Ōnoki was intently watching the battle between the Third Raikage and Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's taijutsu was formidable, allowing him to dodge most of the Raikage's attacks.
More crucially, Hiruzen's Adamantine Staff was frighteningly hard. Even the Raikage couldn't break that great rod.
Truly the Senju clan's strongest ability; the Adamantine Staff counted as one of the shinobi world's top-tier offensive-defensive capabilities.
The Raikage hadn't yet used his Hell Stab. It was unknown if that could break the rod.
Sarutobi Hiruzen lived up to his title as the Professor, master of all Konoha jutsu. His Lightning Release was also impressive, neutralizing the Raikage's lightning-based paralysis effect. Looking closely, one could see faint crackling lightning covering Hiruzen's hands.
Hiruzen was strong, keeping the Raikage outside Konoha.
The two of them had destroyed an even longer section of Konoha's outer wall and more of the forest outside.
Ōnoki was about to ambush Hiruzen when, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a black dot.
Someone was flying into the sky!
Ōnoki turned his head slightly and saw Konoha's Fox.
The plan had changed!
Sunagakure was utterly useless; they hadn't even declared war on Konoha.
Kirigakure was also useless; Fox had actually returned to Konoha!
Originally, their plan was for the Kiri-nin to hold off Fox while they entered Konoha to wreak havoc and weaken the village. Now they had only destroyed a section of the outer wall.
Seeing the sand mass beneath Fox's feet, Ōnoki said, "Why do you have Suna's secret Sand Release technique?"
"Is that important?"
Ōnoki gave a cold laugh, feeling even more contempt for Rasa.
Apart from holding the title of Kazekage, Rasa's control over Sunagakure was too weak. He didn't even know who held his village's secret techniques.
Forbidden and secret techniques of each shinobi village must be passed down in an orderly manner. Every inheritor is the village's future, a key asset.
A technique like Sand Release should be a fundamental secret of Sunagakure, yet a Konoha Anbu ninja had learned it.
Ōnoki extended his hands. A semi-transparent barrier of Dust Release appeared before his palms.
Yōkō stared at the Dust Release barrier, intrigued.
As the shinobi world's only known Kekkei Tōta (Bloodline Elimination), the ability resulting from fusing three nature transformations possessed the theoretical pinnacle of offensive power.
Hidden within the Kekkei Tōta were the secrets of chakra fusion.
Not the kind of chakra fusion reliant on bloodline inheritance, but fusion that could be learned later.
Ōnoki's abilities were well-documented in the original work. Yōkō had no intention of testing his strength.
What he wanted was to test the power of Dust Release itself.
Dust Release requires a certain preparation time; its start-up was slow. For this, Yōkō had to wait a moment, letting the Dust Release beam shoot toward him.
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
The Three Worlds Wood Human placed itself before Yōkō.
The Dust Release struck the Wood Human, actually producing a low humming sound.
Yōkō placed his hand on the Wood Human's back, sensing the changes within it.
All the wooden cells, under the effect of Dust Release, rapidly turned into fine sawdust.
Dust Release possessed the ability to disintegrate anything. Any physical substance would turn to dust under its effect.
Even the Three Worlds Wood Human, which could catch Tailed Beast Balls bare-handed, was no exception.
High in the air, cold sweat beaded on Ōnoki's forehead!
Terrifying! Fox's Wood Human was too hard! This was the first time Dust Release had disintegrated a target so slowly.
Before, whether encountering forbidden techniques, wood, or even tailed beasts, they would turn to dust instantly before Dust Release.
The two tailed beasts of Iwagakure were very docile. Whether his teacher, the Second Tsuchikage, or he himself attacked, they could destroy the beasts' bodies.
Now it seemed Fox's Three Worlds Wood Human had a durability surpassing that of a tailed beast.
Boom!
Dust Release took several seconds to pierce through the Three Worlds Wood Human.
Ōnoki felt intense regret. Fox, behind the Wood Human, must have escaped long ago.
Several seconds—with Fox's exaggerated speed, that was enough time for him to land and leap back into the sky.
However, Ōnoki was shocked to see the Dust Release beam, after piercing the Wood Human's chest, strike Fox behind it.
"Hah! Arrogant brat! You've paid the price for your conceit!"
[Host death detected. Mochizuki's Arc system activating...]
Yōkō returned to three days prior.
He appeared on the coast of the Land of Whirlpools.
Looking ahead, there was no Yuka, only waves rolling in.
System, a bit unintelligent, aren't we? I spent those days 'discussing naval tactics' with Yuka. How can there be no Yuka after a reset?
First, check the rewards.
[Mochizuki's Arc activated!
Host has one resurrection opportunity per month, resurrecting on the night of the previous full moon after death.
Rewarding one draw opportunity:
1- Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu;
2- Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique;
3- Earth Release: Rock Golem Technique.]
Earth Release: Rock Golem Technique summons a stone giant to fight. Yōkō had the Three Worlds Wood Human; he didn't need it.
Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique could change an object's weight or even allow flight. Yōkō didn't need that either.
Dust Release, the key to the secrets of Kekkei Tōta...
Selecting Dust Release, Yōkō instantly mastered it.
A Kekkei Tōta superior to Kekkei Genkai, formed by the fusion of Wind, Earth, and Fire nature transformations.
Yōkō raised his hand. A Dust Release barrier slowly materialized above his palm.
The barrier emitted a white glow in the night.
Not far behind him, White Ram stared in shock at Lord Fox.
That thing on Lord Fox's palm... wasn't that Iwagakure's Dust Release?
White Ram Body flickered to Lord Fox's side, asking, "Lord Fox, that, that, that?"
"Your eyes aren't deceiving you. I've been researching new techniques recently and, through a twist of fate, managed to deduce Dust Release," Yōkō said.
"If the Second Tsuchikage could create Dust Release, others can too. That's not unreasonable, is it?"
White Ram had followed Lord Fox for some time now. Yet, Lord Fox seemed increasingly mysterious in his eyes.
Lord Fox taught them the Cross Seal, later upgraded to the Lozenge Seal. With these, he and his Anbu comrades had gained powerful trump cards. Moreover, the Lozenge Seal stimulated their bodies, allowing their physicality and chakra to grow continuously.
The Lozenge Seal was a signature ability for any jōnin.
Now Lord Fox had actually developed Dust Release—that was Iwagakure's number one trump card, more important than even their Jinchūriki.
White Ram said, "Lord Fox, I can't wait to see Ōnoki's expression. Who knows what he'll think when Konoha develops their own Dust Release."
"Every shinobi village tries by all means to obtain other villages' trump cards," Yōkō said.
"Kumogakure has someone who mastered Suna's Magnet Release. Kirigakure stole a Byakugan from the Hyūga main family. It's all the same. No one can point fingers."
After chatting with White Ram for a while, Yōkō began studying Dust Release.
Its advantages and disadvantages were clear.
The advantage: unparalleled offensive power below the level of the Six Paths. Even Susano'o was no match for it.
The disadvantage: the wind-up was too long.
Yōkō wanted to unravel the secrets of Kekkei Tōta to obtain even stronger ones.
(End of Chapter)