Adjusting his body angle slightly, his left hand quietly swept across his waist. A second kunai slipped into his palm, its tip hidden in his sleeve's shadow.
Concentrate. Refine.
Visible pale blue chakra flames steamed upward, enveloping Shuji's entire body.
With his foothold as the center, violent airflow exploded outward!
Rubble, dust, and broken weapon fragments were forcefully pushed back and crushed by this suddenly descending pressure.
The swinging blade motion was knocked off-rhythm by this unexpected physical impact caused purely by chakra mass. Shock appeared on the Kokushoku-shū leader's face.
So even that first strike wasn't his peak power.
Such chakra—possessed by a teenage brat.
This is... a great ninja village...
Lamentation didn't show on his face; shock flashed by.
He roared: "Empty bluster!"
Forcibly suppressing his body swaying from the airflow impact, he changed his cleaving blade to a sweep, rolling up a scorching curtain of steel to slash horizontally at Shuji's waist at close range.
In this moment, Shuji caught the opening he'd been waiting for.
SWISH!
His left hand hidden in his sleeve shot out at speeds exceeding visual limits! That concealed kunai, without any fancy trajectory, stabbed straight toward the area below Jūbei's right chest, at the edge of his rib cage, where a massive old scar covered the flesh.
Right there.
"Ngh?!"
Jūbei's body erupted with unprecedented speed, trying to evade. His left arm swung up, attempting to block.
But too fast! Too close! Too late!
Time seemed infinitely stretched and frozen in this moment.
All of Jūbei's movements stopped. The long blade halted mid-air, the ghostly blue flames on his body like frozen fire, flickering violently before beginning to dissipate uncontrollably, extinguishing.
In his bloodshot eyes, the savagery and madness receded like tide, revealing bottomless exhaustion and emptiness beneath.
Slowly, with extreme difficulty, he lowered his head.
His gaze fell on the kunai buried deeply below his right rib, sunk to its handle.
Warm liquid with a strange viscous quality seeped along the kunai, dripping onto the cracked flagstones below.
His massive frame swayed, the burning flames completely extinguishing to reveal rapidly graying skin beneath.
"So..." Jūbei—or rather Meishoku, leader of the Kokushoku-shū—raised his head, his gaze moving past Shuji's shoulder toward the sky above the courtyard.
In those eyes was no hatred, no unwillingness, only an endless desert of exhaustion and completely extinguished embers in its depths.
"...I didn't succeed after all."
As the words fell, his heavy body toppled like a collapsing mountain, crashing thunderously to the ground. Dust rose and settled once more.
Retrieving the kunai, Shuji shook off the viscous substance that didn't look like blood.
He quickly walked to Shizune's side. The female ninja's left hand, covered in intense green light, pressed against the boy's waist.
Itachi's face was pale as paper, his lips tinged blue-purple.
"Shizune, how is Itachi?"
"It's not toxins—more like erosion from foreign energy. Itachi temporarily cannot move. Lady Katsuyu and I can keep the situation from worsening."
At that moment, from the rear courtyard direction, explosive roars and chaotic shouts were becoming urgent.
"Please take care of Itachi for now." Shuji turned toward the inner residence.
End the battle to create a safe treatment environment.
At the rear courtyard corridor entrance, the master of the Tide of Filth, thoroughly enraged by the continuous explosions, pointed his gourd mouth toward the watchtower.
The black water barely left the gourd mouth before invisible hands manipulated it, gathering and twisting upward into the air.
In an instant, it transformed into several enormous serpents formed entirely of writhing black insect swarms.
The insect serpents raised countless heads made of densely packed mouthparts in the air, emitting high-frequency piercing sounds as they lunged toward Jirōchō and the guards continuously firing arrows.
Before he could shoot the next arrow, Jirōchō was pulled aside by a nearby guard.
"AAAGH—!!!"
A bloodcurdling scream erupted instantly! An insect serpent pierced straight through the man's chest, the filthy swarm instantly covering his entire body.
The terrifying buzzing and the sound of flesh being madly devoured were bone-chilling! In mere seconds, a living person dissolved before everyone's eyes into a skeleton emitting white smoke!
"NO—!" Another guard was grazed on the arm by an insect serpent. His entire arm visibly blackened and rotted as countless tiny insects burrowed frantically into his flesh!
