Chapter 207: The Wood Element Wind Eagle Armor!
"Wood Style!"
After completing her hand seals, trees burst forth from behind the creature that was strangling Tentō. Vines coiled tightly around Evilmoku's limbs.
Although exotic beasts naturally possessed a resistance to ninjutsu damage, this trait proved ineffective against control-type ninjutsu.
As Evilmoku thrashed against the restraints, Sarada's body began to tremble as well.
Tentō seized the opportunity to pry open Evilmoku's grip on his throat. He dropped to the ground and rolled away to create distance.
"You okay, Tentō?"
Shinki rushed to his side and helped him up.
"I'm fine," Tentō replied, panting. He stood up and twisted the dial on his belt. "Flame Bow!"
With the Flame Bow in hand, Tentō fired blazing red energy blasts at the just-freed Evilmoku as he advanced.
Evilmoku groaned in pain, staggering backward under the assault.
Forced into a corner, Evilmoku was met face-to-face by Tentō, whose Flame Bow transformed into a Flame Blade. Tentō swung it down, striking sparks on contact.
It looked like a fatal blow—Evilmoku collapsed to a knee, breathing heavily.
"Evilmoku, I'll seal you away today!"
As Tentō spoke, he twisted the dial on his belt once more. The Taiji symbol in the center of his belt projected a glowing seal bearing the word "Slash."
"Demon-Sealing Slash!"
The Flame Blade lightly touched the Slash Seal, then cleaved down toward Evilmoku.
"Ahhh!"
With Evilmoku's scream came an explosive blast and a thick cloud of white mist.
"Did it work…?"
Shinki muttered, staring into the mist that completely shrouded Evilmoku.
As the smoke cleared, Evilmoku stood there completely unharmed.
"I didn't expect an Armor Warrior to be this effective against exotic beasts. I underestimated you. Good thing I used shadow energy just in time to shield myself—or I really would've gone down in a gutter today. But now, Flame Dragon Knight, it's my turn!"
Dark energy gathered in Evilmoku's hand, forming a sinister-looking black longsword.
"Shadow Blade!"
Evilmoku leapt high into the air and came stabbing down at Tentō.
This time, it was Tentō who groaned in pain, stumbling back a few steps. But Evilmoku gave him no time to recover, relentlessly slashing at Tentō with the Shadow Blade.
Each strike sparked against the Flame Dragon Armor Tentō wore.
"Tentō!"
Sarada tried to rush forward but was intercepted by other Kara members who had just arrived.
"Where do you think you're going, little girl?"
Code stepped in front of her, grinning.
To guard against sneak attacks, Sarada was forced to pull back and keep her distance.
"Who are you?!"
"Kara Organization—Code."
Code introduced himself. Within Kara, he was in charge of the Ten Tails project, and he could even speak the Ten Tails' language.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was being double-teamed by Delta and Boro.
"Damn it!"
Even Sasuke, normally stoic and terse, cursed under his breath. Forced to face two enemies at once, he looked anxiously toward Tentō, who was being overwhelmed by Evilmoku.
Right now, the only one left who could help was Shinki.
But he stood frozen in place, body trembling from fear.
Back when he was guarding the Wind Daimyō, Shinki had encountered Evilmoku.
He hadn't been able to fight back at all.
"...Say goodbye to this world, Flame Dragon Knight!"
Evilmoku grabbed Tentō by the neck with one hand, slamming him to the ground. With the other hand, he raised the Shadow Blade and plunged it toward Tentō's chest.
A half-episode's worth of flashbacks later, Shinki regained his resolve.
"...Yeah. My foster father was right… Besides, the reason I came along in the first place was to prove myself."
Manipulating iron sand, Shinki shouted, "Magnet Style: Iron Sand Fist!"
A massive iron sand fist struck Evilmoku and sent him flying off of Tentō.
"You bastard!"
Evilmoku adjusted mid-air and landed steadily, glaring at Shinki with menace.
"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Surge!"
Waves of iron sand surged toward Evilmoku like a tidal wave.
Evilmoku leapt high into the air to evade. Among all exotic beasts, his jumping ability was unmatched.
"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Bullets!"
Shinki formed bullets out of iron sand and fired them at Evilmoku with incredible speed.
Since he was airborne with no leverage, Evilmoku couldn't dodge and had to take the hit head-on.
"These kinds of attacks don't work on my body!"
The bullets, which would easily pierce a human, struck Evilmoku without leaving a single mark.
"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Burial!"
Iron sand surged around Evilmoku, sealing him within a spherical prison.
"Shinki, right? Thanks for that," Tentō said, walking over to the gasping Shinki.
"I just… did it for the ninja world…"
The moment Shinki finished speaking, the sphere of iron sand sealing Evilmoku was shattered by a surge of shadow energy.
"If you want to die that badly, I'll grant your wish!"
In a blink, Evilmoku appeared right in front of Shinki, thrusting the Shadow Blade straight into his chest.
"Shinki!"
Sarada cried out as she watched him collapse.
At that moment, a meteor streaked across the sky, falling toward the Land of Iron.
A glowing green stone floated above Shinki's fallen body, radiating a soft green light that bathed him gently.
"The Light and Shadow Stone!"
"Not so fast!"
With everyone else preoccupied fighting their own opponents, only Tentō was in any position to stop Evilmoku.
"Army Beast Troops—hold him off!"
At Evilmoku's command, wave after wave of exotic beasts charged Tentō.
They swarmed him in three dense layers.
Just as Evilmoku was about to reach the Light and Shadow Stone, a flock of crows swooped down and obscured his vision.
"Damn these crows!"
"Shuyu, you made it!"
Sarada looked toward the direction Shuyu had arrived from, her joy quickly fading when she saw who followed—Tsubaki.
The nearly unconscious Shinki slowly opened his eyes under the healing light of the Wood Element Light and Shadow Stone. Sitting up, he fixed his gaze on the floating green stone in front of him.
He reached out his hand.
The moment his right hand touched the Wood Element Light and Shadow Stone, green light enveloped his entire body.
"Wood Element Wind Eagle Armor—merge!"
Blue armor manifested on Shinki's body.
"Windhawk Discs!"
He pulled the two blue rings from his shoulders and hurled them at the beasts swarming Tentō.
The discs spun through the horde, each pass taking down a beast.
In just a few breaths, most of the Army Beasts were eliminated.
After all, the specialty of the Wood Element Wind Eagle Armor—was speed.