Chương 77: Eight Points Wind Wheel
Kaguya Nobunaga quickly turned his head to track the enemy, but only caught a glimpse of an afterimage. His extensive battle experience allowed him to predict where the next attack would come from.
As he spun, his bone spurs intercepted another slashing strike. This time, he caught a clear view of his opponent—Fumori Masaki. Nobunaga was taken aback by the youthfulness of the shinobi who nearly bested him, but he didn't let that slow him down. The bone spurs extended rapidly, aiming to pierce Masaki's arm before he could retreat.
However, Masaki didn't pull back. Instead, he raised his blade and lunged at Nobunaga. The Kaguya shinobi barely evaded the attack, only feel a slight sting as Masaki's blade grazed his side. Despite this, Nobunaga laughed heartily.
"Idiot! I thought you'd flee after a single strike, but you've made a grave mistake."
As Nobunaga sneered, his bone spurs stretched further, intent on skewering Masaki. But just as the attack landed, Masaki vanished in a puff of smoke—it was a shadow clone. The real Masaki was nowhere to be seen.
Nobunaga was startled. A pure chakra clone? He hadn't known that Konoha possessed such advanced ninjutsu. Before he could react further, he noticed the burning tags among the dissipating smoke. His eyes widened, but it was too late—a violent explosion engulfed him.
Fumori Masaki exhaled slowly, watching the flames from behind a tree. He had timed it perfectly. If the shadow clone had lasted a moment longer, he too would have been caught in the blast. Conversely, if it had disappeared too early, Nobunaga would have escaped the detonation range. Masaki hadn't expected the explosion to work so well.
"However, it's hard to kill someone with the Kaguya clan's bone pulse so easily," Masaki muttered to himself. He could still sense Kaguya Nobunaga's chakra, indicating the enemy wasn't mortally wounded.
As the smoke cleared, Kaguya Nobunaga stood, bloodied but alive. His skin was scorched, and even some of his bone spurs were shattered. Masaki realized how Nobunaga had survived—by using his bone pulse to create a protective skeletal structure within his body, shielding his vital organs from the blast.
Nobunaga coughed heavily, eyes bloodshot with rage. His killing intent surged as he regrew his bone spurs. "You brat! You'll pay for this! The Hyūga Patriarch can wait—I'll deal with you first!"
Masaki remained calm, noting how Nobunaga's anger made him less focused on the other side of the battlefield. He gathered his Sage Chakra, and the markings of the Sage Mode slowly spread across his left cheek. Breaking his limits in his earlier fight with the Silver Horn had significantly improved his control over this power.
The moment Nobunaga spotted Masaki, he shot a barrage of bone spurs with incredible speed and force, almost like bullets. But Masaki anticipated the attack, deflecting all ten bone spurs with his sword. Five were completely severed, while the others were partially cut. Masaki frowned slightly, realizing his sword wasn't up to par. If he had his previous short blade, he might have already pierced Nobunaga's neck.
Without missing a beat, Masaki kicked off the ground, vanishing from Nobunaga's sight. This time, Nobunaga was fully serious, turning to intercept the attack he predicted—but Masaki had already closed the gap, cutting through the spaces between the bone spurs and landing a hit.
Nobunaga's body was covered in spurs like a hedgehog, but even so, they only extended from his skin. To maintain mobility, he couldn't fully encase himself in bone. Previously, Masaki's precision wasn't enough to strike between the gaps before Nobunaga could counter, but now, he had improved.
However, Nobunaga wasn't defenseless. His bone pulse had formed a new internal structure, with layers of periosteum beneath his muscles. To deliver a lethal blow, Masaki needed both speed and precision, which was difficult due to the irregular spacing of the bone spurs.
If an observer were present, they would see Nobunaga spinning wildly, slashing at an opponent who seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, like the wind itself. Meanwhile, Nobunaga's body slowly accumulated shallow wounds, releasing a mist of blood into the air.
Nobunaga felt as if he were being cut by a thousand tiny blades—none were fatal, but the constant blood loss made him anxious. Suddenly, he saw a flash of light and instinctively closed his eyes. Realizing his vulnerability, he desperately defended with his bone spurs, forcing Masaki to withdraw.
In that moment, Nobunaga's left leg buckled, sending him to one knee. At first, he thought it was due to exertion, but then he noticed that his leg wouldn't respond. Pain shot through him as he realized the tendons had been severed.
Nobunaga couldn't comprehend how this happened. He didn't know that the human body's movement relied on more than just visible muscles; it required precise coordination of internal structures. Masaki had focused his attacks on Nobunaga's upper body, making him subconsciously neglect his lower half. The blinding flash provided the opening Masaki needed to sever the tendons in Nobunaga's leg.
As Nobunaga's body faltered, Masaki swiftly moved to exploit his weakness. Although Nobunaga managed to protect his vital areas, Masaki changed tactics, severing the tendons in his other leg. Now, Nobunaga's legs were useless.
Realizing he was cornered, Nobunaga used his bone pulse to create a dense forest of spurs, abandoning mobility to protect his vitals. He unleashed his trump card, "Sawarabi no Mai"
Seeing the ground erupt with bone spurs, Masaki leapt to a nearby tree, avoiding the attack. The spurs continued to grow, soon reaching the height of the trees.
Panting heavily, Nobunaga glared at Masaki from within his bone forest. Even with his legs incapacitated, he refused to admit defeat.
Masaki knew Nobunaga could merge with the spurs, making him a formidable opponent even now. "I hoped I wouldn't need to use this," he murmured, glancing at his sword before sheathing it and forming a hand seal.
Nobunaga noticed the light between Masaki's hands and immediately recognized it as the source of his earlier blindness. A sense of dread washed over him as he watched Masaki form a disc of light between his palms.
A strong sense of impending doom overwhelmed Kaguya Nobunaga. He hurriedly accelerated his movements, trying to merge with the bone spurs. But Masaki was faster, throwing the disc with astonishing speed.
"Senpō: Fūton: Hachi-ten no Kaze-wa (Sage Art: Wind Style: Eight Points Wind Wheel)."
Masaki declared as he released the technique. The disc sliced through Nobunaga, and the bone spurs behind him, with terrifying precision. Nobunaga's body froze before an oblique wound appeared on his torso, and he slowly slid apart, collapsing along with the bone spurs he had created.
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