A fierce gust of wind carried lime dust through the air, whipping Kiyohara's hair violently backward. Yet his masked figure remained completely unaffected.
The next moment, Kiyohara waved both hands in rapid succession. More than twenty shuriken shot out with sharp whistles, cutting through the air as they plunged into the dense, fog-like cloud of lime ahead, embedding deeply into the ground or shattered ruins.
In an instant, his fingers moved with precise dexterity, hooking the nearly transparent special copper wires attached to the ends of those shuriken. The taut wires snapped tight, weaving into a barely noticeable web within the billowing lime mist!
At the same time, Kiyohara quickly instructed the Magnetic Release Kiyohara beside him:
"Help me determine their exact positions and numbers."
The Magnet Release Kiyohara nodded. That was nothing difficult for him.
He drifted forward, slipping through the heavy lime mist. Within the span of a single breath, he returned.
"Twelve in total. There's Terumi Mei, a kid from the Kaguya clan, and ten regular Mist chūnins. Two of them were badly injured by your lime already and have temporarily lost the ability to fight."
"Twelve… Terumi Mei and a Kaguya shinobi…"
Kiyohara's mind raced.
'I must reduce the small fry first, then concentrate everything on the troublesome ones.'
He thought to himself.
"Then when the crucial moment comes, remember to possess me for a bit. I've never fought a Kaguya shinobi before." Kiyohara said.
Right now, he was part of the same team as Kakashi and the others. Charging in alone wasn't him showing off—it was simply maximizing their advantage. After all, he was the only one who could move freely in this environment.
"I know."
Magnet Release Kiyohara crossed his arms. He didn't mind helping his past self—so long as his past self completed the wish they once shared.
"Thanks."
Kiyohara shifted his focus fully back to the mist ahead.
He told Kakashi and the others behind him that he would take the vanguard. They were to wait until the lime dust and mist dispersed before entering.
Dazzling blue arcs of lightning burst from Kiyohara's hands, racing instantly along the tightened copper wires!
The electricity transmitted almost unnaturally smoothly across the wires. Because of its reaction with the lime dust and lingering moisture in the air, the current created even more violent sparks—along with a strange smell, blending burning, alkalinity, and smoke.
Lightning Release: Lightning Current Technique!
"Ah!"
"Gah!"
From deep within the mist, three short screams rang out, followed by the heavy thud of bodies collapsing.
"Damn you!"
A shocked and furious voice of Kaguya Masaru echoed through the fog. He had managed to avoid the wires through sheer battle instinct, yet even he felt a numbing tingle running across his skin.
He hadn't expected that in such a chaotic environment, the enemy could still attack with such accuracy!
"Mei! Use Wind Release to blow away this fog and lime! Stop maintaining the Hidden Mist Technique!"
He realized that, under these special conditions where the enemy had clearly prepared, their own Hidden Mist Technique had instead become a restriction.
"Understood."
Mei's voice carried suppressed anger and frustration as she quickly formed hand seals.
But how could Kiyohara possibly give them a chance to regroup?
"Trying to clear it? Too late!"
Chakra exploded beneath his feet. In the next instant, under Kurenai's startled cry behind him, Konoha Body Flicker Technique activated!
Leaves scattered—and Kiyohara vanished into the mist.
Guided by the spirit form of Magnet Release Kiyohara, he moved as if a radar had just been activated in a pitch-black battlefield, illuminating the entire map for him alone.
"Where is he?"
"I can't see anything!"
"This is worse than Zabuza's Silent Killing Technique!"
A terrified Mist shinobi shouted, wildly swinging his kunai through the dense haze—unable even to graze the enemy's clothing.
Their eyes could not open at all. The lime powder was too thick.
They didn't dare move recklessly, not knowing where the wires lay. One wrong step could slice them open. And using ninjutsu risked hitting their own comrades.
But the brat from Konoha moved freely, as if unaffected by everything.
This gave every Mist shinobi an unsettling, disorienting feeling:
No, wait—
Are you the Mist shinobi, or am I the Mist shinobi?
