So fast!
Even faster than imagined!
And the force behind his attack is absurdly heavy…
Honda Denjiro used all his strength to block the thrust Rei Kaguya had launched at Inoue Nobuhiko after using Body Flicker, catching the strike with the ninja blade in his hand before Inoue could react.
But the tremendous power carried by the bone blade nearly shook the blade out of his hands. Honda Denjiro's gaze sharpened, and in his heart, he raised Rei Kaguya's danger level by another rank.
Fortunately, the time he bought for Inoue Nobuhiko allowed Inoue to successfully catch sight of Rei Kaguya after he closed in.
He rapidly formed the hand seals for his best ninjutsu. Then, as the ninja blade in Honda Denjiro's hand was knocked high into the air and his whole body was left wide open, Inoue shouted sharply.
"Wind Release: Wild Wind Blades!"
Sharp wind blades, centered on Inoue Nobuhiko and Honda Denjiro, shot wildly in every direction.
They toppled trees.
They severed branches.
They forced the double-headed wolf, Inuzuka Seo, who had been watching from the side, to dodge in a sorry state.
Yet the one person Inoue Nobuhiko wanted to force back, Rei Kaguya, did not retreat even a single step.
The wind blades struck Rei Kaguya's body and naturally tore apart his upper clothing. But when they came into contact with his skin, it was as if they had struck steel tempered a thousand times.
Without even leaving a red mark behind, they dissolved into harmless breezes and scattered.
"What—"
Inoue Nobuhiko was stunned by the scene before his eyes.
He knew that Rei Kaguya was a monster capable of directly contending with that Uchiha who used Wood Release.
But no matter what, he could not understand why a tall, slender youth like this could rely purely on the strength of his flesh to directly withstand the full-power Wind Release ninjutsu he had unleashed.
That was a high-difficulty ninjutsu rated B-rank…
"If you don't want to die, stop spacing out here!!!"
Honda Denjiro's roar broke Inoue Nobuhiko out of his daze.
He grabbed Inoue Nobuhiko by the collar and threw him backward. Then he swung the ninja blade in his hand, clanging and clashing as he cut down the countless hidden weapons shooting toward them from the front.
Honda Denjiro worked hard to ensure that the truly vital parts of his torso were not hit by those hidden weapons.
But areas such as his arms and legs lacked protection. Again and again, wet sounds rang out as blood flowers burst from his limbs.
By the time the torrential rain of hidden weapons finally stopped, Honda Denjiro's clothes had been completely dyed red by his own blood.
"Are you still going to resist stubbornly, Honda-senpai?"
Rei Kaguya looked at Honda Denjiro, whose elbows, knees, hips, and ankles had been pierced through by Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets. He now stood there, unable to move, like a rusted robot.
His tone was calm as he asked.
"Who would surrender… to a damn brat like you?"
Honda Denjiro spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and glared at Rei Kaguya's ragged upper body through gritted teeth.
His expression looked as if even if he died, he would still tear a chunk of flesh from Rei Kaguya's body.
Seeing this, Rei Kaguya turned his head toward the direction where Inoue Nobuhiko had disappeared and smiled.
"Using yourself as bait so your companion can seek help from that Konoha Anbu over there? Not a bad idea. Unfortunately, the person you're asking for help is a little weak."
"Wolf Fang Over Fang!!!"
The rotating black giant wolf charged forward with immense momentum, easily tearing the surrounding forest into a storm of wood chips as it bit toward Rei Kaguya's position with terrifying precision.
Inuzuka Seo had originally planned to wait until the other members of his squad were almost in position before joining forces with them to attack Rei Kaguya.
But when he saw Inoue Nobuhiko and Honda Denjiro, two Anbu who would be considered decent even in Konoha, driven into grave danger by Rei Kaguya in only three exchanges, he knew he could not keep waiting.
He was an Anbu shinobi under the Hokage.
Completing the mission, bringing important intelligence back to the village, and ensuring that Lord Hokage could make correct judgments based on that intelligence—those things were more important than his personal life or death.
Thus, after catching Inoue Nobuhiko, who had been thrown over by Honda Denjiro, and quickly reaching a verbal agreement with him, Inuzuka Seo activated Wolf Fang Over Fang, the strongest ninjutsu he currently possessed.
While creating a commotion that his teammates could not possibly ignore, he attacked Rei Kaguya with all his strength.
"Pretty confident, huh… Then let's try meeting force with force."
