[Senpō—The Art of Bai Ji]
He formed a seal with his hands and spat out a long dragon made of white liquid toward the thousands of lost souls. Clutched in the dragon's claws was an orb resembling a dragon pearl. The dragon coiled and spun around the orb until it burst, releasing a dazzling glare.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Wherever the dragon passed, the earth trembled. The Kumogakure shinobi who approached the long dragon felt their bones grind within them, their limbs going numb. Moreover, the intense light and sound from the dragon impaired their vision and hearing. They staggered, unable to stand, and collapsed to the ground.
In the original manga, Kabuto Yakushi once used this technique, and it nearly forced Uchiha Sasuke to lose control of his Susano'o.
But in Sage Mode, Chao Yanqian could completely shut off his visual and auditory input, relying solely on senjutsu sensory perception to fight. Thus, the blinding light and piercing noise produced by the technique had no effect on him.
Seeing that a large number of Kumo-nin had been affected, Chao Yanqian formed another set of hand seals.
[Senpō—Inorganic Reincarnation]
This was the most destructive technique currently in Chao Yanqian's arsenal. It also allowed him to adapt the battlefield to his advantage. Channeling a massive amount of senjutsu chakra, the earth beneath his feet began to churn violently, rising up to attack the surrounding Kumo-nin.
The wave-like surge of mud leaped into the air, sweeping numerous enemy shinobi into its mass. Countless Kumo-nin were wounded by the overwhelming force of the assault. Those less fortunate met the same fate as their First Raikage a swift end.
"Damn it! Captain, Chao Yanqian's attack is too strong we can't stop it. Earth Release is weak to Lightning Release, but even that isn't enough. One person's Lightning Release isn't enough to counter all of this! We need to gather every Raiton user and launch a combined jutsu to stop him!" one Kumo shinobi panted, chakra already spiraling into disarray from overexertion.
"Right! Gather all shinobi with lightning and water nature chakra. Coordinate your ninjutsu we might be able to stop that monster!" the Kumo captain barked. "The rest of you, continue attacking with me! We'll buy them time. Focus your attacks in one area!"
With that, the Kumo captain unleashed a Lightning Release jutsu at the incoming mud surge. He only managed to gouge a hole in the mud before it regenerated and swept down once again toward the shinobi below.
"Captain! Even if we use a coordinated large-scale jutsu, that Chao Yanqian can still teleport using the Flying Thunder God Technique!" shouted another shinobi, his head lowered in despair.
"Damn it! That coward only knows how to run and hide!" the captain growled, but his eyes dimmed. Deep inside, he'd already lost faith in their plan.
"And his chakra... there's just too much of it!" a Kumo shinobi said in shock. "After all this time, he still has so much chakra left!"
A powerful enemy is terrifying, but with the right strategy, even they can be defeated. After all, even the Third Raikage of Kumogakure was ultimately worn down and killed by ten thousand shinobi. No matter how strong one is, they'll eventually exhaust themselves.
But Chao Yanqian seemed to defy the law of conservation of energy. His chakra reserves felt limitless. He'd maintained large-scale ninjutsu and high-intensity combat for an extended period something even Kage-level shinobi would struggle to sustain. Yet he was still going strong, as if chakra expenditure didn't concern him at all.
"Is he a Jinchūriki? But the Nine-Tails is sealed inside a baby in Konoha! And he doesn't have the Nine-Tails' chakra signature!" the Kumo captain exclaimed, stunned.
"Captain! We need to retreat! He's too strong we can't keep this up!" a desperate shinobi shouted.
"No! If over three thousand of us are pushed back by just one man, the village's reputation will be shattered! And if we run now, we'll never have the courage to face him again!" the captain roared.
"But we've already lost more than half our forces!" the shinobi argued. "We must retreat, Captain!"
As the blood-soaked mud spread across the battlefield, Chao Yanqian remained expressionless, continuing to pour chakra into his techniques and strike at the remaining Kumo-nin.
The Yin Seal storing senjutsu chakra had already been depleted by more than half. The enemy forces were too numerous and too spread out. No matter how wide his ninjutsu range was, it couldn't strike every Kumo shinobi at once.
If the remaining one thousand Kumo-nin regrouped, Chao Yanqian was confident he could eliminate them swiftly.
But even if he couldn't finish them all at once, it didn't matter. From the moment he chose to fight alone, he had been keeping track of the time.
From Hyūga Hiashi and the others reporting back to Nara Shikaku, to the moment the Konoha forces would rally and arriveb t was almost time.
Under the cover of Inorganic Reincarnation, Chao Yanqian finished off the scattered enemies and rushed to the most crowded section of the battlefield, reigniting fierce combat.
"Chao Yanqian! Are you really planning to die with us here?!" the Kumo captain shouted, trembling with rage.
The casualties were devastating. The losses were beyond anything he could bear. But if he retreated now, he wouldn't just face dishonor he would forever be labeled a coward.
Being defeated by Konoha's army might've been acceptable. But to be humiliated by one man, with over three thousand casualties? If word of this got out, Kumogakure's reputation would fall to its lowest point in history.
"It's easy for the fish to die," Chao Yanqian said coldly, "but that doesn't mean the net will break. don't speak such childish nonsense." His killing spree continued without pause.
"Damn it! I'll take you down with me!" the Kumo captain screamed, gripping his sword and charging at Chao Yanqian with everything he had.
Whoosh!
He vanished before the captain could land a blow.
"Damn it! If you're so strong, why do you keep running!?" the captain howled in frustration. Every time he tried to engage Chao Yanqian head-on, the latter would teleport away using Flying Thunder God, refusing to fight directly. It drove the captain mad with helpless fury.
"You can't die yet. I still need you to give the order to retreat," Chao Yanqian's emotionless voice echoed from behind, leaving the Kumo captain utterly powerless.
"So that's your plan? You're humiliating me until I surrender? You want to grind the pride of Kumogakure into the dirt?" the captain roared, consumed by desperation. To
"Kill!" "Kill!" "Kill!"
Suddenly, the battlefield erupted with new cries. Countless Konoha shinobi charged in from all sides, overwhelming the Kumo-nin, who were already exhausted and demoralized.
"Konoha reinforcements?!" the Kumo captain gasped, turning in disbelief.
Thud!
A kunai silently pierced his back, striking his heart. His strength faded rapidly. The lack of blood flow left him dizzy, barely able to think. So this is what dying feels like...
The captain struggled to turn and face his attacker, but his fading strength made it impossible. Behind him, Chao Yanqian's cold voice whispered:
"Too bad... you'll never get the chance to give that order."
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