Chapter 312: The Wrath of Ōnoki
To reduce two massive mountains to flowing sand in a single instant—how many Wind Release slashes did the Fourth Kazekage have to unleash to accomplish that?
Just thinking about it made Huangtu lose any will to fight the Fourth Kazekage.
What made it worse was that the Fourth had released that terrifying Wind Release Slash jutsu without forming a single hand seal.
In other words, his Wind Release Slashes were completely seal-free.
And to unleash countless slashes in an instant without hand seals… Huangtu was overwhelmed.
How do you fight that?
You don't.
The Iwa shinobi were stricken with fear, while the Sand shinobi were brimming with joy.
So strong!
Too strong!
As expected of the strongest Kazekage in history!
Li Yao's Wind Clone's overwhelming power had all the Sand shinobi surging with excitement.
Huangtu's face turned pale. For a moment, he had no idea how to stop Li Yao's Wind Clone.
But he couldn't just do nothing!
"All units, Earth Release – Seismic Core!"
At the critical moment, Huangtu roared and gave the command.
Everyone quickly formed hand seals and unleashed the wide-area Earth Release: Seismic Core.
BOOM!
In an instant, the earth within a two-kilometer radius sank rapidly. Huangtu and his forces included.
The ground under Li Yao's Wind Clone and the Sand shinobi dropped a hundred meters, trapping them in a massive rectangular pit.
"Let's die together!"
Looking at Li Yao's Wind Clone a hundred meters away, Huangtu's expression was firm. He and the remaining Iwa shinobi quickly began forming more hand seals.
"Earth Release – Ear…!"
But before he could even finish thinking the name of the jutsu, it was cut off.
Shing!
Li Yao's Wind Clone flicked his index finger lightly, and a sharp slash wave swept horizontally forward. Its speed was so fast it looked like space itself was being torn apart, crossing a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
"Not good!"
In a moment of pure instinct, honed by years of battle, Huangtu ducked low just in time. The slash wave flew over his head.
He survived.
But the Iwa shinobi behind him didn't have his combat instincts—or his strength.
Even though the slash could be seen and heard, it was far too fast for those mid-jutsu to react.
BOOM!
On the rear rock wall, the slash carved a deep scar, like a calligraphy brush slicing across paper.
Huangtu turned his head reflexively.
In that instant, all he saw were comrades frozen mid-seal, their faces gone—heads missing.
Where did they go?
Thud thud… With a sickening sound, the heads landed on the ground, still spewing blood. Some stared back at him, others faced away.
Dead.
All of them—dead in an instant. Only Huangtu remained.
Step!
Before Huangtu could even grieve, the soft footstep of Li Yao's Wind Clone rang out directly in front of him.
He turned and saw the youthful Fourth Kazekage looking at him thoughtfully. Then Li Yao's eyes lit up as he smiled.
"Oh, I remember now. You're that guy Ōnoki's son. Huangtu, right?"
"No wonder you dodged that slash. With reflexes like that, you haven't shamed your father's name. Not bad. Truly worthy of being Ōnoki's son."
Swish!
Li Yao's sincere praise didn't earn respect—it was met with a massive rock-covered fist filled with blazing fury.
Crack… A transparent barrier appeared in front of Li Yao, and the moment the fist struck it, it was crushed into invisible powder—instantly vaporized.
Bam!
Huangtu flew back ten meters, clutching his shoulder where his forearm had been severed. His eyes were filled with anger and despair as he glared at Li Yao's Wind Clone.
This man not only had terrifying offensive power with his Wind Release Slashes—he also possessed invincible defensive ninjutsu.
How do you fight someone like this?
Maybe only his father's Dust Release could defeat him.
As that thought passed, Li Yao reappeared at Huangtu's side.
Shing!
This time, Li Yao didn't say anything. With a thought, his Wind Release Slash severed all four of Huangtu's limbs.
"Handle him. Don't let him die."
Li Yao gave the order.
Rasa and the others who had followed looked fearfully at Li Yao's back and nodded quickly. They summoned medical-nin to stop the unconscious Huangtu's bleeding.
Looking at Huangtu's mutilated body, the Sand shinobi—including Rasa—witnessed for the first time the terror that the Fourth Kazekage could inspire.
From this day forward, they would feel only reverence before Li Yao's Wind Clone.
Once Huangtu was stabilized, the group continued onward.
The sunken earth no longer mattered. Shinobi could walk on vertical walls.
"Leave them. Head straight for Iwagakure."
Along the way, when they encountered Iwa shinobi scouts, Li Yao stopped the Sand shinobi who wanted to give chase.
He had Huangtu's limbless body strapped to the frontmost position—on full display for the scouts to see.
"You vile Fourth Kazekage! A warrior may die, but must not be humiliated! How dare you treat Lord Huangtu like this!?"
"Unforgivable!"
As expected, the sight enraged the Iwa scouts.
Soon, within Li Yao's soul perception, he saw flocks of Iwagakure messenger hawks flying skyward—heading for where the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was stationed.
…
On the road from eastern Land of Earth to Iwagakure, across a vast plain.
It was called a "plain," but it was really just a huge stretch of barren land, devoid of water or grass—just yellow-brown rock.
Reaching this place meant Iwagakure wasn't far.
Ōnoki led a force of about three hundred Iwa shinobi across the rocky plain.
Cry! Suddenly, a sharp hawk's cry rang through the sky. Ōnoki looked up to see three black hawks circling overhead.
"Something's happened!"
Ōnoki's expression changed. The black lines on their wings meant they were Iwagakure's message hawks.
Three of them circling meant someone was urgently sending multiple messages—an emergency of the highest level.
Ōnoki's heart sank.
Call! One of the ANBU beside him whistled using Iwagakure's special hawk communication tone.
The hawks quickly descended, landing on the ANBU's outstretched arms. Another ANBU unstrapped the message scrolls tied to the birds and handed them to Ōnoki.
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
"Everyone, stay alert!"
Ōnoki halted the unit and gave the command before opening the scroll.
"Huangtu!!!"
Just a few lines in, Ōnoki's anguished and furious cry burst out. His chakra flared uncontrollably, and the surrounding shinobi felt a chill in their hearts as they looked toward their enraged leader.
Clearly, their Third Tsuchikage was filled with rage.
(END CHAPTER)
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