"Dance of the Larch: Full Bloom."
Rei Kaguya's right arm was rapidly covered by white bones breaking out from his body.
Under the infusion of a large amount of chakra, his bones formed a massive bone shield. If one looked carefully, one could even find a trace of extremely faint gray hidden beneath that pale bone.
After taking a deep breath, Rei Kaguya leaped up.
Holding that massive bone shield, he rushed straight toward the Wolf Fang Over Fang that had already whipped up a huge storm.
Screeeeech—
A piercing sound, sharp enough to nearly drive one mad, rang out from the point where the high-speed rotating Wolf Fang Over Fang collided with the giant bone shield.
A spear with tremendous destructive power.
A shield that could almost be called absolute defense.
Between the two, violent winds erupted and swept through the entire forest.
In this astonishing collision, large blossoms of blood and misshapen shards of white bone scattered in every direction.
But Inuzuka Seo, transformed into the black double-headed wolf, could see clearly.
While new wounds continued appearing on his and Kagemaru's bodies from the impact against the bone shield, not only did the bone shield in Rei Kaguya's hand withstand the destructive power of Wolf Fang Over Fang, it even became harder and thicker in return.
It was as if the bone fragments smashed apart by Wolf Fang Over Fang, fragments that punched hole after hole through the surrounding trees, had merely been Inuzuka Seo's illusion.
That Kaguya clan pursuer…
Did his chakra and stamina really reach such a level!?
Inuzuka Seo clenched his teeth. He worked hard to soothe his partner Kagemaru, who was already whimpering miserably, wanting to hold on a little longer.
But at that moment, Rei Kaguya, who had already adapted to the attack power of Wolf Fang Over Fang, suddenly erupted with astonishing strength.
He swung the bone shield and slammed it fiercely against the rotating black double-headed wolf.
The sudden counterattack directly broke the fusion between Inuzuka Seo and Kagemaru, sending the man and dog flying backward through white smoke while vomiting blood.
"Hah… As expected, defending against this kind of attack really needs a Rashomon. At least then I wouldn't have to hold the shield myself."
Rei Kaguya lightly shook his slightly sore right hand.
Then he aimed at Inuzuka Seo and Kagemaru, who were powerless and falling through the air, and formed a finger-gun gesture.
"Then I'll take the first head… Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
Pale, sharp finger bones pierced through Rei Kaguya's fingertips and whistled through the air, shooting straight toward Inuzuka Seo's and Kagemaru's hearts.
Inuzuka Seo, whose Wolf Fang Over Fang had been smashed head-on, tried his best to adjust his posture midair to avoid having his heart or brain pierced through by Rei Kaguya's direct attack.
But his exhausted body was as heavy as if it had been filled with lead, while Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets was far too fast.
In the end, he could only close his eyes with a bitter smile, silently regretting his mistaken decision.
If back then, instead of choosing to merge with Kagemaru and transform into the double-headed wolf to intimidate the enemy, he had directly used the Flying Thunder God kunai to call Lord Minato Namikaze over…
If it were the Yellow Flash, he would definitely find the weakness in this Kaguya clan bastard's defense…
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
A powerful male voice interrupted Inuzuka Seo's "final" flashback.
When he opened his eyes in surprise because of Hyuga Munekata's voice, a soft body caught him as he fell helplessly.
At the same time, the person spoke to him in a mildly reproachful tone.
"Didn't we agree that the moment you encountered the enemy, you would use the Flying Thunder God kunai? You've only gone on a few missions, and you're already starting to ignore the captain's orders, Seo-kun?"
"I'll apologize later."
Inuzuka Seo coughed out two mouthfuls of clotted blood and struggled to raise his head, looking around.
"Everyone, be careful. That Kaguya clan pursuer… is even stronger than imagined. He's practically… practically like a human-shaped Tailed Beast."
"Relax, relax. Our entire squad is here now, okay? Even if we can't defeat him in a short time, stalling until Lord Minato arrives should be more than enough."
The female shinobi from the Sarutobi clan who had caught Inuzuka Seo exhaled and spoke with full confidence.
Beside her, more than a dozen Konoha Anbu wearing different animal masks had already fully assembled.
The Anbu captain, Hyuga Munekata, who had just used Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm to save Inuzuka Seo, even took the initiative to step forward. He shouted loudly at Rei Kaguya, who was slowly withdrawing the enormous bone shield on his right hand.
"Now, it's your turn to consider whether you should retreat, brat of the Kaguya clan!"