Chapter 76: The Ominous Eye, The Pursuit!

"Damn it..."

"It's not enough!"

"Too slow!"

Hoshita Shūichi gritted his teeth, pouring out chakra from within himself, desperately trying to control it to regenerate and heal Kurama Sanyō's wounds.

But the speed was still too slow.

If he spread the power across all four wounds, none of them would heal quickly enough.

Even when he focused his power on the two most critical wounds, the speed was still insufficient.

The arterial wound healed the fastest, but the heart was slower.

At this rate, Sanyō would still be dead due to massive bleeding from either the lungs or liver.

In his current situation, Shūichi could only manage to create a single shadow clone. But without the Regeneration Technique, the clone could only use basic medical ninjutsu, which was inadequate for treating such extensive internal injuries where the organs were shredded.

These injuries were caused by the Iwa-nin's notorious "Rock Gun Technique," where the stone bullets not only caused a cavity effect but also scattered fragments upon impact.

Though Sanyō had a penetrating wound, the internal damage was far more complex.

If there were multiple medics, they could use the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to remove the stone fragments, followed by the Mystical Palm Technique for the superficial injuries, and then collaborate on the Regeneration Technique to handle the internal damage. Only then would it be possible to treat such wounds quickly.

But now, Hoshita Shūichi was alone.

"Shisui, find Minato Sensei!"

Shūichi shouted.

Uchiha Shisui immediately created a shadow clone to search for Minato Namikaze, while he stayed behind, wary of the four Kusagakure ninjas.

However, as Shisui's clone departed, a loud crash resounded behind them as the wall was blasted through, and several figures charged straight for the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

"Stop them!"

The four Kusagakure ninjas rushed forward, but with the sound of thunder, they were all sent flying one after another.

"A brat from the Uchiha clan, with a single tomoe Sharingan..."

The tall man dressed as a Kusagakure man stared intently at the wary Uchiha Shisui. "You three take the ninja tool; I'll capture this Uchiha brat and bring back his Sharingan."

Before he could finish his sentence, his hands had already completed a series of hand seals.

Lightning Release: Lightning Illusion Flash of Lightning Pillar

A blinding flash of light erupted, making it impossible for anyone to see.

The tall man then lunged at the now blinded Uchiha Shisui.

Boom!

Before he could get close, the tall man was sent flying back, crashing into the wall.

Minato Namikaze appeared, flinging a kunai, and in a flash, the three ninjas who were about to take the Box of Ultimate Bliss were struck down with screams of agony.

Within a second, the enemies were eliminated. Minato Namikaze returned to Hoshita Shūichi's side. "Shūichi..."

"Minato Sensei, Sanyō's injuries are too severe," Shūichi quickly said. "Even the medical scroll isn't enough."

"Can you take Sanyō back to Konoha, or use the Flying Thunder God to bring...?"

Shūichi trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

Even if Tsunade were here without her hemophobia, she might not be able to handle such injuries alone.

Now, with Tsunade suffering from hemophobia, even bringing Nono Yakushi might not be enough.

But Kusagakure was far from Konoha, and Minato Namikaze wasn't in his Edo Tensei state, nor did he have Kurama's chakra within him.

He might be able to take one person, but with more, his chakra would likely be insufficient.

As for bringing Sanyō back to Konoha...

Looking at the critically injured Sanyō, Minato was also deeply saddened. "It's impossible to reach Konoha in one go, and with my current chakra, I can't teleport two people over such a long distance in a single trip."

"And if I take one person, without you, Sanyō wouldn't survive the journey back to Konoha."

Uchiha Shisui trembled upon hearing this. "Minato Sensei, is there no other way?"

"Ugh... ugh..."

Sanyō, who had been unconscious, suddenly coughed, blood foam spilling from his mouth.

He opened his fading eyes and vaguely saw the silhouettes of Hoshita Shūichi and the others, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Looks like... I can't... keep going with you guys..."

Shūichi opened his mouth but couldn't bring himself to make a promise of recovery.

Sanyō slightly turned his head, his gaze falling on Shūichi. "Shū... Shūichi, you've done... exceptionally well... to give me time... to say goodbye."

Shūichi gritted his teeth, holding back his tears.

But Sanyō's life was slipping away quickly. He looked at Minato Namikaze one last time, with regret in his voice. "I'm sorry, Minato Sensei, I couldn't give you a wedding gift."

