When it came to Wind Style and Fire Style Ninjutsu, Sarutobi Asuma wouldn't dare claim absolute superiority just yet.
After all, Uchiha Madara wasn't dead yet, and his own father was proficient in all five major elemental natures.
But when it came to Chakra Control, he dared to claim the top spot.
And Chakra.
Before, when he released the Yin Seal, it was a hundred times his own Chakra.
The previous battle had only consumed a tenth of it.
His Chakra was still incredibly abundant.
Not to mention, his casting speed was unmatched.
Four Shadow Clones appeared.
Puppets were blown up one by one by Sarutobi Asuma and Hatake Sakumo, showering sparks.
The moment the Sand Ninja unleashed their large-scale Ninjutsu, the two of them flashed into the encirclement of the Shadow Clones.
The Shadow Clones' Ninjutsu then erupted.
Level 8 Fire Style: Flame Bullet, 19%!
Level 6 Wind Style: Oppression, 49%!
Air currents rubbed together, creating booming explosions.
A storm of flames swept in all directions. The Ninjutsu from the four Shadow Clones, against the dozen or so Sand Ninja, fought them to a standstill.
And with almost no gap, the second wave of Ninjutsu was released, clashing once more with the second wave of Sand Ninja Ninjutsu.
Meanwhile, Sarutobi Asuma took advantage of the large-scale Ninjutsu collision obscuring vision and disrupting senses. He unleashed Scorch Release: White-Eyed Blue Dragon, lifting himself and Hatake Sakumo into the sky atop the Scorch Style dragon.
Four Chakra arms extended. As the second wave of Ninjutsu collided and its aftershock spread, a sharp buzzing sound arose.
Four Scorch Style Rasenshuriken condensed.
This time, they weren't small!
"In the air!"
Sunaoka and several Sand Ninja Jonin reacted quickly. They looked up, seeing four large blue and white pinwheels descending from the sky.
"Not good!"
"There's no time to use Ninjutsu..."
Sunaoka's pupils constricted. He retreated, throwing a kunai attached with a paper bomb, and shouted, "Scatter!"
Other quickly reacting Sand Ninja Jonin made the same move, throwing a torrent of kunai and shuriken towards the four descending pinwheels.
However, they couldn't stop them.
When they were less than twenty meters from the ground, the four pinwheels suddenly expanded violently, forming four massive blue and white spheres of light that covered a one-kilometer radius.
Immediately after, accompanied by roaring sounds, a terrifying blast of superheated air swept out in all directions. Wherever it passed, vegetation was ripped from the ground and rapidly turned to charcoal and ash by the extreme heat.
The speed of this storm had reached 70 meters per second, a speed no one among the Sand Ninja could match.
Even the fastest reacting elite Jonin like Sunaoka were quickly overtaken and engulfed by the storm.
One minute later.
Inside the crater, nearly a kilometer in diameter, dried corpses lay scattered everywhere.
At the edge of the crater, some Sand Ninja were letting out bloodcurdling wails.
They weren't dead, but they had lost the ability to move. Their bodies were severely burned over large areas.
Further away, Sunaoka and other Sand Ninja Jonin also had burn marks all over them, and some had broken bones.
Sarutobi Asuma, carrying Hatake Sakumo, descended from the sky. Under the Lightning Style Chakra Mode, none of the injured but still-living Sunaoka and the others could escape. They were all finished off.
"The main Sand Ninja force is coming, withdraw!"
Hatake Sakumo sensed a large number of Sand Ninja approaching and immediately warned.
"Understood!"
Sarutobi Asuma nodded.
The two of them retreated quickly.
However, at regular intervals, Sarutobi Asuma left behind a Shadow Clone.
A moment later.
Streams of figures descended along the edge of the crater left by the Scorch Style Rasenshuriken.
"Damn it!"
"Hate it, we're still too late!"
"It's that Konoha brat again!"
"Our comrades who died by his hand must be over a hundred by now. That damned brat, I'll kill him and get revenge!"
