A pitch-black blade appeared in Arin's hand.
And in the other—
A snow-white longsword.
The Dark Battle Blade.
The Six Paths: Ame-no-Murakumo Sword.
The next instant—
With a single step, Arin appeared directly before Sakumo Hatake.
At that same moment, Sakumo's short blade slashed toward him.
Arin crossed sword and blade together to block it.
Behind the mask, a brilliant smile spread across his face.
"I've caught up to you now, White Fang-senpai."
Sakumo's pupils contracted sharply.
Arin had actually matched his speed.
In an instant—
Blade light and sword light erupted across the battlefield.
Using only a single short sword, Sakumo fought evenly against Arin's dual-wielded blade and sword.
Just moments ago, Arin could barely keep up with Sakumo's movements.
Now things were completely different.
It was as though the two had become the same kind of ninja.
White crescent slashes collided with blue-black flames.
The violent winds twisted even the surrounding light itself.
Arin had abandoned all large-scale ninjutsu.
Every ounce of focus was poured into his sword and blade.
He had finally matched Sakumo in speed—
But his swordsmanship still lagged slightly behind.
So he compensated with flames, violent winds, and genjutsu.
The range of their attacks was not large.
Yet nothing could exist within a two-meter radius around either of them.
Trees instantly disintegrated into powder.
Even the earth itself collapsed beneath them.
It had become an absolute forbidden zone.
BOOM!!
Both Sakumo and Arin were blasted backward simultaneously.
Sakumo flipped through the air and landed atop a tree.
BOOM!
The entire tree instantly crumbled into dust.
Then Sakumo transformed into a white crescent slash and charged directly at Arin once more.
Arin rolled through the air.
His flaming wings adjusted his posture mid-flight.
Taking a deep breath, his body transformed into flames as he collided head-on with the white crescent.
The white crescent and raging flames smashed together in midair.
BOOM!!
Violent winds mixed with fire spread outward endlessly.
It appeared to be a clash between flames and slashes—
But within that collision, two swords and one blade were violently striking each other at insane speeds.
Neither side yielded.
BOOM!!
The flames pierced through the white crescent.
The white crescent extinguished the flames.
Both Sakumo and Arin landed on the ground simultaneously, backs facing each other.
Then in the very next moment—
They turned and charged at each other again.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Every violent collision created massive shockwaves.
Trees shattered endlessly.
The incomplete Game Instance gradually transformed into a barren wasteland.
Both men were fighting with everything they had.
Both belonged to the type of ninja who normally killed in a single strike—
Yet now their battle had turned into a prolonged war of attrition.
Again and again they clashed.
Again and again they separated.
Countless wounds appeared across both Sakumo and Arin.
The blood on Arin's body evaporated beneath blue-black flames, turning into crimson mist that wrapped around him.
He resembled a demonic flame lord descended upon the mortal world.
Sakumo, drenched entirely in scarlet blood, looked like an Asura born solely for battle.
Neither knew exhaustion.
Neither stopped fighting.
No one knew how much time had passed.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
Both men were breathing heavily now.
The flames around Arin were nearly extinguished.
Sakumo's clothes had completely fallen apart.
Even his short blade had shattered in half.
And yet—
The two still walked steadily toward one another.
Sakumo threw a punch into Arin's face.
Arin kicked Sakumo hard in the stomach.
This time neither attack carried much force.
Both men collapsed to the ground simultaneously.
Neither had the strength to rise again.
"Come on now, White Fang-senpai…"
Arin lay there unable to move, yet still mocked him endlessly.
"What happened to that killing intent you had earlier?"
"Did it die already?"
"Think about how badly the village cursed you."
"That was all my masterpiece."
Though admittedly—
It would have sounded more convincing if he could actually stand up while saying it.
Sakumo stared up at the sun overhead.
He could feel life slowly draining from his body.
Curiously, he asked:
"How will I be remembered?"
"Missing hero of Konoha—the White Fang, Sakumo Hatake."
Arin immediately gave his answer.
He staggered slowly to his feet.
"When all truths are finally revealed…"
"The sacrifice blade that opened the new era for Hyuga Arin."
A terrifying grin spread across his battered face.
Only a fragment of the mask still remained near his forehead, making the expression look especially eerie.
"How's that sound?"
Sakumo slowly rose to his feet as well.
Then suddenly—
He laughed.
"You're not as evil as I imagined."
"What are you talking about?"
Arin grinned back at him.
"I'm the one who ruined your life."
Sakumo shook his head slowly.
"The reason I became like this…"
"Wasn't because of you."
"It was simply…"
"Disappointment in the village."
He let out a long sigh while gripping the broken half of his blade.
Arin fell silent.
For the first time, seriousness appeared fully on his face.
One hand held the blade.
The other held the sword.
"Sakumo Hatake-senpai."
"This will be the final strike."
Sakumo nodded.
Then both men charged toward one another.
Their steps were slow—
Yet unwaveringly firm.
The two collided.
Arin's sword and blade pierced through Sakumo's body.
Sakumo's broken short blade stopped just short of Arin's neck.
Only a tiny remaining distance remained.
But that final distance—
Could never be crossed.
Leaning beside Sakumo's ear, Arin whispered softly:
"Sakumo Hatake-senpai."
"May your journey be peaceful."
A flicker of flame flashed across Arin's neck.
Even if the blade had reached him—
It still would not have killed him completely.
A faint smile appeared on Sakumo's face.
The light in his eyes gradually faded.
Slowly—
He closed them forever.
For a warrior—
The greatest honor was dying upon the battlefield.
Arin raised his head and looked toward the sun in the sky.
"Level up."
All injuries and exhaustion vanished instantly from his body.
Throughout the entire battle, he had deliberately held onto his level-up without using it.
That—
Was the final respect he offered Sakumo Hatake.
…
[Name: I'm Hyuga Arin]
[Class: Hunter]
[Sub-Class: Doctor]
[Level: Lv58 (0/277500)]
Arin lay in a recliner at the training ground while looking at the system panel before him.
Only three more levels remained before he completely entered the true Kage tier.
"Level 60 is Kage."
"Level 70 is Super Kage."
"Level 80 is Six Paths."
"My strength is still lacking somewhat…"
Arin sighed softly.
He estimated that even maxing out a single chakra nature would only place him at peak Kage level.
To reach Super Kage tier—
He would need to fully max at least three top-tier skills along with further level growth.
Now that his levels were increasing, the improvement to his overall combat ability had become enormous.
That was the advantage of late-game leveling.
As for experience—
[Experience Pool: 2,018,188]
It had nearly fallen below two million earlier.
Fortunately, Sakumo's hundred-thousand-plus experience reward kept it above the threshold.
"Big Brother Arin!!"
At that moment, Nawaki and Minato suddenly ran over urgently.
"Something terrible happened!"
"White Fang-senpai…"
"He's gone missing."
"Is that so?"
Arin calmly looked toward the white clouds drifting across the sky.
Though harmless in appearance—
They completely blocked out the sun.
Shadows descended over all of Konoha.
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