Throughout this entire arc, Guren was first beaten half to death by the Three-Tails.
Then she was brutally ambushed and battered by Kakashi and his team, losing consciousness several times, and even getting stabbed by Kabuto.
Yet for Yukimaru's sake, she kept fighting. She even unleashed a forbidden technique that consumed her very life force — Death Acupressure — to restore massive amounts of chakra and temporarily seal the Three-Tails.
But after passing out for just thirty seconds, she woke up inside the beast's belly and was fighting alongside Naruto as lively as ever.
Speaking of which, that technique's name was quite misleading... it really didn't live up to its "death" title.
Even more incredible: after that, she fought for ages against Rin in her spectral form. They plunged off a cliff together in a mutual kill attempt, yet Guren still survived stubbornly...
She even lived peacefully all the way through to after the Fourth Great Ninja War, eventually bringing Yukimaru to Konoha Village to visit Naruto...
Aoi shook his head helplessly. If Guren could survive all that, Neji Hyūga would definitely be turning in his grave in protest!
"Who's there?!"
Gozu spun around sharply, fixing his gaze directly on Aoi. "A child? What's a child doing here?!"
"Leave Guren behind, and I might consider letting you live." The words had barely left his mouth when Aoi curled his lip. Man, talking like this really makes me sound like a villain...
But then again, Aoi had never really been a "heroic" shinobi to begin with.
"An enemy?!"
Gozu — the man known as the Ox — raised his fist violently, his muscles swelling to three times their normal size, and smashed it down toward Aoi.
But Aoi didn't dodge or retreat; he simply met the blow with one light punch of his own.
Crack...
Gozu's powerful arm instantly bent and twisted at a grotesque angle, snapping completely backward. White bone jutted out through torn flesh — a gruesome sight to behold.
But Gozu truly was one of Orochimaru's toughest test subjects. Even grievously wounded, he didn't lose his fighting spirit. Instead, he roared and charged again, swinging his other fist.
"Die!"
BOOM...
This time, Aoi added just a little bit more strength to his strike. The result was catastrophic: half of Gozu's body exploded into a shower of blood and gore.
From the very start, this wasn't a battle between equals...
Though, if Gozu had chosen to use his Mud Release to stall and evade right from the beginning, he might have lived a few seconds longer.
With Gozu dealt with, Aoi walked straight toward Guren.
The beautiful, mature woman lay quietly encased within crystal, looking for all the world like a priceless work of art...
"Wake up."
Aoi gently shattered the crystal shell. But the very moment it crumbled into shards, a sharp crystal blade shot up suddenly from the mud beneath, aiming straight for Aoi's jaw.
It had to be said — Guren had timed and positioned her ambush absolutely perfectly...
"That is exactly what makes you so captivating."
Aoi's eyes gleamed brightly. He didn't move an inch, letting the sharp blade strike against the dragon scales of his Serpent Sage Mode.
The crystal shattered into countless fragments upon impact.
As her weapon broke apart, a glimmer of despair flashed in Guren's eyes. An enemy of this caliber... I wouldn't stand a chance even at my full strength!
"Did Orochimaru send you?"
"Orochimaru? He isn't qualified to command me." Aoi smiled and helped her stand up. "I came here specifically for you. And I have been waiting a very long time for this moment."
"For me?"
Aoi nodded with a smile. "I have been waiting for you since the very beginning of this story — waiting for you to break free from all this chaos..."
Trying to take Guren away while so many powerful figures were gathered here would have been foolish.
The painful memory of his failure when facing Hanzo the Salamander still reminded Aoi clearly: Never underestimate any character in this story!
Dealing with just Obito and Deidara alone would have been difficult enough, let alone the main protagonist Naruto and his team...
Some plotlines... you really just shouldn't meddle in them!
Guren didn't understand what Aoi was talking about. She only knew one thing: she had to survive. "I must stay alive. Yukimaru... he is still waiting for me!"
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