The Sand Ninja, faced with rows of corpses and the grim battlefield, wore expressions of anger, hatred, and unconcealed fear.
The Sand Ninja had never underestimated Konoha.
Their objective in this surprise incursion into the Land of Fire was to plunder its towns, seize resources, and sow chaos, thereby gaining the initiative in the war.
While they knew Konoha's White Fang was guarding the border, their superior numbers gave them confidence they could break through the defenses.
They believed Konoha's White Fang, despite his strength, couldn't compensate for a disadvantage in troop numbers.
They had never imagined.
That an eleven-year-old brat would not only thwart their objective but also inflict such heavy losses.
The Jonin alone who had fallen to that kid likely numbered twenty.
"No survivors, everyone was finished off!"
A Sand Ninja medical-nin quickly finished examining the battlefield.
"Damn it, that cruel brat!"
A Sand Ninja couldn't help but curse.
At that moment, the crowd parted.
Chiyo and other Sand Ninja higher-ups appeared.
"No survivors, all finished off?"
Chiyo frowned.
A medical-nin quickly nodded, "Yes, Elder Chiyo!"
"That doesn't seem right."
Chiyo looked at the horribly mangled corpses, "The injuries caused by Scorch Release are extremely difficult to treat. Finishing them off rather than leaving them injured to cause us more trouble seems counterproductive."
A Jonin replied, "Perhaps it was to conceal his information."
"Our current intelligence on that Sarutobi Asuma is limited, precisely because those who encountered him are basically all dead."
"From what we know so far, he excels at the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai, Wind Style, Fire Style, and Lightning Style. He has also used Earth Style and Water Style in the past."
Chiyo remained silent, her gaze sweeping over the corpses. Suddenly, her expression changed, and she shouted, "Careful, spread out!"
Before her words had even fallen.
From a corpse lying at the edge of the large crater, there was a boom, followed by a flash of blue light against the newly appearing dawn.
A medical-nin's eyes widened as he covered his neck with his hands, but his head still rolled from his shoulders.
"Damn it, it's Sarutobi Asuma!"
"Kill him!"
...
Three more fell dead in quick succession. Sand Ninja surged towards Sarutobi Asuma, but in an instant, they were dispatched by the flashing blue light.
"So fast!"
Chiyo gasped, quickly shouting, "Puppeteers!"
Swish, swish, swish!
Puppeteers manipulated their puppets, launching them forward. A barrage of poison-tipped projectiles and toxic mist enveloped the area.
But the next moment, Sarutobi Asuma tore through the poisonous fog and, ignoring the numerous projectiles, charged into the puppet formation.
Boom, boom, boom!
Puppet after puppet exploded into fragments.
Under Sarutobi Asuma's Lightning Style, these puppets were no match.
Boom!
A storm erupted, and Sarutobi Asuma was sent flying backward, only to land steadily in the crater.
Around him, Sand Ninja, densely packed, formed a circle, surrounding him.
"Is that the Lightning Style Chakra Mode, similar to the Cloud Ninja?"
Chiyo looked at Sarutobi Asuma, her expression complicated.
Gazing at the young Sarutobi Asuma, she couldn't help but think of her own grandson.
If he hadn't defected, Sasori would likely have been as outstanding as this child before her.
What a pity...
With that thought, Chiyo's gaze suddenly sharpened, "Kill him!"
Poison needles and projectiles rained down, converging on Sarutobi Asuma from all directions.
This was followed by a large-scale Wind Style, forming a tornado, causing the various projectiles to fly without any discernible pattern.
Sarutobi Asuma chuckled as he looked at the attack, then with a pop, he dispelled it.
The numerous Sand Ninja were stunned by this display.
Chiyo, however, acted as if she had already anticipated it, showing no surprise whatsoever.
"Leave some people to clean up the battlefield; the rest will pursue."
"However," she added, "be cautious of the clone that little brat hid."
Chiyo gave the order, then moved past the large crater, leading the army in pursuit.
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