With blood dripping from his mouth and impaled on the iron spears, Iwamado weakly coughed and said, “I… my instincts were right. You really are a threat!”
Hyuga Kyo, clutching his wounded leg with one hand and supporting himself on the ground with the other, kept a vigilant eye on Iwamado.
From the chakra response in Iwamado’s body, he still had strong vitality, so his current weakness might just be a ruse.
Hyuga Kyo wouldn’t underestimate any experienced elite jonin who had survived wars, so he stayed cautious.
Iwamado continued weakly, “Heh, you’re a cautious one. Aren’t you going to come over and finish me off?”
A suspicion arose in Hyuga Kyo’s mind: “Is he trying to lure me closer?”
Before Hyuga Kyo could think further, Iwamado suddenly broke free from the iron spears, turning and swiftly escaping into the depths of the forest.
“He’s trying to escape!?” Hyuga Kyo was momentarily stunned, then quickly thought, “I can’t let him get away!”
The secret of the Third Kazekage Puppet must not be leaked, so almost instinctively, Hyuga Kyo extended his arms and activated Rotational Ruyi with all his might.
Under the immense suction force, Iwamado was almost effortlessly pulled back towards Hyuga Kyo.
Ignoring his injuries, Hyuga Kyo unleashed a full set of Eight Trigram Palms, targeting vital points to eliminate this formidable enemy.
Bang, bang, bang…
The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the forest.
From the tactile feedback of his palm strikes, Hyuga Kyo could tell that Iwamado hadn’t had time to use his Earth Style hardening jutsu this time, so the series of Eight Trigrams Palms should have at least injured his internal organs severely, if not shattered his vital points.
Just as Hyuga Kyo predicted, Iwamado’s body fell to the ground like a pile of mush, collapsing at Hyuga Kyo’s feet.
As Hyuga Kyo sighed in relief, Iwamado suddenly sprang up, grabbing Hyuga Kyo and, in a raspy voice, said, “Leaf’s young genius, come to the underworld with me.”
Ss…
As the sound of fuses igniting filled the air, Hyuga Kyo realized that Iwamado had modified his body, implanting numerous specially crafted explosive tags beneath his skin. The flow of chakra within his body had masked the chakra from the tags, evading Hyuga Kyo’s detection.
Looking at Iwamado’s calm face, even in death, Hyuga Kyo had a moment of epiphany.
From start to finish, Iwamado never intended to escape. His feigned retreat was merely a ploy to get close to Hyuga Kyo for this final strike.
Boom, boom, boom…
The explosion’s shockwave engulfed a large swath of the forest, flattening the area. Smoke and dust filled the air as the ground trembled!
In the distance.
Having just ended the last enemy with a final stab, Shisui stood amidst a scene of chaos. Around him lay nine bodies, one belonging to a member of the Iwagakure Execution Squad, the rest dressed as rogue ninjas, likely those supported by Iwagakure in the Land of Bears.
Just as Shisui sheathed his short sword and prepared to search for his teammates, a massive explosion from afar shook the ground beneath his feet.
“What happened!?”
Shocked, he immediately rushed towards the explosion.
Elsewhere.
Kakashi withdrew his blood-stained hand from his enemy’s heart, flicking off the residual blood.
Breathing heavily, he gazed in the direction of the explosion.
With his experience, he could tell that such a massive explosion wasn’t caused by ordinary jutsu or explosive tags, his expression turning grim.
Though a recent battle had drained his chakra and he had eliminated nine enemies, he was almost out of fighting strength. Nevertheless, he began limping toward the explosion’s source without hesitation.
On the last battlefield.
Gai, clutching his injured left arm, wore a solemn expression.
Surrounded and fighting fiercely, he worried not only about his battle but also about his fellow members of Team Eleven. The enemy had sent nine ninjas against him, so there must be even more attacking his teammates.
Suddenly, a tremendous explosion drew everyone’s attention.
Gai’s heart sank with a foreboding sense of dread.
The leader of the Iwagakure Execution Squad looked shocked, abandoning the injured Gai to lead eight rogue ninjas towards the explosion.
Gai hesitated briefly before following them.
At the explosion’s epicenter.
As the dust settled, Hyuga Kyo’s figure slowly emerged.
Surveying the surroundings with a calm expression, he sighed lightly.
In the final moment, Hyuga Kyo used Rotational Ruyi to push Iwamado away. However, the force of the self-detonation was so great that Rotational Ruyi couldn’t repel all the shockwaves and flames, leaving Hyuga Kyo with severe injuries. His body bore multiple fractures and burns, making him look quite disheveled.
Iwamado, on the other hand, was obliterated, leaving only a fragment of his Iwagakure forehead protector lying on the ground.
Dragging his injured leg, Hyuga Kyo stumbled over, picking up Iwamado’s forehead protector and placing it in his ninja pouch.
He had won this life-and-death battle.
A year ago, in front of Iwamado, Hyuga Kyo was just a minor figure, easily overlooked, not even worth the extra chakra to finish off.
But today, a year later, Iwamado was dead, at the hands of this once insignificant figure.
For a moment, Hyuga Kyo felt a bit dazed, filled with emotion.
This battle marked his first confrontation with an elite jonin. Although he relied on Rotational Ruyi for a surprise attack, his performance throughout the fight was commendable.
Of course, apart from being deceived by Iwamado at the end.
After storing the Third Kazekage Puppet, Hyuga Kyo sat down cross-legged and began bandaging his wounds with a calm demeanor, as if merely tying his shoelaces.
At this time, nine ninjas appeared before him.
The leader was a member of the Iwagakure Execution Squad, with the other eight dressed as rogue ninjas.
The Execution Squad leader scanned the battlefield, then yelled at Hyuga Kyo, “Damn it, where is our captain?”
Having finished bandaging his wounds, Hyuga Kyo slowly stood up and replied indifferently, “You’ve already seen the outcome, so why act so surprised?”
“No… no way! How could our captain lose!?”
“The reason he lost is simple: he met me, that’s all.”
With that, Hyuga Kyo charged towards them without hesitation.
The battle with Iwamado had brought him many gains, but his greatest gain was the fearless heart of a stronger!
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