"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Several Sunagakure Shinobi simultaneously formed hand signs.
The battle had officially begun.
Violent hurricanes swept across the battlefield.
Various Ninjutsu intertwined.
Earth-shattering roars echoed.
The Sunagakure Shinobi and Rain Shinobi simultaneously charged at each other.
Blades clashed.
The sound of metal colliding echoed overhead.
Haruki knelt on the spot.
The Curse Power in his hand quickly healed the Shinobi's wounds.
The Sunagakure Shinobi's objective was very clear.
They desperately suppressed the Rain Shinobi, continuously closing in on Haruki in the very center.
Iron Hail, in front of Haruki, roared and swung his black iron umbrella.
He simultaneously faced two Shinobi, his tiger's mouth already bleeding profusely, but he seemed oblivious to the pain, mechanically fending off the attacks of the two Sunagakure Shinobi, using his body and black umbrella to separate them from Haruki.
Kuroai's twin blades unsheathed, and with a flash of black light, two large wounds appeared on the Sunagakure Shinobi's chest.
Yushishi's Kunai violently collided with the Sunagakure Shinobi's magnet-covered arm.
Sparks flew!
Yushishi heard a crisp cracking sound.
His expression changed, and his gaze shifted to the Kunai.
A crack appeared on the Kunai.
The Sunagakure Shinobi let out a sneer.
Another Sunagakure Shinobi silently slid in from the side, a sharp blade slashing across Yushishi's ankle before he could defend.
Blood splattered, and Yushishi's body stumbled, falling awkwardly to the ground.
His Achilles tendon was severed.
Seeing Yushishi fallen on the ground, the Sunagakure Shinobi immediately converged on him like sharks smelling blood.
Yushishi gritted his teeth and closed his eyes.
The pain didn't come.
Yushishi opened his eyes, and Rika's massive body blocked him.
Before the Kunai and shuriken could strike, she crushed them into twisted scrap metal.
Blood mist continuously exploded before Yushishi's eyes.
Yushishi suddenly felt the pain gradually fading.
He turned and saw Haruki.
The wound on his ankle instantly healed.
Haruki smiled at him.
A surge of strength immediately welled up from within him, and Yushishi stood up, rejoining the battle, swinging the twin blades in his hands.
Haruki's gaze swept over the Rain Shinobi blocking him.
The Rain Shinobi were already somewhat exhausted.
Just like Iron Hail, he was still struggling to resist the Sunagakure Shinobi.
But his movements in swinging the black iron umbrella became slower each time.
The originally impenetrable umbrella surface was also covered with deep scratches left by various weapons and spots of poison corrosion.
The senbon within the umbrella's rim were already depleted.
Every Rain Shinobi was covered in all sorts of wounds.
Though not fatal, they still affected their strength.
The number of Sunagakure Shinobi was already greater than that of the Rain Shinobi.
If this continued, there would only be one outcome.
The defeat of the Rain Shinobi was inevitable.
Wind blades grazed Kuroai's arms, and streaks of blood immediately burst open on them.
Blood continuously dripped onto the ground, and his twin blades fell with it.
His hands trembled, no longer able to lift the blades from the ground.
Muteki's lips turned purple; his movements could no longer keep up with his mind.
His sore and weak hands showed an imperceptible hesitation, and in that single second, he was immediately caught off guard by the Sunagakure Shinobi.
Steel wires tightly bound his hands.
Yushishi gasped heavily.
With each breath, a stinging pain like needles pricking came from his lungs.
He formed hand signs again, however, his Chakra was almost depleted.
Overuse of Chakra made his vision black out in waves, and his legs felt as if their bones had been removed, unable to stand.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
High-pressure air bullets tore through the air, piercing Yushishi's body in the blink of an eye.
Several blood holes burst open on Yushishi's body.
His expression was dazed; only when his body heavily hit the ground did he feel the onset of pain.
Blood rapidly drained from his body.
He felt his life draining away with it.
No Rain Shinobi could stand up anymore to carry his body to Haruki.
All the Rain Shinobi were already preoccupied with their own struggles.
They might have wanted to move, but their bodies had lost control.
"Rin..."
Kuroai crawled up, only to fall back into the mud the next second. The little Chakra left in his body could only keep him from fainting; escaping with Haruki was simply impossible.
But he refused to give up, continuously getting up and falling down.
The Sunagakure Shinobi formed a circle, the fear in their eyes gone, looking at them mockingly.
Haruki held his hand.
Kuroai gripped his wrist tightly: "Run! Run!..."
Haruki looked at the increasingly battered Rain Shinobi, as cold rain mixed with blood slid down their faces.
Their eyes all looked at him, conveying the same signal as Kuroai.
"Run!"
Would Haruki run?
Of course not.
He came to the battlefield to earn emotional points.
It's not over yet!
He hasn't even started harvesting the next wave of emotional points!
How could he run?
Wouldn't that be foolishly giving up an easy gain?
"I won't run."
"I told you, I will protect you."
Haruki held Kuroai's hand, his resolute gaze sweeping over each Rain Shinobi looking at him.
[Ding!]
[System detected Kuroai's affection value +1000]
[Ding!]
[System detected Iron Hail's affection value +1000]
[Ding!]
[System detected Yushishi's affection value +1000]
[Ding!]
...
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way~
Haruki hummed in his mind.
[...]
[Ding!]
[A total of 83,000 affection points have been collected, and your companion Cursed Spirit, Rika Orimoto, has increased to Rank 58.6%]
"Hmph!"
"Protect?"
The Sunagakure Shinobi couldn't help but scoff.
"Forget protecting them!"
"You're going to die yourself!"
The Sunagakure Shinobi glanced at Rika above Haruki's head, his eyes darkening: "This monster will die with you too!"
"Of course..."
Their tone shifted.
"If you're willing to serve our Hidden Sand Village, we might spare your life!"
The Sunagakure Shinobi stared at Haruki, "Your Medical Ninjutsu is indeed somewhat useful."
"Live or die, you choose!"
The Sunagakure Shinobi raised the long blade in his hand, wiping away the bloodstains bit by bit.
"I will live on as a Shinobi of Amegakure."
Haruki looked at the Sunagakure Shinobi before him: "And you, will die."
"Hahahahahahaha..."
The Sunagakure Shinobi couldn't help but burst into laughter.
A child not yet ten years old, spouting such big words to nearly a hundred Shinobi.
How could that not be amusing?
Even if he had a monster helping him, he was no match for them!
Suddenly.
Their laughter abruptly stopped.
The world seemed to have been muted.
Utter silence.
Only the intertwining sounds of breathing and heartbeats remained.
A powerful killing intent, like viscous cement, instantly sealed the mouths and noses of all Sunagakure Shinobi, and intense fear seized their minds.