Chapter 415: Crossing Through Space-Time
The blazing sun hung high, scorching the boundless sea of sand into a blinding expanse of golden yellow.
Heat waves distorted the horizon, making distant dunes look like wavering mirages.
Wind rolled up fine sand, sweeping across the ground in spirals, producing endless rustling whispers, silently devouring all traces.
The sand grains were scalding. Even through boot soles, one could feel that burning temperature. The air was so dry it sucked away the last trace of moisture from the throat.
"You're the sand bandit Akakaze?"
Arato licked his dry lips, tucking the portrait in his hand into his clothing.
That guy ahead was wrapped up tightly from head to toe. That face was even covered with oil paint, making it impossible to see his features clearly.
Only that Sand Village headband on his forehead gleamed brightly, incomparably clear, with none of the scratches customary for rogue ninja.
"Hmph, looks like you came for me!"
Akakaze spun the kunai in his hand around his index finger, his eyes full of mockery.
"Did you take a private contract from nearby merchants?"
"These guys really aren't trustworthy!"
"They all say nice things, but after buying the spoils of war at low prices, they turn around to sell me out and make another profit?"
"Who did they sell my information to, that bullshit Uchiha Divine Nation?"
Arato ignored his questions, just nodding.
"Good that it's you. There are still quite a few rogue ninja on the competition list. I need to pick up the pace, otherwise I'm afraid all these prey will be snatched away by Sasuke!"
"Competition? Prey?" Akakaze's brow raised, anger gradually rising in his heart. "Actually being looked down on!"
"However, kid, you've kicked an iron plate this time."
"Back in the day I was a jonin of Hidden Sand Village, not some stray dog from the roadside."
These past few years, it wasn't that former Hidden Sand Village companions hadn't brought messages to Akakaze, hoping to persuade him to join the Uchiha Divine Nation, adding strength to the daimyo faction opposing Rasa within the Divine Nation.
But as one of the notable jonin within Hidden Sand Village, Akakaze completely couldn't accept this kind of naked village betrayal.
Although the Land of Wind and Hidden Sand Village had already been buried beneath this vast yellow sand, that sense of belonging branded into his soul had never faded.
He remembered the silhouette of the Kazekage building at sunset, remembered the flying sand and dust on the training ground and companions' shouts, remembered the oath when executing missions for the village to never retreat even facing desperate situations.
Surrender?
That meant acknowledging the Land of Wind had completely perished, acknowledging Hidden Sand Village's will had been completely crushed.
He couldn't do it.
Not everyone's backbone could be easily bent.
Even if those major ninja clans had all surrendered, even if the daimyo himself had surrendered, he, Akakaze, absolutely would not surrender!
Someone had to remember this desert's original name, remember which flag it was that fluttered in the wind.
He lived as Hidden Sand Village's person, died as Hidden Sand Village's ghost!
He'd rather be a rogue ninja his whole life, wandering this desert that originally belonged to the Land of Wind, homeless, poverty-stricken, than firmly refuse to join that so-called Uchiha Divine Nation!
After refusing to kneel in surrender, he'd known this day would come.
However, he'd originally thought Rasa, that traitor, would bring people to capture him. Who knew this time it was actually a young foolish kid.
"That bastard Rasa didn't actually come. What a waste of all my careful preparation."
Akakaze complained silently in his heart, deciding to teach this foolish kid a lesson, letting him know what the weight of a jonin was.
Akakaze straightened his somewhat hunched back. The wretched aura of a sand bandit faded. The pride and ruthlessness belonging to a Hidden Sand jonin resurfaced.
He struck first, rapidly forming hand seals, then blowing from his mouth.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The surrounding air seemed pulled and compressed by invisible force. A visible, violent hurricane column mixed with countless sand grains gushed from his mouth.
This wind column carried a shriek that could tear everything apart, rolling up large amounts of floating sand from the ground, forming a turbid, high-speed advancing sandstorm tornado, crushing toward Arato overhead with devastating momentum.
Wherever it passed, the sandy ground was plowed into deep furrows. Smaller stones were directly swept up and pulverized.
This was an old-school jonin's method!
Facing that sandstorm tornado arriving with destructive force, Arato wasn't anxious at all.
His feet were planted firmly on the scalding sandy ground. He simply brought his palms together cleanly, producing a crisp clapping sound.
Clap!
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
The movement was so plain it was almost casual, forming a stark contrast with Akakaze's swift hand seals, yet the effect was even more astonishing.
Boom! The parched sandy ground seemed to transform into an invisible spring source. Torrential water volume defied reason as it surged forth, instantly constructing a moving flood torrent giant wall.
Accompanied by deep rumbling sounds like an ancient beast's breathing, the flood carried a crushing weight, grinding forward along the ground with overwhelming momentum.
Bang!
The turbid violent yellow sand tornado and the clear surging deep blue water wall collided fiercely, producing earth-shaking rumbling sounds.
Crash! The contact point exploded, like detonating an enormous muddy water bomb.
Turbid water mist and sand mixture scattered everywhere, sprinkling down across the sky, splashing on the surrounding scalding sandy ground, producing soft hissing sounds, rising up in small patches of white steam, just like a light rain falling in the desert.
But after the sand and dust stones in the wild wind bonded together with the water flow, they immediately lost speed, became heavy, and could no longer rotate forward.
The originally fierce rotating sandstorm tornado was like a top fallen into a mud pit. Rotation speed plummeted sharply, structure collapsed, large amounts of muddy sand mixture fell like rain with thumping sounds.
After a brief struggle, the water wall with absolute mass and continuous energy supply completely overwhelmed the wind and sand that were already spent arrows.
The turbid tornado was swallowed, torn apart, and assimilated by the flood, becoming some slight impurities tumbling in the huge waves.
The water wall was slightly obstructed but its momentum didn't decrease, continuing to rumble forward toward the direction where Akakaze had originally stood.
"How is this possible?" Watching the surging huge waves approach, Akakaze was shocked.
This was in the desert, the place where water attribute chakra was most diluted. Using water release techniques had the worst effect.
Moreover, earth release inherently countered water release in attributes. Wanting to use water release to counter earth release, that wasn't just a simple matter of having a bit more chakra.
"Damn it, where did this monster come from?"
"Could it be another one of those geniuses from the original Konoha Village?"
Akakaze hurriedly leaped up, avoiding the huge wave's sharp edge far away. At the same time his hands formed seals again, slapping down on the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wave!"
Rumble...
The earth groaned painfully beneath his palm.
Chakra was like a giant stone thrown into water, triggering violent plate tremors.
A fierce, several meters wide deep chasm, like a giant beast's open mouth, suddenly split open from before his palm, spreading and expanding forward at alarming speed, lying precisely before the surging water waves.
This chasm was bottomlessly deep, its edges jagged, emanating the heavy scent of freshly turned earth and stone.
The overwhelming water flow roared as it poured into this suddenly appearing abyss, producing enormous rumbling and echoes.
The desert once again displayed its instinct to swallow moisture, only this time in a more violent manner.
Akakaze panted heavily, half-kneeling at the chasm's edge, watching that terrifying water release "drunk" by the earth's mouth, his heart still pounding with lingering fear.
As a Hidden Sand jonin, he was too clear about what executing this level of water release in a desert environment represented.
"No good, I can't engage him in direct combat like this!"
Looking at Arato in the distance still appearing calm and composed, Akakaze's heart stirred. He immediately turned and ran.
Arato watched that fleeing figure in panic, his face showing no surprise.
He and Zabuza had traveled the shinobi world for many years. Killing experience couldn't be compared to rookies like Sasuke. He deeply understood these seasoned rogue ninjas' cunning and viciousness.
Facing Akakaze's flight, Arato didn't sprint at full strength in pursuit. Instead, he maintained a stable, oppressive distance, like an experienced hunter driving prey, waiting for mistakes or exhaustion.
From time to time he'd release a few techniques, forcing the enemy to continue fleeing, just waiting for the enemy to flee back to his lair, then wipe out the bandit gang in one sweep.
Akakaze fled in panic through the sea of sand, relying on familiarity with terrain and environment to delay the pursuers behind as much as possible.
While fleeing, he monitored Arato's movements and quickly discovered Arato's purpose.
"Damn it, actually daring to look down on me like this!"
"Today I'll let you know that in battles between ninja, it's not that whoever is stronger definitely wins!"
"Tactics and strategy are both important parts of ninja combat!"
Akakaze's heart turned vicious. He changed direction, rapidly running toward a nearby dwelling place.
Soon, a desolate ruin resembling a city wreckage appeared in his line of sight.
Those collapsed earth walls, half-buried beams and pillars, deep alleyways... were excellent places for setting ambushes and sneak attacks.
Akakaze quickened his pace. Like a venomous snake returning to its den, he flashed into a shadow formed by collapsed buildings. His aura almost merged with the ruin's dilapidated deathly silence.
Seeing this, Arato also quickened his pace, closely following as he rushed in.
Upon entering, he discovered this ruin had been deliberately arranged inside, causing bizarre wind directions, chaotic echoes, and unstable light brightness.
"Very good, looks like this is your lair!"
Arato didn't care at all about the arrangements here. He just smiled slightly, clapped both hands together, took a deep breath, his chest puffing up high, then opened his mouth to spit forward.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
This time what gushed from his mouth wasn't huge waves, but an ultra-high pressure water line condensed to the extreme, thin as a thumb yet flashing with piercing cold light.
Hiss!
Sharp enough to tear eardrums, a breaking air sound suddenly rang out.
That wasn't a water flow sound. It was more like some ultra-high speed cutting tool slicing through air with fierce whistling, as if it were a sonic boom.
This water line was straight as a spear, speed terrifying. The air where it passed produced subtle distortions.
All obstacles before him, whether earth walls, beams and pillars, or other things, under this technique were completely pierced without hindrance, leaving only circular holes with mirror-smooth edges.
Arato's head slowly turned left and right. That fatal condensed water line swept across like a laser beam accordingly.
Sweeping horizontally, all broken walls, standing pillars, and damaged buildings in the fan-shaped area ahead, regardless of height or thickness, were neatly cut at the same height.
The upper halves of these giant objects lost support. After brief stillness, they began sliding downward along the smooth cut surfaces, collapsing.
They crashed thunderously to the ground, splashing countless sand and dust, causing the entire ruin to fill with ash.
Rumble...
Continuous collapse sounds like muffled thunderstorms echoed repeatedly in the ruins.
Enormous earth blocks, broken stone materials, twisted metal mixed with millennium-old dust crashed to the ground like mountain collapses, stirring up towering yellow dust storms.
Vision was instantly filled with turbid smoke and dust. Visibility plummeted sharply. The air was filled with choking earthy smell.
The originally complex terrain, under Arato's simple and brutal "cleanup," was forcibly cleared into a large area of chaotic blank space, also completely disrupting any ambush environment Akakaze might have preset.
"Damn it!"
Akakaze's figure was forced to emerge from the shadows again. Appearing with him were several rogue ninja companions who'd banded together for warmth.
"Hey, Akakaze, what are you doing!"
"Where did you provoke such a powerful enemy!"
"My mechanism puppets were all destroyed by him. You'll have to compensate me later!"
"Hey, kid, if you have grievances settle them outside. The Loulan ruins here don't welcome you!"
Everyone complained in unison, all with the idea of protecting themselves wisely, not wanting at all to oppose the troublesome Arato.
Akakaze looked at most of his carefully set mechanisms not even getting a chance to appear before being easily destroyed by Arato. His heart immediately raged wildly. He turned to shout loudly at the others:
"What nonsense are you all spouting!"
"This kid was sent by the Uchiha Divine Nation. Do you think he'll let you go?"
Everyone's expressions immediately changed upon hearing this, looking alertly toward Arato.
Arato's gaze swept across everyone's faces. He pulled out a stack of bounty notices from his clothing, compared them, and immediately broke into a beaming smile.
"You're all here. That's really wonderful. Saves me having to search everywhere."
"What? Such an arrogant kid!"
Seeing they couldn't stay out of it, these rogue ninja simply showed their fierce side, each taking up weapons, surrounding Arato in the center.
"Kill him!" Akakaze shouted loudly, launching the attack first.
"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"
The other rogue ninja also attacked simultaneously.
One person slapped both hands on the ground. Several sharp stone spikes broke through earth beneath Arato's feet, stabbing directly at his lower body.
One person spat out a scorching fireball, coordinating with Akakaze's wind release to form a compound technique with greatly increased power.
Another person's ten fingers hooked repeatedly. Chakra threads controlled puppets rushing out rapidly, wanting to engage Arato in close combat.
The others also all released their best techniques attacking Arato.
These people had fought together for many years with very coordinated cooperation. In an instant they formed a dangerous killing net before Arato.
"Hahahaha..." Arato laughed loudly, clapping both hands together. "Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
One trick to rule them all. Arato relied on this most familiar move to forcibly take on all enemies before him.
However you scheme and plot with myriad techniques, I'll overcome ten skills with one force!
This was Arato's simple yet effective combat philosophy.
Before absolute power, encirclement and coordination seemed so pale.
This move's power was entirely determined by chakra amount. When he used it, it was more than ten times stronger than when Zabuza used it.
The chakra in his body was simply like a never-exhausting spring. At this moment it surged forth again without reservation.
The water volume summoned this time was even more terrifying than when opposing Akakaze, as if it would instantly transform this ruin into a lake.
Boom... Splash!!!
Even more magnificent deep blue huge waves with Arato as the center violently spread and surged in all directions.
All attacks from Akakaze and others, the instant they contacted this crushing water wave, were like snowflakes thrown into boiling water, silently melting, unable to stir even a ripple.
Immediately after, the huge waves mercilessly struck every rogue ninja.
"Ah!"
Akakaze bore the brunt, as if struck head-on by a battering ram. His ribs groaned under unbearable burden. His whole person vomited blood and flew backward, heavily collapsing a broken wall before stopping.
The other rogue ninja were equally miserable. Some were swept up by the water flow, smashing like rag dolls against thick stone pillars, bone cracking sounds clearly audible.
Some were directly slapped by the huge waves deep into the ruins, buried by subsequently collapsing rubble.
Just one strike, the encirclement momentum completely collapsed. The rogue ninja who'd just shown fierce faces now all lay like dead dogs in muddy water and rubble, either unconscious or groaning in pain, completely losing combat ability.
In the ruins, only the gurgling sound of water flow receding remained, along with Arato's upright figure standing alone in the center of the chaos.
"Damn it!"
"How could he be so strong?"
Akakaze struggled to climb from the muddy water, clutching his chest and dry coughing several times. Seeing the blood all over his hands, he knew this time he probably couldn't escape calamity.
But in his gaze there was no fear. Instead, it was all hatred and malice.
Facing Arato slowly approaching, he suddenly grinned and laughed heartily, carrying a kind of hysterical satisfaction.
Clap clap clap clap...
"We remnants abandoned by our country and ninja village should have died long ago!"
"Now being able to bring down a genius of the Uchiha Divine Nation before dying, that's worth it!"
"Kid, go to hell together with us!"
Akakaze almost roared out this last sentence. A trace of viciousness flashed through his eyes. His hands rapidly formed a seal.
Buzz...
A low humming sound as if coming from deep in the earth's core suddenly rang out. Something deep in the earth seemed to suddenly crack open.
The earth of the entire ruin began irregularly trembling. Not the shaking of an earthquake, but the throbbing of something about to break through earth.
Just like a venomous dragon suddenly breaking free of seals, rapidly bursting upward from underground.
Rumble!!!
The earth like a fragile eggshell layer by layer cracked and arched upward. Dazzling brilliant golden light burst forth from countless fissures.
Immediately after, a golden energy flood, like a volcanic eruption, thunderously broke through the surface, shooting straight to the clouds.
The radiance instantly swallowed Akakaze's figure, expanding and sweeping in all directions with unstoppable momentum. Wherever it passed, whether broken walls or sandy ground, all were covered, eroded, and assimilated by this pure and violent energy flow.
The entire Loulan ruins, in an instant, transformed into a golden ocean churning with destructive energy.
And Arato was right at the center of this suddenly erupting "ocean"!
"Not good!"
Before the energy erupted, Arato sensed something wrong. He subconsciously wanted to activate Body Flicker Technique to flee far away, but the chakra in his body suddenly fluctuated, making his body sluggish for a moment, unable to dodge in time.
At the same time, that ethereal voice that had appeared in his dream rang by his ear again.
Moreover, this time the voice was clearer, more precise, still carrying undeniable urgency and gravity.
"Child, go stop him!"
"Stop Uchiha Yasushi!"
"Before he destroys this world!"
Before Arato could react, the golden light suddenly exploded. The enormous rumbling resonated with his body, making his head dizzy as he lost consciousness.