Hyuga Arin's body stiffened instantly as he looked at the one who had spoken.
He could practically feel a flashing DANGER sign hovering over his head—and he'd already started thinking about what to write in his will.
With abundant chakra, he could indeed be considered elite jōnin-level.
But no one ever said he could fight a Kage!!!
Should he activate his Awakening Skill again? That felt no different from courting death.
Hyuga Arin told himself a cold joke in his heart.
"Answer me, Konoha ninja," Ōnoki said softly. A terrifying killing intent burst forth from his body, pressing down entirely on Hyuga Arin.
Crap.
He was still wearing a mask and dressed in ANBU combat gear. There was no way to shake off his Konoha identity in this outfit.
Trying to bluff his way through was completely impossible.
Would Ōnoki believe him if he said he was an Iwagakure undercover agent?
The killing intent washed over his entire body. Hyuga Arin felt himself going rigid and slowly closed his eyes.
"Would you rather die than answer?" Ōnoki frowned slightly. Just now, he had tried to break that blue barrier, but no matter what method he used, he couldn't shake it.
He suspected it was a secret weapon Konoha had prepared specifically to deal with Iwagakure. To better understand it, he hadn't used Dust Release to destroy it outright.
During his brief investigation, he discovered that the barrier was composed of an extremely peculiar form of chakra—vastly different from ordinary chakra.
Before he could fully figure it out, the barrier suddenly stopped.
And then—
This short ANBU ninja appeared. Judging by his build, he looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old.
Such a young ANBU member… had Konoha produced another genius?
The killing intent bearing down on Hyuga Arin intensified even further.
"I've got it." Hyuga Arin opened his eyes.
It wasn't some noble resolve to die without speaking—he had been sensing the position of chakra outside his body.
His figure vanished instantly.
A small stone dropped to the ground.
Ōnoki's pupils shrank, his voice turning sharp.
"Flying Thunder God!!!"
The legendary technique with which the Second Hokage once dominated the ninja world, suppressing the other four villages during the First Great Ninja War—
It had appeared in Konoha once again?!
"We absolutely cannot let him escape!!!"
…
Hyuga Arin appeared in a forest, his face deathly pale.
This distance was definitely over ten kilometers. His chakra had been completely drained—he could even feel his life slipping away.
"Level up."
This wasn't the time to worry about experience.
[Name: Hyuga Arin]
[Class: Hunter]
[Sub-class: Doctor]
[Level: Lv.39 (0/31,500)]
[Chakra / Nen: 8,110 / 6,110 + 1,000 + 500 + 500]
[Essence: 3,808]
[Experience Pool: 207,450]
As for the items dropped from the dungeon just now, Hyuga Arin wasn't worried at all. Everything was stored inside his Awakening Skill—he could retrieve it whenever he found the time.
He pulled out a card from his inventory.
[Consumable: Retry G-380]
"Use! Destination—inside the borders of the Land of Fire!!"
As long as it was a place he had been to before, this card could take him back there.
The card vanished from his hand. A surge of white air wrapped around Hyuga Arin's body, carrying him rapidly toward the distance.
"Safe." Hyuga Arin finally let out a breath of relief. As long as he made it back into the Land of Fire, he'd be safe. There was no way Ōnoki would chase him straight into Fire Country.
Just then—
He turned his head and saw a short figure, also wrapped in a surge of air, rapidly closing in on him.
"Isn't this a bit too overpowered?!" Hyuga Arin's face changed drastically.
It was the Tsuchikage—Ōnoki.
This card's flight speed was insanely fast, yet Ōnoki was still keeping up.
And it wasn't like they had some blood feud, right?!
Ōnoki locked onto Hyuga Arin, suddenly accelerating as he drew close. His fist, encased in rock, smashed straight toward him.
The air surge shattered.
"DAMN IT!!!" Hyuga Arin could only raise his battle blade to block.
BOOM!
Hyuga Arin was sent plummeting toward the ground.
His [Consumable: Retry G-380]—
Had been forcibly interrupted!!
Hyuga Arin slapped several kunai toward the ground with Bear Palm. The kunai were much faster than his falling body, embedding themselves into the earth in an instant.
At the same time, Ōnoki caught up to him. A transparent barrier formed between his hands.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!!"
The transparent barrier rapidly expanded toward Hyuga Arin. In just one breath, it would completely erase him.
"Goodbye!"
Hyuga Arin's figure vanished in midair, leaving Ōnoki's Dust Release to envelop nothing but empty space.
Hyuga Arin reappeared on the ground.
Ōnoki dropped rapidly as well, forming seals with one hand. Rock wrapped around his left fist as he descended like a meteor.
"Substitution Technique!!"
Hyuga Arin's figure flickered to another location.
Ōnoki's fist smashed fully into the ground.
BOOOOM!!!
The earth shattered outward in all directions, the cracks spreading even to where Hyuga Arin had substituted.
"That's insane!!! Is this really something a human can do?!" Hyuga Arin stared at the fractured land.
The destruction radius was at least five kilometers—meaning a single punch had devastated an area over ten kilometers across.
Suddenly realizing something, Hyuga Arin hurriedly slapped another kunai away with Bear Palm.
The ground was no longer stable enough to stand on. The entire area was collapsing and shaking—
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!!
Ōnoki's strike had literally triggered an earthquake.
Ōnoki looked up at Hyuga Arin, his body wrapped in air currents as he shot straight toward him.
"Substitution Technique!!"
Hyuga Arin vanished again.
Far beyond visible range, Hyuga Arin reappeared, his face completely drained of color.
"Level up!!"
None of his abilities gave him any sense of security right now.
Only the Substitution Technique was keeping him alive.
Fully restored once more, Hyuga Arin suddenly felt a massive shadow looming over him. He looked up—
A mountain peak was blocking out the sun as it came crashing straight down toward him.
"Earth Release: Ultra-Light Boulder Technique!!"
Atop the mountain, Ōnoki made a throwing motion downward.
Hyuga Arin didn't dare hesitate. He instantly slapped another kunai away, watching it vanish from sight.
The Substitution Technique activated yet again.
At this point, he was utterly no match for this monster.
This time, when he looked into the distance, he could already see the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass.
He had run all the way from the central battlefield to here.
Then he looked farther, toward the depths of the Land of Grass—
And the corner of his mouth twitched.
Ōnoki was still flying toward him at extreme speed.
"What kind of grudge is this?! What did I even do to deserve this?!" Hyuga Arin was on the verge of tears as he slapped yet another kunai away.
Before Ōnoki landed, this was the only thing he could do.
Any hesitation at all, and he'd die in Ōnoki's hands.
"Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!!"
Just then—
BOOM!
A dull, heavy sound rang out. A shockwave swept outward.
Hyuga Arin, who was about to substitute again, froze mid-motion.
"Sorry I'm late," a black-clad figure said in a deep voice.
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
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100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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