"Dust Release?"
Even Kushina was shocked by the jutsu the girl had just used.
After all, Dust Release was the signature technique of the current Tsuchikage. A kekkei tota that surpassed the bloodline limit.
Even someone like Kushina, who didn't excel academically, had read about the formidable jutsu wielded by the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.
But what she was seeing now—
"This is definitely not Dust Release!"
Kushina exploded into action, using Shave to instantly close the distance and appear in front of the girl, her fist flying toward her face.
Monster Strength Fist.
With a thunderous roar of air, the girl shattered into gray dust particles. Her body disappeared, though her voice still lingered faintly.
"It may not compare to the Third Tsuchikage, but my Dust Release isn't weak either."
Dust swirled, each speck sharpened by chakra.
However, the actual power was disappointing.
It was like using a nail clipper in battle—not deadly, but incredibly annoying.
Three golden chains erupted from Kushina's back, wrapping tightly around her to shield herself from the corrosive dust.
"It's no use. Fine dust like this isn't easily blocked."
The girl's smug voice echoed through the haze.
Kushina didn't immediately search for the girl's figure but instead looked toward the creek.
Using Shave again, she dashed forward.
The girl caught on quickly.
"You're not getting away!"
"Dust Release: Dust Body Technique!"
Dust swirled and reformed into a dark figure resembling the girl, her body made entirely of fine particles.
The dust clone moved to intercept Kushina.
"Get out of my way!!"
Kushina punched through the dust clone with ease. Her monstrous strength was not something so weak could hope to stop.
She broke through and dove straight into the stream.
The dust followed closely but was stopped by the thin layer of water, unable to penetrate.
All the girl could do was watch Kushina hide beneath the water's surface.
Her face darkened as she stared at the creek.
Her so-called Dust Release was really just a secret Earth Style technique—a variant each village probably had its own version of.
Its offensive power wasn't much to speak of, though it was useful for scouting.
And its greatest weakness—was water.
"Don't think you can hide in there forever."
The girl threw a shuriken at Kushina in the water.
Kushina's chains shot out, knocking the shuriken aside and continuing toward the girl.
She was instantly captured, and the chains twisted hard, turning her into a cloud of dust.
"What an annoying jutsu."
Kushina crouched beneath the surface. The stream wasn't deep, so she had to stay low.
Her wounds were already healing rapidly thanks to the Nine-Tails' chakra.
But if this dragged on and the enemy's allies returned, it would be trouble.
"My allies and teacher are already chasing your friends," the girl said, trying to threaten her.
"That blond guy is facing my teammate, the one known as the Mountain Beast. He loves to torture his prey. By now, he's probably started tearing your friend apart."
She tried to provoke Kushina.
But instead of angering her, it made Kushina calm.
Minato Namikaze wasn't weak. She wasn't worried!
The girl realized her words weren't working and tried another approach.
"And that other guy—the one with the Uchiha crest—my teacher really wants a pair of Uchiha eyes for his collection."
Kushina's face changed underwater. She might not always get along with Uchiha Gin, but he was still her comrade.
"A jonin is chasing Uchiha Gin? I have to end this quickly."
Kushina formed hand seals.
"Kagura Mind's Eye—Activate!"
The next moment, Kushina burst out from the water.
"Finally out!"
The girl lit up with excitement and unleashed a wave of dust at her.
But Kushina didn't stop. Ignoring the damage from the dust, she charged ahead.
"A sensory technique!!"
The girl, hiding behind the trees, panicked and turned to flee. She had been concealing herself there the entire time.
Even as she ran, she continued to direct the dust to cut into Kushina.
"What the hell is with this kid?! How is she bleeding so much and still moving?!"
Her battle style focused on causing massive blood loss.
But this young girl was like a walking blood tank. She had lost so much blood and was still fine.
"Found you!!"
Kushina leapt high into the air, spotting the girl instantly.
Chains burst forth and wrapped around her, binding her tightly.
"Die a hundred times over!!"
Kushina punched the girl's head with such force it caved in. Her eyes bloodshot, the girl collapsed and didn't move again.
