Impaled on the iron spears, Iwamoto coughed up blood as he spoke weakly: "I... I wasn't wrong. You truly are a threat!"
Hyuga Kagami knelt on one knee, one hand clutching the wound on his right leg, the other pressed to the ground. His sharp eyes never left Iwamoto.
From the chakra readings in Iwamoto's body, Kagami could tell he still had strong vitality. The weakness he showed might well be a ruse.
Kagami knew better than to underestimate any elite jonin who had survived the battlefield. He remained vigilant, not taking a step closer.
"Heh, cautious to the end," Iwamoto said feebly. "Not even going to finish me off quickly?"
Kagami narrowed his eyes. "Is he trying to lure me in?"
Before he could think further, Iwamoto suddenly burst free from the spears. As if completely uninjured, he turned and darted toward the forest depths.
"He's running!?" Kagami was stunned for a second, then clenched his jaw. "I can't let him escape!"
The secret of the Third Kazekage puppet couldn't be exposed. Almost instinctively, Kagami stretched both arms forward and activated his Revolving Heaven.
With the powerful suction force, Iwamoto had no chance to resist. He was pulled straight back toward Kagami.
Ignoring his injuries, Kagami unleashed a full set of Eight Trigrams Palms, each strike aimed at vital points with deadly precision.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of fists striking flesh echoed through the forest.
From the impact, Kagami knew Iwamoto hadn't had time to use his earth-style hardening technique. Even if his heart hadn't been crushed, the internal damage would be massive.
As expected, Iwamoto's body went limp and slumped at Kagami's feet like a pile of mud.
Just as Kagami exhaled in relief, Iwamoto sprang up and latched onto him, his raspy voice declaring: "Talented youth of Konoha, let's go to the afterlife together."
Ssshhhhh...
As the crackling sound of ignition reached Kagami's ears, his eyes widened. Iwamoto had modified his body—special explosive tags embedded beneath his skin. The chakra flow from within had masked them from detection.
Looking into Iwamoto's calm face even in death, Kagami realized the truth.
Iwamoto had never intended to flee. His escape was a ploy to get close and land the final, desperate strike.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The massive explosion tore through the forest, leveling the area, sending shockwaves for hundreds of meters. Smoke blanketed the skies. The earth trembled.
Elsewhere...
Having ended the last enemy with a genjutsu and a final blade strike, Shisui looked around. Nine bodies lay around him—one from Iwagakure's decapitation squad and eight rogue ninjas, likely supported secretly by the Hidden Stone.
As he sheathed his blade, preparing to regroup with Team Eleven, the ground beneath him shook violently from a distant explosion.
"What was that!?"
Alarmed, Shisui immediately dashed toward the source.
Nearby, Kakashi pulled his bloodied hand from his opponent's heart and flicked the blood onto the dirt. Panting, he turned toward the direction of the explosion.
His experience told him this wasn't a normal jutsu or explosion tag. His expression darkened.
Though he'd defeated all nine of his opponents, the battle had drained him. His chakra was nearly gone. Yet without hesitation, he limped in the direction of the blast...
In the final battlefield...
Gai clutched his injured left arm, his face solemn. Surrounded by enemies, he worried both about the battle in front of him and his teammates in Team Eleven.
If nine enemy ninjas were sent against him alone, the others must be facing even greater danger.
Suddenly, a massive explosion pulled everyone's attention.
Gai's heart sank. He had a bad feeling.
The Iwagakure squad leader went pale and immediately abandoned the injured Gai, leading the eight rogue ninjas at full speed toward the explosion site.
Gai hesitated briefly, then gave chase.
At the center of the blast...
As the dust settled, Hyuga Kagami's silhouette slowly emerged.
He scanned the ruined battlefield calmly, letting out a quiet sigh.
At the last moment, Kagami had used Revolving Heaven to push Iwamoto away. But the explosion was too powerful—he couldn't block all the force and flames.
He suffered multiple fractures and burns, looking a mess, yet alive.
Iwamoto, however, was reduced to nothing. Not even a body remained—only a shattered Iwagakure forehead protector lying alone on the ground.
Dragging his injured leg, Kagami limped over, picked up the broken forehead protector, and slipped it into his ninja tool pouch.
He had won this life-or-death battle.
A year ago, to Iwamoto, he was just a nobody—someone not even worth wasting chakra on.
Now, a year later, Iwamoto was dead. And Kagami, that same nobody, was the one who killed him.
For a moment, Kagami felt dazed, overcome with emotion.
This was his first direct fight with an elite jonin. Even though he relied on Revolving Heaven for a sneak counter, his overall performance had proven worthy.
Well... aside from being fooled in the final act.
After storing away the Third Kazekage puppet, Kagami sat cross-legged and calmly began bandaging his wounds, his face tranquil as if he were merely tying his shoes.
At that moment, a group of nine ninjas appeared before him.
Leading them was a member of Iwagakure's decapitation squad, with eight rogue ninjas in tow.
The squad leader glanced around the battlefield, then shouted with forced bravado: "Damn it! Where is our captain!?"
Having just finished wrapping his injuries, Kagami slowly stood up and said coolly, "You've already seen the result. Why pretend to be surprised?"
"T-This... this can't be true! How could our captain lose?!"
"He lost because he met me. That's all."
With those words, Hyuga Kagami charged straight at them.
The battle with Iwamoto had given him many things. But more than anything, it had forged in him the heart of a fearless warrior.