Chapter 174: The Hidden Ninja of the Cloud
Just as Troy concentrated on forming his Lightning Release Shuriken, Kakashi suddenly felt the magnetic force binding his body disappear. His limbs loosened—he could move again.
He instantly realized what had happened. Troy must have withdrawn his chakra control to focus all his attention on preparing his ultimate Ninjutsu.
Without hesitation, Kakashi used Body Flicker Technique to leap away from his previous position, darting toward the enemies fighting on Might Guy's side.
On that end of the battlefield, the Cloud Ninjas had been targeting the tent where the client hid, forcing Might Guy to fight defensively.
Kakashi's sudden charge caught the Cloud Ninjas completely off guard. His White Fang short sword flashed with silver arcs under the moonlight—
and in an instant, several deep cuts appeared across their bodies.
Might Guy's eyes brightened as he saw Kakashi's arrival. The opportunity he had been waiting for had finally come.
"Rock Breathing—Total Concentration Breathing! Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
Guy inhaled deeply, channeling chakra through his body. His muscles tensed, his aura flared, and he spun violently—unleashing a roaring kick wreathed in wind pressure and force.
The strike tore through the air with thunderous power.
With Kakashi attacking relentlessly from one side and Guy erupting in strength from the other, the Cloud Ninjas were instantly overwhelmed.
Bang!
Caught between their combined assault, one Cloud Ninja was sent flying backward, crashing hard into the earth.
"Such… immense power…" he gasped. The pain coursed through his body as his pupils dilated in disbelief and unwillingness. To be defeated by two children—it was a humiliation beyond bearing.
Before he could even recover, two Kunai whistled through the air.
Thud! Thud!
They pierced clean through his chest.
Kakashi lowered his arm, his face calm. "Target eliminated."
"As expected of you, my best friend—perfect teamwork!" Guy laughed, flashing a thumbs-up.
Kakashi gave a brief nod, his expression composed, though his gaze quickly turned toward Mugetsu's side of the battlefield.
That fight would determine everything.
He had gone to assist Guy first for two reasons:
First, he didn't know if Troy could still reestablish his control, so he needed distance to avoid becoming a liability.
Second, it was to protect the client—and to free Guy as an extra fighter.
But when Kakashi looked at Mugetsu again, he realized the man didn't need any help at all.
Facing Troy's enormous lightning-charged Shuriken, Mugetsu didn't dodge as Troy had expected. Instead, he calmly formed a hand seal—
and split off a Shadow Clone.
"Fire Release: Head Hardship!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
Mugetsu's main body switched to Flame Breathing Constant State, unleashing Head Hardship, while his clone executed Pressure Damage.
This time, Mugetsu didn't suppress his strength. There was no reason to hold back anymore. No Anbu would come this far to investigate the commotion, and no witnesses would live to report it.
With only his disciples and the hidden client as onlookers, he could finally fight without restraint.
His master-level Head Hardship, combined with a Fire Release Nature Transformation proficiency exceeding seven thousand and the bonus effects of Flame Breathing, caused his chakra to surge wildly.
If Mugetsu checked his panel now, he would see his chakra values plummeting at incredible speed.
But that sacrifice of chakra bought him power—terrifying, world-shaking power.
When Mugetsu unleashed his Fire Release, an orange-red blaze illuminated the entire forest. The flames pouring from his mouth didn't take the form of fireballs or dragons—
it was an ocean of fire.
A sea of flames swept outward, devouring everything before him.
The towering inferno painted the night sky red, the brilliance so intense it turned the darkness into day.
The heatwave rolled outward, distorting the air. Even from a distance, Kakashi could feel the searing temperature against his skin.
His eyes widened as the reflection of the fire filled them. His breath caught in his throat.
This power…
He had never witnessed Fire Release of such scale and ferocity. The flames didn't just burn—they consumed, swallowed, and erased everything in their path.
"So, he's best at Fire Release," Kakashi thought, once again updating his impression of Mugetsu.
With that level of power… even the Sannin wouldn't be much stronger, he admitted inwardly, his gaze filled with awe.
