"Damn it."
Shinosuke cursed inwardly. Whatever technique his opponent was using, his speed was just too fast.It seemed he had no choice but to use that move.
As the Great Flame Rasengan was about to strike him, Shinosuke suddenly began to spin on the spot at high speed.
In an instant, countless sharp bone spears erupted from the ground, forming a dense forest of bone spikes around him. Each one glinted with a cold, murderous light.
At the same time, Shinosuke's body merged into one of the nearest bone spears—avoiding the first wave of the Rasengan's attack.
But it didn't stop there. The number of bone spears continued to rise at a terrifying pace, spreading rapidly until they reached the very ground beneath Mitsuki's feet.
"Dance of the Larch!"
This was the final technique of the Shikotsumyaku bloodline — the ultimate dance. It transformed everything within several hundred meters into a forbidden zone of death—a forest of white bone.
Throughout history, every Kaguya who had used this technique died young from the enormous life force drain it demanded.
"Shukaku, take me up."
"Understood, partner."
At last, Shukaku had his turn. He gathered sand beneath Mitsuki's feet, lifting him swiftly into the air.
That was checkmate for Shinosuke — the Kaguya clan had no real countermeasures for aerial combat. From that height, all he could do was fire a few en-Finger Drilling Bullets, but against this Leaf shinobi, such attacks were utterly useless.
Floating in midair, Mitsuki guided the Rasengan back to his side. He extended both hands, channeling a massive amount of chakra into the spinning sphere.
The Rasengan swelled rapidly in size—soon as large as a small house .With deliberate, circular motions of his arms — almost like he was practicing Tai Chi — Mitsuki pushed it outward, then began to spin it around himself.
The massive sphere rotated, sending waves of blazing heat downward — melting every bone spike that had erupted from the ground.
With his Dance of the Larch destroyed, Shinosuke was forced out of his merged state within the bone forest.
The moment he reappeared, Mitsuki formed a single hand seal. The gigantic Rasengan shifted shape under his chakra control—its body elongating at both ends until it became a colossal arrow of pure flame, suspended silently beside him.
With a single thought, Mitsuki fired it. The arrow shot forth like a bolt loosed from an invisible bowstring, straight toward the Kaguya warrior.
"Great Flame Annihilation Arrow!"
This was a jutsu Mitsuki had developed after studying Tobirama's research notes on chakra nature transformations. Its piercing power far exceeded that of the Great Flame Rasengan.
Facing such overwhelming force, Shinosuke poured every last drop of chakra into his Shikotsumyaku, thickening his bone armor desperately.
But it was no use. Against the fire chakra infused into the arrow, his defense was little more than paper.
The massive dark purple flame arrow roared like a meteor wreathed in fire, crashing through his bone armor and piercing clean through his chest.
The strike was so devastating that the hole left behind didn't even bleed — the flesh around it had already been carbonized in the same instant.
His eyes went wide with shock and pain, disbelief twisting his expression. The dark flames continued to burn inside him, consuming his organs and muscles mercilessly.
Shinosuke let out a guttural, agonized scream. His body trembled violently as he tried to force his bones to grow within his own body to fight the flames—but it was hopeless.
Within seconds, his life force faded away.He collapsed to the ground, motionless.
The smell of scorched flesh filled the air, thick smoke rising from his remains—a grim testament to the battle's brutality.
Seeing the fight was over, Shukaku gently lowered the sand platform back to the ground.
Mitsuki approached the Kaguya's corpse, pulled out a sealing scroll, and formed a quick series of hand seals. The body vanished into the scroll with a faint flash of light.
He hadn't detonated the Annihilation Arrow for one reason — to preserve the corpse as intact as possible.
It wasn't out of respect.As a Kekkei Genkai wielder, Shinosuke's body was simply valuable for research. Mitsuki planned to bring it back to Konoha. Nothing more.
Still, he had to admit—the guy had been strong. At first, Mitsuki had thought he was just another slightly above-average Jonin from the Mist. But the Shikotsumyaku truly was an exceptional and well-rounded bloodline limit.
It had even managed to counter some aspects of Mitsuki's own fighting style.
If he were to compare Shinosuke to the opponents he'd faced so far... Well, Mitsuki smirked to himself.
He was probably about one and a half times as strong as Rasa.