To avoid harming those around him, Yosuke spread his blood wings and rose into the sky, facing Ōnoki directly.
Ōnoki looked at Yang Jie in surprise.
"Oh? I didn't expect you could fly as well."
Yosuke did not answer him. Instead, he asked,
"I can sense it—you have no killing intent at all. Then what is the meaning of this fight?"
Ōnoki snorted coldly.
"Meaning? You took Deidara away without saying a word. As his teacher, where does that leave my dignity?"
Ōnoki formed hand seals rapidly.
"Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!"
His right hand transformed into a hardened stone fist, its density and weight greatly increased, and he swung it at Yosuke with tremendous force.
"Sun Breathing, Third Form: Blazing Sun Crimson Mirror!"
Yosuke also drew his katana, unleashing two sharp, symmetrical slashes that collided head-on with Ōnoki's rock fist.
The stone on Ōnoki's arm crumbled and fell away, while Yosuke's blade was knocked from his grip.
Seizing the opportunity, Ōnoki placed his hand on the back of Yosuke's hand.
"Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique!"
Countless fragments of stone wrapped around Yosuke's body, petrifying him and drastically increasing his weight. His wings could no longer support him, and he fell straight from the sky, slamming heavily into the ground.
Ōnoki followed close behind, landing on the ground as well. He pressed both hands against the earth.
"Earth Release: Rock Golem Technique!"
A colossal stone giant burst forth from the ground and raised its fist, smashing down toward Yang Jie's position.
In an instant, the earth shook violently as dust and debris filled the air.
Ōnoki flew back into the sky, watching the situation within the swirling dust cloud.
"Blood Breathing, Fourth Form: Asura Blood Domain Heaven!"
A massive female statue formed entirely of blood appeared out of thin air, dispersing the surrounding dust.
The blood statue raised its enormous crimson blade and swung it downward, releasing a slash toward the stone giant.
In the blink of an eye, the stone giant was cleaved cleanly in half, crumbling into countless fragments that crashed to the ground.
Ōnoki couldn't help but praise him.
"Not bad at all! But if that's all you've got, it won't be enough!"
"Dust Release: Boundary-Stripping Technique!"
Ōnoki created a massive transparent cubic barrier that enveloped the blood statue. In an instant, the statue was completely erased from existence.
At the very moment the statue vanished, Ōnoki formed yet another transparent cube and sent it flying straight toward Yosuke.
"Blood Demon Art: Blood Body Replacement!"
Yosuke instantly created a clone formed from blood, while his true body flashed behind it. He successfully evaded Ōnoki's Dust Release.
Shattering the stone fragments clinging to his body, Yang Jie took flight once more.
Although his opponent looked like a frail old man, the pressure from that Dust Release was even greater than what Yosuke had once felt facing the Nine-Tails.
Yosuke gripped his katana tightly.
This time, he intended to test a new technique.
Like Remaining Sun Prison of Blood, this new move was a Blood Breathing sword form fused with chakra.
Yosuke directly entered his Demon King state, holding his katana horizontally as he refined the chakra within his body.
Crimson chakra vapor surged around him, resembling a Tailed Beast's chakra cloak.
Behind him, three blood-red buds shaped like spider lilies slowly appeared.
When all three buds fully bloomed, Yosuke's aura reached its absolute peak.
"Blood Breathing, Seventh Form: Spider Lily Funeral Caress Slash!"
Yosuke swung his katana at blinding speed.
Countless blood-red flower buds burst forth from the blade, blooming continuously as they advanced, ultimately forming a single, devastating slash.
It was eerie—and breathtakingly beautiful.
Ōnoki's eyelids twitched violently. The slash was far too fast to lock onto; there was no time to use Dust Release to erase it.
Every instinct of survival screamed at him to flee.
But Ōnoki did not retreat.
Instead, he chose to meet it head-on.
"Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique!"
As Ōnoki completed his hand seals, an enormous earthen sphere rose violently from the ground.
He immediately followed up with Earth Release: Ultra-Lightweight Rock Technique, drastically reducing the sphere's gravity and causing it to float in front of him.
Yosuke's Spider Lily Funeral Caress Slash struck the earthen sphere.
In that instant, the sphere was not cut apart.
Instead, countless blood-red flower buds spread across its surface. The moment they bloomed, the sphere was completely swallowed, transforming into blood-colored petals that drifted down from the sky.
Yet the Spider Lily slash itself continued onward, flying straight toward Ōnoki.
At the critical moment, Ōnoki could only temporarily avoid its edge. Using his flight ability, he rapidly ascended, narrowly evading the attack.
When he looked down at the ground below, a shocking sight greeted his eyes.
The blood-red petals did not disappear after landing.
Instead, they sprouted once more into blood-red flower buds.
In an astonishingly short time, the land within several kilometers was completely covered in blooming spider lilies.
The sight of them flowering together left Ōnoki utterly stunned.
After the flowers bloomed, the entire ground sank several inches.
Before Ōnoki could even react, Yosuke was already charging toward him with katana in hand.
Ōnoki instinctively tried to counter—
Crack.
He suddenly clutched his waist with one hand, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
Yosuke stopped his blade just in front of Ōnoki and asked in confusion,
"What's wrong with you?"
Ōnoki replied shakily,
"My… my back… gave out."
Yosuke felt a bit speechless.
In the middle of such an intense battle, Ōnoki had actually thrown out his back.
"Then… should the fight continue?" Yosuke asked.
Ōnoki waved his hand while enduring the pain.
"Forget it. No more fighting. I understand now why that brat Deidara follows you.
Someone who's always chased art—how could he not be excited after seeing such a magnificent fighting style?"
Yosuke sheathed his katana and helped Ōnoki descend to the ground.
By then, Deidara and the others had climbed out of the pit.
Seeing Ōnoki holding his waist, Deidara immediately burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Old man, you threw out your back again?!"
"Hmph, you little brat! Have some consideration for an old man!" Ōnoki snapped irritably.
Turning to Yosuke, Ōnoki said,
"To begin with, Iwagakure only joined this war to see if there were any benefits to gain.
Now that Kumogakure and Kirigakure have withdrawn, I never intended to fight Sunagakure to the death.
When we heard that Kirigakure had also pulled out, we were already preparing to retreat as well."
Yosuke nodded.
"That's for the best."
Ōnoki glanced once more at Deidara, said nothing, and instead turned to Kurotsuchi.
"Kurotsuchi, we're leaving."
Kurotsuchi obediently supported Ōnoki as they departed.
Deidara asked in surprise,
"Old man, you're not going to force me back to Iwagakure?"
Without even turning his head, Ōnoki replied,
"I know your personality. Even if I dragged you back, you'd find a way to leave again.
I'd rather let you follow your own path and travel the shinobi world freely.
But remember this one thing, Deidara—
You will always be a shinobi of Iwagakure.
No matter what, you must never do anything that betrays Iwagakure."
As Kurotsuchi helped Ōnoki leave, Deidara looked annoyed on the surface—but the smile at the corner of his mouth betrayed his true feelings.
"That old man…" Deidara muttered, "still loves lecturing me as much as ever."
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