White smoke billowed around Kairen as he resurrected, forming a Seal with just one hand.
"Fire Release: Multiple Fire Gun!"
One after another, blazing bullets spewed from Kairen's mouth, roaring through the sky toward the two ninja falcons above.
"Boom boom boom boom boom boom—"
In the distance, the onlookers were left dumbfounded. Kairen alone was holding back the entire Sunagakure Special Sealing Unit.
...
A Nara Clan Jōnin concluded, "Endless Fire Release techniques, performed with just one hand, bottomless reserves of chakra, and terrifying recovery speed…"
Akimichi Masataka rubbed his round belly and said bluntly,
"I don't think he's from the Senju Clan. He should be from the Uchiha Clan!"
His words were overheard by the Uchiha nearby.
An Uchiha Jōnin nodded.
"He almost has every Uchiha Fire Release technique at his disposal, even one that's extremely fast and explosive. If it weren't for that massive chakra pool and recovery rate, I'd be certain he was one of ours!"
Shimura Masao added his own speculation.
"The Senju and the Uchiha fought for so many years during the Warring States era. It's only natural they'd know each other's techniques. The Senju must have catalogued a lot of Uchiha fire-style ninjutsu and maybe even modified them."
"...Perhaps?!"
...
Up above, Maire, the Special Sealing Unit captain and a Jōnin, finally made his move. He immediately ordered, "All of you, together! Restrain him and give me an opening to seal!"
"Understood!"
The two ninja falcons on either side shrieked, unleashing a storm of white wind blades.
The blades descended like divine punishment, slicing away half of the hill where Kairen stood.
"Ding!"
"You were killed by two advanced Summoning Beasts using Wind Release. EXP +140!"
Kairen resurrected again, leaping from the white smoke—this time, only to be met by a stone dragon.
"Roar—"
The stone dragon roared and bit down on him, dragging Kairen deep underground, its rocky body grinding across his flesh.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
Daisuke slammed his hands down, trapping Kairen in a swamp of mud.
Yukino clasped her hands together, releasing a torrent of water from her mouth.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
The flood mixed with the clay, turning the swamp into a deadly quagmire.
Kairen was quickly submerged, but he formed hand seals and compressed all his chakra into explosive powder.
"Full-Power Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"
"Rumble—"
A single spark ignited into a violent blast. The mountain he had once occupied was leveled into flat ground.
"Got you!"
As Kairen reformed, two Special Jōnin lashed steel wires around him, one from each side.
Maire darted forward, pulling a massive scroll from his back. It unfurled instantly, rolling toward Kairen like a colossal white serpent.
Kairen's eyes narrowed—this Jōnin was using sealing techniques. They meant to imprison him.
He detonated the explosive tags strapped to his chest, tearing away part of the scroll.
But the scroll writhed like a living creature, lunging to wrap him once more.
"Boom!"
Kairen detonated again, shredding another portion. Taking advantage of the gap, he raised his right hand, forming it into the shape of a pistol.
"Fire Release: Fire Gun!"
The technique fired instantly, piercing Maire's shoulder before he could react.
"This casting speed!!"
Maire's eyes widened in horror. This was too fast to dodge.
In desperation, he twisted aside.
"Boom!"
The explosion tore away half his shoulder. He crashed to the ground, panting heavily.
The two Special Jōnin restraining Kairen saw their captain wounded and, enraged, charged with blades.
Kairen sneered at them, unmoving, allowing his head to be severed.
"Ding!"
"You were killed by two Special Jōnin with blades. EXP +80!"
One particularly swift Special Jōnin, his steps riding the wind, quickly reached Maire and carried him out of the battlefield.
He immediately pulled out bandages and tended to Maire's wounds on the spot.
Maire's face was grim. "That damned Konoha brat is too strong. Fire techniques without end, seals performed in a blur, even a finger-pointed Fire Release that explodes. And the ability to summon explosive tags at will…"
"We Sunagakure shinobi truly underestimated him!"
The Special Jōnin asked, "What do we do now?"
Maire raised his other hand, pulling dozens of sealing tags from his pouch.
"Distribute these to Asuka and the others. Stick them onto that brat's body."
"If he can't use chakra, let's see how he manages his kekkei genkai techniques!"
"Understood!"
The wind-riding Special Jōnin swiftly handed out Maire's tags.
Kairen leapt high into the sky, two fingers pressed to his lips.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
He spat out over twenty fiery phoenix seeds that rained down toward Yukino and Daisuke.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Asuka countered, blowing the fireballs apart—but hidden within them were shuriken.
"Whizz…"
The shuriken tore through the air. Yukino and Daisuke barely managed to dodge.
"Caw—"
One of the falcons dove, its talons clutching Kairen and hauling him skyward. At around 500 meters, it released him.
Plummeting headfirst, Kairen slammed into the ground at lethal speed, exploding into gore—though to outside eyes, only white smoke remained.
"Ding!"
"You fell to your death from the sky. EXP +50!"
Kairen reformed from the smoke, bare-chested and calm, as though nothing had happened.
"Sunagakure shinobi… is this really the best you can do? Not even a scratch on me? How pitiful."
"My advice? Crawl back into your desert holes and never come out again!"
His words carried not only the cool arrogance of Sasuke, but also Naruto's infuriating knack for making others grind their teeth in rage.
(ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)
The Sunagakure shinobi seethed, their tempers snapping. One after another, they unleashed every jutsu they could muster.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!"
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"
"Water Release: Water Blade!"
"Whizz whizz…"
Kunai and shuriken rained down.
"Caw—"
The falcons above released Wind Release techniques, and the Special Jōnin riding them added their own.
The combined assault gouged a massive crater over a hundred meters wide where Kairen stood.
"Ding!"
"You were killed by 12 Sunagakure shinobi in a joint attack. EXP +500!"
After repeated deaths, Kairen realized something: being killed by multiple opponents at once stacked bonus experience.
Resurrecting once more, still bare-chested and calm, he sneered.
"Hahaha… Sunagakure shinobi, I told you—you're nothing but desert insects. Even with ninjutsu, you're just chakra-infused bugs!"
A wind-riding shinobi suddenly appeared in front of him.
Kairen didn't even bother defending. The shinobi slapped a talisman onto his back.
"A mere Special Jōnin dares dance before me?"
"Hm?! My chakra?"
Kairen suddenly felt all the chakra in his body drain away uncontrollably.
His chakra had been sealed!
Glancing back, he saw a purple-gold sealing tag plastered to his back, inscribed with dense sealing formulas.
"A sealing tag? One that seals chakra?!"