Hyuga Akira's body instantly stiffened as he looked at the person who had spoken.
He could almost feel a flashing "danger" sign over his head. He had even begun thinking about what to write in his last words.
With sufficient chakra, he might count as an elite jonin—but no one said he could fight a Kage!!!
Should he activate his awakened skill again? That would be no different from seeking death.
Akira told himself a cold joke in his head.
"Answer me, Konoha ninja," Ōnoki said softly. A crushing killing intent burst from his body, pressing entirely onto Akira.
This was bad.
He was still wearing a mask and ANBU combat gear. There was no way to shake off his identity as a Konoha ninja.
Pretending to be an Iwa spy clearly wouldn't work.
The killing intent swept through him, and Akira felt his body go rigid. He slowly closed his eyes.
"Would you rather die than answer?" Ōnoki frowned slightly. Earlier, he had tried to break the blue barrier but failed despite many attempts.
He suspected it was some secret weapon Konoha intended to use against Iwa. Wanting to study it further, he had refrained from destroying it with Dust Release.
After examining it briefly, he discovered that the barrier was composed of a very unusual chakra, quite different from ordinary chakra.
Before he could fully analyze it, the barrier suddenly stopped—and this short ANBU ninja appeared.
Judging by his build, he was only about twelve or thirteen years old.
Another prodigy from Konoha?
The killing intent pressing down on Akira intensified.
"I felt it," Akira said as he opened his eyes. It wasn't defiance—he had been sensing the position of chakra outside his body.
His figure vanished instantly.
A small stone fell to the ground.
Ōnoki's pupils shrank, his voice rising sharply.
"Flying Thunder God?!"
The legendary technique of the Second Hokage, the jutsu that once dominated the ninja world during the First Great Ninja War—
It had appeared in Konoha again?!
"We must keep him here at all costs!!!"
…
Akira appeared in a forest, his face pale.
That distance had definitely exceeded ten kilometers. His chakra had been completely drained, and he could even feel his life approaching its limit.
"Level up."
This was no time to worry about experience points.
[Name: I'm Xiao Ming]
[Class: Hunter]
[Sub-class: Doctor]
[Level: lv39 (0/31500)]
[Chakra/Nen: 8110 / 6110 +1000 +500 +500]
[Essence: 3808]
[Experience Pool: 207450]
As for the loot dropped in the dungeon, Akira wasn't worried. Those items were stored inside his awakened skill; he could retrieve them later.
He pulled out a card from his inventory:
[Consumable: Again G-380]
"Use it! Destination: within the Land of Fire's borders!"
As long as he had been somewhere before, this card could return him there.
The card vanished. A wave of white energy enveloped Akira and carried him rapidly through the air.
"Safe now," Akira sighed in relief. Once he reached the Land of Fire, he would be secure. Ōnoki would never chase him across the border.
Then he turned his head—
And saw a short figure wrapped in a shockwave, rapidly closing in.
"Are you serious?!" Akira's face changed drastically.
It was the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.
The speed of the card was already incredible, yet Ōnoki was still catching up.
And it wasn't like they had some deep personal grudge!
Ōnoki accelerated, closing the distance. His fist, encased in rock, smashed forward.
The shockwave shattered.
"Damn it!!!" Akira hastily formed his warblade to block.
"Bang!"
Akira was sent plummeting toward the ground.
His [Consumable: Again G-380] had been interrupted.
Akira slapped several kunai toward the ground with Bear Palm. They flew faster than his falling body, embedding themselves in the earth within a single breath.
At the same time, Ōnoki descended beside him, forming hand seals. A transparent barrier appeared between his hands.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Technique!"
The transparent barrier rapidly enveloped Akira. In a single breath, it would erase him.
"See you!" Akira vanished in midair, leaving the Dust Release to close on empty space.
He reappeared on the ground.
Ōnoki dropped after him, forming seals with one hand. Rock encased his left fist as he plunged like a meteor.
"Substitution Technique!"
Akira's figure vanished again.
Ōnoki's punch struck the earth.
"BOOM!"
The ground shattered outward, the cracks spreading even to where Akira had substituted.
"This is insane!!! Is this even humanly possible?!" Akira stared at the fractured earth. The destruction had a radius of at least five kilometers—one punch had devastated an area ten kilometers across.
Realizing something, Akira hurriedly slapped another kunai forward with Bear Palm.
The ground had completely collapsed. There was nowhere left to stand, the earth rumbling violently.
Ōnoki's strike had literally caused an earthquake.
Ōnoki looked up, his body wrapped in a shockwave as he rushed straight at Akira.
"Substitution Technique!"
Akira vanished again.
Far beyond the visible range, he reappeared, his face pale.
"Level up!!"
None of his abilities gave him any sense of security now. Only the Substitution Technique was keeping him alive.
Restored to full condition, Akira suddenly felt a shadow fall over him.
He looked up—
A mountain peak was blotting out the sun, crashing straight down toward him.
"Earth Release: Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique!"
From atop the mountain, Ōnoki made a throwing motion.
Akira had no time to hesitate. He hurled another kunai and watched it vanish from sight.
Substitution activated again.
He was completely outmatched by this monster.
This time, as he reappeared, he could see the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass in the distance.
He had already fled from the central battlefield all the way here.
Looking toward the Land of Grass, he twitched at the sight—
Ōnoki was still flying toward him at terrifying speed.
"What kind of grudge is this?!?" Akira nearly cried, slapping another kunai away.
It was the only thing he could do. Any hesitation meant death.
"Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!"
Just then—
"Bang!"
A dull impact sounded, and a shockwave spread outward.
Akira, who had been about to substitute again, froze.
"Sorry I'm late," a black-clad figure said in a low voice.
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