Mizukage's Pokémon Ninja Scroll

Chapter 243 Regret

"Open it!"

Jianchuan Ju shouted loudly.

The veins in his arms bulged, and his strength increased even further.

The stalemate was broken in an instant.

The long-accumulated power of the "Iai Slash" and the doubled power of the "Pressure Point Strike" combined with the enormous inertia of the high-altitude dive.

With triple enhancements, Jianchuan Ju's strike shattered the Earthly Grudge Silk Shield reinforced by the 'Earth Spear'.

Even after shattering the shield, "Ryujin Jakka" remained unstoppable, cleaving Kakuzu's intact left arm in two.

The strike only stopped when it landed on Kakuzu's chest, failing to destroy Kakuzu's heart in one blow.

However, the powerful force still sent Kakuzu flying.

"How is that possible!"

Kakuzu, who was sent flying backward, had eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

He was just a kid who could be blasted away with a single punch before, so why has his power changed so dramatically in such a short time?

However, Tachibana Kanagawa had no time to answer Kakuzu's questions at that moment.

Seeing that his attack had failed, Tachibana Kenkawa was not going to give Kakuzu a chance to react. He dodged the two attacks coming from behind again, flapped his wings, and continued to chase after Kakuzu.

"We have no choice but to give it a try!"

Ignore the attacks from the two Earth Grudge Monsters in the air.

With enhanced reflexes, Tachibana Kanagawa doesn't need to turn around; she can nimbly dodge based solely on the warnings from "Danger Premonition."

By moving by flying, he could even ignore the electric currents surging on the water's surface.

His figure cut a white line across the sea, instantly closing the distance between him and Kakuzu.

At the same time, the two monsters that had lost altitude while chasing Jianchuan Ju were also stopped by the little frog.

Dozens of consecutive hits from the "Flying Water Shuriken" sent the Earth Grudge Silk threads on the two monsters flying everywhere.

These two monsters don't have the defensive bonus provided by the 'Earth Spear'.

Sensing that the attack from behind had stopped, Tachibana Kenkawa accelerated again.

"Well done!"

Once she got close, Jianchuan Ju, no longer having any interference from behind, instantly unleashed more than ten slashes.

only……

"You idiot brat!"

How could Kakuzu, an old fellow who has lived for nearly a hundred years, possibly have a weakness in close combat?

Kakuzu's close-combat skills and experience are enough to overwhelm most taijutsu-specialized Jonin.

Even with the acupoint-striking enhancement activated, Jianchuan Ju still couldn't gain the slightest advantage in a fight against him.

Kakuzu's black Earth Grudge Tentacles scattered, transforming into countless whips that relentlessly lashed and pierced towards Tachibana Kanagawa.

This forced Tachibana Kanakawa to slow down her attack frequency and use her short sword to parry and defend.

The clanging sounds continued, and not only was Jianchuan Ju unable to penetrate the "Earth Spear" defense, but small wounds kept appearing on her own body.

"wrong!"

Kakuzu, who seemed to have the upper hand, suddenly became wary.

Although, apart from the first dive attack, the brat had never been able to penetrate his defenses, the spot where the short sword had struck him still emanated a chilling aura.

"Did you notice?"

Tachibana Kanagawa, who had remained silent the whole time, ignored the pain in his body and gave Kakuzu a bloodthirsty smile.

Their hand movements became even more unrestrained.

In an instant, swords flew everywhere.

Ice-blue sword marks gradually began to appear all over Kakuzu's body.

These knife marks were like some kind of terrible virus; as soon as they appeared, they immediately began to spread in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, the black tentacles of the Earth Grudge were all covered with a layer of white frost.

Even the white frost continued to seep inward, attempting to freeze all the silk threads.

The silken tentacles that Kakuzu used to control with ease gradually became less flexible due to the freezing.

Jianchuan Ju endured damage throughout the entire fight, constantly slashing, so it was impossible that she was acting impulsively.

Even after the first charged attack, the "Iai Slash," severed both of Kakuzu's arms, it failed to destroy his Earth Release heart.

Jianchuan Ju secretly used "Ice Release: Sleeve White Snow" to spread the frost energy to the blade.

Each subsequent slash and parry, while unable to sever the hardened, thread-like tentacles, did allow the cold energy from the blade to seep into them.

The added power and reaction speed from "pressure point strikes" also allowed Tachibana Kanagawa to hold his own against a seasoned martial arts master like Kakuzu for a period of time.

Jianchuan Ju only needs this much time!

As the two continued to fight, Kakuzu's movements became increasingly stiff until the battle returned to the beach.

"Bang!"

Tachibana Kanagawa kicked Kakuzu in the chest, then flipped over and leaned back, creating distance between them.

Kakuzu, who was originally quite skilled in physical combat, not only failed to dodge this seemingly ordinary kick, but even staggered back two steps on the beach.

Even more horrifyingly, Kakuzu, who was stiffly backing away, actually lost his footing and fell to the ground.

The right leg, which was entangled with the threads of earthly resentment, shattered instantly after stomping on the ground twice, as if it were made of fragile glass, turning into countless ice crystal fragments.

"It's done!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Tachibana Kanagawa activated "Feather Perch," quickly healing all the large and small wounds covering her body before looking at the disheveled Kakuzu again.

"Blame it on the fact that you're a thread monster."

If an ordinary person were to be repeatedly slashed and infused with cold energy by Jianchuan Ju, they would only suffer from frostbite and have their mobility restricted.

They would never be as vulnerable as Kakuzu, who was completely eroded by the cold.

Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Silk Threads are essentially blood vessels modified by a secret technique. A single thread isn't particularly strong. Even though Earth Release: Hardening can withstand physical damage, it can't stop the erosion of cold air.

