The meticulously laid stone ground was crushed like tuna on a cutting board by the force bursting from feet wrapped in powerful chakra. Then, as Hii Kōri was outrageously charged, the ground along his path—and the wall behind him—were blasted apart by these fragile gravels.
The Amegakure ANBU, already drawn by the fierce Water Release exchange, could no longer pretend nonexistence. Without need for communication, a single gesture had them rapidly forming seals, jointly deploying a cylindrical barrier.
Neither Hanzō nor Hii Kōri paid the ANBU any mind.
Sensing the intense aura radiating from Hii Kōri in this stance, Hanzō's eyes finally showed a flicker of surprise.
'Maximizing physical activity through Yang Release chakra to further boost chakra output... similar to the Lightning Release Chakra Mode? No, feels subtly different...'
Aware of the gap between this abundant chakra and the Cloud secret technique he'd witnessed, but relying solely on perception, Hanzō could only judge this much.
Regardless, Hii Kōri couldn't answer his questions now. The only answer would be that hazy white light, seeming to tear vision itself.
"But, this is fine too!"
Hanzō, delighted to find such prey, neither dodged nor avoided—he simply pulled his scythe and made a chop.
Cracks like fabric torn by a blunt saw appeared at Hanzō's feet. Not cut by the scythe blade—simply crushed by the chopper's aftereffects.
The chopper, which cut through everything, and the blazing fist-flash canceled each other out, completely swallowed like white paint erased from paper, leaving not a trace.
The next moment, a genuine storm erupted here.
Slash, punch. Swing scythe, kick.
Blade and weight met fists and feet. Sounds far beyond common understanding of 'sparring' echoed passionately. In one second, or perhaps an even briefer instant, the two had clashed countless times.
In that deadly silver curtain, flecks of crimson occasionally splash in, vanishing in an instant.
Hii Kōri's blood—wounds from the kusarigama's counterattacks were instantly healed by abundant Yang Release chakra. Yet even so, if this were real combat rather than mere sparring, he'd have to divert energy to deal with the salamander's deadly poison.
But then again, in a real life and death battle, neither Hanzō nor Hii Kōri would use only these means, let alone the fact that Yin-Yang Cross was still an unrefined technique.
Yet Hanzō was being so gracious—he had to perform something novel for the elder, right? A good 'teacher' like Hanzō, who allowed him to go all out without posing a deadly threat, was hard to find!
'That puppet-crafting hag Chiyo did raise a fine son!'
As for Hanzō, he was somewhat unable to get off the tiger.
Though his defense remained watertight, the heavy force transmitted through the kusarigama numbed his hands. A few more exchanges and he might lose his grip.
As everyone knows, in the ninja profession, defense was generally weak.
Though many defensive ninjutsu existed, most were shields or barriers released externally—the ninja themselves remained fragile, dead from a single stab.
Overabundant attack means while itself vulnerable—this glass cannon situation described over ninety-nine percent of ninjas.
This was also what made Cloud's secret Lightning Release Chakra Mode so troublesome, beyond just speed.
They could take dozens of hits; their opponents, once punched, were done. Very unfair, very Zangief.
In Hanzō's view, Hii Kōri's 'Yang Release Chakra Mode' was another secret-level technique that greatly enhanced physical abilities while resolving lack of defense.
Simply retreat? Probably not. With Hii Kōri's current speed, even Water Shunshin couldn't escape pursuit. And regrouping was always harder than pursuing.
Then he'd just endure!
Decision made, Hanzō seized a moment to feign an opening, rapidly forming seals. A layer of turbulent Hard Water armor quickly took shape; the scythe blade and weight were also coated in flowing hardened water blades.
With defense matched, no longer fearing a fight-ending punch, Hanzō swiftly turned defense into offense. The obscure kusarigama became a overturned dragon in his hands, striking from every weird angle.
But he underestimated Hii Kōri's knowledge of various weapons.
Fists and kicks clashed with hardened water armaments, producing dense metallic rings like hammering.
The kusarigama techniques that had felled countless enemies, while not exactly failing, didn't achieve expected results either.
The intensity of their clashes suddenly jumped several levels. If the Amegakure ANBU hadn't strained to maintain the barrier, the entire courtyard would have been crushed by overflow shock and chop.
Suddenly, abandoning defense again, taking a low kick with just Hard Water armor, Hanzō felt a momentary trance. Though sober the next second, such an opening was far too conspicuous at this level of combat.
Even as Hanzō dodged backward with all his strength, the fist wrapped in blazing light still slammed into his shoulder.
Hanzō felt the punch lacked the force it should have, yet his grip on the kusarigama involuntarily trembled; the chain-end weight nearly struck the stone at his feet.
Another dizzy spell. He staggered back a step, hand to his forehead, realization in his tone.
"Yin Release spiritual shock wrapped in your strikes... Quite remarkable skill."
"Yin-Yang Cross... needs both Yin and Yang, right~"
Hii Kōri closed in again, his gray eyes flashing with unconcealed pleasure, his tone even turning slightly frivolous.
'Yin-Yang Cross... a good name.'
Yin Release's 'control' and Yang Release's 'enhancement'—unable to function simultaneously, hence a name implying continuous switching between Yin and Yang?
Even having perceived the mystery of this 'Yin-Yang Cross,' Hanzō didn't intend to press his advantage rashly. After all, this was merely Hii Kōri's own account. Given this Suna fox's nature, Hanzō absolutely wouldn't believe he had no hidden tricks.
Sweeping his kusarigama, countless water blades attached on the chain whipped up a spiral of swords, trying to suppress Hii Kōri outside close range.
