Ginkaku was slightly startled by the cold light of the wind cutter, then sneered, "You think you can beat me just because you changed to a new ninja tool?"
"Do I still need to think it?" Fūmori Masaki heard this and smiled faintly, "Killing you is quite simple."
A simple sentence expressed disdain for Ginkaku. How could Ginkaku not be angry? He gritted his teeth and said, "Who gave you such confidence?"
"It's not just me; everyone else thinks so. Otherwise, why do you think my teacher and companions so easily agreed to my request to let me face you alone?" Fūmori Masaki said.
Ginkaku was slightly stunned. Indeed, when Fūmori Masaki expressed his intention to go alone, the Second Hokage and the others showed no signs of worry; they just nodded and went to deal with Kinkaku. After Fūmori Masaki pointed it out, he realized that the others hadn't even taken him seriously.
Thinking about it practically, Ginkaku couldn't even use Ninjutsu. Even if he could still use Taijutsu, his combat power was reduced by at least half. Even with Nine-Tails Chakra, any member of the Second Hokage's guard squad had the confidence to face him alone. It was only because Kinkaku was present that Ginkaku seemed to pose any threat.
And now, Kinkaku had been surrounded by the Second Hokage and the others, leaving only Ginkaku, who couldn't even use Ninjutsu. With Fūmori Masaki, one of the best in the guard squad, facing him alone, what was there to worry about?
Upon realizing this, Ginkaku felt extremely humiliated. To be looked down upon to this extent—in the end, it was all caused by the person in front of him!
"Besides, do you think you can still win?" Fūmori Masaki continued, "Look around. Your brother is trapped by my teacher and companions, and the others are surrounded by our forces. It's no longer a time when you can suppress us with numbers."
Ginkaku looked around. The rest of the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad were surrounded by a large number of Konoha Ninja and Kumogakure Ninja. Even as elites, under such massive numerical suppression, there was no possibility of a counterattack. Defeat was only a matter of time. If he and Kinkaku joined in, perhaps things would be different, but now both of them were stretched too thin.
It was precisely because everyone else was tied up that Fūmori Masaki and Ginkaku could chat like this. If the battle were intense, there would be no time for idle talk.
"Damn traitors! You should have been dealing with those Konoha Ninja, yet you came to attack us." Ginkaku glared fiercely at those Kumogakure Ninja.
"Who is the real traitor? Your Kumogakure village should honor the Raikage, right? As subordinates, you ambushed your own leader, committing an act of insubordination. The real traitors are you." Fūmori Masaki said.
"That's because he abandoned the traditions of our Kumogakure village!" Ginkaku shouted.
"The tradition of conquering everything by force?" Fūmori Masaki said, "It would be better to discard that kind of thing early on."
"You brat—" Ginkaku could no longer hold back. The bright red Nine-Tails Chakra expanded rapidly, pressing against the air and whipping up a gale. His muscles tensed, ready to strike.
Fūmori Masaki held the wind cutter, his posture standing firm amidst the gale. In his sensory vision, the ripples on Ginkaku were overly clear, and he could instantly see where Ginkaku's next move would come from. For this kind of predictive ability, if the opponent's speed and strength were superior, there might be other possibilities, but when the abilities of both sides were very close, it was a different matter.
As it happened, Fūmori Masaki's physical abilities, under the enhancement of Sage Power, were not inferior to Ginkaku's in terms of movement speed. Therefore, the result was already destined.
If it were before the battle at the grain storage, Fūmori Masaki would not have been able to keep up with the speed of Ginkaku using Nine-Tails Chakra. But it was that breakthrough of pushing his limits in using Natural Energy that allowed his abilities to improve.
Ultimately, he had to thank Ginkaku for allowing him to keep up with his speed.
Feeling the Senjutsu Chakra circulating within his body, compared to the beginning, Fūmori Masaki's Sage Mode Realm had now risen to a higher level. The sensations it brought were increasingly obvious—more abundant energy, meticulous control, powerful physical fitness, and a unique sensory ability.