How is a Konoha shinobi more suited to the Hidden Mist than we are?
This was simply… reversing heaven and earth!
Through the drifting lime haze, Kiyohara saw her—a girl with a seductive allure, even in her youth.
Even as a teenager, Mei possessed a unique charm no other girl had.
At this moment her smooth chin lifted slightly, anger blazing in her eyes as she searched for the enemy around her.
"If you've stepped into this place, then be prepared to die."
Kiyohara's voice scattered through the mist.
Whenever a Mist shinobi released a Water Release technique toward the sound of his voice, they struck nothing but falling leaves.
Compared to Kiyohara, whose mask protected him fully, the Mist-nins were significantly hindered.
Then, silently, his blade was drawn.
This fog wouldn't last forever. He had to thin out their numbers as much as possible while he still held the advantage.
His voice served also to mislead them, giving false directions.
Once the mist dispersed, he and the others would finish off the survivors.
"Hmph, I've been waiting for you."
After Kiyohara took down several more shinobis, Kaguya Masaru finally caught his position.
The moment Kiyohara swung his blade, Masaru spun sharply, fingers thrust tightly together. Five piercing white finger-bones burst from his skin like bullets.
Shikotsumyaku: Ten Finger Drilling Bullets!
Thwip-thwip-thwip!!
The wire web was shredded instantly.
Clang!
Sparks burst in the grey mist as Kiyohara's blade collided with the remaining bone projectiles, the impact shrill and jarring.
A tremendous force surged down the blade, numbing Kiyohara's wrist.
'Such strength… This is the Shikotsumyaku?'
If there would one day be a "Kaguya Kiyohara," could he master this kekkei genkai? If he continued acquiring more and more bloodline limits…
Would he ultimately obtain—
Bloodline Collection?
While Kiyohara pondered, Kaguya Masaru was just as shocked.
The enemy's kenjutsu far exceeded his expectations.
'So, he really do have some skill.'
He thought.
After one exchange, the two separated—only to clash again immediately like two bolts of lightning.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A storm of rapid collisions exploded through the fog.
Kiyohara's swordsmanship was built upon the solid foundation forged by years of harsh self-training of the Youth Kiyohara, while Kaguya Masaru fought with an unrestrained ferocity.
His arms, elbows, knees, even shoulder blades could sprout bone spikes at any moment. His attacks were wild, overwhelming, and savagely beautiful.
Kiyohara shifted sideways with a sliding step, dodging a rib bone spike, and his blade arced upward, aiming for Masaru's neck.
Masaru lurched backward, and from his left arm, the ulna extended instantly—forming a Bone Shield!
Ssssht!
Kiyohara's blade scraped across the white bone, leaving only a faint mark.
"Shikotsumyaku: Ten Finger Drilling Bullets!"
Masaru seized the instant when Kiyohara's strength had just expended and no new force had yet formed. Both hands aimed at Kiyohara, ten bone bullets firing like a shotgun blast!
At such close range, dodging was nearly impossible!
But at that life-or-death moment, Kiyohara's body seemed to lose all weight. His posture defied physical logic as he drifted backward like a wind-blown willow leaf, narrowly avoiding the volley.
Ten bone bullets screamed past his mask and embedded deeply into a broken wall behind him.
"Impossible?!"
Kaguya Masaru's pupils contracted. That movement…
That wasn't ninjutsu!
"Almost got hit."
Kiyohara exhaled.
Naturally, it was Magnet Release Kiyohara who had assisted him.
In a possession state, the body's potential could be drawn out fully—forcing additional chakra into play and enabling feats that would seem impossible to others.
'No… I need to gain my first bloodline limit as soon as possible.'
The boost a bloodline limit offered was simply too great. But there were no Sand ANBU here for him to kill and obtain Magnet Release.
Once this crisis ended, Kiyohara planned to request a transfer the very same night—to quickly complete the second last will, and inherit Magnet Release.
With Magnet Release, dealing with other bloodline limit users would become far easier.
(End of Chapter)