Minato Namikaze opened his mouth but could only say, "Sanyō, you will be a hero of Konoha!"

Sanyō's gaze began to fade. He opened his mouth again, his voice growing faint. "I... I never wanted to be a hero. I just wanted to be with you guys..."

Shisui lowered his head, unable to hide the sudden, intense crimson light that flared in his eyes.

...

Kurama Sanyō could not be saved.

As Shūichi slowly withdrew his trembling hands, he stared at Sanyō's lifeless body, the faint smile of regret still on his face.

Shūichi had seen death in Konoha Hospital before.

Countless shinobi had died under his care.

But for the first time, he felt death so close, so deeply sorrowful.

And as Sanyō's friend, he felt utterly powerless in the face of his death.

Suddenly, Shūichi began to understand why Tsunade, a strong kunoichi who had experienced countless battles, would develop hemophobia—a condition that might seem almost laughable to others.

If one day, Nono were to die like this before his eyes...

If Shizune were to die like this before his eyes...

If Tenka, Minato Sensei, Kakashi, or Guy...

Just imagining it filled Shūichi with an inexplicable fear and resistance.

Minato Namikaze patted Hoshita Shūichi on the shoulder and was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed. "Shisui, retreat!"

Shisui had already sensed the danger and immediately vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

The moment Shūichi and the others disappeared, the Box of Ultimate Bliss, which had been silent until now, suddenly launched an attack on its own.

An invisible force swept through, engulfing the four Kusagakure shinobi, as well as the four that Minato had already defeated, pulling them all into the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

Minato appeared outside the gate, his expression solemn. Although the Box of Ultimate Bliss did not attack them again, it emanated a malevolent aura and intense chakra fluctuations.

Shisui, his Sharingan glowing red, stared at the Box of Ultimate Bliss. "Minato Sensei, it seems this ninja tool absorbed their chakra."

Minato Namikaze nodded. "Shūichi, we must seal it!"

Shūichi nodded silently, blocking out his grief as he activated double focus mode.

He spread out the sealing scroll again, and together with Minato, formed hand seals and pressed their hands against the scroll. Seals immediately spread towards the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

This time, there were no complications. The Eight Trigrams Seal was completed successfully, sealing the Box of Ultimate Bliss. The malevolent aura receded, and the fluctuating chakra calmed.

As soon as the sealing was complete, Kusagakure's Mu Wei arrived. "Jōnin Minato, our village leader has been killed in battle."

Shūichi and the others exchanged surprised looks.

Mu Wei glanced at Sanyō's lifeless body on the ground and apologized. "I'm terribly sorry. Our leader was ambushed and killed, which is why we couldn't come to help sooner."

The three remained silent.

At that moment, Shūichi, having dropped out of high-focus mode, felt a surge of irritation and spoke up. "There should be attackers who managed to escape, right?"

Mu Wei nodded. "Yes, they were very powerful. We couldn't stop them."

Hoshita Shūichi turned to Minato Namikaze. "Minato Sensei, I want to do something for Sanyō."

Uchiha Shisui quickly added, "So do I."

Minato Namikaze glanced at Shisui's three-tomoe Sharingan and nodded. "Be careful, both of you. I'll come after you once things are settled here."

He handed the Flying Thunder God kunai to Shūichi.

Taking the kunai, Shūichi and Shisui headed west, leaving Kusagakure.

The two followed the tracks, but after some distance, they halted. Uchiha Shisui examined the trail and said, "They've split up!"

Shūichi analyzed carefully. "These aren't shadow clones. Let's just follow one trail!"

Shisui nodded, and they chose the trail on the left.

Ten minutes later, they passed through an area of flooding water. As the water rippled, a figure emerged from beneath, firing several rock bullets straight at the backs of Hoshita Shūichi and Uchiha Shisui.

But in the next moment, their figures shattered like illusions.

"Not good, genjutsu!"

The Iwa-nin realized too late, and the next moment, his eyes were locked onto a pair of crimson, three-tomoe Sharingan. His eyelids grew heavy, and he began to drift into sleep.

The Iwa-nin, hiding in the water, had already been discovered. The genjutsu he was caught in was a masterful deception.

But just as he was hypnotized, the Iwa-nin burst into a puff of smoke.

Shadow Clone!

Shisui immediately warned, "Shūichi, we need to be even more careful. This guy is probably a Jōnin."

Hoshita Shūichi nodded, continuing forward.

Uchiha Shisui quickly followed.

