara Keisuke stopped her. "Just carry it with you. Don't lose it, and don't let it get damaged."
Retsu nodded solemnly. "Yes, Captain!"
"Oh, and one more thing." Keisuke thought for a moment, then took a small metal box from his ninja pouch and handed it to her. "Retsu, these are my last soldier pills."
Soldier pills... Retsu wrinkled her nose, feeling an indescribable distaste for the "emergency food." But for her captain's sake, she reluctantly accepted them. She was well aware of how crucial her Byakugan would be in the coming operation. Maintaining the dōjutsu consumed a significant amount of chakra, and soldier pills were undoubtedly an excellent way to replenish it.
It was just... the taste was terrible.
"That's about everything I needed to cover." Keisuke controlled the Shadow Creature, making it beat its wings and slowly gain altitude. "Shisui, you're the temporary captain now. I'm leaving Retsu and Shizune in your hands!"
"Don't worry, Captain!" Uchiha Shisui's face was filled with gravity and resolve. "I will protect my teammates, even if it costs me my life!"
"Stop saying such unlucky things. I'm off!"
Keisuke steered the Shadow Creature away and vanished into the distance.
Uchiha Shisui took a deep breath, feeling the tension and pressure closing in from all sides. He looked at Hyūga Retsu. She understood immediately and activated her Byakugan. Vicious blue veins bulged around her eyes as her superior vision scanned the surroundings, precisely locating a group of active Iwagakure personnel.
"Eleven o'clock!"
While Keisuke and his squad were deep behind enemy lines, a battle of incredible intensity was raging on the front. It was a clash of titans, forcing lesser mortals to flee.
Screee—
With a high-pitched, piercing whistle, Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, clad in dark red armor, charged towards Orochimaru like a speeding train. He was so fast and fierce that a tail of pure white steam flickered behind him.
Orochimaru had already received intel that the Five-Tails Jinchuriki was back on the battlefield. Facing his old adversary's charge, he decisively dropped to the ground, opened his mouth, and summoned a massive swarm of snakes.
Ten Thousand Snakes Formation!
A terrifying, dense mass of thick pythons poured from Orochimaru's mouth, instantly covering a large portion of the battlefield in a horrifying spectacle. However, his purpose for summoning the snakes wasn't just to impede Han's advance; it was also to support the other Konoha shinobi. In this battle, Iwagakure's forces far outnumbered Konoha's. Even if the quality of the Stone-nin was inconsistent—one might even say "somewhat poor"—their sheer numbers were a powerful advantage. Even the lowest-ranking Genin could pose a serious threat. After all, most ninja were only flesh and blood. A single stray paper bomb or shuriken could unexpectedly claim a life.
While the average Genin couldn't perform battlefield-altering jutsu, they could certainly throw basic ninja tools. Orochimaru's snake formation was meant to provide a buffer for the Konoha forces, who were on the verge of being overwhelmed.
However, the enemy saw through his strategy. Han continued his charge, a cold and relentless bulldozer, crushing any snake that stood in his path. At the same time, Kitsuchi, hidden somewhere on the battlefield, unleashed his own jutsu. After forming rapid hand seals, he poured his earth-style chakra into the ground, causing a muffled boom from deep within the earth.
Orochimaru, with his keen senses, immediately detected the anomaly, but before he could analyze it, the ground beneath his feet violently erupted upwards like an active volcano.
"Earth Release: Earthen Rising Spire!"
Immense power surged from the depths, launching Orochimaru and his massive snake swarm into the sky. The sight of countless snakes writhing in midair was truly spectacular. Under Kitsuchi's precise control, the jutsu was aimed directly at Konoha's defensive line.
Orochimaru could stabilize himself, but the summoned pythons fell amongst the Konoha ninja, throwing their formation into chaos. Some of the startled snakes began to lash out indiscriminately, spewing venom and attacking the nearby Konoha shinobi, causing considerable friendly-fire casualties.
"An earth-style jutsu of this scale... could the intel be right? Is Ōnoki also on the battlefield?" Orochimaru's brow tightened. He quickly formed another seal, canceling the summoning and sending the rampaging snakes back to Ryūchi Cave.
Meanwhile, Han used the rising earthen ramp to rocket into the sky, appearing right in front of Orochimaru.
Hiss—
Violent white steam erupted from within his armor. His chakra instantly converted to Boil Release as he focused all his power into a single point.
"Boil Release: Peerless Monstrous Strength!"
Han threw a heavy right fist at Orochimaru, the steam-wreathed punch creating a thunderclap in the sky. Orochimaru took the hit head-on, and his body exploded into pieces of varying sizes, scattering across the sky.
