Kushimaru was tall and slender, fast and agile, so he charged ahead first.
He leaned his upper body forward, lowering his center of gravity as he sprinted rapidly. The airflow stirred up by his high speed left a zigzagging trail behind him.
This unrestrained running speed made him unable to resist letting out a wild roar.
But, someone was faster than him.
Aka activated Swift Release, leaving a series of afterimages behind as she abruptly appeared before Kushimaru. With him having an astonished expression, she kicked him squarely in the abdomen.
Then, in the instant Kushimaru flew backward, she grabbed his throat. Her red eyes looked down upon him and the people charging from behind.
"A rabble. What use is there in coming in greater numbers?"
After saying this, she clenched her hand forcefully.
With a 'crack' sound, Kushimaru Kuriarare's head lolled to the side.
"Instant kill!?"
The Kirigakure's group halted their charge, each looking at this scene with disbelief.
As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Kushimaru was a genuine Elite Jonin.
Especially in the environment of the Bloody Mist Village, without strength, he would have long been killed by other candidates for the swordsmen, overtaken by newcomers.
Therefore, his strength was unquestionable; even against a typical Kage-level expert, he had a decent chance of winning.
But it was this very Kushimaru who couldn't even react and was instantly killed.
'Didn't Mizukage-sama just fight one against two and even suppress them for a while?'
'Why is the result like this now?'
'Could it be that Third Mizukage-sama's strength is on a completely different dimension from ours?'
For a moment, the Kirigakure group's gaze toward Aka held a trace of fear, and they hesitated regarding the Mizukage's command.
Seeing this, Aka couldn't help but feel disappointed, disdainfully saying, "Fearing before even fighting. Calling you a rabble is praising you!"
"Don't underestimate the Bloody Mist Village!"
Several Anbu, their blood riled, charged forward with blades drawn.
Aka's expression remained composed as she leisurely walked to meet them. With each step, small whirlpools of sand rose beneath her feet.
Just as both sides were about to make contact, several sand spears erupted violently, instantly piercing through the chests of the Anbu.
Blood splattered onto Aka's body, adding a somewhat eerie, terrifying aura to this crimson figure. Especially her indifferent eyes that never even glanced at her opponents from start to finish… if someone with weak mental fortitude saw them, they would instantly break down.
"Sunagakure bastards, don't get too arrogant!"
The Three-Tails and Six-Tails Jinchuriki roared at the sky. Viscous red Chakra oozed from their bodies. That immense, ominous, and unsettling amount of Chakra, merely leaking a tiny bit, caused the ground beneath their feet to crack and form craters about three meters in diameter.
Finally, the two were enveloped in materialized red Chakra, with three and six Chakra Tails respectively behind them.
Their foreheads, spines, and tails were also covered in bone-like structures.
—Half-Tailed Beast Transformation!
They got down on all fours, lowering their bodies, emitting low growls from their mouths. The tension between their feet caused the ground to crack repeatedly.
"So this is the combat form of a Jinchuriki!" Aka looked at the two Jinchuriki who had entered half-tailed beast form, her expression still calm. "This Chakra is indeed immense, but it's nothing special."
"Don't underestimate them!" After arranging for Kana to take the salamander to support the puppet corps, Ryuji, who had leisurely arrived at the front battlefield, reminded, "After all, they are two of the only nine Tailed Beasts in the world. If you're careless, you'll get hurt."
"Since they're so rare, I'll extract the Tailed Beasts and offer them to master!"
"No, killing them is enough." Ryuji smiled. "If you do that, the Tailed Beast balance will be disrupted. The entire Shinobi World would probably attack us then!"
"If that's the case..."
"Enough with looking down on us!"
The Three-Tails Jinchuriki roared, pushed off the ground with both legs, and explosively charged forward.
But the Six-Tails Jinchuriki was a step faster.
He was faster and more agile than the Three-Tails.
Although faster, he didn't make much noise, slithering like a mud eel to Aka's front. His body elongated, wrapping around her like a snake, secreting a mucus corrosive enough to dissolve a person into pulp.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
The mucus corroded Aka's body, emitting wisps of white smoke.
The Three-Tails arrived the next second. A claw possessing enough power to upheave the ground for dozens of meters around slammed down fiercely at Aka.
Yagura and the remaining several swordsmen, arriving a step later, also employed their own methods to attack Ryuji, attempting to prevent him from aiding her.
But surprisingly, Ryuji showed no intention of helping. Instead, he withdrew, leaping out of the combat circle, causing all the efforts aimed at stopping his rescue to fall short.
'What did this mean?'
'Planning to abandon his teammate and flee alone?'
Seeing this, Yagura and the others couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
The next second, they understood why.
Boom!
The Chakra-clad claw and the metallic-glowing fist collided, stirring up an unparalleled hurricane. Everyone at the center of the battlefield was blown away without exception.
A mechanical bird flew down from high above, catching Ryuji and soaring upward.
The next moment, an even more violent shockwave erupted.
The ground cracked inch by inch, spreading for hundreds of meters before suddenly collapsing, forming a crater several hundred meters in diameter.
