A strange scene unfolded in the battlefield.
Hoshiyomi stood at the edge of the bone forest, holding two divine blades in a poised posture, frozen at the moment just before completing his sheath-drawing technique.
Behind him stretched a dense forest of pale white bones—the two-hundred-meter radius Dance of the Seedling Fern—which had swallowed everything that originally existed there.
At the very center of this bone forest were two enormous bone hands, cupped protectively around Reiichi and Kimimaro, as if nothing in the world could destroy them.
At a glance, the entire area within a hundred meters seemed washed in a single pale-white color. But upon closer inspection, one could faintly see a massive X-shaped streak of blue-silver blade light cutting directly across the forest.
The entire bone forest lay in utter silence, as though the world itself was holding its breath, quietly witnessing this exchange that could alter heaven and earth.
Then—
The two blades in Hoshiyomi's hands slid slowly into their sheaths.
Clink.
The soft, ringing note as the blade met the scabbard echoed like a signal.
And the moment that sharp, clear sound faded—
The entire bone forest underwent an earth-shattering transformation.
Two gigantic streaks of blue-silver sword light exploded outward. The massive X-shaped blade arc cleaved through the whole forest. The towering bone spikes—each over ten meters high—collapsed like rows of dominoes, falling in waves and producing thunderous crashes across the silent moon's surface.
In a single strike, the entire two-hundred-meter bone forest fell neatly and uniformly, leaving only bare stubs rooted in the ground.
As the view cleared, only the pair of massive bone hands remained.
Under the blue-silver radiance, even these bone hands—much sturdier than the spikes—were torn and battered.
The hands, originally clasped together, had been slashed with such deep wounds that they could no longer maintain their cupped shape. Through the gap, a black orb made from Truth-Seeking Orbs was revealed.
So Kimimaro had added an additional layer of protection at the last moment—a second defense formed from fused Truth-Seeking Orbs.
Inside the orb, Kimimaro observed the outside world and raised an eyebrow. He was just about to withdraw the black orb when his pupils suddenly contracted.
White armor—identical to the arm guard Reiichi used earlier during the Ninefold Burial —instantly formed around his arm. Clenching his fist tightly, Kimimaro punched toward the inner wall of the Truth-Seeking Orb.
At that moment in the battlefield:
Just as the blue-silver X-shaped blade light faded, another massive slash of the same color appeared out of nowhere—like an invisible hand in the air had swung a divine blade—cutting down toward the black orb.
The instant Kimimaro threw his punch, the Truth-Seeking Orb trembled violently. A massive crack split open across its surface. A diagonal blue-silver blade arc bit into the orb, leaving a glaring fracture.
But that wasn't all—
The sword light continued pressing and tearing, attempting to rip apart the orb and kill both Kimimaro and Reiichi inside.
But before the blade could advance any further—
Kimimaro's fist struck it.
Compared to the enormous blade light, the fist looked insignificant, almost laughably small. Yet in that moment, it erupted with terrifying power.
The final and strongest slash of Hoshiyomi's Ultimate: Heavenly Rift Flowing Light—
was shattered by Kimimaro's casual punch.
The blue-silver blade light halted at the edge of the orb. Then, like glass, it rapidly cracked—thin fractures spreading like a spiderweb—until—
BOOM.
It shattered completely into fragments of light.
That blue-silver sword blow, capable of shaking heaven and earth, capable of splitting even a Truth-Seeking Orb—
was reduced to glittering dust under a single punch from Kimimaro.
Even Hoshiyomi, watching from afar, couldn't help showing an expression of absolute shock.
This was way too outrageous!
He hadn't been arrogant enough to believe that his full-power slash could defeat Kimimaro, but in his mind, facing such a terrifying attack, Kimimaro should at least have needed to put in some effort—or be forced to use space-time ninjutsu.
He never expected that Kimimaro would neither dodge nor defend conventionally, but simply throw a single punch and straightforwardly shatter his strongest strike.
Thinking that, Hoshiyomi couldn't help feeling a bit discouraged. He had originally believed that the gap between himself and Kimimaro wasn't that large, but looking at it now… the difference was on a whole different level.
In the distance, Kimimaro walked over slowly, carrying his unconscious son. Reiichi had awakened the Tenseigan only moments ago and immediately fought a fierce battle against Hoshiyomi; he had greatly over-exerted himself. After such an intense fight, he couldn't endure any longer and passed out.
Carrying his son, Kimimaro looked at Hoshiyomi's expression and smiled.
"I am, after all, one of the absolute ceiling-level existences of this shinobi world. Of course I have methods to deal with attacks like that. And don't get the wrong idea—your slash wasn't as easy to take as you think."
As he spoke, Kimimaro casually raised his right hand. Only then did Hoshiyomi see that the white arm-guard on his arm was covered in cracks, and faint traces of fresh blood seeped from between them.
"There aren't many attacks in this world that can injure me. The power behind that slash of yours—if you'd hit Six Paths Madara with it, I'd say it would leave him with half a life at best."
Hearing that, Hoshiyomi's expression finally looked better. He glanced at the unconscious Reiichi and said apologetically:
"Sorry… I did get a bit carried away. Reiichi's going to be okay, right?"
Kimimaro waved a hand dismissively.
"It's nothing serious. For Reiichi—who has a natural sage body—this kind of overexertion isn't a big deal. A night of sleep at home and he'll pretty much be back to normal.
More importantly, you should check your system. Reiichi awakened the Tenseigan, and in terms of realm he should barely count as Six Paths level now. Your system might have a nice surprise for you."
Hoshiyomi curled his lip slightly, silently complaining at how absurd this father and son pair were. Then he suddenly remembered his nearly forgotten system.
Since Kimimaro was also a transmigrator, there was no need to hide it from him. Hoshiyomi focused his mind and entered his Sword Heart System.
He didn't think much of it at first—but the moment he saw it, he was startled.
The experience bar in the Sword Heart System had shot up dramatically. He hadn't even seen the exact number yet, but Hoshiyomi was already grinning from ear to ear.
Even just at a glance, it was clear his experience bar had passed the halfway point. Meaning his experience had exceeded 250.
Rubbing his hands together subconsciously, Hoshiyomi focused and examined it more closely:
Current Swordsmanship Experience: Grandmaster Swordsmanship — 270/500.
His eyes shifted to the experience log, which read:
Defeated Kaguya Reiichi (Tenseigan Chakra Mode): +70 experience.
Woohoo~ looks like I really feasted on experience this time!
...
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