Chapter 46: Weakness and Crisis
Fire crackled. Ice shattered. Steam hissed through the air, all of it intertwining into a chaotic battlefield.
Charred bird corpses scattered through the wind like ash. Burning trees twisted into grotesque shapes. The pupils of frozen beasts reflected Gōenji's face, while ice-covered branches stretched toward him like ghostly hands.
Whoosh!
Gōenji took a deep breath and stared at the battlefield where the ice and fire had finally separated.
That attack should be enough to hold back even a Tailed Beast for a short time. I didn't expect my opponent to be this strong.
My chakra is almost gone. I need to get out of here.
He could clearly feel the amount of chakra remaining inside his body. After several battles, his reserves were nearly exhausted. He no longer had enough chakra to unleash another large-scale Fire Release technique.
His throat burned terribly.
He kept wanting to swallow, but this time he had genuinely pushed himself to his limit.
Otherwise, with his chakra control and understanding of ninjutsu, there was no way he could have burned his own throat this badly.
Still, his opponent couldn't be doing well either.
After fighting for so long, the fact that the man could still use such powerful techniques meant his chakra reserves were enormous.
Whoosh!
"Uchiha, you really are impressive. But you've reached your limit, haven't you? This is one of the most exciting battles I've ever experienced. It's rare to encounter a shinobi like you."
Shirō Fubuki landed opposite Gōenji, admiration visible in his eyes.
He was breathing heavily as well.
Gōenji smiled faintly.
"That's right. Battles between shinobi are usually much more underhanded than this. What we've been doing is almost like a duel between samurai."
His smile widened slightly.
"But remember—we're shinobi, not samurai."
As he spoke, he quietly whispered one word.
"Explode."
Five or six explosive tags suddenly ignited around Fubuki.
Fubuki's expression changed dramatically.
"What?"
He stared at the explosive tags in disbelief.
"How did you still have time to set traps during a battle this intense?"
He had been too careless.
He hadn't dodged.
Boom!
The explosions erupted.
Gōenji's voice was calm.
"We're shinobi. We use tactics and deception."
Who would willingly play a samurai's game with me?
From their previous exchange, Gōenji had already understood that if there were no other enemies nearby and their abilities were roughly equal, Fubuki would naturally stand directly opposite him.
Combined with his experience on the battlefield, Gōenji had used the moment when the Fire Release ended and steam filled the air to quietly set a simple explosive-tag trap on the other side.
He had guessed that in such an intense battle, his opponent wouldn't remain alert to something like that.
After all, they were both experienced jōnin.
Under normal circumstances, there was almost no opportunity to set traps during a direct confrontation. Attempting to do so would divide one's attention and could cost someone the ninjutsu clash itself.
But Gōenji's gamble had paid off.
Fubuki had stood exactly where he expected.
Of course, according to his calculations, the probability of success had only been around fifty percent.
Boom!
The explosions finally ceased.
Shirō Fubuki emerged from the smoke and steam, covered in blood.
His clothes were in tatters. Burns covered his arm, left cheek, and various other parts of his body. Several wounds were a bloody mess from the explosions.
The ice formation in his palm rapidly shrank.
He had clearly managed to block part of the attack at the last moment, allowing him to survive.
Gōenji drew several shuriken.
"Die."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The shuriken flew toward Fubuki as a cruel smile spread across Gōenji's face, along with a hint of satisfaction at finally getting his revenge.
Damn it. Finally, I've taken one of them down.
Clang!
Just as Gōenji was about to celebrate, a figure appeared in front of Fubuki.
The figure swung the Explosive Blade, Shibuki, knocking every shuriken away.
The projectiles embedded themselves in the ground, where blackened earth and white snow mixed together.
"Fubuki, you nearly died just like Makoto. How pitiful."
Munashi Jinpachi burst into laughter, showing no concern for the injuries of his comrade.
Fubuki nodded.
"Thanks. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Don't be so polite. You'll make it look like we were raised properly."
Hōzuki Ōrō appeared beside them as well, laughing at himself.
Munashi Jinpachi snorted.
"We're all orphans. What kind of upbringing would we have?"
"Ah, you're right. We're all orphans. What do we need education for? Just follow our instincts."
After laughing, Ōrō's expression immediately darkened.
He looked toward Gōenji.
"That damn Uchiha brat. You celebrated too soon. You didn't seriously think you'd already won, did you?"
"Enough."
Munashi Jinpachi raised Shibuki.
"Stop wasting time. Finish him before something troublesome happens."
...
Down the mountain.
"Ugh..."
A hoarse, broken sound escaped Kaguya Sei's throat, like air wheezing through a torn bellows.
Cold sweat seeped from the corners of his eyes.
His consciousness remained clear.
He could see the insects entering his body.
He could feel them crawling beneath his skin.
Across his calves.
His knees.
His waist.
His abdomen...
It felt as though countless tiny knives were scraping across his flesh, causing his skin to rise and sink wherever the insects moved.
The agony left behind by his depleted chakra reserves was nothing compared to this horrifying sensation.
Groups of insects crawled across his body.
Kaguya Sei could even feel his heart beginning to itch.
"Ahhh!"
A scream tore from his throat.
The intense pain in his heart caused his exhausted body to erupt with a final burst of strength, producing a horrifying cry that echoed through the mountains.
It was like rusted wire slowly tightening around his blood vessels and heart.
I... am a member of the Kaguya clan.
I will never submit.
At last, the pride buried deep within Kaguya Sei as a member of the Shikotsumyaku bloodline was ignited.
Relying on his powerful will, he formed the Tiger seal with both hands and began refining chakra.
Boom!
Boom, boom!
Splurt!
Bones erupted from his entire body, piercing through everything around him.
His body rapidly became thinner.
Then—
Tap. Tap.
Footsteps approached.
Fūjin emerged from the grass.
Half of her body was mangled, and her Root cloak was gone.
The extreme cold had left half her body numb.
Only half of her face still retained its youthful beauty.
Yet the gentle eyes that should have belonged to her were now filled with killing intent.
Swarm after swarm of insects poured from her body.
Their blood-covered shells glimmered with a metallic sheen as they flowed back toward her sleeves like a black stream.
"Damn it. Ryūma, Zē... I don't know what happened to Captain."
As a member of Root, she had naturally developed some emotional bonds with her companions during their time together.
But Root's long-term conditioning still affected her.
She didn't feel overwhelming rage or grief.
There was only a faint ripple in her emotions.
What truly worried her was Gōenji's situation.
She didn't understand why she was so concerned about him.
She simply was.
...
Boom! Boom!
Whoosh!
Gōenji took three steps to the left, leaped from the trunk of a tree, and streaked through the air like a meteor, flames trailing behind him.
He used the Body Flicker Technique once again, narrowly evading Munashi Jinpachi's explosions and Hōzuki Ōrō's Water Release.
But his chakra was already dangerously low.
Combined with his severe physical exhaustion, he could now only rely on the Body Flicker Technique to move.
"Hahaha! Die already. Stop struggling."
"That's right. I heard your predecessor, Uchiha Madara, was incredibly powerful. Go to the Pure Land and have him teach you some ninjutsu. Hahaha!"
Munashi Jinpachi and Hōzuki Ōrō could already taste victory.
The two coordinated seamlessly.
Even if Gōenji attempted to use his Fire Release propulsion technique to break out of their encirclement, it wouldn't work.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Boom! Boom! Boom!