Naruto: Nawaki was already dead, how could you bring him back to life?

"Water Release: Wave Strike!"

At this critical moment, Kosuke stepped on the water flow generated by the water array wall and almost instantly slid to the front of Rope Tree.

He shielded the rope tree with one hand and swung his sword at Kugo's forearm with the other.

"Humph!"

Kugo's expression changed slightly, and he quickly changed his move. He dodged the incoming long sword by turning his waist and swung his leg, striking Kosuke's shoulder heavily.

Bang!

Kugo's kick was extremely heavy. A "crack" sound came from Kosuke's shoulder. In the state of "Wave Strike", Kosuke staggered and fell not far away while holding onto Nawaki.

No sooner said than done, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

Chiba, anxious and impatient, shook off the two Iwa ninja and rushed over, landing in front of the disheveled Nawaki and Kosuke, slamming his hands heavily onto the ground.

"Earth Escape·Multiple Earth Current Walls!"

Chiba roared, and three thick, tall earthen walls rose up one after another, blocking their way and buying them some time.

"Huff...huff...as expected of an A-level mission, this is fucking thrilling!"

Rope Tree gasped for breath in Kosuke's arms, still shaken and immersed in the emotions of surviving a disaster.

"Are you alright, Nawaki?!"

Ignoring his injuries, Kosuke grabbed Nawaki's shoulder and asked.

At that moment, the image of Nawaki before his eyes overlapped with the image of his companion in his mind. Kosuke's throat tightened, and two streams of tears welled up in his eyes.

"I am fine."

Looking at Kosuke, who was weeping uncontrollably, Nawaki asked with some concern, "Are you alright, Kosuke-senpai?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine..."

Seeing Chiba and Nawaki's worried faces, Kosuke couldn't stop his tears from flowing. In a daze, he seemed to see his two childhood friends again.

"Cheer up, Kosuke! Everyone's counting on you!" His friends' voices echoed in Kosuke's ears once again.

"I will. I will protect them and never let the same mistake happen again!" Kosuke wiped away his tears, his eyes resolute.

boom!

The thick earthen wall suddenly collapsed, and Kugo, leading three of his men, charged towards the three once again.

"I have discovered the weakness of that Explosion Release ninja."

The three retreated strategically, and Kosuke rallied, saying, "It seems he can only detonate the target with both hands, and he has to concentrate his chakra completely."

"It seems that's indeed the case!" Chiba thought for a moment and nodded firmly.

After the opponent broke through the water barrier, there was a brief pause in their movements. Now that I think about it, they were probably charging up for their Explosion Release. Otherwise, Nawaki would have been finished long ago and wouldn't have been able to hold out until Kosuke came to their aid.

Similarly, just now there was clearly a great opportunity to use Explosion Release to directly destroy the two of them, but when the opponent kicked Kosuke, he did not use Explosion Release.

...It's probably not that he doesn't want to, but that he can't!

Rope Tree's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "That means as long as we can restrain his hands and prevent him from using Explosion Release, this bastard will be crippled!"

“Yes!” Chiba nodded and looked at Kosuke beside him, saying, “Senior Kosuke, the upcoming battles will require us to cooperate with each other. You can no longer fight alone.”

"Don't worry, I understand!" Kosuke replied solemnly.

Nawaki and Chiba exchanged a glance and said, "Then we'll switch opponents. Chiba and I will hold off the Explosion Release ninja, and you can quickly take care of the other three Iwa ninjas."

pat.

Chiba untied the ropes binding him and forcefully threw the unconscious woman to the ground not far away. Kosuke also swung the iron pot on his back, which landed squarely on the woman.

That Explosion Release ninja is very strong. To restrain him, Chiba and Nawaki would need to go all out. This woman will only slow down Chiba's sword-drawing speed.

If they fail, the woman will die anyway, so it's not a big problem.

The three of them turned around at the same time, spreading out in a triangular formation, and met the four Iwagakure members who were chasing them from different directions.

"Hmph, not running away now, you little rats!" a Hidden Stone Ninja sneered.

"They're very strong, so be careful and don't underestimate them!" Kongwu shouted.

"Shuriken: Shadow Clone Technique!"

Kosuke leaped up and hurled a shuriken with his uninjured arm. Then, he formed hand seals and used the ninjutsu taught to him by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

call out! call out! call out! call out! call out!

The shuriken multiplied in mid-air, one becoming two, two becoming four, and in the blink of an eye, they transformed into hundreds and thousands, shooting densely towards the four members of Iwagakure amidst a piercing sound like the chirping of a hundred birds.