However, Hii Kōri appeared unaware of this, entering the sword vortex and maintaining his composure as if to transform his combat proficiency to that of a close-quarters combatant.
Was this reckless?
Clearly not.
Though in functionality and scalability, chakra far surpassed cursed energy with its single applications, within the scope of what it could do, cursed energy's performance was as extreme as its origin.
In enhancing physical strength, cursed energy's effect was far more significant than chakra.
Swift, quick, swift.
Hii Kōri's figure carved a clean line, tearing through the water blade vortex, aiming directly at Hanzō's chest.
The blazing chakra aura was mixed with bluish-black flames. The secret cuts from hundreds of water blades vanished as if never existed.
At equal precision, the Reverse Cursed Technique's effect surpassed any medical ninjutsu. With Hii Kōri's cursed energy reserves and life force, in Yin-Yang Cross mode, he could nearly maintain Reverse Cursed Technique constantly, infinitely close to Kinji Hakari hitting the jackpot in his Domain Expansion.
Unless his entire head was instantly destroyed, he was virtually immortal.
Such minor wounds were nothing to fear.
Even though the traces of switching between Yin and Yang had been perceived by Hanzō, and Yin Release spiritual shock grew harder to land cleanly, Hii Kōri's mastery of Yin-Yang Cross was rapidly improving through this battle. Feeling cursed energy, Yin and Yang Release chakra harmonizing, filling his body, his mind and body grew increasingly light. Hanzō's earlier Water Release techniques came naturally to him, coordinated with his gusting wind taijutsu combos, even suppressing Hanzō in turn.
In a flash, Hii Kōri felt an epiphany—a tremor.
A tremor of cursed energy.
Honestly, since reincarnating into this world, his delving into cursed energy had been deeper than in his past life. In the jujutsu world, techniques that could be performed with cursed energy alone were quite scarce.
With another energy system for contrast, Hii Kōri had naturally developed many cursed energy-based techniques.
Cursed talismans, curses, Cursed Genjutsu—with these techniques usable without Innate Techniques, he could earn another Special Grade title in his original world, even establish his own school.
But for a jujutsu sorcerer, the pinnacle of pure cursed energy manipulation remained only that one black flash.
Black Flash.
In the instant when the error between impact and cursed energy strike is less than 0.000001 seconds, space distorts, and cursed energy flashes black.
A strike that produces Black Flash has power 2.5 times normal.
No one can actively produce Black Flash, but once produced, the sorcerer's state transforms.
Like athletes occasionally experiencing 'flow state' or 'state of selflessness,' cursed energy operations that normally require deliberate effort become as natural as breathing.
And after Black Flash, the experiencer emerges from his cocoon and becomes a butterfly, reaching another dimension.
Hii Kōri was an experiencer of Black Flash. His soul remembered that instant's tremor.
"Ah... now, yes—this!"
Thus...
"Behold—"
Burning the candle at both ends, touching year after year, staking his life on this single task, carrying on the past and adding splendor.
Living in this world, pain ever follows; body dies, life ends, yet joy remains.
Abandoning many joys, separating complexity and redundancy, cutting off the Eight Winds and Six Thieves.
Accumulating endless drilling, honing countless blades, piling remnants.
Everything this man named Hii Kōri had accumulated over two lifetimes—all gathered here.
Black sparks,burst of light.
"Cloud-Shining One Sword."
One breath is divided into minutes; one minute's eighth is a second; a second's tenth is a kei; a kei's tenth is a kotsu; a kotsu's tenth is a mō; a mō's tenth—that is ungyō (cloud-shining).
The hand blade, wrapped in black flash, seemed to cut space itself in two.
Time stretched infinitely. All color in his vision dissolved and collapsed.
The barrier erected by Amegakure ANBU was severed at six or seven meters—along with the several towers beyond, the birds flying higher above, even the thick clouds that almost never parted in the Land of Rain—all neatly cut in two after Hii Kōri swung that black slash skyward.
Hanzō had no doubt: if that strike had landed on him, his Hard Water armor would have been useless. Even tailed beasts, if struck in a vital spot, would likely fall on the spot.
Likewise, he understood how Hii Kōri He had attacked the Konoha stronghold single-handedly months ago.
achieving such results. Though after displaying such means he seemed defenseless, it was still astonishing.
For an instant, Hanzō genuinely considered killing Hii Kōri on the spot.
But thinking it through, it was utterly meaningless.
Hii Kōri's existence or non-existence didn't affect Amegakure's predicament—only Hanzō himself could shore up the situation before other great villages. And Hii Kōri had come bearing Suna's 'goodwill' to Amegakure, his movements traceable.
Killing him now—aside from driving Chiyo, who'd already lost a son, completely mad—what additional benefit would there be?
Besides, he was genuinely curious what mark Hii Kōri would leave on this ninja world.
Of course, Hanzō's assessment of Hii Kōri's strength was somewhat mistaken. Back then, Hii Kōri relied on camouflage identities to create information asymmetry, and specific devices to release the pendant's stored energy all at once.
But this slash was truly delivered by his own hand.
Black Flash—only Black Flash!
From Hii Kōri's perspective, Hanzō's misunderstanding did him no harm anyway.
Basking in sunlight long absent from this land, Hii Kōri collapsed among the rubble, as if exhausted all strength, breathing faintly.
"I'm back..."
Yet how could one who should have recovered through Black Flash be fatigued?
Those weren't exhausted breaths, but barely suppressed laughter, still uncontrollably escaping his throat.
My Cursed Technique—it's back!
***
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