BOOM!!!
Explosive tags detonated, engulfing the three figures in a burst of fire and black smoke!
Jinsei burst out of the smoke, carrying Kuroori in his arms.
Watching as his elder brother from the village was blown apart before his eyes, Kuroori's tears streamed down uncontrollably.
"Jinsei-san! Tetsuya, he—"
"There's no time!"
They had realized it too late!
Jinsei clenched his teeth, suppressing the grief in his voice. It wasn't just pain—it was regret.
It had been his decision to leave Tetsuya behind and get Kuroori out of the blast's range.
He had been closer to Tetsuya than Kuroori, had been the one carrying Tetsuya's severely wounded body—he had been the one to save him!
Yet that Mist ninja had managed to slap an explosive tag onto Tetsuya's body just as Kuroori's Wind Release had blown him away.
Damn it! Damn it!
Why hadn't he noticed?!
If he had, Tetsuya wouldn't have died!
"He was strong. He saved those ninja in the mines. Without him, even more people would have died."
Yagura took slow steps toward them, but his words of acknowledgment did nothing to earn gratitude. Instead, they were met with two pairs of furious, grief-stricken eyes.
Stopping about ten meters away, Yagura smirked. "See? I told you, you don't need to forgive me, young lady."
"Shut up!!!"
Kuroori struggled to her feet, her face streaked with tears of rage.
"I'm going to kill you! I swear I'll kill you!!"
Jinsei stood up as well, gripping a ninja tool launcher—an advanced mechanism with multiple launch ports lined up at the front.
His fingers tightened around the trigger, ready to fire.
"Nice spirit, but acting on impulse isn't wise."
Yagura casually slid his hands into his pockets, smirking. "Who told you that all I placed on him was an explosive tag?"
There was also coral.
...
The moment he finished speaking, a sudden change took place!
Starting from the spot where Tetsuya had made contact, coral rapidly spread across Jinsei's body, engulfing him in an instant.
Struggling with all his might, Jinsei panicked.
"What the hell is this?!"
"Coral."
A flash of lightning gleamed as Yagura shot toward Jinsei, answering his question in the same instant.
"No!"
Kuroori barely caught up with Yagura's movement. She swung her battle fan fiercely, sending forth a far more intense gust of wind than before.
"Wind Release: Great Wind Gust!"
Her wind, amplified by the ninja tool, was incredibly powerful.
Even though Yagura had already reinforced his footing with chakra, he was still sent flying backward by the violent blast.
Tumbling midair, he adjusted his position to land unharmed.
However, in that brief moment, Kuroori took the opportunity to smash Jinsei's coral restraints with her battle fan, freeing him.
Jinsei immediately yanked the trigger on his launcher, unleashing a dense barrage of ninja tools!
Yagura ducked behind a minecart full of ore, the metallic clatter of kunai striking stone filling the air.
Another strong gust of wind followed.
Yagura anchored the minecart to the ground with chakra, using it as a shield against the Wind Release attack.
"One uses Wind Release, the other a ninja tool barrage. Both specialize in long-range combat with ninja tools."
Using the brief moment of cover, Yagura quickly analyzed the battle.
"And just like that guy earlier, they both have specialized ninja equipment."
Thinking back, Yagura felt lucky to have eliminated the defensive-type ninja first. If that shield-user had still been alive, combining defense with these two's ranged attacks would have made things a lot more troublesome.
Now, dealing with them—he would take down the Wind Release user first.
...
A denser barrage of firepower came his way!
Wind blades sliced through the minecart, cutting it clean in half!
Sensing danger, Yagura leapt away just in time. Midair, he quickly formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"I've got it!"
Jinsei activated another function on his launcher, releasing a barrage of exploding senbon to intercept the incoming water dragon.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Hundreds of senbon detonated inside the water dragon, fragmenting its form in a series of small explosions.
Yagura noted it carefully. "Aside from size expansion, this ninja tool also has explosive capabilities."
Kuroori's fan glowed with an eerie blue hue as she swung, unleashing razor-sharp wind blades.
"Wind Release: Thousand Blade Gust!"
"Water Release: Great Waterfall!"
A torrent of water surged up, colliding head-on with the wind blades!
Yagura struggled slightly to maintain the water barrier. He quickly formed more seals.
It wasn't just the wind blades—the gust from her fan was getting stronger with each swing.
Ducking under a slicing wind blade, Yagura anchored himself with chakra to avoid being blown away.
Then, another wave of kunai came at him—fifty kunai turned into a hundred, then two hundred, then four hundred midair, all converging toward him.
"A third function—cloning ninja tools."
The pair worked seamlessly together, clearly well-coordinated partners.
Yagura had gathered enough intel.
He leapt to evade the attacks, drawing his blade. In a flash of steel, he cut down the incoming kunai with an elegant slash.
Landing, he sheathed his sword and launched forward. "Thunderclap and Flash!"
With a deafening crack of thunder, Yagura broke through Kuroori's hastily conjured Wind Release defense, closing the distance in an instant!
...
"Not a chance!"
Jinsei switched his launcher's mode, steel wires screeching as they retracted. A hundred explosive senbon shot out!
But they missed.
"Too slow."
Yagura had predicted the attack, flipping high into the air to avoid it. Forming seals midair, he aimed both hands downward and unleashed high-pressure water blasts.
"Coral Water Cannon!"
The beams shot down like lasers!
Jinsei barely dodged, but Kuroori, slower due to her heavy fan, was forced to block. The blast punctured her weapon, leaving a gaping hole.
"Kuroori, now!"
"I know!"
The Mist ninja was airborne—nowhere to evade!
The duo launched simultaneous attacks, but Yagura simply sighed. "Again?"
They relied too much on their tools.
It made them predictable.
Six Wind Release seals formed in his hands.
For months, he had been refining his wind jutsu. The Chunin Exams had given him inspiration—
Flight, an extremely rare ability in the shinobi world.
Winds gathered beneath his feet like a vortex.
Wind Release chakra formed spiraling thrusters behind his back and under his feet.
The spirals roared to life, and in an instant, Yagura shot sideways, dodging their combined assault.
Suspended midair, he smirked down at them.
"A ninja should always have more than one trump card."
"Even if you can fly, we—"
"Shh."
With a quiet gesture, Yagura pointed down.
Electricity suddenly surged upward from the ground, shocking them both!
It was over.
Yagura dived, pinning one down with his foot before driving his water blade into their heart.
Blood splattered across his white mask.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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