"Is it another illusion?"

Seeing the overwhelming barrage of shuriken coming from all directions, one of the Iwa ninja gritted his teeth and said.

"...No, this is not an illusion!!"

As if realizing something, Kugo's expression changed drastically. "This is the Third Hokage's technique! Every shuriken is a physical object, and every single one is lethal! Get out of the way!"

However, Kugo's reminder came too late, or rather, it would have been meaningless even if he had reminded him.

Hundreds and thousands of shuriken were launched simultaneously, forming a perfect encirclement, which the Iwa ninja could not avoid even if they wanted to.

"Explosive Release: Landmine Fist!"

Kugo slammed his fist into the ground, the resulting dust and rocks blocking most of the shuriken aimed at him, but the other Iwa ninjas didn't have his skill.

"Escape·Earth flow..."

While one of the Iwa ninjas was still forming hand seals, his body was pierced by a dense barrage of shuriken. It was the same unfortunate fellow who had been poisoned by the neurotoxin and whose reactions were slow.

Ding!Ding!Ding!

The other two Iwa ninja, one swung his sword and desperately parried, while the other simply hid behind his companion's body, using his companion's corpse as a shield.

"Damn it!"

Kugo cursed angrily and charged toward Kosuke like an arrow released from a bow.

If Kosuke isn't restrained, his men will be completely powerless against the enemy!

"Don't even think about going there, your opponents are us!"

Nawaki and Chiba, of course, wouldn't let Kugo have his way. The two of them attacked Kugo from the left and right.

"Senju-ryu: Draw Sword Slash!"

"Chakra scalpel!"

The two moved nimbly, their figures constantly intersecting around Kugo, their long swords and chakra blades relentlessly striking at Kugo's arms.

"Explosion Release..."

Kugo tried to use his Explosion Release several times, but with Chiba and Nawaki blocking his way, he could hardly do it and was very frustrated!

"Water Release·Water Dragon Bullet!"

On the other side, Kosuke formed hand seals and summoned a roaring water dragon, which knocked two Iwa ninjas flying and crashing heavily into the mountain wall.

"hateful……"

After witnessing this scene out of the corner of his eye, Kūgo's heart sank to the bottom. He knew that he might perish here today.

Chapter 18 Orochimaru: Kill Jiraiya!

"Konoha Style: Rapid Blade Combo!"

After dealing with the two Iwa ninja, Kosuke and Chiba met up, and the three of them launched an attack on Kugo simultaneously.

Unable to use "Explosion Release," Kugo was no different from an ordinary Jonin. Facing a god with two support characters, he quickly became overwhelmed and his weaknesses became increasingly apparent.

puff.

Kosuke's long sword was fast and ruthless. Taking advantage of the moment when Kugo's fists left his sides and his chest was wide open, he stabbed Kugo's chest hard.

Tick, tick.

Blood flowed down the long sword, and Kugo's body slowly fell to the ground, his eyes filled with deep resentment.

His ambitions hadn't even had a chance to be realized, he still had so much to do, he...

puff.

Just to be on the safe side, Chiba delivered another blow to Kugo's head, directly interrupting Kugo's turnaround.

"It's not safe here, let's leave first!" Kosuke warned.

"Alright, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Chiba responded and spat out several fireballs onto the ground, burning the corpses of the Iwagakure members to ashes as possible to conceal their identities.

Chiba discovered that if the Great Fireball Technique could hit someone, it would be quite powerful.

……

"Palm Immortal Technique!"

After the three of them moved the woman to a safe place, Chiba placed his hands on the woman's chest and gently pressed down, beginning to infuse chakra into the woman who was depleted of chakra.

"No, Chiba, where are you putting your hands?"

Rope Tree's eyes turned red with jealousy.

He's never even touched a girl in his entire life... wait, what makes Chiba think he's so special?!

"What's wrong with my hand?"

Chiba said confidently, "As everyone knows, the Palm Healing Technique is released by pressing your hand on the patient's chest. That's how I saved you back then."

"Hmph!" Rope Tree's face flushed red, and she snorted coldly, "It's fine to lie to your brothers, but don't lie to yourself. I'm too lazy to expose your little tricks."

Kosuke sat to the side, cooking ingredients in a cast iron pot he carried with him, while watching the two bicker with a smile.

Following these two lively little ones, he felt as if he had come back to life.

[Ding! Healing successful! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the A-rank medical ninjutsu "Yin Healing and Wound Destruction"!]

"Oh ho, it's got super armor now?"