Kushina finally panted, the battle over.
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
"Jackpot."
Uchiha Gin stood atop a rock, facing the man before him, hand resting silently on his sword.
The jonin, Nakado, hung upside down from a tree, calmly watching him.
The moment Gin was locked on, escape was no longer an option.
"Let's just pretend you didn't see me. Let me walk away, how about that?"
He had little interest in the skirmishes between the five great nations.
If Minato hadn't noticed something was off, he wouldn't even be here.
"Sorry. Duty calls."
As Nakado replied, a kunai silently appeared behind Gin.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out.
At some point, Gin had drawn his blade, blocking the kunai.
Nakado vanished from his tree perch in an instant.
Both men began forming hand signs.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."
"Earth Style: Iron Rock Cannon Jutsu."
Gin launched a massive fireball; Nakado shot enlarging stones.
Boom!
Their attacks collided, blasting them apart.
They clashed again almost immediately, evenly matched in taijutsu, though Nakado's size gave him the edge.
Gin raised a finger, summoning a tiny blue light.
Rei Gun!
The glowing blue orb shot forward. Nakado couldn't react in time, and it struck his shoulder, blowing a hole through it.
He grunted and countered with a kunai, forcing Gin back.
"They say I'm no match for a jonin... but I don't buy it."
Gin moved to press the attack.
But his foot wouldn't rise.
He looked down—an enemy hand had grabbed his ankle.
"When?!"
The enemy jonin, previously wounded and lying nearby, had somehow emerged from underground.
"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"
Gin was suddenly dragged into the ground.
But in that split second, he formed seals.
"Rokku Senzei!"
His chakra surged wildly. Nakado grimaced and let go.
Gin leapt to a rock across the way.
Then he heard it—a slight sound. Looking down, he saw an explosive tag stuck to his sole!
"Iron Body!"
Boom!
The explosion roared. Gin had already moved far away with Shave, but his pants had turned to shorts, his shoes gone, legs blackened.
The enemy's attacks came one after another, leaving him no room to react.
Gin looked to where Nakado had been. Only a hole remained.
He formed hand seals.
"Shadow Clon—!"
"Earth Style: Ground Split Palm!"
The earth beneath him cracked and caved, pulling him down.
He barely landed on some rising debris, trying to escape.
Then he spotted Nakado in the distance.
The attack didn't stop.
Nakado smashed the ground again.
"Earth Style: Stone Sand!"
The earth shattered into countless grains of fine sand.
Just as Gin was escaping the jutsu's range, the sand surged like a wave and swallowed him whole.
Beneath the sand, Gin clenched his teeth, curling up to reduce damage.
He was caught in his opponent's rhythm.
This guy wasn't the same ninja he'd faced before—his skill was on a whole different level.
Their fighting styles were similar, but the results were night and day.
Gin was on the defensive, unable to keep up.
One mistake led to another.
"Earth Style: Antlion Hell!"
The sand turned to mud, soft and swirling clockwise, grinding everything in its path.
Gin, buried in it, realized:
If this continued, his body would be ground to pulp.
He could almost hear his bones creaking.
His opponent had predicted every move, laying one trap after another.
Gin racked his brain for any usable jutsu.
But they were either too complex or completely useless now.
"Am I really..."
"Going to die here?!"
"Open the Gate—Now!"
Even opening a single gate of the Eight Gates Technique wouldn't change the outcome.
And his modified version, Rokku Senzei, drained too much chakra.
"I won't die in a place like this!!"
"Rei Gun—Self-Destruct!"
Blue light burst from the mud, rapidly expanding.
Rei Gun wasn't pure chakra. It combined earth, water, fire, wind, lightning, yin, and yang—creating unstable energy.
When fired, it became a high-speed spirit bullet.
But left in place...
It became a growing bomb.
Boom!!
The ground exploded.
Gin burst from the earth, bleeding all over. His skin scorched by the blast—Iron Body wasn't enough.
He held his face with one hand, staring at Nakado through bloodied fingers...
With those crimson Sharingan eyes.