Although the two had gotten along very well these past days, friendship meant nothing once the fight began—this time, both were going all out.
Clang!
Mikazuki Munechika and the Bone-Style short blade collided, producing a sharp, metallic ring. Even on the desolate lunar ruins, tiny sparks burst from the clash of their weapons.
They locked eyes for an instant, excitement flickering in both of their gazes, while the pressure in their arms increased, emitting grating sounds that made one's teeth ache.
Crack… crack…
As they poured more power into their clash, the Ōtsutsuki ruins beneath their feet were crushed into a wide crater.
Reiichi was born with exceptional talent, inheriting Kimimaro's Sage Body from birth. After years of training, his strength already ranked among the very top in the entire shinobi world.
Hoshiyomi, on the other hand, had trained in swordsmanship for many years, and with the system enhancing his physical power, he was no weaker in raw strength.
After holding the power struggle for a long moment with no clear outcome, both backed away, abandoning the idea of brute force. Their next collision erupted into a dizzying exchange of blindingly fast attacks.
Their movements were so fast that afterimages filled the air, making it look as if they had sprouted countless arms.
Any ordinary shinobi watching wouldn't have been able to see their attack trajectories at all.
But Kimimaro, floating above, could see everything clearly. With the Tenseigan's powerful insight, their movements were laid bare before him. Watching the fight, he nodded to himself:
"Hoshiyomi's taijutsu is truly formidable. Though his physical attributes are far inferior to mine, the swordsmanship he's honed over decades is something even I must bow to.
"At this speed, combined with such terrifying sword technique, Reiichi has absolutely no chance unless he awakens the Tenseigan.
"And my earlier guess was right—Hoshiyomi is a battle maniac just like me deep down.
"Reiichi's going to suffer quite a bit."
Kimimaro was calmly analyzing things, but in the arena itself, Hoshiyomi wasn't having as easy a time as Kimimaro made it sound.
To be honest, this was the first time in years he had encountered such a troublesome opponent. Even when he fought Old Madara earlier, it hadn't been this difficult.
Old Madara, despite his combat experience, was aged and weakened—he relied almost entirely on the Sharingan to keep up with Hoshiyomi.
But Reiichi was different. His speed and technique couldn't match Hoshiyomi's, but his Shikotsumyaku was among the strongest kekkei genkai in the world.
And Reiichi's Shikotsumyaku was unlike that of ordinary Kaguya clan members. With a purified bloodline free from the bone disease, his body was strong, and the power of his bone techniques far surpassed typical clan members.
The bones ordinary Kaguya could form were practically paper against Hoshiyomi, but Reiichi's were different. His bones were harder than steel, and he could generate them continuously using chakra.
Even when Hoshiyomi landed a clean strike, he couldn't cut through Reiichi the way he could with other enemies—Mikazuki Munechika would slice through flesh but be stopped instantly by the unbelievably tough bone beneath.
Meanwhile, Hoshiyomi was frequently forced to halt his offense because of the sudden bone spikes erupting from Reiichi's body.
Against Reiichi, Hoshiyomi felt like a dog trying to bite a hedgehog—completely unable to find a good opening.
But Hoshiyomi wasn't about to give up easily. On the contrary—he was even enjoying this battle.
In all these years, opponents who could exchange this many blows with him were extremely rare. Even rarer was someone like Reiichi, whose bizarre Shikotsumyaku constantly created all kinds of unexpected trouble for him.
For example, just moments ago—Hoshiyomi had thrust his blade forward. Reiichi, who was holding his bone blade, had absolutely no way to dodge and should've taken the strike on his arm.
But at the critical moment, Reiichi suddenly used Shikotsumyaku to remove all the bones from his shoulder. Without bone support, his entire arm went limp like a noodle, dropping instantly. Through that absurd method, he narrowly avoided Hoshiyomi's slash.
And not only that—an instant later, the boneless arm suddenly whipped up like a serpent, wrapping toward Hoshiyomi's arm. Countless bone spikes shot out at once. If Hoshiyomi hadn't withdrawn fast enough, that one move alone would've crippled his arm for a while.
Faced with such a bizarre bloodline ability, Hoshiyomi had no choice but to stay on high alert at all times, sensing Reiichi's chakra fluctuations carefully. Otherwise, he could easily be pierced by a sudden bone spike.
This kind of fight was tremendous training for Hoshiyomi's reflexes and sensory ability, and inside, he couldn't help feeling exhilarated.
While Hoshiyomi was enjoying himself, dismantling each trick as it came, Reiichi on the other hand was filled with bitter frustration.
Hoshiyomi's offense was simply overwhelming. Under his full-power assault, Reiichi was practically unable to lift his head, forced to rely entirely on the unpredictable nature of Shikotsumyaku just to counterattack.
But Shikotsumyaku bones didn't appear from thin air—they were created by injecting chakra.
And Reiichi's chakra wasn't unlimited. The hardness of his bone techniques depended directly on how much chakra he infused into them.
To withstand Hoshiyomi's Mikazuki Munechika—sharp enough to slice through iron—every bone Reiichi created had to be reinforced with extra chakra.
One or two bones made no difference, but after dozens of exchanges, the cost was becoming painfully clear.
In just those few dozen rounds, Reiichi had burned through more than half his chakra. Feeling the rapidly diminishing reserves within him, cold sweat began to form on his forehead.
If this continued, he would absolutely lose. He needed to break free from Hoshiyomi's suppression—now!
With that thought, Reiichi clenched his teeth and steeled himself. Seeing Hoshiyomi's excited expression, he suddenly abandoned defense entirely. With a slight tilt of his body to avoid his vital points, he allowed Mikazuki Munechika to stab directly into his shoulder.
At the same time, the chakra he had been suppressing exploded outward. The bones in his shoulder rapidly expanded, clamping down tightly on Hoshiyomi's blade and preventing him from pulling it out.
Reiichi then seized the opportunity to unleash all his remaining chakra at once. In a flash, he transformed into a humanoid sea urchin as countless bone spikes erupted from every part of his body.
Hoshiyomi, whose blade was trapped, had no way to dodge. He could abandon the sword and retreat—but what swordmaster would willingly drop his blade?
With no other choice, Hoshiyomi maintained his thrusting posture and used the Dance of the Startled Swan, barely neutralizing Reiichi's sudden eruption.
But before he could fully regain his footing after phasing through space, Reiichi's voice rang out behind him:
"Dance of the Larch—Ninefold Burial!"
...
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