Chapter 73
<span style="font-weight:400">Kamizuru Ishigawa’s vision was instantly flooded with blinding light as Hui’s attack struck.
<span style="font-weight:400">His eyes instinctively snapped shut in response to the painful sh, and in that brief moment, a cold chill of danger shot through him—a primal fear of death.
<span style="font-weight:400">Without thinking, he trusted his body’s instincts.
<span style="font-weight:400">As the searing pain in his chest confirmed, his enemy hadnded a solid blow. Blood sprayed from the wound as Kamizuru staggered back, desperately forming hand seals mid-air.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Earth Release: Earth Wall!”
<span style="font-weight:400">A thick earthen barrier erupted from the ground in front of him, shielding him from any follow-up attacks. Kamizuru tried to pry his eyes open, but all he could see was a giant white orb still burning into his retinas, obscuring his visionpletely.
<span style="font-weight:400">Panic set in as he realised, he couldn’t see.
<span style="font-weight:400">He quickly adjusted, focusing all his senses on detecting any movements around him, his body poised defensively.
<b>Whoosh!</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">The sound of something cutting through the air caused him to sidestep just in time, narrowly avoiding Hui’s de as it shed down from above.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kamizuru guessed Hui’s position based on the trajectory of the previous attack and sent a series of sharp stone spikes shooting up from the ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hui reacted swiftly, his sword cleaving through the stone projectiles as he kicked off one of the spears, propelling himself away tond at a safe distance.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kamizuru forced one eye open, still fighting through the pain and blurred vision.
<span style="font-weight:400">The bright afterimage of Hui’s previous light attack continued to haunt him, making it difficult to focus. Tears streamed from his eyes, clouding his view further.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Damn it!” Kamizuru cursed. He hadn’t expected his opponent to possess such a technique—one that didn’t even require hand seals to execute.
<span style="font-weight:400">What made it worse was that he couldn’t sense Hui’s chakra during the attack. The realization hit him like a wave of disbelief:
<i><span style="font-weight:400">‘Is this some kind of jutsu that doesn’t rely on chakra?’</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">It was absurd, breaking all the rules of ninjutsu Kamizuru knew. Yet, there it was—something that defied his understanding of the shinobi world.
<span style="font-weight:400">Meanwhile, Hui pressed the attack, dashing towards Kamizuru once more. Now was the perfect time to strike, with Kamizuru’s visionpromised and his defenses weakened.
<span style="font-weight:400">Though it might have been wise to unleash arge-scale ninjutsu, Hui knew better. Any use of chakra would immediately alert Kamizuru’s sharp sensory abilities, negating the advantage of his stealthy movements.
<span style="font-weight:400">As Hui closed in for another round of closebat, Kamizuru had no choice but to rely solely on his remaining senses.
<span style="font-weight:400">Without his sight, he was forced to defend by reacting to the slightest changes in the air and sound.
<span style="font-weight:400">His years of experience as a sensory ninja allowed him to narrowly avoid most of Hui’s strikes, but it was clear that the tide was turning against him.
<span style="font-weight:400">Despite Kamizuru’s impressive defensive maneuvers, the numerous wounds umting on his body were taking their toll.
<span style="font-weight:400">His breathing grew ragged, and the sharp pain in his chest from Hui’s earlier sword strike still hadn’t subsided. Every time Kamizuru blocked a blow, Hui found another opening to exploit.
<span style="font-weight:400">In one swift movement, Huinded a solid kick, sending Kamizuru crashing into the earth wall he had created moments earlier.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hui didn’t waste the opportunity. With all his strength, he lunged forward and plunged his sword deep into Kamizuru’s abdomen.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I did it," Hui thought, victory in sight.
<span style="font-weight:400">But then, Kamizuru’s lips curled into a wicked grin.
<span style="font-weight:400">Before Hui could react, Kamizuru’s hand shot forward, grabbing onto his wrist with an iron grip.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Hui’s instincts screamed at him, but it was toote.
<span style="font-weight:400">A massive stone fist materialized from behind him, powered by Kamizuru’s <b>Earth Release: Rock Fist Jutsu</b><span style="font-weight:400">.
<span style="font-weight:400">It mmed into Hui’s back with crushing force, sending him flying across the battlefield, his body carving a deep groove into the ground before he collided with arge boulder.
<b>Cough!</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">Blood sprayed from Hui’s mouth as his body crumpled against the rock. His mask had been shattered in the process, revealing his young but battle-hardened face, contorted in pain.
<span style="font-weight:400">But despite the agony, Hui forced himself back onto his feet, gripping his sword tightly. He had no time to recover fully as Kamizuru was already on the move again.
<b>Slice!</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">Hui swung his sword, unleashing a wave of sword energy that cleaved through the rock fist and forced Kamizuru to retreat a few steps.
<span style="font-weight:400">"What terrifying shing power..." Kamizuru muttered, casting a wary nce at the remnants of his jutsu.
<span style="font-weight:400">His vision had begun to recover, and as he squinted through the pain. He realized that the shinobi before him, who had managed to wound him more severely than he thought possible, was younger than he could’ve possibly imagined.
<span style="font-weight:400">"That jutsu... It must be the Second Tsuchikage’s Splitting Technique," Hui said, finally piecing together Kamizuru’s trick.
<span style="font-weight:400">The Splitting Technique allowed Kamizuru to divide his body and chakra into separate entities—an advanced form of cloning that created physical duplicates without the need for hand signs.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I underestimated you,” Hui admitted. “You’re the Iwagakure Anbu Commander, after all. I should’ve expected you to have a few more tricks up your sleeve.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kamizuru smirked through the pain, his gaze fixed on Hui.
<span style="font-weight:400">“And I never expected the one responsible for ughtering so many of my men would be a mere child—what are you, twelve? You’ve mastered so many techniques... Chakra suppression, stealth, swordsmanship... What a prodigy."
<span style="font-weight:400">The reality of Hui’s age and skill unsettled Kamizuru deeply. If someone this young could pose such a threat now, the danger he would represent in the future was unthinkable.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I can’t let you live. Even if it costs me my life, I’ll drag you down with me!" Kamizuru’s eyes shed with murderous intent, the pressure of his killing intent flooding the battlefield.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You think you’ll kill me?” Hui smirked, brushing the blood from his lips.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You’re the one who’s in danger. Your strength has halved after using the Splitting Technique. You should be worried about surviving this encounter.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The two shinobi locked eyes, the tension thick with the promise of death. Both knew that only one of them would leave this battlefield alive.
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