"What the hell is that?"
The Hidden Stone Village ninjas beneath where Akashō descended only heard a loud shout from above. Confused, they looked up to see a six-eyed man dropping from the sky, a longsword in hand.
"Moon Breathing, Sixth Form, Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon - Incessant!!"
Several blade winds the size of a person tore down into the crowd, instantly slicing multiple people into pieces. The crescent-shaped blades within continued spinning, grinding the chunks into pulp. Blood sprayed everywhere, drenching those nearby.
Akashō landed in the clearing he had carved out. Under the stunned gazes of the surrounding Hidden Stone Village ninjas, he tightened his grip on the blade and spun, unleashing circular blade winds that expanded outward, bisecting several more and widening the clearing further.
"Who the hell are you!?"
"Damn, there's actually someone not afraid of death—daring to interfere in a battlefield this big!?"
"Is he from the Hidden Cloud Village? Why isn't he wearing a headband?"
"Why does he have six eyes? That's not normal…"
"Six eyes… wait, he's the Moon Sword Demon Kokushibo!?"
"Kokushibo!? That monster who's been wreaking havoc across the Hidden Sand Village, Hidden Leaf Village, and Hidden Stone Village camps!?"
"What's there to be afraid of? We dared to take on A, why would we fear him!?"
"But there's no reward for killing him…"
"Why is he interfering? Is he from the Hidden Cloud Village?"
Listening to the varied reactions of the Hidden Stone Village ninjas, Akashō straightened up and flicked the blood off his longsword.
"What's wrong, trash? Too scared to come at me now that I'm here?"
His blatant provocation instantly ignited their anger.
"What did you just say, bastard!?"
"Scared? I don't even know how to spell that word!"
"Get him!!"
Watching several hot-headed ones charge forward, Akashō grinned wide and dashed in as well.
His longsword danced continuously, blade winds flying out nonstop, cutting down the ninjas around him.
Yet the gruesome scene only stirred the bloodlust of those who hadn't rushed in.
After all, they weren't true Hidden Stone Village ninjas. In the traditional sense, their discipline might not match that of the great villages, but having wandered and fought for survival for so long, living lives on the edge of a blade, their fighting spirit was even fiercer.
If one had to compare, the ninja forces of the great villages were like wolf packs led by an alpha. If the alpha died—or faced an enemy that even it feared—the pack would scatter. But as long as the alpha remained fierce, the pack would hold together.
These miscellaneous ninja troops, however, were more like hyenas. They didn't need a leader, nor did they fear the deaths of their companions. As long as they were hungry, they would tear into any enemy—unless the opponent was overwhelmingly powerful enough to wipe them out entirely, they would never retreat.
"Kill!!!"
Seeing more and more ninjas charging in, Akashō let out a savage grin. This was more like it—if they broke after just a few deaths like before, that would've been truly boring.
Facing such numbers, the blade winds from ordinary Moon Breathing were no longer enough. Akashō once again manipulated his Blood Demon Art, evolving the Blade of Living Flesh.
Gripping the evolved weapon, veins bulged along his right arm as he swung a powerful horizontal slash.
"Moon Breathing, Eighth Form, Moon-Dragon Ringtail!!"
A massive purple blade wind, carrying blue crescent blades, roared forward, instantly clearing out all ninjas within several meters in front of him.
Just as Akashō was about to turn and strike in another direction, a gigantic fireball suddenly swallowed him, interrupting his movement.
Before he could break free from the flames, several bolts of lightning struck down. The ground beneath him turned into a swamp, and violent winds howled past. Losing his footing, he fell straight into the mire.
A relentless barrage of ninjutsu rained down on him. In just a few breaths, the Hidden Stone army had unleashed hundreds of techniques, leaving Akashō momentarily dazed.
Even with Kokushibo's far-superior physical toughness, even though this cannon-fodder army wasn't particularly strong, sheer numbers still tore his body apart.
Only then did Akashō begin to understand why A had struggled so much in the midst of this sea of enemies.
Even the weakest ninjutsu, once it lands, can hinder movement to some degree. Under the bombardment of hundreds or thousands of techniques, dodging everything is simply unrealistic.
And in a battlefield like this, once you're hit by one technique, it almost guarantees you'll be hit by more. Those hits then slow you further, leading to even more strikes.
In the end, it's like sinking into a swamp—the deeper you struggle, the deeper you sink.
"Heh."
Akashō's blood-soaked face stretched into a wide grin. He suddenly tossed aside the evolved blade and dropped to the ground like a beast. Then, with all four limbs swelling with muscle at once, he shot forward like a blur, forcibly breaking out of the bombardment and plunging back into the crowd.
His Blood Demon Art activated—another longsword emerged from his palm. Grabbing it, he seized the head of the person in front of him and spun midair, beheading two others nearby.
Under the effects of his Demon Body, his injuries had already healed. Looking around, he saw Hidden Stone Village ninjas retreating while forming hand seals, others throwing ninja tools, and some charging at him with blades raised.
"Kill!!!"
Akashō roared as he charged toward the direction of A.
He couldn't stop. He couldn't slow down. The moment he did, he'd fall back into another barrage of ninjutsu.
Even if it couldn't deal effective damage, it was still unbearably frustrating.
Like a bulldozer, Akashō rampaged through the Hidden Stone army without restraint. Wherever he went, blood rained down.
The moon had long risen into the night sky, slowly drifting toward its zenith as time passed.
"Hah!!!"
Suddenly, the crackling sound of lightning and a deep shout rang out beside him.
Akashō tilted his head. About a dozen meters to his side stood A, cloaked in Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
This was one of the five strongest in the ninja world—the Third Raikage.
"Hm?"
At that moment, the Third Raikage also noticed this sudden figure—this blood-soaked man who looked like a demon crawling out of hell.
With just one glance, he felt it instinctively.
This man… is strong.
A few Hidden Stone ninjas stood between them as their gazes collided. But before either could speak, countless ninjutsu rained down once more, engulfing both of them.