Chapter 266: Scorch Release – High-Temperature Compressed Heat Blade
"Watch out for the weapon in her hand!"
Kisame Hoshigaki sensed Samehada's instinctive repulsion and gave a warning.
If Samehada was resisting, it meant the blade in Pakura 's hand was still dangerously hot.
Whoosh!
Kushimaru Kuriare launched Nuibari from afar. The blade moved fast and had incredible piercing power—that was its signature trait.
"My Scorch Release isn't what it used to be."
Pakura sneered. She sidestepped and raised her arm, swinging her high-temperature compressed heat blade directly into the oncoming Nuibari.
Would the needle's high-speed piercing strike before her blade could melt it?
Or would her blade's temperature vaporize it before impact?
The answer came instantly.
As the two collided, Nuibari began melting and vaporizing on contact—from tip to hilt—disintegrating into metallic liquid and gas that splashed in all directions.
"Just as Brother-in-law said!"
"Extreme heat is the essence of Scorch Release!"
Watching the blade melt like cheese under her weapon, Pakura couldn't help but smile.
She was immensely grateful that she had listened to her brother-in-law's advice.
Instead of being proud of merely evaporating moisture from human bodies, she had honed the true essence of Scorch Release: raw, overwhelming heat.
Extreme heat was far more powerful than simple dehydration.
After a year of development and real combat experience, Pakura had, just a week ago, enhanced her Scorch chakra and developed a technique with temperatures exceeding ten thousand degrees—Scorch Release: Flash Piercer.
But what does ten thousand degrees mean?
To put it into perspective:
Molten steel is about 1,300°C.
The surface of the sun is around 5,000°C.
At 10,000°C, any metal touching it is vaporized instantly.
However, such heat is nearly impossible to control.
Under her brother-in-law Li Yao's Wind Clone's guidance, Pakura learned to intensify and compress her Scorch chakra, then channel it at extreme velocity to fire the beam—thus forming the terrifying Flash Piercer.
That said, the chakra cost was immense.
Currently, she could only fire it once. A second shot would leave her too drained to continue fighting.
But even her 5,000°C compressed heat blade was more than enough.
With heat nearing that of the sun's surface, most materials would melt or vaporize instantly on contact.
Its offensive power was comparable to the Third Raikage's "One-Finger Nukite" in Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
At this point, Pakura could be considered a Kage-level combatant.
"What?!"
"Nuibari's piercing attack melted on impact?!"
Seeing Kushimaru's weapon vaporize, the other Swordsmen of the Mist were visibly shaken. They instinctively withdrew their weapons and avoided close combat with her blade altogether.
If even Nuibari's ultra-fast piercing attack couldn't get through her weapon, then their slower blades didn't stand a chance.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen earned their name because much of their strength came from their weapons.
Without them, they were merely high-level jonin.
None of them were willing to risk losing their blade to a single swing from Pakura 's burning weapon.
They switched tactics, engaging in mid- to long-range coordinated assaults using taijutsu and basic weapons.
Clang clang... Kunai and shuriken rained down, targeting her blind spots and movement paths, boxing her in.
Boom boom... Explosive tag spheres detonated around her, restricting her movement even more.
Meanwhile, coordinated Water and Lightning Release jutsu rained down in waves, pressuring her from all sides.
Despite wielding a blade that could melt anything, Pakura found herself forced into a purely defensive stance.
Her compressed heat blade was powerful—but her reaction speed and sensory abilities still lacked the finesse of a true Kage.
She was still young—only around sixteen—and needed more time to grow.
Give her one or two more years to fully synchronize her Scorch chakra with her cells, and her body would become more powerful. Her speed and reflexes would also rise to true Kage level.
And once that happened—
Pakura , with her superheated Scorch Release, would be among the strongest of Kage-level shinobi.
For now… she was still a step short.
As the fight wore on, the Swordsmen, adjusting to her patterns, discovered another weakness.
"Keep pressuring her—drain her chakra!"
"She's almost out!"
After several minutes and over a hundred exchanges, Pakura was still only using her heat blade in close combat. She had yet to fire another devastating heat ray like at the start of the battle.
The realization dawned: though strong, she was still a jonin in chakra reserves.
And the more powerful a jutsu was, the more chakra it consumed.
She couldn't afford to fire another beam. Close-quarters combat was her only option now.
That meant they needed to accelerate the drain.
"Water Release – Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Lightning Release – Falling Stars!"
Kisame and Raiga launched massive elemental attacks. The others followed with wide-range jutsu to force her to burn through her reserves faster.
Pakura had no choice but to withdraw her blade and summon a wall of heat to block the onslaught.
But that only increased her chakra consumption.
"Lady Pakura !"
The support Suna squad that had stayed behind was now completely useless. Against attacks of this magnitude, they could only watch helplessly—and sometimes even had to be saved by Pakura .
In the shinobi world, the strong reign supreme.
Sometimes, one person could fight more freely than a group.
The worst was when someone didn't realize they were a burden, thinking they were helping, but only making things worse.
Pakura was now fully focused.
The Seven Swordsmen were battle-hardened veterans, with speed and reaction time not to be underestimated.
The fact that she was still standing after all this time was already an achievement.
But she could no longer spare the attention to open a path of escape for the remaining squad.
As the battle dragged on, Pakura 's breathing grew heavy. Of the three Suna shinobi who stayed behind, two had already died—only one remained.
Huff... huff...
Pakura panted, fending off attacks while praying in her heart—
Where the hell is that bastard brother-in-law?!
If he doesn't show up soon, I won't last!
Before coming to support, she'd known that her brother-in-law—the Fourth Kazekage—was about to arrive at their base.
They had dispatched scouting teams specifically to locate Kiri's positions so that Li Yao's Wind Clone could wipe them out upon arrival.
The goal: crush Kirigakure's morale and free up forces to take the Land of Rivers—tying down part of Konoha's strength.
She knew her brother-in-law had developed a new Wind Release technique that granted him ultra-long-range sensory ability.
Once he reached the base, he'd sense the battle here.
And once he arrived—
Pakura firmly believed the so-called Seven Ninja Swordsmen would be nothing but lambs to the slaughter.
Her brother-in-law's Wind Slash was even faster, even more terrifying than her own techniques.
Just as others believed in her—
Pakura had unwavering faith in the power of Li Yao's Wind Clone.
(END CHAPTER)
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