The three figures at the center of the clash were unscathed.
"How can this be!?"
"Saiken's mucus can even corrode Chakra Metal into pulp. Why is this woman completely unharmed!?"
"How can this be!?"
"My brute force can even shatter mountains. Why could this woman block it with one hand, and in such an awkward position to exert force at that!?"
Both the Three-Tails and Six-Tails Jinchuriki widened their eyes. Even with their faces covered by materialized Chakra, their incredulous expressions were still visible.
Not just them, even the other Kirigakure's members found it unbelievable.
'Was this woman this strong?'
'Then why could Third Mizukage-sama suppress both of them alone earlier?'
'Was Third Mizukage-sama truly so powerful that he existed on a different plane from us?'
'Or was the other man too weak, dragging the woman down?'
Of course, that was impossible.
The truth was, the two sides had never engaged in direct combat.
In the previous battle, the Third Mizukage had always relied on the light-speed movement characteristic of the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals to ambush from blind spots, never directly confronting Ryuji and Aka.
And Ryuji, Aka, and the mechanical bird lacked sensory abilities.
In the snow and ice domain obstructing their vision, catching an enemy who could move at light speed by reflecting off mirrors was an extremely difficult task.
If the opponent didn't actively engage you in combat, only ambushing from blind spots to catch you off guard, it would make the situation appear as if the enemy held the initiative and upper hand.
Those with insufficient strength witnessing this would naturally develop the illusion: The Third Mizukage fought one against two and even suppressed them, only falling to the enemy's scheme in the end.
But in truth, throughout the entire battle, the Third Mizukage had never injured or caused Ryuji and Aka to become flustered.
On the contrary, even relying on guerrilla tactics, he was resolved within five rounds.
This truly reflected the difference in strength.
"People always mistake their own common sense for the world's truth. Once something beyond their common sense appears, they act as laughably ignorant as children!" Aka mocked.
Steel Release strengthened her body, resisting Saiken's corrosion.
Using the Strength of a Hundred Technique on top of a Steel Release-enhanced body to counter the Three-Tails' brute force.
The truth behind the Kirigakure's group's astonishment wasn't actually that remarkable.
Of course, this was from Ryuji and Aka's perspective.
For ordinary Shinobi, simultaneously using a Kekkei Genkai and performing precise Chakra Control was simply impossible.
But Aka could.
Sasori's talent for multi-tasking was demonstrated here.
Seeing this, Ryuji smiled. "It seems you can handle it alone. Then I'll leave this to you. I'll go help Gin and the others."
"Master, go with peace of mind!"
"Then be very careful."
"Mhm!"
Hearing this, Ryuji nodded and turned to run toward the depths of the forest battlefield.
"Don't even think about it!"
How could the Kirigakure's group let Ryuji's plan succeed so easily? They immediately split into two groups, with the swordsmen moving to intercept Ryuji.
But they had only taken a few steps when the ground suddenly exploded, rising into a massive sand curtain that divided the battlefield.
"Did I allow you to leave?"
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look toward Aka at the center of the field, meeting her sharp gaze.
"It seems we can't leave without dealing with her."
"Then let's attack together!"
"While she's still tied up by the Six-Tails, attack together!"
Yagura and the swordsmen charged at Aka together.
The Three-Tails Jinchuriki also jumped back before swinging his claw to attack again.
"That's more like it!"
A slight smile appeared on Aka's face as she suddenly grabbed the Six-Tails wrapped around her. "Dark Release: Inhaling Maw!"
Whoosh~
A fierce suction force generated from her palm, pulling at the Six-Tails Jinchuriki's Chakra Cloak and drawing it into her hand.
"She also knows Dark Release!?"
The Six-Tails Jinchuriki's eyes widened.
"Hmph!"
Aka sneered coldly, raised her palm toward the Kirigakure's Shinobi charging at her. The pore mark in her palm brimmed with dense Chakra light.
"Enjoy the Jinchuriki's Chakra!"
Everyone was greatly alarmed, instantly scattering in all directions.
Only Yagura remained in place, forming hand seals. "Water Release: Water Mirror Technique!"
Whoosh!
Vast Chakra surged forth like an ocean. Without any Nature Transformation, the sheer Chakra itself turned the ground along its path into powder.
A water mirror condensed, and another Aka leaped out from it, spewing forth equally immense Chakra toward the front.
The two collided in the middle, erupting in a violent blast.
Boom!
Accompanied by deafening roars, shockwaves rolled, and violent winds swept through. The land within a kilometer radius was engulfed in smoke and explosions.
Whoosh!
A figure flew out from the smoke, charging at Yagura.
Yagura's heart skipped a beat. Subconsciously, he raised his coral staff to strike.
Thud!
The coral staff struck the incoming figure unexpectedly, sending them flying.
Yagura was stunned. Looking closely, the flying figure was actually an elderly, decrepit old man… none other than the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.
'Not good!'
Yagura inwardly cursed, his body moving instinctively.
But it was too late.
During his moment of stunned hesitation, Aka had already activated Swift Release and arrived behind him.
"Die!"