"Everyone, stop watching!"
"Fall back! All of you, get away from here!"
Kagerō, who had already burst out from underground, saw that the Rock shinobi army was still standing there watching the battle unfold. His expression changed at once, and he immediately shouted out the order.
At this point, the clash between Kage-level fighters was already far beyond the scale of the earlier battles.
And on top of that, there were two jinchūriki involved.
If a Tailed Beast Bomb was fired by accident in the middle of all this, then for the Rock shinobi army, it would be nothing less than a complete disaster.
Hearing Kagerō's command, many of the Rock shinobi clenched their teeth in frustration.
Five jōnin had already been killed, and two Kage-level powerhouses had been overwhelmed.
They had wanted to stay and observe the battle more carefully, hoping the two powerhouses of the village could somehow turn things around.
But now that Kagerō had spoken, they had no choice.
The entire Rock shinobi force began retreating backward in obedience.
"Captain Yemaki, the Rock shinobi army is pulling back."
Inside Konoha's trench line, one of the Konoha ninja spoke to Mimura Yemaki with a smile he could not suppress.
As the Rock shinobi forces withdrew like a receding tide, everyone on Konoha's side unconsciously let out a breath of relief.
"…Yeah."
Mimura Yemaki gave a small nod.
He naturally understood why the Rock shinobi had chosen to retreat.
Still, Konoha's trench line had been built on elevated ground, so there was no need to worry too much about being dragged into the aftermath of the battle.
"Pssh… pssh…"
Seeing that Rōshi had fully entered a combat stance, white steam suddenly burst out from the back of Han's armor.
Before entering full Tailed Beast transformation, the greater part of Han's combat power came from that armor.
Using his own Boil Release as its power source and driving the thrusters built into it, he possessed speed and striking force that ranked among the finest in the shinobi world.
"Come on, then. Let me have a look…"
Yagami lazily waved the Ame no Murakumo Sword, then spread his arms slightly, as if openly inviting them to attack.
"How capable can the two of you be as jinchūriki, hm?"
His tone was casual, almost amused.
From the look on his face, it was obvious he did not regard the two of them as much of a threat at all.
"Lava Release: Scorching Rock Stream!"
The hot-tempered Rōshi was instantly irritated by Yagami's attitude and took the lead without hesitation.
The moment his hand seals were completed, he opened his mouth and spat out more than a dozen balls of molten lava toward Yagami.
As those blazing projectiles flew through the air, drops of red-hot magma rained down from them.
The ground below was scorched the moment it was touched, letting out sharp sizzling sounds.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade."
Yagami casually reversed his blade and slashed backhanded to the right.
In an instant, a massive wall of wind roared outward and collided head-on with the incoming magma spheres.
Boom!
The ninjutsu from both sides smashed into each other violently.
The lava balls burst apart in midair like exploding fireworks, and the resulting spray was blown back toward Rōshi's direction.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
But at that same moment, the lava spheres still coming from behind crashed continuously into the wind wall.
In only a few seconds, the wind barrier was burned straight through, and the remaining lava projectiles surged toward Yagami once again.
"Aah… right. Fire does have the advantage over Wind."
Yagami spoke as if he had only just remembered.
But there was not the slightest trace of tension on his face.
"Then let's see… can it burn through a slash too?"
Rumble—!!!
The moment his words fell, Yagami swung the blade again.
A golden slash more than twenty meters tall roared out across the battlefield.
The instant the lava collided with it, the magma was swallowed whole by the slash.
And then, without losing any momentum at all, the attack continued straight toward Rōshi.
"The Jet Mountain Strike!"
Just as Yagami was watching Rōshi, seemingly curious to see how he would deal with the slash, a loud shout suddenly rang out from above him.
Han had already leapt high into the air.
His right leg was raised overhead, two long streams of white steam trailing behind him as he came crashing down with terrifying force.
His descent was so fast that even the air screamed around him, the strike carrying an audible sonic boom.
"…Oh?"
The moment Yagami sensed Han's kick about to crash into him, his body instantly scattered into particles of light and shifted to the side.
Rumble—!!!
Han's kick missed him and slammed directly into the ground.
The earth split apart on impact, while the shockwave and clouds of dust blasted outward in all directions.
That single strike alone caused more damage than a buried explosive trap.
"Ohhh… scary, scary."
Yagami re-formed not far away, raising his brows slightly as though sincerely impressed.
"You're almost breaking the sound barrier with that speed, aren't you?"
His praise sounded generous, but Han's expression only grew darker.
If Yagami had not reacted in time by dispersing into light and moving away, that kick would have landed directly on him.
Of course, with his elemental body, even then it would not have been that simple.
Still, Han did not feel the slightest satisfaction from hearing that compliment.
Both of his attacks had nearly landed, yet Yagami had escaped them at the last possible instant each time.
That only filled Han with more frustration and disbelief.
"…What exactly is with your speed?!"
"I'm not using speed."
Yagami smiled faintly and stretched his arms out to either side before gathering the Ame no Murakumo Sword back into his hand.
"I'm teleporting, you know."
He was not lying.
Once his body turned into particles of light, it could hardly be described as mere movement speed anymore. Calling it teleportation was actually more fitting.
Rumble—
As soon as his words ended, the blade in Yagami's hand swept out once more.
Another golden slash roared toward Han.
"Pssh—! Pssh—!"
Steam exploded from the back of Han's armor again.
The thrusters immediately drove his body forward, letting him dodge the slash at high speed—
But at that very moment, the light in front of him suddenly flared.
Then, without warning, a leg wrapped in golden light rapidly expanded in his vision.
"—What?!"
Han's eyes widened.
He was already too late to evade.
He could only throw both arms up in front of his face at the last second, while the armor under his arms vented steam again to force his body into motion even faster.
The instant his arms rose into place, Yagami's kick came down.
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Boom!!!
Clang!
A deafening impact rang out together with a sharp cracking sound.
Han's body was blasted backward at terrifying speed, sent flying just as fast as he had charged in.
He smashed straight through two massive boulders before finally skidding across the ground for a long distance, only coming to a stop after carving a deep trail behind him.
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