But a closer look revealed that the body Han had destroyed was merely an Earth Substitute, and the scattered fragments were just clumps of mud. Orochimaru had, at some point, used the simple jutsu to not only evade Kitsuchi's attack but also successfully draw Han's attention and lure him into the air.
Orochimaru's real body reappeared in front of the Konoha line. He opened his mouth wide, and from deep within his throat, a gleaming sword emerged. Infused with chakra, the impossibly sharp blade of the Sword of Kusanagi extended in an instant.
Swish—
The silver streak of light shot across the sky like a meteor, aimed with perfect precision at the airborne Han, who had nothing to push off of. It was a seemingly inescapable blow.
Yet, Han simply released his Boil Release chakra. Using the steam vents in his custom armor, he propelled himself just far enough to the side to narrowly dodge the attack.
Orochimaru snapped his head to the side. The Sword of Kusanagi, still clenched in his teeth, changed direction, its long blade slashing towards the nearby Han once more. This time, however, Han was ready. He ducked slightly as high-temperature steam blasted from his back, pushing him rapidly back toward the ground and out of the sword's path.
Boom!
The crimson-armored man crashed to the ground like a meteor, causing a small earthquake. A cloud of yellow dust and white, high-temperature steam exploded from his landing point. The thick, white steam instantly enveloped half the battlefield, completely obstructing the Konoha shinobi's vision.
While Konoha had lost sight of the enemy, the Iwagakure ninja seized the opportunity, increasing the intensity of their barrage. A dense volley of kunai and shuriken, mixed with a few paper bombs, flew out of the steam toward the Konoha lines, making it impossible to defend against.
Orochimaru gritted his teeth and his hands flew through seals. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful gale blasted from his mouth, slamming into the steam cloud and dispersing a good portion of it. The ninja tools hidden within the mist were blown off course, losing their power and accuracy. Although a few weapons made it through, the damage they caused was far less than anticipated.
Orochimaru breathed a small sigh of relief and continued to maintain the jutsu, intending to blow away the steam completely. Han, likewise, planned to maintain the steam to give his forces a visual advantage.
But just then, the Five-Tails within him suddenly stirred, disrupting his chakra. For a moment, the steam weakened and was blown back even further by the wind. Through the thinning mist, Orochimaru and the Konoha ninja could just barely see the Iwa forces on the other side.
But what was even more eye-catching was the black shadow descending from the sky.
Nara Keisuke rode his Shadow Creature high above the battlefield, the fierce wind whipping through his hair. His hands, however, remained as steady as ever.
The Lacquer Eye technique activated silently. Keisuke precisely perceived the location of every single Iwagakure ninja on the field. He gathered globs of Yin Release chakra at his fingertips and unleashed them toward the ground like a torrential downpour.
Spiraling Shadow Imitation Bullet!
Countless black pellets, breaking the sound barrier, rained down from the heavens, landing beside the Iwagakure ninja so fast that their subpar soldiers couldn't react. The moment they hit the ground, the thin layer of Yin Release chakra coating the bullets dissipated, and the jutsu within them erupted.
In the blink of an eye, the black bullets that had landed among the enemy transformed into dozens of Shadow Doppelgangers.
Without a moment's hesitation, each doppelganger raised its hands, aimed at the surrounding Stone-nin, and fired a high-frequency, low-cost volley of Shadow Piercing Bullets.
Bang! Bang! Bang!—
Black projectiles zipped through the Iwagakure ranks. Nearly every bullet claimed a life, turning a living ninja into a silent corpse. In mere moments, dozens of Iwagakure shinobi were dead.
After that devastating opening salvo, half of the Shadow Doppelgangers stopped firing and switched to another shadow secret jutsu.
Shadow Binding Technique!
A dense web of black shadow tentacles spread out, ensnaring every Iwa ninja around them. The powerful binding force of the Nara clan's secret art rooted them to the spot, making it impossible for them to move or dodge.
Seizing the opportunity, the remaining Shadow Doppelgangers turned their "guns" on the immobilized targets and once again unleashed a high-frequency barrage of Shadow Piercing Bullets.
Bang! Bang!—
The flight of each black bullet marked the death of another Stone-nin.
In just a few breaths, nearly one hundred Iwagakure ninja had been killed.
It was the same tactic he had once used against Sunagakure's Puppet Brigade, but this time, on the Iwagakure battlefield, the damage it inflicted was far greater. The horrific casualty rate struck terror into the hearts of the surviving Stone-nin.
But what could they do?
All they could do was pray that the death-dealing missiles wouldn't fall on their heads next.
