Akashō's eyes suddenly gleamed.
"Right, any battle definitely needs a command center, a gathering point. That has to be where the most people are."
"I heard that old man say before that Sand Village started the war against Leaf Village because their Kazekage, the strongest, went missing. They suspected he was kidnapped by Leaf Village."
"Without their strongest fighter, the rest probably aren't much stronger than Pakura."
Akashō weighed their strength and thought the plan was feasible.
"Let's do it."
Excited, Akashō prepared to track down another squad of Sand ninjas to find their base. Even if it wasn't Sand ninjas, Leaf Village ninjas should know, and if not, he could always take a stroll around the Leaf base.
Any opportunity is fair game.
But before he could move, black shadows suddenly appeared at the edge of the distance. In just a few breaths, they began to grow larger.
"Humans?"
Akashō narrowed his eyes. "Ninjas."
And there were quite a few of them.
A smirk curved his lips—after searching high and low, someone just walked right into his hands.
"Quick, right ahead!"
Akashō stood still, waiting silently as the approaching ninjas closed in, then expanded his position, encircling them.
"Yo, we meet again!"
The two Sand upper ninjas Akashō had let go glared coldly at him.
Before they arrived, all they saw was rubble and a pool of blood and flesh—undoubtedly Pakura's corpse.
Rasa had said that if they couldn't bring Pakura back alive, they had to bring back Kokushibo's body. Though they couldn't harm the two upper ninjas in the current situation, Pakura had died for them, and they couldn't swallow that anger.
Hearing the words, Akashō raised an eyebrow.
"Have we met before?"
The Sand upper ninja's mouth twitched. "I was Pakura's teammate!"
"Ah."
Akashō seemed to recall, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"Those cowards who only escaped by relying on women's sacrifice."
"You!!!"
The two Sand upper ninjas' eyes widened with rage, almost bursting into flames.
But out of fear of Akashō, they suppressed their anger, not charging directly at him.
"This time I brought over a hundred elite Sand ninjas. Let's see how arrogant you can be!"
"Wind Squad, long-range attack!"
From the surrounding circle, a dozen Sand ninjas drew massive fans from their backs.
"Wind Release, Wind Blade!"
In just an instant, dozens of barely visible wind blades shot toward Akashō from all directions.
Akashō frowned; so not all jutsu required hand signs.
It was too late to create a Blade of Living Flesh with Blood Demon Art now. Even though Kokushibo's demon body could endure it, it still hurt.
When Pakura's Super Steam Kill had hit him before, Akashō had almost lost control. It felt like his brain was being ripped out. If not for maintaining Kokushibo's image, he would have curled up and cried in a hole.
"Moon Breathing, Fifth Form, Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy!"
But Moon Breathing had techniques that didn't require a sword.
Akashō spun his body like a top, the pink-and-white circular blades spreading outward, slicing the incoming wind blades to pieces.
"Puppet Squad, move out!"
"Wind Squad, harass when you can. Others, cover Wind Squad and Puppet Squad!"
As Akashō's blades shattered the wind attacks, the Sand upper ninja issued more commands. He hadn't expected to kill Akashō with just this, after all, this was someone who had killed Pakura. Akashō's formidable recovery alone had been headache-inducing.
Yet despite his recovery, he seemed wary of Wind Squad's attacks. Perhaps even his healing came with limits—a good sign.
After smashing one wave of jutsu, Akashō quickly created a longsword with Blood Demon Art. Dozens of Puppet Squad puppets flew in from all directions. Akashō's Blade of Living Flesh evolved, sprouting three short blades from the eye-patterned edge.
Facing so many Sand ninjas, Akashō no longer held back.
"Moon Breathing, Fourteenth Form, Catastrophe, Tenman Crescent Moon!"
In a blink, massive purple wind blades spread tens of meters around Akashō, the circular blades shredding every puppet into fragments.
"What!?"
The Sand ninjas froze. Even the two leading upper ninjas were shocked.
They knew Akashō's sword techniques were deadly against puppeteers—but only in one-on-one fights. Before, his wind blades had been about puppet-size. Now, they were monstrously large and countless.
Amid flying dust and puppet fragments, Akashō's six eyes fixed on the two upper ninjas.
"What's wrong? Keep going."
"F-Full force attack!!!"
The Sand upper ninja roared, their faces twisted with fury.
"Moon Breathing, Seventh Form, Mirror of Misfortune, Moonlit!"
Before any ninja could react to the aftershock, Akashō swung his evolving longsword from below. Five massive purple wind blades cut through the earth, scattering toward a group of Sand ninjas.
Unlike other Moon Breathing forms, this one had no circular blades, but the wind split into countless small blades midair, hitting those trying to dodge.
"Ah!!!"
After screams, twenty or thirty Sand ninjas lay on the ground—some decapitated, some bisected, some injured, some missing limbs, all crying out.
Other Sand ninjas seized the chance to attack Akashō in panic.
Akashō moved without pause. After clearing one side, he swung toward the other.
"Moon Breathing, Eighth Form, Moon-Dragon Ringtail!"
...
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