Chapter 345: The Dust Release That Sliced Through the Sky
One month later.
Masahiko, his face full of smiles, sat cross-legged on a giant boulder, looking at the three-on-three battle ahead.
After Karin's title upgraded from 'Kunai Throwing Expert' to 'Bombardier', Kimimaro's squad finally filled in their last shortcoming.
Under the pressure brought by Ohnoki's three disciples, the strength of the three of them had grown rapidly over the past month. From barely stalling in a three-versus-two at the very beginning, to winning in a three-versus-two, and now barely stalling in a three-versus-three...
Naturally, the progress of Kimimaro's trio also brought some pressure and motivation to Ohnoki's three disciples. Like a virtuous cycle, they also made some progress, especially Deidara, who was already able to create some larger-scale explosions. The first person to test the effects of his new jutsu was none other than Masahiko himself...
As time passed, the scales of victory in the battle gradually tilted, and Kimimaro's trio was once again in imminent danger. Masahiko got up and jumped off the giant boulder, preparing to stop the battle.
"Battle duration: 13 minutes, half a minute longer than yesterday." Masahiko nodded in satisfaction. "At this rate of progress, in another two months, they should be able to fight to a draw. To win, it will probably take another year of growth..."
Just as he was about to act, Masahiko was surprised to find Kimimaro doing something horrifying... He pulled out his own spinal column and shattered Akatsuchi's Earth Release with a single strike of the bone.
"He can even do this kind of thing now?" Masahiko jumped back onto the giant boulder. "Growing really fast."
Five minutes later, Masahiko still intervened to stop the battle. The overall gap in strength was there; even if Kimimaro tapped into his latent power, the three of them still ended up in defeat.
At this moment, Masahiko was applying medical ninjutsu to Kimimaro.
"Although the spine's hardness and strength are much higher than bones in other places, if I am not by your side, you should try your best not to use this move. This move has too much of an impact on your Kekkei Genkai illness."
Kimimaro's face flushed slightly: "I understand, God!"
Karin, kneading clay on the side, whispered: "Great Elder, please teach me the medical ninjutsu you use to treat Kimimaro-kun. I will always stay by Kimimaro-kun's side."
"You should focus on molding your grenades and hand bombs first. Medical ninjutsu is not something you can learn well in a day or two."
Karin puffed out her cheeks, threw the clay in her hands onto the ground, and said loudly: "Great Elder, why exactly do I have to mold those things? If I mold it into a ball that can be thrown and explode, wouldn't that be enough?"
"Keep your voice down, keep your voice down." Masahiko glanced at Kurotsuchi's trio not far away. Because of the pressure caused by Kimimaro, the three of them were currently doing 'extra training'.
Karin curled her lip: "Great Elder, how much longer do you think you can hide it? Except for that stupid Deidara, the other two probably guessed it a long time ago."
Masahiko shook his head helplessly. He didn't know if Ohnoki was just being straightforward or intentional, but over the past month, not a single person from the Hidden Stone Village had come to pay attention to the Tsuchikage's disciples sparring with 'outsider ninjas'. With Kurotsuchi-kun being so smart and clever, it would be strange if she didn't have a rough guess in her heart.
"As long as that stupid Deidara doesn't know, it's fine. This way, he will dare to keep bringing out interesting explosives to provoke me, and then I can 'bully' him reasonably and logically."
Karin looked at Masahiko with a face full of contempt, wanting to mock him a bit, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Kimimaro was looking at her, and she immediately changed her tune: "You... truly... care for your juniors."
In order to chase Kimimaro, Karin was also becoming more and more shameless...
The soft white light of the medical ninjutsu in Masahiko's hand gradually dissipated. "Alright, Kimimaro."
"Thank you for the treatment, God."
Kimimaro stood up straight, stretched his muscles and bones, and looked at the clay in front of Karin: "Karin, you need to work harder."
"No problem, Kimimaro-kun." Encouraged by Kimimaro, Karin immediately glowed with happiness and was full of motivation.
Masahiko gently shook his head, unable to bear telling Karin that Kimimaro only said that because he thought she was too weak and was holding them back in the three-versus-three battles.
As he grew, the bellicosity and competitiveness originating from Kimimaro's Kaguya bloodline became stronger and stronger. Having just received Masahiko's treatment, he started training once again.
Out of the six children, five were training. Only Haku was left standing by the edge of the cliff, using the telescope Masahiko had given to 'her', observing the comings and goings of people in the Hidden Stone Village. If it weren't for Masahiko's connection, 'she' would have long been arrested by the Hidden Stone Village Anbu as an enemy spy for doing this.
"Looking every day, is it interesting?" Masahiko walked to Haku's side.
Haku gave him a dazzling, sweet smile, not answering directly: "Great Elder, thank you for your gift."
"So tell me, what exactly is there to look at." Masahiko looked distantly toward the Hidden Stone Village.
As his strength increased, his eyesight also became better and better. However, to clearly see everything in the Hidden Stone Village from a straight-line distance of over two kilometers, he temporarily couldn't do it yet.
"Eh?" Haku let out a soft exclamation, causing Masahiko to frown and turn his head.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, just two people looking a bit strange," Haku replied.
Masahiko didn't take it seriously: "There are plenty of strange people. Isn't Zabuza strange? Who normally doesn't grow eyebrows. And Kisame-kun..."
Haku's sweet smile stiffened for a fraction of a second, "Mr. Zabuza... is alright."
Masahiko smiled and took off the telescope Haku was wearing: "Alright, alright, still bearable to look at. Give me the telescope, let me take a look."
Putting on the telescope and observing the Hidden Stone Village for a round, Masahiko shook his head and smiled: "Where are the strange people, how come I didn't see them?"
"They seemed to have just walked into the Tsuchikage Building," Haku answered softly.
"I see." Masahiko handed the telescope back, "Probably some mission clients from some obscure corner, no need to mind them. It's almost noon, get ready, we're going to the Hidden Stone Village to eat."
Gathering the six children, Kurotsuchi still had a look of disappointment on her face: "Uncle Shanks, are you too lazy to make lunch again?"
Masahiko shook his head helplessly: "You've grown a size plumper, you'd better eat less."
Kurotsuchi wore a flattering smile: "It's fine, I'll lose weight after you guys leave."
Masahiko gave her an annoyed look: "Stop dreaming, let's go. In your own village, I'm paying to treat you guys to lunch, and you're still not satisfied?"
Masahiko turned around, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
A white, cone-shaped beam of crystal light sliced through the sky, diagonally cleaving through the clouds above.
"What... is that?" Karin murmured.
Kurotsuchi and the other two exchanged a glance, and the honest, chubby Akatsuchi spoke in a thick voice: "It looks like Lord Tsuchikage's Dust Release."
"What kind of crazy fit is the old man throwing, to actually release this kind of thing inside the village? Un!" Deidara spoke with confusion.
"Old man..." Kurotsuchi showed concern on her face.
Masahiko frowned slightly; he knew best in his heart that it was indeed Dust Release.
"Ohnoki, who is he fighting?"
☆☆☆
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