"It's no use after all!" Kakashi exclaimed, twisting mid-air to escape the range of attack. "Looks like I can only try my best to stall him until Senpai arrives to finish this."
Shimon Hiruko grew increasingly frustrated. "He shouldn't have much Chakra left—how is he still fighting?"
Initially, he hadn't cared about Minato Namikaze and Seiki Shimaseki's presence because he'd confirmed Kakashi and the others didn't bear the Flying Thunder God Technique Form. Even if discovered, the time gap before their arrival would've been enough for him to take Kakashi away.
However, the failure of the Puppet Curse had thrown everything into uncertainty.
"No choice then—I'll have to resort to some measures!" Shimon Hiruko sighed inwardly. Abandoning Kakashi, he turned instead toward Rin's position.
"Figures you'd come after me as the weak point!" Rin remained calm. She'd faced danger plenty of times in war—this was nothing she couldn't handle!
"A medical ninja must always prioritize self-preservation to avoid becoming a burden to their team!" Recalling this principle, she gracefully leapt from tree to tree.
"Reaction's not slow at all," Shimon Hiruko growled, swinging his clawed arm to smash the tree trunk apart.
As the giant tree tilted and crashed down, Rin had already anticipated this and sprang to another tree.
He wasn't bothered at all—as long as she slipped up even once, she'd lose completely.
But for him, success just a single time was enough.
Seeing Shimon furiously smashing through surrounding trees, Kakashi quickly formed hand seals.
[Earth Release: Bottomless Swamp!]
Suddenly, the thick earth transformed into a swamp, and Shimon inadvertently stumbled into it.
Yet he soon flapped his wings and soared back into the air.
As Shimon soared upward, Rin quickly leapt down from the treetops to the ground.
When he attacked from above, she stayed below; when he came from below, she stayed above.
In short, staying on different spatial levels than her enemy.
"Slippery little fish!" Shimon muttered. "But don't think that means you can evade me forever!"
The monster flapped his wings, firing feathers sharp as arrows.
Just as Rin and Kakashi prepared to dodge, those feathers suddenly exploded, sending shockwaves that caught them off guard and sent both flying.
"Now!" Shimon seized the moment to dive downward. As he flew, he kept flapping his wings to clear the smoke, ensuring Kakashi could clearly see his movements.
"Tch...you rotten bastard..." Though knowing full well it was a trap, Kakashi still rushed forward without hesitation.
However, someone else moved even faster.
A streak of white light tore across the sky, impacting the monster's body at supersonic speed.
[Sage Art: Falling Meteor Bone Fist!]
It felt like a meteor strike—the monster's massive body was sent flying backward with one punch, sliding along the ground, crashing through countless trees and rocks before finally stopping.
Seeing the devastated forest, Pakkun widened his eyes and shouted, "Unbelievable! What kind of insane power is this?!"
Kakashi first exhaled in relief, then said in awe, "Unbelievable...Senpai really is incredible!"
Rin stared at the figure shielding her and waved her arms excitedly. "Great! Senpai has finally arrived!"
On the collapsed ground, Shimon Hiruko staggered to his feet, his wide eyes full of disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me! This kind of power..."
Steel Release could only resist physical damage like cutting or impact; it was powerless against vibration conduction caused by such force.
At the very least, his internal organs had ruptured from this single punch.
"Is this the real genius? Even surpassing Orochimaru and Tsunade?" Shimon couldn't help but fall into deep contemplation. Even if he had gathered all five Kekkei, could he really defeat such an unimaginable monster?
Although already having suspicions, Seiki still asked deliberately puzzled, "Kakashi, what's going on here?"
"Senpai, this monster is Shimon Hiruko!" Kakashi quickly replied. "He used a technique called the Chimera Technique to fuse the bodies of three Summoned Beasts!"
"It is him, Shimon Hiruko?"
When Shimon's sharp and powerful gaze fell upon him, Shimon Hiruko didn't have time to think much further. Spitting blood, he fled in shame toward the outside.
But before he could fly far, a wall of fire slammed him back.
"Cursed! What's happening?" Shimon Hiruko shouted loudly.
"This is the power of the Chakra Barrier," Seiki's calm voice came from behind him. "Stop now; you have nowhere to escape."
"A chakra barrier?" The giant monster shook its head furiously, full of anger in its voice. "So this is indeed a trap set for me?"
"If you had escaped immediately after realizing the Puppet Curse failed, there might still have been a chance to escape." Seiki walked slowly forward, raising his head to look at the giant monster before him. "But now, it's too late!"
"Damn it! My great research isn't complete yet—how can I fall here like this?!" Roaring furiously, Shimon Hiruko swung his claws toward the barrier.
Then, the barrier shattered instantly.
Witnessing this scene, the few who had set up the barrier at four corners of the forest were incredulous. "How could this happen? Even Seiki couldn't possibly destroy our barrier with just one strike!"
As for Shimon Hiruko, he was overjoyed. "Sure enough! Even the Chakra Barrier cannot withstand the power of [Yin Release]!"
At this moment, Kakashi reminded loudly from a distance. "Senpai, he has transplanted [Yin Release] into himself, which can absorb chakra, as well as Steel Release to resist physical attacks!"
"It's already too late for you to understand now!" Shimon Hiruko laughed loudly. "With no barrier blocking, you absolutely cannot stop me from flying away!"
"You seem to be celebrating victory a bit too early," Seiki said calmly, forming seals without any hurry.
[Genjutsu: Confusing Mind!]
In an instant, Shimon Hiruko's gaze became vacant.
"Cessation of Chimera Technique!"
Upon hearing Seiki's command, Shimon Hiruko did not hesitate even a second before ending the jutsu.
Immediately, the three Summoned Beasts separated from his body.
A monstrous, bandage-wrapped figure appeared before them all, resembling a terrifying infantile demon.
Rin gasped, "What happened?! How did he turn into this grotesque form?!"
Kakashi's face darkened. "Maybe this *is* his true form — transformed by the Chimera Technique into something neither man nor beast!"
The once-winged Shimon Hiruko crashed to the ground with a loud thud, pain pulling him from unconsciousness.
"What's going on? Where did my huge wings go?" Hiruko exclaimed in panic after regaining consciousness, gradually recalling previous events. "Did you use genjutsu to control me back then?"
"Yin Release — the Black Secret Technique that absorbs chakra, Steel Release that blocks physical attacks... Seems like you're still missing a Kekkei to counter illusions," Seiki said softly with a smile.
"Damn! If only I could get the Sharingan, I wouldn't fear your genjutsu anymore!" Hiruko growled in frustration.
Kakashi looked even more puzzled — could the Sharingan really resist genjutsu? Shuunen would definitely have an opinion on that.
At that moment, Asuma and the others walked over.
"Seiki, what now? Should we take him back?"
Seiki nodded slightly. "Take him back to the vil..."
But before Seiki could finish his sentence, Hiruko glared at him furiously and shouted, "Kill me!"
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