The razor-sharp wind blades, with an attack radius far surpassing that of an ordinary Vacuum Wave, effortlessly sliced through everything in their path.
Half of Zetsu's body was forced away from the other, and even the sharp-reacting White Zetsu wasn't spared, his upper and lower body going on separate journeys.
Blood spurted wildly from the severed stumps.
Ignoring Sasori, who had just been separated along with White Zetsu, Takeshi manipulated ice crystals to trap Zetsu at the very moment he was about to hit the ground.
"Sealing Technique: Ice Coffin Imprisonment!"
"Sealing Technique: Four Symbols Seal!"
"Sealing Technique: Five Elements Seal!"
If quality couldn't make up for it, then quantity would crush the opponent!
Layer after layer of sealing techniques covered the ice crystal. Seeing that Sasori was beyond saving, White Zetsu hastily scurried back into the ground.
By the time Takeshi had finished dealing with Zetsu and was preparing to go after White Zetsu, only Sasori's bisected corpse remained lifeless on the ground.
Now there was no need to think about how to transport Sasori. He was already gone for good—only the hope remained that Yamanaka might be able to dig out some usable information from this ruined body.
The group tacitly kept silent, each turning to their respective tasks.
Tobitake Tonbo pulled out two scrolls from his vest, one marked "Corpse," the other "Seal," and sealed away Zetsu and Sasori in turn.
"Something isn't right, Captain Takeshi."
As they were nearly done cleaning up the site, Shimon suddenly frowned, his face turning extremely grim.
"What is it?"
Seeing his expression, Takeshi asked, somewhat tense.
"It's been far too long since we sent word back to the village. We've already exceeded the Intelligence Division's standard response time. This is very abnormal."
Shimon lifted his gaze to the sky, trying to discern something from the firelit night sky.
"Maybe some other unexpected situation came up. Don't overthink it—the village still has the Third and Fourth Hokage overseeing things. Nothing major will happen."
Tobitake Tonbo also realized something was wrong, but out of his trust in the two Hokage, he didn't believe anything catastrophic would befall the village.
The more likely explanation was that some sudden issue had cropped up within the Intelligence Division itself, delaying the reply.
"Mm… perhaps I'm just overthinking it."
Shimon nodded, accepting Tonbo's explanation, then turned toward Takeshi.
"Captain Takeshi, Sasori is dead. Should we return to the village and report to the Hokage-sama?"
Standing still, Takeshi narrowed his eyes toward the direction of the Land of Fire.
The mission assigned by the village had been to track down the Uchiha's trail. Zetsu's appearance meant Sasori had indeed colluded with the Uchiha. With Sasori's body in his possession, there should be intel on the Uchiha inside his mind. Technically, the mission was complete.
But still… he couldn't shake the feeling he had overlooked something.
Suddenly, inspiration struck.
"Tonbo! Take Sasori's body out!"
Takeshi's abrupt shout stunned Tobitake Tonbo for a second, but then he quickly pulled out the scroll containing Sasori's corpse.
Following Takeshi's command, Tonbo summoned Sasori's body back from the scroll, only to see Takeshi immediately begin feeling around the corpse.
No trace of the Flying Thunder God Formula.
There was no mistake—this wasn't Sasori's real body!
"Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Before their eyes, Takeshi formed the seals and shredded Sasori's body to pieces with wind release.
"Captain Takeshi, what are you—?"
Only after Sasori was blasted apart did Shimon finally manage to speak.
"We were tricked."
Takeshi's face darkened with frustration.
The next moment, they all saw the remains of Sasori scattered across the ground slowly transform into white matter.
Tobitake Tonbo and the others stared in disbelief.
"What the hell is going on?"
Takeshi had no intention of explaining. Instead, he shut his eyes and concentrated, trying to sense the surrounding Flying Thunder God formulas. After a long while, he opened his eyes, brows tightly furrowed.
He could no longer sense Sasori's location—meaning the enemy had already escaped far away.
Was it during the moment he had used Fire Release?
Reviewing the battle in his mind, he realized that the only opportunity for such a switch under his nose was when the fire blocked his line of sight.
"Compile what happened here into a report for the village. We continue advancing."
Reeling from the successive twists, Takeshi rubbed his forehead with a pained expression as he issued his order.
...
Konoha Village.
"That was entertaining, but it's time to bid you all farewell."
Placing his finger against his lips, Fuen chuckled lightly as he looked at the trapped Anbu before him, imprisoned by rock and soil.
Gripping the sharp stone spear in hand, Fuen hurled it with force. Amid screams, the Anbu could only watch helplessly as the spear pierced them through, powerless to defend.
"Konoha shinobi are nothing more than—"
Before Fuen could finish, he suddenly felt himself engulfed by an overwhelming killing intent. In terror, his body refused to move.
A flash of white light streaked straight for his neck.
"Earth Style: Stone Spikes!"
Yōwan's voice rang out as he cast an Earth Style jutsu at the critical moment, blocking the unknown attack and sparing Fuen from decapitation.
Only after the white light vanished did Fuen's taut body relax. His legs trembling, he quickly ran to Yōwan's side, eyes scanning wildly for the person who had just tried to kill him.
The white flash appeared again—this time, striking at Yōwan's back.
...
The skeletal frame of Susanoo flared into existence around Yōwan, incidentally shielding Fuen as well.
"So that's your method of attack. I see—it's the Fourth Hokage."
Unleashing his Mangekyō Sharingan, Yōwan barely managed to glimpse Sakumo's figure.
Such incredible speed—even the Mangekyō could only catch a fleeting afterimage at the instant of attack.
This speed already far surpassed the legendary Fourth Raikage.
Four slashes struck from four different directions—yet all landed at the same spot.
The sound of cracking bone echoed. Beneath his mask, Yōwan's usually calm expression finally changed.
[This bastard… he cracked Susanoo with just swordsmanship?!]
Even more infuriating, the man didn't follow any script.
Wasn't this the moment to question his motives? Why attack directly without a word?
Yōwan had anticipated encountering Sakumo or Hiruzen when he resolved to attack Konoha again. He had even prepared an entire speech—but the other side had no interest in dialogue, only unleashing relentless attacks. Yōwan could hardly accept this.
Six sharp slashes followed, spreading the cracks further across Susanoo's armor.
Glancing at the fractures behind him, Yōwan realized that if this continued, Sakumo would inevitably break through Susanoo. He had to stop him.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"
Finally catching one of Sakumo's afterimages, Yōwan unleashed his ninjutsu without hesitation.
Four dragon heads of fire closed in from every angle, sealing off all paths of escape. No matter how he dodged, at least one head would strike him.
As Susanoo's skeletal arm stretched outward, Yōwan readied himself. If Sakumo somehow avoided the flames, then Susanoo would crush him instead.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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