Chapter 44: Wearing Down Chakra with Human Lives
The moment Uchiha Shisui disengaged and withdrew, the Mist-nin formation immediately tightened and became far more disciplined.
No longer needing to divert attention to guard against Shisui's genjutsu or sudden Shunshin assaults, they were finally able to focus all of their attention on a single target—
Hyūga Ritsu.
In the next instant, the well-trained Mist forces split cleanly into two groups.
The front line moved in perfect unison, hurling shuriken, kunai, and poison-tipped senbon. The weapons surged toward Ritsu like a raging storm, attacking from every angle at once.
At the same time, the rear line formed seals with practiced speed, chakra gathering rapidly as they prepared to unleash ninjutsu.
In truth, ninja combat rarely began with a reckless exchange of ninjutsu or genjutsu.
Taijutsu was, in fact, the most commonly used method of combat.
The reason was simple—chakra was never enough.
For genin and chunin alike, expending three to five low-level techniques was often enough to drain them completely. If those techniques failed to kill the enemy, a chakra-depleted ninja was as good as dead.
Taijutsu, on the other hand, allowed fighters to trade blows for hours if necessary.
Even jōnin, despite their greater reserves, were cautious. They rarely wasted chakra without reason. If an enemy could be defeated with taijutsu, ninjutsu was held in reserve.
That said, battle had no fixed rules.
Avoiding ninjutsu was tradition—not law.
And right now, the Mist-nin held an overwhelming numerical advantage.
Even if individual ninja exhausted their chakra, comrades would cover for them. There was no reason to risk close-quarters combat against a taijutsu specialist like Hyūga Ritsu.
Better to simply drown him in techniques.
After all, Lord Puffer Ghost had never ordered them to capture him alive.
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet!"
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet!"
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet!"
The Mist-nin unleashed the same C-rank technique in unison.
One after another, vividly formed water sharks burst forward, surging through the air like artillery shells, roaring straight toward Hyūga Ritsu.
"Perfect timing."
After effortlessly batting aside every shuriken, kunai, and senbon, Ritsu showed not a trace of panic.
Already prepared, he dropped into stance as chakra erupted from the tenketsu across his entire body in a precise, controlled flow.
In the next heartbeat—
His body began to spin.
Faster.
And faster.
Like a human top, chakra-driven rotation accelerating toward a violent crescendo.
A hemispherical barrier formed in an instant—
a shield composed entirely of chakra spinning at terrifying speed—
and then began expanding outward with explosive force.
Eight Trigrams Palm: Revolving Heaven.
The Hyūga clan's ultimate defensive technique.
Every Water Shark Bullet that collided with the rotation was smashed apart without exception, bursting into scattered torrents that splashed violently over the surrounding Mist-nin. Worse still, the rotation's expansion speed was shockingly fast.
More than ten Mist-nin positioned at the front sensed danger and tried to retreat—but it was already too late.
Only three jōnin, swift and decisive, escaped using Body Flicker.
The remaining nine chūnin were caught point-blank.
Their bodies were obliterated.
Flesh mangled, bones shattered, they were flung away like lumps of ruined meat, splattering in all directions.
Defense was only the surface.
Counterattack was the true essence of this technique.
"Beautiful!"
From the corner of his eye, Uchiha Shisui witnessed the scene and praised it sincerely—
which only served to irritate the opponent he was facing.
Hozuki Mangetsu scowled.
Fighting him while still watching elsewhere—this was blatant contempt.
But the anger flared only briefly before dying out.
…Sigh.
Being underestimated was still better than being dead.
After all, he truly couldn't beat Shisui. Holding him in place was already an achievement worth bragging about later.
---
On the other side of the battlefield—
After annihilating nine Mist-nin with a single defensive counter, Hyūga Ritsu stood in the crater carved out by the technique. His gaze swept across the visibly shaken Mist forces, then flicked toward Fuguki Suikazan—
who still hadn't entered the fray.
"So," Ritsu chuckled softly,
"you plan to burn lives to drain my chakra? How cruel."
The next instant—
A storm of strikes erupted.
Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!
If Fuguki wanted to trade lives for chakra, Ritsu was more than willing. He had no qualms exchanging his chakra for Mist-nin corpses.
Compressed blasts of chakra-laced air detonated through the enemy ranks, hammering the already unsteady formation into chaos.
Twelve palms.
That was all it took.
Five Mist-nin were killed outright.
Three more were injured.
The rest scattered in panic, their formation torn to shreds.
Ritsu didn't allow them a second to regroup.
Chakra burst from his feet as he shot forward like an arrow released from the bow, plunging straight into the heart of the enemy.
Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!
Both hands rose.
Ten finger bones fired from his fingertips—five to each side.
Two screams echoed.
The two Mist-nin struck had no time to react as the bone projectiles punched clean through their chests, killing them instantly.
The Mist-nin directly ahead seized the opening and thrust his blade toward Ritsu's chest—
Only for twin rows of white bone to erupt outward, stopping the sword cold.
Ritsu struck back.
His palm slammed forward, and a jagged bone shot out from his hand, spearing directly through the Mist-nin's left eye.
A short, shrill scream—and then silence.
"Fall back! Fall back!"
"Create distance—use ninjutsu!"
"Stop closing in, you'll die!"
"Rally around the jōnin!"
Shouted orders rippled through the ranks.
The shaken Mist-nin began moving, desperately trying to regroup around their remaining jōnin—
But Ritsu was relentless.
Chakra surged beneath his feet, his speed spiking again. The sharp white bones extending from his palms sliced cleanly through the throats of two fleeing chūnin.
He lunged straight for a Mist jōnin ahead.
The jōnin reacted fast, raising his blade to block—
But just before impact, the bone retracted.
The sword cut nothing but air.
Ritsu slipped inside his guard.
His left palm thrust forward.
The jōnin, no weakling, reacted instantly—drawing his left arm across his chest, ready to sacrifice it to seize the bone he expected to erupt—
But—
No bone emerged.
Instead, dense chakra surged, shaping itself into a roaring lion's head around Ritsu's palm.
Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists.
The chakra-lion slammed into the jōnin's forearm.
Crack.
Bone shattered.
The broken arm collapsed inward, crushing into the chest beneath it. At the same instant, the fabric on the jōnin's back tore open with a violent rip.
Blood sprayed.
The jōnin spat a mouthful of crimson across Ritsu's white robes as his body flew backward, hitting the ground lifelessly.