"Shikotsumyaku: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
Kaguya Masaru unleashed the technique again.
Shikotsumyaku let him freely manipulate all the bone cells in his body; even if he fired off every last fingertip, he could regenerate them in an instant.
"Tss…"
White steam curled from Kiyohara's lips and body, like some kind of overclocked engine.
This state was putting a huge strain on him.
Just moving at all now required him to rely on explosive bursts like Leaf Body Flicker again and again.
If his chakra weren't already higher than a standard jōnin's, he wouldn't have been able to maintain it.
Schk!
He threw several shuriken and twitched his fingers.
The sharp copper wires connected to them tightened all at once, forming a cutting wind-slicing net.
The bone bullets smashed into the wires instead, knocked off their original path.
"Wait—Masaru, don't rush in!" Mei shouted, trying to stop him long enough to finish her jutsu.
But Masaru had already drawn a bone blade from his left arm and was charging at Kiyohara.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Camellia!
Kiyohara's counterattack had also revealed his precise location.
Whoosh!
Just as he closed in, Masaru's body began to spin like a drill. More bone spikes erupted across his limbs.
From a distance, it looked like white ribbons spiraling around him—
Bone trails left by the blade moving too fast to see.
The spinning even churned the fog.
Mei finally caught sight of Kiyohara—and of Masaru's self-immolating, all-out charge.
"He's coming. Don't worry—in front of the technique I developed, victory is guaranteed," Magnet Kiyohara said, guiding chakra as he spoke.
Watching his past self use his art to kill these fools stirred something in him.
This was… battle.
"I know."
Their exchange took place in a flash.
As Kiyohara looked at Masaru, he could feel the wind rushing toward him.
But he could also feel his own power.
His strength was being multiplied in that moment.
Leverage.
He used the principle mentally—leveraging the surrounding magnetic field to assist him.
Kiyohara stepped forward and drew back his right fist.
Boom!
His punch exploded outward.
It sounded like thunder crackling through the sky, blasting the fog away in a wild surge.
Air currents roared, as if the entire coast were spinning.
The force of the wind slammed into Masaru mid-spin, slowing him for a heartbeat.
But he didn't retreat—he pushed harder.
"Raaaah!" he roared, fighting through the resistance, slashing down at Kiyohara with the bone sword.
Boom!
Kiyohara threw another punch.
The air around his fist seemed to detonate.
Shikotsumyaku could strengthen bones to be harder than diamond.
But the flesh that held those bones… was still mortal.
Schk!
Kiyohara's hand was pierced clean through by the bone blade.
At the same time, Masaru's eyes went wide as his own arm was blasted off, flesh torn away mid-strike.
Wind Release: Gale Palm!
Before Masaru could even feel the pain of losing his arm, Kiyohara clapped his hands together and swung again.
Schlkk—
A razor-edged gust tore across Masaru's neck.
Whatever he'd meant to say died in a broken rasp.
"Masaru, get back!" Mei screamed.
But her hands were locked in the final seals of her jutsu; she couldn't move to help.
She was forced to watch as Kiyohara pulled an exploding tag from his pouch, slapped it onto Masaru's body, and flashed away.
Boom!
The explosion thundered through the fog.
Masaru came back.
But the only thing that returned to Mei's side were charred bones and shredded chunks of flesh.
She stared, trembling, lashes quivering.
Kiyohara had literally blown him to pieces—right in front of her.
Her Wind Release jutsu loosed unconsciously, sending a blast across the carnage and blowing away bone fragments, white lime, and mist in a single burst.
Crash!
The pent-up gale finally tore the last of the fog away, clearing the battlefield completely.
Kakashi and the others could finally see what lay ahead.
Mist bodies scattered across the ground.
And a woman, shaking with rage, standing among shattered bone and gore.
"Didn't even bother collecting the ashes—just scattered them to sea. I guess Mist is into sea burials now," Kiyohara said lightly.
He cancelled his enhanced state at once; the reddish hue drained from his skin, leaving him looking pale and exhausted.
"But the view's not bad. Good place to scatter a little ash," he added with a small smile, glancing at the distant ocean.
Hearing that, Mei wanted nothing more than to pummel him into the ground, drag him back as a slave, and make him pay for this for the rest of his life.
But she swallowed it down.
She'd gotten used to losing comrades.
In truth, there was no simple right or wrong here—she herself had killed Konoha shinobi too.
Those were someone's comrades as well.
In the end, it all came down to strength.
Masaru had lost. That was all.
She stopped shaking and smiled again.
A shinobi endures all things. Hiding your feelings in your heart—that's what you're expected to do.
"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!"
She fused Fire and Water chakra and spat out a boiling, superheated vapor.
It looked like ordinary mist—but its acid could melt even a Susanoo skeleton.
Then she began to retreat.
The last surviving Mist shinobi scrambled to follow her, fleeing without any semblance of formation.
Kiyohara didn't chase.
He didn't have the strength left.
Kakashi sent Genma and the ninken to harass the retreat while he himself hurried to Kiyohara's side.
He felt a stab of guilt.
Kiyohara had fought the entire battle alone; they hadn't lifted a finger.
"I'm fine," Kiyohara said, using Hemostasis Technique on his wounded hand.
He'd avoided vital areas—no bone or nerve damage. It would heal easily enough.
He gestured toward the field of bodies at his feet.
These were his to process.
Originally, he'd only planned to take out a few and then fall back to regroup and let the team help clean up.
But Magnet Release: Rotating Magnetic Field had been… a bit too effective.
He'd overkilled.
It sealed his resolve.
This was the kind of power he wanted.
But the drawbacks were obvious: it couldn't be sustained for long; the body paid a steep price.
He could barely move except in explosive bursts like Konoha Body Flicker.
"That's good," Kakashi nodded, watching him stop the bleeding, suppressing his questions.
He wanted to ask why Kiyohara was progressing so fast.
As he mulled that over, Kiyohara was thinking too.
He needed to complete his wishes quickly—preferably talk to Orochimaru tonight.
"Shikotsumyaku bones, huh…" he said quietly.
He looked at the leftover flesh and bones and began gathering them up.
Orochimaru would no doubt be very interested.
If he brought gifts that hit the man's tastes exactly, it'd be easier to present his next request.
~~~
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