They had failed to protect Sanyō, but from now on, he would use his "Ominous Eye" to safeguard his friends!

After pursuing for a while, Shūichi suddenly stopped.

At that moment, the Iwa-nin, hiding behind a giant mushroom and a tree, frowned. "These brats are not simple."

"The one with the Sharingan is particularly troublesome, with his three-tomoe."

He was indeed the one left behind to cover the retreat, and as Uchiha Shisui had guessed, he was an Iwa-nin Jōnin.

However, just as the Iwa-nin was contemplating how to take them down one by one, Shūichi suddenly leaped into action.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The air exploded as blazing white fire lotuses bloomed beneath Shūichi's feet, propelling him at high speed towards the Iwa-nin's hiding spot.

"What?"

The Iwa-nin's eyes widened in disbelief. "How is this possible?"

"Genjutsu?"

"No, it's not genjutsu!"

At that moment, as Shūichi soared through the air, he drew his blade. The instant he raised the sword with both hands, blue flames erupted along the blade, forming a massive, slightly ethereal blue sword.

He slashed it down towards the Iwa-nin hiding behind a tree, despite the distance of several meters.

"This brat…"

The Iwa-nin was shocked again, momentarily hesitating before throwing his kunai.

But before the kunai could reach its target, it was swiftly intercepted by Shisui's shuriken.

Boom!

The thick tree trunk was split open by the slash. The Iwa-nin leaped back, but not before a charred line appeared across his chest.

His clothing and flesh had been seared by the burning blade, and the excruciating pain contorted the Iwa-nin's face.

At that moment, Shisui's shuriken attacked once more, while Shūichi, still in the air, unleashed a barrage of flames from his mouth, attaching themselves to the shuriken.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!

Despite the intense pain, the Iwa-nin drew his sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

He deflected each shuriken, but Shūichi was already closing in.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Metal clashed with metal, and sparks flew as the two figures engaged in a fierce battle within the forest of gigantic plants.

Shisui moved swiftly, his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning as he kept a close eye on the combatants, ready to assist at any moment.

Suddenly, a blue light flared.

The Iwa-nin's sword was cleaved in two by the Totsuka Blade. In shock, he still attempted to slash at Shūichi with the broken blade, while his left hand reached for a kunai to stab Shūichi in the abdomen.

But Shūichi ignored the kunai aimed at him and brought his sword down again. The blue-flamed blade easily severed the Iwa-nin's broken sword, then sliced through his arm.

Almost simultaneously, the Iwa-nin's kunai pierced Shūichi's vest and stabbed into his abdomen.

This action shocked Shisui, as Shūichi could have easily dodged the attack if he had just given up on his own strike.

The Iwa-nin let out a scream of agony, using the tree trunk to push himself back and away.

As the kunai was pulled out, the wound in Shūichi's abdomen began to bleed, but it quickly healed.

Yin Healing Wound Destruction!

Shūichi didn't even flinch, thanks to his 10x focus mode. He watched as the retreating, one-armed Iwa-nin, despite his intense pain, still managed to throw a kunai with an explosive tag to block Shisui's Fireball Jutsu.

Shūichi then unleashed a blazing white beam of light from his mouth, undeterred by the burns that blistered his lips.

The high-temperature ray shot forward with incredible speed. The Iwa-nin instinctively raised his short sword and tilted his head to the side.

In the next moment, the beam pierced through the short sword and grazed past the Iwa-nin's ear.

But just as the Iwa-nin thought he had narrowly avoided the attack, the beam, guided by Hoshita Shūichi's movements, lowered and slashed across the Iwa-nin's neck.

In an instant, his head was severed from his body.

Shisui appeared beside Shūichi, concern in his voice. "Shūichi, you..."

Shūichi exhaled a long breath, feeling a sense of relief wash over him as he smiled and said, "Don't worry, with Yin Healing Wound Destruction, the wound has already healed."

Shisui glanced at Shūichi's blistered lips.

Shūichi explained helplessly, "It's an incomplete jutsu."

The high-temperature ray was merely a jutsu in form; it didn't even have a proper name yet.

Uchiha Shisui felt reassured, then asked, "Should we continue the pursuit?"

Shūichi looked at the Iwa-nin's fallen body and shook his head. "The enemy's situation is unclear. Continuing to chase them could be dangerous. Let's wait for Minato Sensei."

He had been driven by pent-up frustration, but now that he had vented it, his rationality had returned.

(End of Chapter)

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