The Sage Mode Realm was by no means complete just by practicing Senjutsu; there were divisions of high and low within it. Having experienced it personally, Fūmori Masaki believed this to be true.
He wondered what level the Six Paths Sage's Sage Mode Realm was at, what it would feel like, and whether he had any hope of reaching a level like his. Fūmori Masaki thought to himself.
At this moment, Fūmori Masaki and Ginkaku moved almost at the same time, approaching rapidly. Ginkaku raised the seven star sword, while Fūmori Masaki raised the wind cutter. Their gazes collided, and both saw a touch of coldness in the other's eyes.
In just an instant, two cold rays of light crossed. Immediately, a loud noise erupted. Ginkaku widened his eyes in disbelief; his seven star sword was currently stuck in the ground, and above it was Fūmori Masaki's wind cutter.
The wind cutter was designed with the essentials of high-speed slashing in mind. From the beginning, it was not intended to collide violently with other weapons. When absorbing Wind Release Chakra, even if it did collide, ordinary ninja tools would be easily slashed through without any resistance. However, the seven star sword was a treasure of the Six Paths Sage and would not be destroyed so easily. Moreover, its shape showed that it was not the type that the wind cutter could clash with head-on.
Therefore, Fūmori Masaki changed his approach. He predicted the angle of Ginkaku's slash, avoided the head-on strike of the seven star sword, and collided the wind cutter onto the top of the seven star sword, thereby accelerating the seven star sword toward the ground. In this way, Ginkaku would be facing the wind cutter, and the seven star sword would be too late to save him.
Ginkaku couldn't believe that the opponent's swordsmanship was so exquisite. Not only was the sword speed as fast as a gale, but this precise technique was exactly like what was called a Swordsman among samurai.
At this moment, an unprecedented chill surged wildly from the bottom of Ginkaku's heart. He seemed to recall once again the power Fūmori Masaki suddenly erupted with that night, as well as the warm wind that blew past him.
Ginkaku didn't hesitate to let go, abandoning the seven star sword, and darted backward. Almost at the same time, the sword light swept across the position where he had just been. But before Ginkaku could show any joy, he saw Fūmori Masaki, while rotating his body from the swing, take advantage of the momentum to make a throwing motion—and something was indeed thrown out.
— Eight-Part Wind Wheel.
Ginkaku saw the streak of the Wind Wheel rapidly enlarge, then disappear before his eyes. A gust of wind blew gently, yet it made his whole body feel cold. After landing on the ground, he hurriedly checked his body to see if there was any injury. No matter how he checked, he found no wounds.
— It looks like it missed.
Ginkaku breathed a slight sigh of relief, just about to think about how to fight Fūmori Masaki to the limit, when suddenly, a wisp of warm wind brushed against his cheek. Such a familiar feeling made Ginkaku's body tremble involuntarily. Then, his arm slid to the ground, and the delayed, intense pain made him scream out. It turned out that his arm had already been severed, but his body hadn't even reacted until now.
Fūmori Masaki walked forward, looking at the panicked Ginkaku. So, this madman who believed in war would also be like this when death approached. However, Ginkaku himself was just a bully; he wondered if Kinkaku, when reduced to this state, would expose his ugly side just like Ginkaku.
"Wait..." Before Ginkaku could finish his sentence, the sword light came rushing at him, piercing through his body. And it wasn't just once; countless sword lights pierced through his body simultaneously.
— Kinkaku.
At the end of his life, Ginkaku looked toward Kinkaku, who was surrounded by the Second Hokage and the others and fighting hard. He seemed to want to say something, but was submerged in the sword light and could no longer speak.
Kinkaku, who had been blown away by the shockwave from a Ninjutsu collision, happened to see the moment Ginkaku was engulfed by countless sword lights, his body torn to pieces, and blood spraying everywhere. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot—