The liquid figure solidified in an instant, and Hozuki Satsuki's Executioner's Blade swept out once more. This time, the angle was even more treacherous, a killing strike designed to be impossible to dodge.
Seizing the opening, the two Yuki clansmen flanking him moved in perfect sync, their hands flashing through a series of seals.
Ice Release: Ice Prison Jutsu!
In their minds, this coordinated pincer attack had Yuta completely cornered.
'It was no wonder Minato always looked so smug when he returned home.'
Yuta could picture it now: the enemy, having painstakingly set their trap and unleashed a devastating combo, only for Minato to activate the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanish.
He'd pop back to Konoha, dodge the attack, maybe throw on a robe, slurp down a bowl of ramen, take a quick bath, and then teleport back to the battlefield to finish the fight with a Rasengan.
Even if he couldn't secure an immediate victory, it didn't matter. Once a Flying Thunder God Mark was placed, he could just teleport back anytime he was bored, land a cheap shot with a Rasengan, and teleport away. The sheer annoyance of it would be enough to break anyone's spirit.
'The mechanics of that Jutsu is broken.'
A desperate wish surged within Yuta: if only he could master the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. Right now, he was little more than a brute—an overpowered stat monster. He needed to refine his own combat system.
At least then, in situations like this, he could handle things with a bit more finesse.
But for now… Yuta's eyes narrowed at the encroaching walls of ice. There was no hesitation in his moves.
He slammed his palms together, and a faint, bluish-white energy flickered to life between them. In the next moment, the light erupted, transforming into three colossal slashes of compressed wind that screamed outwards.
The edges of the arcs were wreathed in spiraling currents, and where they passed, the air itself seemed to be torn asunder, leaving behind three shimmering trails of vacuum.
Sage Art: Wind Release: Wind Cutter Barrier!
This was an ultimate technique of his own creation, born from his innate affinity for Wind Release and his impeccable chakra control. Its destructive power was on par with his Rasenshuriken.
Imbued with the energy of Sage Mode, the slashes met the rising ice prison with a grinding roar. The ice shattered on contact, exploding into a million glittering shards that shot outwards like a volley of deadly needles.
Hozuki Satsuki, who had been ready to strike, felt his blood run cold.
'What power… if I take another step forward, I'll die!'
His intuition, which had saved his life countless times before, screamed at him. He aborted his attack, throwing himself backward while his body instinctively liquefied into a puddle, his survival instincts kicking into overdrive.
Yet, even with his Hydrification Technique active, the sheer force of the shockwave battered his watery form. The Hydrification Technique was not invincible. While its primary weakness was Lightning Release, any sufficiently powerful ninjutsu could overwhelm it, scattering the user's liquid form or even jellifying them.
An S-rank Wind Release technique amplified by Sage Mode certainly qualified as an overwhelming ninjutsu .
Fortunately, Satsuki had been on the periphery of the blast and had retreated in time. After a moment of struggle, the puddle of water coalesced, slowly reforming his human body on the scarred earth.
"What a monstrous jutsu… Cough! I almost died just from the aftershock," he wheezed, his voice ragged.
As his form solidified, his heart sank. During the chaos, the remaining Uzumaki ninja had seized their chance.
A shimmering, violet rectangular barrier now enclosed the clearing—the Four Violet Flames Formation. The battlefield was sealed. Retreat was no longer an option.
The only silver lining was that the two Yuki clansmen had been positioned at a distance and had avoided the brunt of that terrifying wind slash.
'No… wait!'
"That Konoha brat… where is he?!"
A spike of panic shot through Hozuki Satsuki. His eyes darted frantically across the battlefield.
But Yuta had given him no time to recover. The moment his Wind Cutter Barrier exploded, he had used the chaos as a smokescreen to disappear. His target was clear: the two Yuki clansmen who had been providing supporting fire.
Sage Art: Rasengan!
Yuta materialized behind one of the ice users, a churning sphere of blue chakra already spinning in his palm.
The targeted Yuki ninja sensed the danger too late, his body instinctively sheathing itself in a thick layer of defensive ice.
It was futile.
A short, sharp cry was cut off as the Rasengan connected. The Yuki clansman was thrown to the ground, a lifeless heap, his protective ice shattered into nothing.
"Damn it! I should have realized!" Hozuki Satsuki's face darkened with rage and self-recrimination. 'I can use the Hydrification Technique, so of course his primary targets would be the Yuki clansmen!'
It was a fatal tactical error. The remaining Yuki ninja, his face pale, quickly scrambled to Satsuki's side, the two of them now standing back-to-back.
"You Konoha brat… you've truly pissed me off now," Hozuki Satsuki growled, his voice low and venomous. He raised his arm, pointing a single finger at Yuta.
A high-pressure jet of water, compressed to the density of steel, shot from his fingertip like a cannonball, screaming towards its target.
Water Release: Water Gun Technique!
This was the infamous secret technique of the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu. Renowned throughout the shinobi world, its power was so immense that Gengetsu had once used it to achieve a mutual kill with the Second Tsuchikage Mū, the developer of the terrifying Dust Release. That alone spoke volumes of its lethal potential.
Its only drawback was that it had to actually hit.
The moment Yuta had identified his opponent as a member of the Hozuki clan, he had been waiting for this. The instant the water bullet left Satsuki's finger, Yuta's hand was already moving, a familiar, screeoping sphere of wind taking form.
Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!
When it came to a direct clash of power, the Rasenshuriken was an almost unstoppable force.
The two techniques collided with a cataclysmic roar. The raging sphere of wind met the hyper-compressed water bullet, and for a moment, the very air was sucked from the clearing. Countless microscopic wind blades shredded the water jet, pulverizing it into a fine, harmless mist.
A standard Rasenshuriken would have overwhelmed the Water Gun. One enhanced by Sage Mode annihilated it.
Hozuki Satsuki's eyes widened in shock. There was no time to think. He liquefied his body once more, splashing down to the ground to avoid the ensuing blast.
But the Rasenshuriken, having devoured its target, did not stop. It continued its path of destruction, screaming towards the last remaining Yuki clansman. Just like his comrade, the man had no time to even scream before the vortex of wind blades consumed him, tearing him apart.
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