"He actually escaped..."
Fūga was genuinely surprised. This move of his had never failed—it had killed no fewer than ten elite shinobi, and no one had ever dodged it. It was practically an unavoidable killing technique.
The slightest hesitation meant death. The surrounding whirlwinds had an overwhelming suction force, making escape impossible. The only option was to endure the slashing wind blades head-on.
His Wind Cutter was an A-rank ninjutsu, with devastating offensive power. Naturally, few could withstand it.
"Seems I underestimated you. Not only are you fast, but your combat instincts are sharp too. As for your swordsmanship… well, it's pretty sloppy, but it has its merits."
Finally stopping his movement, Fūga cautiously switched Kaiyodori from his left hand to his right. His left hand reached into his weapon pouch, pulling out a roll of bandages. Clenching them in his teeth, he quickly wrapped the wound on his right shoulder before securing his left hand as well.
Gripping the stolen Kaiyodori, he resumed his advance toward the Suna puppet team.
Along the way, he kept taunting, trying to provoke Umino Yoru.
But this time, Yoru didn't attempt another close-range ambush. Instead, he and his shadow clones hurled a barrage of kunai and shuriken, seemingly trying to slow Fūga down.
Unfortunately, Fūga was too strong—it was like he had a 360-degree Byakugan. Even in the thick, blinding mist, he could track the projectiles by sound alone, effortlessly deflecting them.
Soon, Fūga closed in, reaching the Suna puppet team's "卍" defensive formation.
"Kōsagan, it's me."
After deflecting a volley of senbon from the puppets, Fūga approached Kōsagan.
But suddenly, Kōsagan pointed behind him and shouted, "Behind you!"
This time, Kōsagan wasn't lying—an attack really was coming.
"Die, Suna scum!"
"Raaah! Give back our food!"
The furious roars came from none other than Fūjin and Raijin, who had been lying in wait within the mist. Guided by tactical instructions from two shadow clones, they lunged forward, swinging their massive iron clubs with crushing force straight at Fūga's head.
At the same time, Anma Karura—also following a shadow clone's strategy—unleashed a prepped B-rank genjutsu:
"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"
Thanks to the sensory precision of her Ultrasonic Radar Technique, the genjutsu hit Fūga flawlessly, trapping him in the illusion.
"Senbon Shower!"
"Senbon Shower!"
"Mechanical Shield: Wild Windmill!"
The three Suna puppet masters finally dropped their disguises, launching a coordinated sneak attack. To maximize the ambush's effectiveness, they even included Fūjin and Raijin in the area of attack.
Simultaneously—
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Umino Yoru seized the moment to unleash a B-rank water technique, summoning a massive water dragon that surged toward Fūga.
In the span of a single breath, Fūga found himself trapped in a fourfold ambush—a near-certain death scenario.
But as a Suna jōnin, his willpower far surpassed that of ordinary shinobi. Even under the effects of the Tree Binding Death—enhanced by the Anma clan's kekkei genkai—he only faltered for a second before breaking free.
However, the moment he escaped the genjutsu, Fūjin and Raijin's attack was already inches from his skull, while the three puppets' wide-range assault closed in from behind.
With no time to weave hand signs for a defensive jutsu, Fūga had no choice but to dodge the crushing blow from the twins to avoid instant decapitation.
He then tried to use Body Flicker to escape the puppets' barrage—
But Yoru's Water Dragon had already sealed off all escape routes.
Thud-thud-thud!
Dozens of Senbon Shower needles pierced Fūga's body.
BOOM!
The Water Dragon slammed into him, sending him flying dozens of meters back.
Under the relentless four-pronged assault, Fūga had finally fallen to the ambush.
"Cough…! Such a well-laid trap… cough…!"
Leaning against a massive tree, vomiting blood, Fūga felt his spirit wither. Yet, he couldn't deny that his death was justified. If not for Lord Shibuki's capture, he would never have been forced into this mist.
Had he known this would happen, he would've just blown the mist away with a jutsu—even if it meant killing Lord Shibuki in the process.
He never expected his eight remaining squadmates to be defeated so quickly. Nor did he imagine that someone had already mastered Suna's puppet techniques and honed Transformation Jutsu to such a refined level.
"Cough…! You really went all out for me. With this much power… was an ambush even necessary?"
In his eyes, three elite puppet masters, two taijutsu jōnin, a genjutsu specialist, a water-style master, and a swarm of chūnin providing covering fire—this was overkill. Why even bother with deception?
"Konoha truly breeds monsters…"
Fūga sighed inwardly. This single ambush made him realize just how terrifying Konoha's hidden strength was.
But villains who monologue tend to die—and Umino Yoru wasn't about to let that happen. Even though Fūga was already as good as dead, he still hurled a storm of kunai and shuriken to finish the job.
"Maki… your father loves you. And… beware Konoha."
In a final surge of energy, Fūga roared, wiped the blood from his body, and rapidly formed five hand seals:
"Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram!"
"Summoning Jutsu!"
POOF!
A massive cloud of smoke erupted as a gigantic lizard materialized in front of Fūga, effortlessly blocking the incoming projectiles.
This beast wasn't just enormous—it was also thick-skinned. The kunai and shuriken bouncing off its hide were like mosquito bites.
"Fūga… You summoned me to this mess? I ought to eat you for this."
The lizard turned its slit-pupiled, murderous gaze toward Fūga—
But there was no response.
Fūga was already dead. He had performed the summoning with his last breath.
"FŪGA!!"
The lizard's grief-stricken roar betrayed its true feelings—despite its harsh words, it clearly cared deeply for its summoner.
"GRAAAH—!"
With a single furious bellow, the lizard dispersed the mist in a dozen-meter radius, revealing its full form in the now-cleared battlefield.
Standing at five to six meters tall and over ten meters long, it resembled a monstrous Komodo dragon.
While its presence wasn't as terrifying as Mount Myōboku's Gamabunta, its power far surpassed that of an average jōnin. On a large-scale battlefield, it could even achieve quasi-Kage-level tactical impact.