He rolled on the ground screaming.
Jirōchō, fallen to the ground with reddened eyes, suddenly grabbed an arrow wrapped densely with explosive tags and hurled it with all his strength toward the nearest insect serpent!
The flames from the explosion caused violent agitation and retreat among the black insects forming the serpent.
Insects at the flame's edge curled up en masse, blackening and losing vitality.
However, the explosion was far too close to the watchtower!
The violent shockwave and flying debris hammered like a sledgehammer, violently throwing Jirōchō and the two surviving guards to the ground!
Ringing ears, dizzy vision, churning blood—even breathing brought searing pain.
"Urgh..." Jirōchō struggled to prop himself up, sweetness rising in his throat as blood spilled from his lips.
Just as the insect serpent was about to dive again—
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Three brown snakes bit toward Suishoku. He didn't even turn his head.
His wide oilcloth cloak moved without wind. A mass of viscous black water, like a living shield, instantly surged from the gourd mouth, precisely blocking the vipers' path!
The vipers crashed into the black water as though plunging into acid! Their tough scales and flesh dissolved under the insect swarm's frenzied gnawing with teeth-grinding sounds! In just one breath, two snakes were completely devoured and dissolved—not even bone fragments remained!
"Tch!" Anko's scalp tingled, her face paling slightly.
Suddenly, she remembered Itachi's earlier covering attack.
And on the watchtower, Jirōchō and his men had continuously fired explosive tag arrows—each explosion's flames caused those insects to agitate and retreat.
A flash of inspiration struck. The purple-haired kunoichi formed seals, taking a deep breath as her chest rose high.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique!"
Crimson flames tore through the rear courtyard's damp, cold air, lunging directly at Suishoku and the churning filthy swarm before him!
The fire dragon precisely struck the head of an insect serpent rearing to strike!
BOOM—!!
Flames and insects collided violently! Sharp sizzling erupted instantly! Countless tiny insects shrieked piercingly in the extreme heat, bodies curling, blackening, turning to ash! The entire serpent's head was forcibly scattered, the swarm forming its body plunging into violent chaos and retreat!
"It works!" Anko's spirits lifted! They really feared fire!
However, Suishoku moved faster! The remaining serpents sharply reversed direction, like several black giant whips bringing sharp whistling sounds as they lashed viciously toward Anko, momentarily rigid after releasing her technique!
The insect swarm churned, fetid wind bearing down!
"Watch out!!"
From the watchtower, Jirōchō's shout rang out.
He struggled to half-kneel, his bloodied hand gripping the last explosive tag, trembling as he tied it to an arrow shaft.
Too late! The insect serpents were too fast!
Anko's pupils contracted sharply. She forcibly twisted to evade, but her feet stumbled from earlier exhaustion and the slippery ground!
Jirōchō used his last ounce of strength to draw his heavy longbow!
The bowstring thrummed. The arrow burning with an explosive tag shot toward Suishoku.
A deafening explosion violently erupted beneath Suishoku's feet!
Violent flames and shockwave blasted upward!
Suishoku's wide cloak was instantly consumed and torn by flames! The impact sent his entire body several feet into the air, crashing heavily into the corridor depths!
A shriek sharp enough to pierce eardrums erupted from beneath the cloak fragments! It was the collective death wail of countless insects instantly incinerated!
Losing their controller, the several insect serpents lunging at Anko suddenly lost their cohesive form, transforming into scattered black insect rain that pattered to the ground, most already curled and blackened before landing!
An opening!
Fierce light flashed in Anko's eyes. Forcibly steadying herself, her hands formed seals again!
Her target: Suishoku, who had crashed into the corridor shadows, struggling to rise, his cloak shredded to reveal the gray-blue grotesque body beneath!
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique!"
A second blazing fire dragon roared into the corridor depths, swallowing that gray-blue figure!
Flames churned, wooden pillars snapped, the acrid smell and the stench of burned insects instantly pervaded! The piercing sizzling and insects' death shrieks blended together before being completely drowned by the flames' roar!
The firelight illuminated Anko's face and brightened Jirōchō's pale but finally relieved expression atop the watchtower. He collapsed powerlessly against the cold parapet, gasping heavily, watching the churning flames in the corridor depths.
It was over.
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild