[ "Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!"
Temari channeled her Chakra into the giant fan in her hand, transforming it into a razor-sharp divine weapon. She lunged forward, slashing violently at the massive wound on the Honkai Beast's back!
Crack~
The fan in Temari's hand sliced deep into the creature's body, shattering the Core nestled within!
"Huff... huff... huff..."
"It looks like... huff... every one of these Honkai Beasts... huff... has its Core in the same... huff... position..." ]
Uzumaki Kushina: "It seems that as long as you find the right method, these Honkai Beasts aren't that difficult to deal with."
Minato Namikaze: "Kushina, don't forget that the Ninjutsu they are using has been bolstered by Honkai Energy. Without using Honkai Energy, they wouldn't even be able to break through the beasts' defense."
Senju Hashirama: "It seems I'll have to study a safer method with the Sages."
[ Boom!
The Templar-class Honkai Beast's several-meters-tall frame crashed down, slamming into the sandy earth.
When Temari looked toward the other Templar-class Honkai Beast, she found that it had also been dealt with.
However, the price was the unfortunate sacrifice of two more Sand Ninja while they were surrounding the beast.
"Mooo~" Just then, a low wail, like that of a dying whale, caught Temari's attention.
When she turned around, she saw that the two forelimbs of one Chariot-class Honkai Beast had finally given way under the saturated bombardment, snapping off at the base.
The Chariot-class Honkai Beast's massive body lurched forward, crashing toward the top of the wall.
Rumble~
Amidst a cloud of dust, the Chariot-class Honkai Beast's enormous frame smashed into and collapsed a corner of the high stone wall.
"One Chariot-class Honkai Beast is immobilized. What about the other two?"
When Temari looked at the remaining pair, she saw their condition was much the same.
Both their heads and forelimbs were riddled with scars and deep gouges.
Crack~
As the heads and limbs of these two Chariot-class Honkai Beasts shattered, their bodies also toppled toward the wall.
Even though the ninja had acted quickly, these three Chariot-class Honkai Beasts had still reached the fortifications.
Even if they didn't fully smash through, they used their massive weight to give the wall a vicious blow before losing mobility!
Crack~
Subjected to one impact after another, the wall finally groaned under the strain, and a massive crack snaked through the stone.
Fortunately, because the Chariot-class Honkai Beasts' bodies were so large, they happened to block the very crack they had created.
But simultaneously, their bodies became the perfect ramp for the Knight-class Honkai Beasts on the ground!
"Not good! Quick, we must stop those beasts from scaling the wall!"
Temari moved to rush over, but her vision suddenly blurred.
"Huh?"
Subconsciously, Temari tried to use her fan to support herself. However, the fan in her hand felt like a piece of rotted, decaying wood; it suddenly snapped in the middle, and Temari's body slumped onto the yellow sand without support.
"This is..."
Temari saw that her fan was rapidly weathering away as if hundreds or even thousands of years had passed in an instant.
Only a few segments made of sturdy ironwood remained, though they too were weathering at a visible, albeit slower, pace.
But that was only relative to the rest of the tool; in Temari's eyes, every part of her fan was slowly decomposing into the wind.
"Is it... because of the Honkai Energy?"
Temari suddenly realized she had channeled too much Honkai Energy into the fan. During such high-intensity combat, even a meticulously crafted Ninja Tool like this fan couldn't withstand the strain.
And it wasn't just the fan that couldn't take it!
Logically, based on the number of Ninjutsu she had released, her Chakra shouldn't even be half-depleted.
But in reality, to maximize the power of her techniques, she had poured more Chakra and even more Honkai Energy into every single move!
The result was a terrifying increase in the power of her Ninjutsu, but her body—though not yet showing obvious signs of Erosion—was nearly out of Chakra.
It wasn't that her body couldn't keep up, but rather the mental exhaustion had reached a point where it would no longer allow her to refine more Chakra. ]
Orochimaru: "Strange. Logically, for a normal person to fight to this extent, signs of Honkai Energy Erosion should have appeared on their body by now. Yet, I see absolutely no traces of Erosion on Temari. Interesting... could it be that the First Hokage was actually right?"
Rasa: "Orochimaru, stop your wild guessing. Perhaps it's just that Temari has a natural resistance to Honkai Energy?"
Orochimaru: "Hehe... then let us wait and see."
Orochimaru's eyes were burning as he looked at the Sky Screen.
He found that the First Hokage's analysis seemed to carry a great deal of weight.
The Sky Screen was giving Temari too much screen time. Furthermore, it had been stated earlier that the Honkai Energy in the Ninja World was rising rapidly, reaching a level sufficient for the birth of a Herrscher.
With Temari appearing on the Sky Screen at such a time, they couldn't help but let their minds wander.
It wasn't just Orochimaru; even the others couldn't help but mutter to themselves.
Perhaps Senju Hashirama really had guessed correctly!
[ "Lady Temari!"
The only two survivors from the three squads Temari had led out saw her collapse and rushed over to help her up.
"I'm fine. I just had a dizzy spell. I'll recover quickly."
After standing up, Temari didn't let the two continue to support her. Instead, she pulled out a Military Rations Pill to restore her condition.
"Are you two alright?"
After swallowing the pill, Temari looked at the two men and saw that the Honkai Energy Erosion marks on them were already very severe.
"Forgive us, but we're afraid we won't be able to continue fighting alongside Lady Temari."
The two Sand Ninja looked at each other, then at the Erosion patterns on their own skin, and smiled bitterly.
"...No, you've already done well." Temari shook her head. "I'm giving you a mission now."
"Yes! We await your orders, Lady Temari!"
Temari pointed at the Ballista-class Honkai Beasts—battered but still alive—rapidly approaching the wall. "Although those beasts have temporarily lost their threat, no one knows when they might recover. I order you to keep watch over them. The moment they show signs of recovery, destroy them immediately. Understood?"
"Yes!"
After receiving their affirmative answer, Temari looked up toward the top of the wall.
She could already hear the screams echoing from above.
Presumably, the Templar-class Honkai Beasts had flown onto the wall and were engaged in combat with the ninja; she had to get up there to help them as soon as possible.
And then there was the village.
She could faintly hear explosions coming from inside Sunagakure, which meant the battle within had not ended either.
The true battle was only just beginning! ]