Once completely frozen, it resembles a giant "caramelized apple," with its "sugar threads" crumbling at the slightest touch, clearly completely restrained by Jianchuan Ju.

However, just as "Hagi" finished her quick treatment and Tachibana was about to step forward again to subdue Kakuzu,

The 'danger premonition' in my mind sounded a piercing alarm once again.

Jianchuan Ju knew without a doubt that the two Earth Grudge Monsters on Lanzai's side had given up on continuing to entangle with the little guy and were rushing to rescue the main body.

Actually, if Tachibana Kenkawa hadn't chosen the dangerous close combat, the attack from the lightning-attribute masked monster might have accidentally broken Kakuzu's own "Earth Spear".

Tachibana Kenkawa never had the chance to fight Kakuzu's true form alone for that long.

"Unfortunately, it was still a little short."

The moment Kanagawa Tachibana sensed danger, she quickly spat out two wind cones, shooting them straight at Kakuzu in the distance.

At the same time, he immediately moved away from his original position, trying to avoid the impending attack.

However, the warning signs in my mind seemed to cling to me like maggots, showing no signs of abating.

Only then did Tachibana Kanakawa have time to turn around and check the situation.

The fire-attribute masked monster was right behind him, its body radiating faint wisps of scorching red light.

"Holy crap, is this thing going to self-destruct?"

Without stopping, Jianchuan Ju moved quickly, trying to create distance between herself and the fire-style monster.

However, before they could even take two steps, the monster began to grow larger and larger, clearly on the verge of exploding.

Fortunately, Kanakawa Tachibana had already completed the hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Prison Technique"

A large amount of clear water was spat out from its mouth, which spun rapidly around the jujube tree, forming a spherical water prison.

At this moment, Tachibana Kanakawa certainly wasn't trying to imprison herself in a water dungeon.

Just as the water prison was about to take shape, the water that Jianchuan Ju spat out no longer flowed, but turned into cold air.

In an instant, most of the water on the outside was frozen into thick ice, while the central jujube tree remained encased in water.

Once the water that had penetrated deep underground froze, it acted like forked tree roots, firmly fixing the hollow ice ball to the ground.

It's too late to say.

The moment the "Ice Prison" was formed, the Fire Release Masked Monster's size also expanded to its limit.

"boom--"

A deafening roar tore through the sky.

How powerful would a top-tier Jonin be if he unleashed all his chakra?

The towering flames and the rapidly spreading shockwaves from the explosion speak for themselves.

Each of Kakuzu's hearts was chosen from elite Jonin of the corresponding attribute, and perhaps the original owner of this heart had never witnessed such a powerful explosion.

The violent shockwave from the explosion, carrying flames and countless scorching grains of sand, slammed into the "ice prison." Inside, Tachibana Kanagawa could already hear the sound of the outermost ice shield being struck by sand and gravel, and the sound of the ice layer cracking due to the shockwave.

next moment.

"Crack!" A clear sound of ice breaking.

But this wasn't the sound of the outer ice breaking, but rather...

"It's over."

Jianchuan Ju's face turned pale.

With a "whoosh,"

The ice puck, which should have been firmly fixed to the ground, was instantly blasted into the air by the shockwave of the explosion.

Needless to say, the cracking sound just now was from those underground ice shards used to connect them.

Without a ground anchor, the weight of Jianchuan Ju and Binglao alone was simply insufficient to withstand such a powerful explosion.

The ice puck, which had been flung into the air, began to tumble wildly. Inside, Tachibana Kanagawa struggled to readjust her position before the puck hit the ground.

After quickly releasing the 'ice prison', ice ball fragments and the clear water inside scattered from the sky, while Jianchuan Ju spread her wings and soared into the sky.

After slightly easing the dizziness caused by the roll, Tachibana Kanagawa finally looked at the beach where the battle had taken place.

However, apart from the huge crater left by the explosion on the beach and Lan Zai emerging from the sea, there was no trace of Kakuzu.

He recalled the scene he had caught a glimpse of just before the 'ice prison' was formed.

Although the two 'pecks' successfully hit Kakuzu's heart, the lightning-attribute masked monster also flew at full speed toward Kakuzu's 'corpse'.

Even though we didn't see what happened next, Tachibana Kenkawa already had some guesses.

"They probably ran away."

After quickly surveying the area in the air, and finding no danger, Tachibana Kanakawa released the pressure point technique and landed back on the sea. Although weakness still enveloped her, she felt countless times better than when she fought Minato Namikaze.

However, Tachibana Kanakawa still looked at the large pit on the beach with some regret.

"Sigh, I was originally thinking of recruiting him again after the battle."

This chapter is a little longer than usual. I was thinking that I shouldn't split the remaining thousand-word battle into tomorrow's chapter, otherwise it would be too unfriendly to readers who are following along. So I decided not to split it.

Here's another piece of good news.

Today, this book reached 3000 average daily subscriptions, which means it has entered the premium category.

The premium badges should be available in the next couple of days.

Thank you all for your continued support.

I originally wanted to write a special author's note, but then I remembered how I used to excitedly click on "three unread chapters" when I was following a book, only to find that one of them was just fluff, and that made me feel a little less happy.

So let's just ramble on here.

As a new author, I started writing books after losing my job. Later, when I found a job, I was overwhelmed with work and busy with both. I never dared to dream of becoming a top-rated author.

It may be a combination of various coincidences and luck, but most importantly, it is everyone's support.

Thank you again, my sincere thanks.

P.S.: I should have added an extra chapter for this good thing, but I really don't have any drafts left. It's already past 11 p.m. when I'm typing this, and I'll have to stay up late tonight to write so that I don't have to miss an update tomorrow due to time constraints.

I'll consider this a chapter I owe everyone, and I'll definitely make it up before the end of the month.

(End of this chapter)