Chapter 82: Torune's Resolve
"Quarterfinals, first match! Yugito Nī versus Torune Aburame! Begin!"
The same Anbu referee, after making the announcement, retreated a certain distance.
The moment the referee had moved back, Torune launched his attack.
He knew that to find an opportunity, he had to touch his opponent before she could release the power of the Tailed Beast.
So, his first move was a direct Body Flicker Technique, hoping to get close to his enemy.
Unfortunately, with Torune's skill in the Body Flicker, it was not enough to land a hit in one go.
Yugito simply sidestepped and dodged his attack.
"This ability... it's a bit disgusting," Yugito muttered, looking at the purple marks on Torune's body with a sense of revulsion.
Then, her hands suddenly raised, and she aimed at Torune, who had just regained his footing.
"Secret Technique: Mouse Hairball."
Clusters of blue flames suddenly appeared in her palms and then shot toward Torune.
With no other choice, Torune had to use the Body Flicker Technique again to dodge.
However, the blue flames released by Yugito were extracted from the Two-Tails, Matatabi. Not only were they powerful, but they could also be freely controlled to a certain extent.
So, no matter how Torune dodged, he was ultimately hit by an attack that came from a blind spot behind him.
If it weren't for the layer of protection he had created with his insects at the last moment, he would have likely been defeated already.
Yugito looked at Torune, who was injured but still had a sharp gaze. She was silent for a moment before saying slowly, "Surrender. You are no match for me."
"Am I a match for you..." Torune reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out a few shuriken. He looked directly into Yugito's eyes and said, "That's not for you to decide."
As soon as he finished speaking, Torune threw the shuriken with all his might.
"Insect Sphere: Shuriken."
Yugito hadn't paid much attention to his attack at first, but when she saw the purple marks flashing on the shuriken, her heart couldn't help but sink.
"You're stubborn!" Yugito snorted angrily. Seeing that she had no time to dodge, she could only quickly raise her palms again.
"Secret Technique: Rat Tail Ball."
Five small chakra spheres suddenly appeared between her five fingers, and then she used her chakra threads to control them and throw them out.
Ting, ting, ting!
After a few crisp sounds, Torune's shuriken were all hit and fell to the ground, powerless.
Yugito looked at the Rat Tail Balls, which had been completely consumed by the insects, and frowned.
This man's ability is too dangerous. I can't drag this out any longer, Yugito thought to herself after seeing Torune take out another handful of shuriken.
Then, the chakra in her body suddenly began to churn.
Soon, a tail made of blue flames appeared behind her.
"Partial Tailed Beast Transformation."
This was a method of using the Tailed Beast's power that Yugito had specially developed to conserve her stamina.
Although in this state she did not gain an increase in defense, her speed and chakra amount were significantly improved.
Yugito's body slightly bent, and then her entire being turned into a stream of blue light, suddenly disappearing from in front of Torune Aburame.
And his "Insect Sphere: Shuriken," naturally, missed its target again.
Her speed is incredible. This is going to be difficult, Torune thought, searching for his enemy's whereabouts while trying to come up with a countermeasure.
Just then, clusters of chakra, much larger than the previous Rat Tail Balls, suddenly appeared from all directions.
These huge chakra spheres were enveloped in a faint layer of blue flame, and within them were countless Rat Tail Balls.
"Secret Technique: Hair Mouse Flame Ball."
This was a powerful ninjutsu that Yugito could only use with the amplification of the Tailed Beast's chakra.
So far, among all the people she had fought, besides the jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, Killer B, and the future Fourth Raikage, A, almost no one could escape from this ninjutsu's barrage unscathed.
To this, Yugito was extremely confident.
Torune Aburame looked at these chakra spheres floating in the air, exuding a deadly threat, and couldn't help but sigh deeply.
Captain, I will do my best to force out Yugito's Tailed Beast power and consume her stamina as much as possible...
The rest... I'll leave to you.
Thinking of his promise to Kyosuke, Torune sighed in his heart once again.
Now... it's not enough, Torune thought, looking at the reappeared Yugito. At this moment, he had made a certain resolution.
"Secret Technique: Insect Clone."
After a wave of purple insects, five identical Torunes appeared in the original spot.
Then, they quickly charged toward Yugito.
"If that's the case, then don't blame me, you Konoha ninja," Yugito said. With a light wave of her hand, the huge Hair Mouse Flame Balls all flew toward the five Torunes.
Although she couldn't distinguish which one was Torune's real body, destroying all of them would not be a mistake.
The Hair Mouse Flame Balls, upon approaching Torune, suddenly exploded.
Instantly, the entire venue was like a rain of blue fire.
Countless small chakra spheres, enveloped in thick flames, rained down on Torune.
In a single exchange, all five Torunes were consumed by the blue flames.
Seeing this, Yugito's eyes couldn't help but widen slightly.
They were all clones?! Yugito thought, carefully guarding against her surroundings while trying to figure out when her enemy had hidden his real body.
Could it have been then? Suddenly, she recalled the large swarm of insects that had moved when Torune had cast his insect clone.
Having figured this out, she instantly circulated all the chakra in her body and slammed it into the ground beneath her feet.
"Secret Technique: Cat Fire Bowl."
Countless blue flames rushed toward the ground. After they had burrowed into the surface, Yugito detonated them all.
Boom!
In the instant of the explosion, Yugito successfully saw Torune's figure hidden underground, and... a purple object that he had thrown out with all his might.
Damn it, Yugito, who was in the air, cursed hatefully after seeing Torune's desperate attack.
With no other choice, she had to forcibly activate her Tailed Beast transformation, using the Tailed Beast cloak to completely annihilate the swarm of poisonous insects.
The moment she landed, Yugito retracted the surging Tailed Beast chakra from her body.
However, in that brief moment, her stamina consumption was even greater than what she had used in the entire battle before.
Although Torune's life or death was unknown now, he had undoubtedly fulfilled his promise to Kyosuke.
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