Shink!
Blood sprayed as the sword pierced straight through the immobilized Fujimoto's heart.
Jizo withdrew the longsword. With a sharp flick of his right wrist, he sent the blood splattering from the blade. He lifted his head, his icy gaze sweeping over the enemy forces opposite him.
By now, only a dozen or so members of the attacking force remained standing firm. The hired rogue ninja had almost entirely broken ranks and fled.
They'd come for money, not to throw their lives away!
"That man has the Uchiha clan's Sharingan! We can't afford to hold back any longer!" Inoue said, his expression grim as he looked towards Yuito. Based on the power Jizo had just demonstrated, Inoue knew he was no match for him. Among everyone present, perhaps only Takigakure's Seven-Tails Jinchuriki stood a chance against him.
"Leave him to me. You circle around from behind—secure the formula and the medics first!" Yuito replied, his own expression serious as he stepped forward slowly.
As he spoke, a cloak of dark red Tailed Beast chakra began to bubble and churn around him, and two large, insect-like wings sprouted from his back. Right from the start, Yuito activated his partial Jinchuriki transformation.
"Hm? Is that the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki?" Watching Yuito's transformation, Tatsuya instantly recognized his identity. Those Takigakure folks are certainly bold! Letting their Jinchuriki appear so brazenly on foreign soil. Aren't they afraid someone will seize the Tailed Beast?
Whoosh!
With a powerful beat of his wings, Yuito shot forward like a blur, heading straight for Jizo. As he charged, a dense cloud of the Seven-Tails' iridescent scale powder spewed from his mouth.
The shimmering silver scales filled the air, the blinding particles severely impairing everyone's vision. Caught within the cloud, Tatsuya felt his own movements become slightly sluggish.
Hiden: Blinding Scales Powder!
It was a ninjutsu designed to impede movement and obscure sight. Seeing this, Tatsuya and Pakura immediately leaped back, clearing the affected area.
The clone, Jizo, remained motionless, his three-tomoe Sharingan flaring to life. Through his enhanced sight, he tracked Yuito's rapidly approaching, partially transformed figure.
CRACK!
Their fists met in a brutal collision. Immediately, they launched into a furious exchange of punches and kicks. Within the shimmering silver curtain of scales, observers couldn't clearly distinguish their movements, only hearing the relentless thuds and cracks of impact echoing through the night.
"Muko, begin!" Inoue ordered grimly, turning his head towards Muko nearby.
"Yes, sir," the young Muko acknowledged quietly. Even as he spoke, his eyes flickered involuntarily towards the swirling cloud of scales. Jizo's youth and terrifying power had left a deep impression.
Walking over to a prisoner whose head hung low, Muko formed hand seals. His right palm began to glow fiery red before he pressed it firmly against the prisoner's back.
"Fire Style: Heavenly Prison—Release!"
Instantly, streams of red chakra surged out from the prisoner, flowing along Muko's arm and seemingly being absorbed into Muko's own body.
Feeling the restraints binding him gradually dissolve, the prisoner slowly lifted his head. He stared at his hands as strength—real strength—returned to them, a mixture of wild joy and manic energy gleaming in his eyes. His bloodshot eyes swiveled, fixing intently on Muko.
Hmph. Sensing the malice in the prisoner's gaze, Muko snorted coldly and formed another hand seal.
"ARGH!"
Instantly, fiery red chakra chains erupted again, binding the prisoner's vital points tightly. An intense, searing pain shot through his entire body, tearing a bloodcurdling scream from his throat.
Only after several agonizing seconds did Muko stop. The prisoner collapsed limply to the ground, twitching.
Paying the incapacitated man no further mind, Muko moved on, beginning to partially release the seals on the remaining four prisoners. Having witnessed the previous prisoner's fate as a clear warning, the other four remained completely docile once their restraints were loosened. They simply reveled, faces alight with manic excitement, in the wondrous sensation of power returning after so long!
"Capture the woman! Push into the city!" Muko commanded the four, gesturing towards Tatsuya and Pakura in the distance, with Ansei Hall visible behind them.
"AWOOOO!"
With euphoric, bestial howls, the four prisoners, finally free, blurred into motion. They skirted the edge of the scale powder cloud and charged directly towards Pakura.
Watching the four charge, murder in their eyes, a flicker of interest crossed Tatsuya's face. Their speed is impressive. Looks like they're all Jonin-level. But there's something... odd about their movements, their bearing. Tatsuya searched his memory but found no intelligence reports matching individuals like these.
"Be careful! They're likely prisoners from Hozuki Castle—ninjas convicted of serious crimes from various nations," Pakura warned from beside him. As a former elite shinobi of Sunagakure, she was privy to some of the ninja world's darker secrets.
"Hozuki Castle?" Tatsuya's eyes widened slightly in understanding. The infamous Blood Prison.
Even as they spoke, the four prisoners were upon them.
Tatsuya drew a short sword—a tanto—and flashed forward to intercept one. Pakura drew a kunai and moved to engage another prisoner on the opposite flank.
The prisoner rapidly closing in on Tatsuya saw only a blur before Tatsuya materialized directly in his path. Tatsuya's tanto swept down in a powerful, heavy arc. The prisoner hastily brought up his own kunai to parry.
CLANG!
The piercing screech of metal echoed as the prisoner was sent hurtling backward from the sheer force of the blow.
So strong! Flying through the air, the prisoner's face contorted in shock. The manic joy of his newfound freedom evaporated in an instant.
Having sent his opponent flying, Tatsuya didn't pursue immediately. Instead, his hands blurred through seals before slamming his palms onto the earth.
Spurt!
While still airborne, the prisoner was abruptly impaled from below by a thick spear of rock erupting from the ground. Blood sprayed, running down the stony point.
"Earth Style: Rock Pillar Spear!"
In barely more than ten seconds of combat, the Hozuki Castle prisoner was dead, slain by Tatsuya. He had fatally underestimated Tatsuya's power.
Witnessing their comrade being killed so instantaneously sent a jolt of fear through the remaining three prisoners. They had all been skilled Jonin in their time; they could instantly recognize that Tatsuya was every bit as dangerous as the Sharingan user, Jizo.
Nearby, Pakura, locked in a taijutsu exchange with another prisoner, couldn't hide the flicker of astonishment in her eyes. Tatsuya's capabilities seemed to constantly shatter her expectations. Without relying on my Scorch Release, she thought grimly, it feels like the gap between us has grown immense.
Further back, Inoue, Suien, and Muko watched intently, their faces paling dramatically.
Another one with such terrifying strength! The true power of Ansei Hall was far beyond anything they had anticipated.
Having swiftly eliminated one opponent, Tatsuya immediately turned his attention to the next.
Seeing Tatsuya bearing down on him, this prisoner let out a guttural cry. He leaped backward while rapidly forming hand seals, spitting a powerful jet of water from his mouth. The water coalesced mid-air into the shape of a dragon, which lunged towards Tatsuya.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"
Tatsuya halted his charge, his hands flying through seals before slamming his palms onto the earth. A thick wall of rock surged upwards in front of him, several meters high, easily absorbing the impact of the water dragon.
To maintain his cover, Tatsuya resolved inwardly, I must fully commit to my role as an Earth Style specialist tonight.
Seeing their attack blocked so effortlessly, the remaining two prisoners—one still engaged with Pakura, the other Tatsuya was targeting—hesitated, then simultaneously disengaged and fell back a few paces.
These two opponents were clearly not to be trifled with!
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