At first, he had thought Mugetsu was simply a well-rounded Jonin—strong but not overwhelming. Yet every time Mugetsu moved, every time he unleashed a new technique, Kakashi's understanding of his strength was shattered and rebuilt, higher than before.
Obito and Locke, who had been locked in fierce combat, both paused, stunned by the overwhelming scene before them. The blazing sea of fire forced them apart, neither daring to move recklessly.
"This Fire Release is insane! I wonder when I'll be able to use something like that," Obito murmured, eyes wide as he watched Mugetsu standing proudly before the inferno.
"This opponent is… troublesome," Locke muttered, his confidence faltering for the first time. The unending flames reflected in his eyes, and doubt crept into his heart.
Before Mugetsu unleashed that devastating Ninjutsu, Locke had been certain of victory. Troy had slain many Jonin before—formidable ones. Yet this man… this level of power was far beyond what he could comprehend.
"Damn it," Troy hissed, his expression twisting. "Where did this monster come from? There's no record of such a Fire Release expert in Konoha."
His plan had been simple—kill Mugetsu with his trump card, then let one Genin escape to report the victory. But now, that plan had completely crumbled.
He no longer wanted to fight. He only wanted to survive.
Retreat isn't cowardice. It's strategy.
But Mugetsu had no intention of letting anyone escape.
After unleashing Head Hardship, his Shadow Clone took a deep breath and released a spinning sphere of compressed wind.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
The roaring winds merged with the blazing inferno. The flames expanded instantly, swelling into a firestorm that consumed the battlefield.
Kurokawa, who had been preparing to engage Mugetsu up close, suddenly found herself face-to-face with the advancing sea of fire. Her instincts screamed to retreat, but it was already too late.
"Lightning Release: Armor!" she shouted, flooding her body with chakra as arcs of lightning crackled across her skin.
But it was like a praying mantis trying to stop a raging inferno.
The flames swallowed her whole.
Her scream was drowned in the roar of the fire. Within moments, her silhouette vanished into ash.
With the support of Pressure Damage, the sea of fire grew to monstrous proportions. Trees vaporized into smoke, the ground blackened and cracked, and even Troy's massive Lightning Release Shuriken were consumed before they could reach their mark.
The overwhelming power forced Troy's confidence to collapse completely.
He hastily unrolled a summoning scroll, conjuring a barrage of Shuriken to form a magnetic barrier around himself. Magnet Release and Lightning Release surged to their limit as he fought to hold back the encroaching flames.
Rumble!!
The clash triggered a massive explosion. The shockwave tore through the forest, and thick smoke flooded the air.
Using the cover of the explosion, Troy spun and retreated with Body Flicker Technique, moving with desperate speed.
He had to escape. He had to deliver this intelligence to the Village.
But just as he flickered through the smoke—
Zzzt!
A flash of blue lightning burst forth from within the sea of fire.
Before Troy could even react, he froze. His vision blurred. His body felt… light.
He looked down.
A hole had been carved clean through his chest. Blood poured freely, staining his armor.
Through the haze, he saw Mugetsu standing before him, lightning arcing across his body, his expression calm and composed. His right hand was extended—his index finger still glowing faintly blue.
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode… Hell Stab?" Troy muttered weakly, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing. The speed, the piercing power—it was unmistakably similar to Kumogakure's own Lightning Chakra Mode.
"Our Iwagakure… will not let you go," Troy rasped, forcing the words through his dying breath.
If he could at least make Mugetsu believe they were from Iwagakure, perhaps the mission wouldn't be a complete failure.
Mugetsu tilted his head slightly, adjusting his glasses with his left hand. His smile was faint, his tone soft yet cold.
"I don't recall Iwagakure having this many Lightning Release users," he said quietly. "At the very least, they should've brought a few Earth Release specialists."
"You…" Troy's eyes widened as realization dawned, but his body could no longer support him.
The light faded from his pupils.
He fell to the scorched ground, eyes still open, carrying the weight of a lie and the guilt of failure back to the earth.
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