Chapter 163: Battle with Kakuzu's Squad
On the other side of the battlefield, Shinjo confronted Kaito, Mieko, and Hodaka.
Kaito flickered in front of him, formed several hand seals, and used Wind Release: Air Bullet Jutsu.
Kaito fired more than a dozen air bullets at him. Lightning sparks crackled across Shinjo's body.
His speed increased dramatically, and he easily dodged all the air bullets.
Mieko and Hodaka quickly attacked with shuriken, but Shinjo dodged those too. Kaito analyzed, "He doesn't have the Lightning Release Armor—just sparks. Is this a simplified version of the Raikage's technique?"
After dodging, Shinjo moved toward the three at astonishing speed. Kaito's eyes couldn't keep up.
Kaito immediately unleashed a Great Breakthrough in front of him, attacking the entire area regardless of whether he could see his opponent's exact position.
Shinjo saw the incoming attack and quickly used Body Flicker to escape its range.
He tried attacking from another direction, but Kaito responded with another wide-range Great Breakthrough. No matter which direction Shinjo approached from, Kaito kept using Great Breakthrough to force him back.
Shinjo grew annoyed, thinking, "This kid keeps his distance constantly. Does he think he has infinite chakra? That Uchiha girl's watching me too. If I break through his jutsu head-on, she'll launch fireballs into that wind release."
Shinjo formed several hand seals and performed Lightning Release: False Darkness.
Multiple lightning spears formed and shot toward Kaito's group.
Kaito sensed Shinjo building up chakra and formed hand seals in response.
Seeing the lightning release jutsu, Kaito activated Wind Release: Infinite Breakthrough.
The two jutsu collided. Kaito observed carefully, thinking, "Isn't this the jutsu Kakuzu used later? Did Kakuzu take his heart?"
Kaito's jutsu broke through the lightning spears and continued toward Shinjo. However, Shinjo had already performed another jutsu—Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work.
Shinjo expelled a massive stream of spiraling flames that collided with Kaito's jutsu. Shinjo sneered, thinking, "My False Darkness is stronger than his jutsu. However, wind release has a huge advantage against lightning release. But False Darkness weakened his jutsu. Now my fire jutsu can get boosted by his wind release!"
As Shinjo calculated, his flames entered the Infinite Breakthrough and spread throughout the wind jutsu. Kaito thought, "Damn it, he's strong!"
Hodaka moved forward, slammed his hands on the ground, and performed Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.
A massive wall appeared between them and the flames. Hodaka formed another seal, pressed his hands on the ground again, and used Earth Release: Earth-Style Dome.
An earthen dome formed, covering all three of them.
The great fire covered a vast area, flowing over the wall and heating the dome's exterior.
Trees within several hundred meters ignited. The jutsu even reached where Renjiro and Kakuzu were fighting. Both immediately went underground.
Renjiro's sloth summon had already been injured by Kakuzu and returned home.
A minute later, the fire died down. Renjiro and Kakuzu had already started fighting underground.
Shinjo moved quickly through the scorched battlefield. He stood on the earthen wall and noticed the dome below. Kaito sensed his chakra and formed hand seals.
Lightning sparks began crackling across Shinjo's body. He jumped down from the wall and performed Lightning Release: Lightning Javelin.
A spear made of lightning materialized in his hand. He hurled it at the dome. The lightning spear struck and pierced through.
However, when the spear's tip appeared inside the dome, Kaito performed Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere.
The vacuum sphere hit the lightning spear's tip and pierced through it, completely dispersing the attack.
The vacuum sphere didn't slow down and continued toward Shinjo, who was falling toward the dome.
Seeing it, Shinjo's pupils contracted. The jutsu was aimed at his face. He quickly jerked his head aside.
The vacuum sphere grazed his right cheek and hit his right earlobe.
Shinjo's right earlobe was pierced, and the lower half of his ear was blown off, causing him to scream in pain.
Kaito heard the scream and immediately fired another vacuum sphere. It penetrated the dome and aimed at Shinjo.
But this time, Shinjo successfully dodged. He thought furiously, "Damn it! How does someone so young know the Vacuum jutsu?"
He was enraged.
Hodaka didn't give him time to recover, placing his hands on the dome. The outer surface transformed into spikes that immediately shot toward Shinjo.
Realizing he was at a disadvantage, Shinjo retreated a hundred meters.
After the dome disappeared, Kaito, Mieko, and Hodaka looked at Shinjo. His face was grim, filled with rage.
Shinjo was furious, thinking, "How many monsters has Konoha raised? That wind release brat is already one of the best wind users I've ever faced. That Hyuga can actually use earth release as well as any Iwagakure jonin! And they don't even look like teenagers!"
Shinjo formed a hand seal and performed Lightning Release: Lightning Clone Jutsu.
Two lightning clones appeared beside him.
They immediately attacked at incredible speed! Kaito launched another Great Breakthrough head-on. However, Shinjo and his clones all avoided it.
Shinjo attacked from behind while his lightning clones attacked from the left and right. Their speed was too fast—they attacked while Kaito was still releasing his jutsu.
Hodaka and Mieko both formed hand seals, slammed their hands on the ground in perfect coordination, and performed Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm.
The ground in front of Shinjo and his clones immediately became uneven. Some sections rose several inches while others sank.
This jutsu's purpose was to make attackers lose balance and stumble.
Shinjo and his clones noticed the changes and immediately slowed down.
This slowdown gave Kaito enough time to turn and launch another Great Breakthrough at Shinjo.
Hodaka and Mieko continued forming seals.
Hodaka performed Water Release: Water Trumpet.
Mieko performed Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire.
They targeted the lightning clones respectively.
Shinjo and his clones had to retreat again.
Just as Shinjo retreated, the three were attacked from another direction.
Kakuzu's fire mask was useless against Renjiro, so he sent it to help Shinjo.
A massive flame shot toward the three. Hodaka formed a seal and used Water Trumpet to intercept.
Meanwhile, Mieko slammed her hands on the ground, raising an earth wall to protect them. They successfully defended against the attack.
Shinjo didn't continue attacking. He was confused, thinking, "Why is their teamwork so flawless? Even experienced teams struggle with such efficient coordination. They've given offense to that wind user while the other two support him perfectly."
Shinjo felt something was off. As he analyzed further, he finally realized it.
"Wait. Why doesn't that wind user consider chakra consumption at all during battle? His chakra's dropped very low now. After a few more jutsu, he'll be exhausted!"
Shinjo analyzed but couldn't understand why they'd fight this way.
Kakuzu and Renjiro were still in a stalemate. Kakuzu had an absolute advantage, but he couldn't land any significant damage on Renjiro.
Kakuzu analyzed, "He's very skilled. If it weren't for those three brats, he might've escaped from me. Speaking of which, what's that useless Shinjo doing? I even sent my fire mask to help. Can't he kill three children?"
The battle continued for several more minutes. Renjiro's squad was exhausted.
Kaito knelt on one knee. Mieko and Hodaka were extremely tired. They'd consumed massive amounts of chakra on jutsu.
Renjiro was exhausted too. Fighting an S-rank ninja and three masks had taken a huge toll.
Shinjo looked at them and sneered. "Their chakra's finally depleted. Let's see why they fought so recklessly."
Kakuzu also observed carefully. In these minutes, he'd witnessed Renjiro's endless tactics and techniques. He didn't dare be careless.
Kaito looked at Renjiro. Renjiro looked back. Their eyes met, and both nodded.
Hodaka and Mieko noticed. Immediately, all four simultaneously used Body Flicker and scattered in different directions!
Kakuzu and Shinjo followed closely, chasing Renjiro and Kaito respectively. Shinjo's lightning clones pursued Hodaka and Mieko.
If there was anything Renjiro's squad could be proud of, it was their Body Flicker technique.
Even exhausted, they could still use it multiple times.
Unfortunately, their opponents were extremely powerful. All of them successfully caught up with their targets!
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