Swish! Swish!
Several kunai shot forward.
Crackling with intense electric arcs, the Lightning Blade Fang swept through the air in repeated slashes.
Clang! Clang!
Amid a shower of sparks, the twin blades effortlessly knocked aside or sliced apart the refined iron kunai.
"So sharp?" Anko's pupils contracted as she instantly retreated at high speed.
"Think you can escape?"
Black Hoe Thunder Fang sneered.
He swung his twin Lightning Blades through the air.
Crackle!
Two dazzling bolts of lightning, writhing like thunder serpents, shot straight toward Anko.
Wind Release: Wind Cutter!
Anko's gaze sharpened. Her hands flashed through a series of seals before she exhaled sharply.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two razor-sharp wind blades burst forth, cleaving the incoming lightning apart before continuing toward the relentlessly advancing Black Hoe Thunder Fang.
"That's... Wind Release?" Uzuki Yugao, who had been preparing to rush over and help, looked visibly surprised.
As far as she knew, Anko only possessed Fire Release affinity. She had never expected her to have already mastered Wind Release nature transformation as well.
Crackle! Clang!
Black Hoe Thunder Fang's expression changed. Crossing both Lightning Blades in front of him, he barely dispersed the wind blades amid violent flashes of electricity, forcing him back several steps.
Lightning Release: Thunder Fang!
He raised both swords high into the air.
The previously clear sky instantly darkened.
Crackle... Crackle...
Terrifying lightning converged overhead, intertwining into an immense mass of electricity that made everyone's scalp tingle.
Crackle!
Boom! Boom!
He drove both blades into the ground.
Violent currents erupted outward like countless dragons and serpents, racing across the earth toward Anko.
"Tsk... As expected of the legendary Lightning Blade Fang..." Anko's eyes gleamed with excitement as she admired the swords' terrifying power.
"I want them!"
Even as she spoke, her hands had already completed another string of seals.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
Whoosh—!
A violent gale exploded outward.
The ground was violently torn apart, carving an enormous trench as the raging wind blasted straight toward Black Hoe Thunder Fang.
Boom! Boom!
Brilliant flashes erupted as thunderous explosions echoed through the battlefield.
The powerful wind collided head-on with the surging lightning, causing both attacks to cancel each other out.
Although Wind Release naturally countered Lightning Release, there was no denying that Black Hoe Thunder Fang's Lightning Release, amplified by the Lightning Blade Fang, was terrifyingly powerful.
"Anko, that girl..."
Not far away, after avoiding several stray bolts of lightning, Kurenai glanced toward Anko's battle.
"She's already got her eyes on those swords?"
She couldn't help feeling speechless.
She had clearly heard what Anko had just shouted.
Though a simple and brutal weapon like the Lightning Blade Fang really did suit her straightforward personality.
Kurenai chuckled softly.
The Lightning Blade Fang's power was indeed extraordinary.
However, Anko hadn't only awakened Wind Release.
The Devil Fruit Akira had given her granted her both Wind and Lightning Release—two chakra natures renowned for their offensive power.
After several days of intensive training, she had already mastered the nature transformations of both.
If she managed to obtain the Lightning Blade Fang, her combat strength would undoubtedly rise to another level.
Whoosh—!
A shrill whistle tore through the air.
The enormous Executioner's Blade ripped through the atmosphere as it came crashing down toward Kurenai.
"You still have time to worry about someone else?"
Seizing the opening, Zabuza swung his massive blade without mercy.
"Goodbye, foolish woman!"
"Senior Kurenai!"
On the opposite side near the river, Uzuki Yugao and Inuzuka Hana's expressions changed dramatically as they shouted and tried to rush over.
"Don't even think about it... Thousand Flying Water Death!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Moisture condensed into countless senbon needles that poured down like a torrential rain.
Forced back, Uzuki Yugao and Inuzuka Hana had no choice but to dodge.
The strength displayed by the seemingly young Haku shocked them both.
He clearly wasn't merely an elite Chunin—he had already reached the level of a Special Jonin.
Not only could he perform one-handed hand seals, but he also possessed the Ice Release bloodline limit.
Most troublesome of all, he had no intention of confronting them head-on. Instead, he continually retreated while skillfully delaying them, making him incredibly difficult to deal with.
Even Gray Fang and his brothers had already suffered numerous injuries.
Slash!
The Executioner's Blade cleaved downward.
Yet the Kurenai who should have been split in two remained completely unharmed.
There was no blood.
Not even a single strand of hair had been cut.
"What?!"
Zabuza's pupils shrank violently.
"A genjutsu?"
He immediately retreated while forming hand seals.
"Release!"
However, the Kurenai standing before him didn't disappear.
Instead—
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several graceful figures suddenly appeared around him, moving at blinding speed.
Each charged at him with a kunai in hand.
Phantom Body Flicker Technique!
"Damn it!"
Zabuza's expression darkened as he swung the Executioner's Blade over and over, slicing through each approaching figure.
Yet his blade passed straight through them as though they were mere illusions.
But in the very next instant—
One of the figures that had just been "cut" suddenly accelerated.
The icy kunai in her hand flashed across Zabuza's throat.
"Argh!"
"Lord Zabuza!"
Haku's expression changed drastically.
Meanwhile, Uzuki Yugao and Inuzuka Hana were overjoyed.
They stared in astonishment at the multiple Kurenai figures.
"That's not an ordinary clone or illusion, is it?" Inuzuka Hana asked in confusion.
"No..." Uzuki Yugao, who had spent years serving in the Anbu, exclaimed,
"That's Uchiha Shisui's Phantom Body Flicker Technique!"
"It's the perfect combination of illusion and reality. The enemy can't distinguish what's real from what's fake. Every figure appears intangible, but because of the overwhelming speed, every single one of them is actually the real body!"
Splash!
The Zabuza whose throat had been cut dissolved into a puddle of water.
However, Kurenai—whose Red Eye had already seen through the substitution—merely smiled faintly.
Without anyone noticing, she had already completed another set of hand seals.
Slamming both palms onto the ground, she shouted:
Earth Release: Earth Spears!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Not far away, Zabuza had just raised the Executioner's Blade to attack again when a sense of deadly danger surged through him.
Countless razor-sharp stone spears erupted from the ground like a violent storm, mercilessly piercing through rocks and trees alike.
"AAAAAHHH!"
A miserable scream rang out as blood sprayed into the air.
You can read extra chapters ahead on Patreon if you're interested:
patreon.com/Luna023