Chapter 54: Severed Arm

Mura tightly gripped his kunai, standing in front of Shikaku. He knew his legs were shaking uncontrollably, which looked quite embarrassing, but he couldn't control it.

Shikaku stared blankly at Mura's rapidly trembling legs, sighed silently, then smiled wryly, feeling somewhat touched. However, given the grave situation, he had no time to dwell on his feelings and could only focus on devising a plan to escape this predicament.

No matter how clever his mind was, facing such overwhelming strength was ultimately futile.

Thinking about how the shadow imitation technique was effortlessly broken by the enemy, he felt a sense of despair, unable to even create an opportunity for his teammates to escape.

He looked at Mura, biting his lip tightly, causing a trickle of blood to flow.

"Oh? Not escaping anymore?" Shicun said with surprise, watching Mura, who had remained behind to protect others despite being cowardly and fearful.

Mura opened his mouth, unsure of how to respond, and could only slowly close his mouth, remaining silent, though his body shook even more violently.

Ye Zi, hiding in the shadows, watched silently as the four fell into a dire situation. He didn't intend to intervene but began to adjust his position for the best ambush opportunity. Mura choosing to stay and resist was undoubtedly good news for him.

"Although I appreciate your decision to stay, you should still escape. Don't make a pointless sacrifice. I'm slower than you, and I'm injured. I can't escape." Shikaku said calmly after taking a deep breath.

"Damn it, hearing you say that makes me want to turn and run, but because you said that, even if I'm a beast, I can't escape now." Mura thought sadly.

Seeing Mura 's silence, Shikaku sighed, giving up on persuasion, and threw himself wholeheartedly into the counterattack, focusing on the traps he had set. With his hands and bones injured, unable to form seals, his only chance of victory relied on the traps. Although the odds were slim, Mura was unaware of the types and locations of the traps, making it more difficult.

"What should I do…" Shikaku's expression was grave.

Shicun showed no mercy and didn't give them much time to breathe. With a wave of his hand, he shot several kunai at Mura and then quickly formed hand seals. His abdomen swelled, and he spat out a number of mud bullets.

The mud bullets were not highly lethal but had a strong adhesive quality that affected the enemy's movement when stuck to them.

He had chased Mura all this way and didn't want to let him escape at the last moment.

Mura struggled to deflect several kunai and was hit in the leg by a mud bullet, letting out a muffled groan. Shikaku was also unable to dodge in time and was hit by a mud bullet. Under the immense pressure, he could barely think about tactics.

"Damn it."

The mud bullet was heavy and stuck to his thigh. Mura tried to shake his leg vigorously, but the mud bullet remained unmoved, and the mud was quickly hardening.

After being hit by the mud bullet, Shicun sneered and charged at Mura like a leopard pouncing on prey.

He threw a punch at Mura, which instantly wrapped in hard stone, as if it was a fist sculpted from rock, intending to end Mura with one blow.

"Move!" Mura yelled as he leaped backward, while Shikaku also jumped to the side.

Boom!

The stone fist struck the tree trunk, shattering it into pieces.

Mura landed on a nearby tree trunk, suddenly losing his balance due to the weight of his left leg.

This slight misalignment created a huge risk.

Shicun glanced at him and quickly formed hand seals, shouting, "Earth Release, Sharp Rock Spear!"

A sharp stone spear quickly formed in the air and shot toward Mura.

The spear whistled through the air with tremendous killing intent.

Mura's face changed, and he began forming seals, whispering, "Water Release, Water Barrier!"

Rich water vapor quickly condensed in the air, forming a constantly flowing arc-shaped water barrier in front of Mura. When the stone spear hit the water barrier, it splashed water everywhere, and despite the intense impact, the stone spear was eventually washed away and dissipated.

After releasing the water barrier, Mura's stamina and chakra had dropped to a dangerous level.

"Desperate struggle." Shicun sneered and charged at the panting Mura. At this moment, Inoichi used the Mind Body Switch Technique against Shicun, hoping to control him for just a moment to make him fall.

However, at the instant of attempting control, Shicun shook off the control with even greater mental strength.

With his spirit countered, Inoichi's face turned pale, becoming devoid of color and filled with despair.

With Chōza unconscious and Shikaku's and Inoichi's techniques unable to control the enemy, were they really left to wait for death?

After breaking free from mental control, Shicun, under Mura's desperate gaze, threw a punch at his heart.

Mura roared and thrust his kunai at Shicun, who coldly laughed, twisting his waist to kick the kunai away. The punch continued with full force, hitting Mura's chest. There was a muffled sound as Guan Village's back burst with flesh and a faintly visible heart.

Mura slowly widened his eyes and collapsed to the ground, the light fading quickly from his eyes as he was killed by the punch to his heart.

Shikaku watched in horror, lifting his injured arm in anger, enduring the pain to form seals, and prepared to make a final attempt with the shadow technique.

The dark shadow shot out from his feet, easily binding Shicun. The shadow wrapped around Shicun like a snake, quickly coiling around his body, with one part extending to form a sharp point just five centimeters from Shicun's heart, unable to advance further.

Shikaku strained every ounce of strength, his forehead bulging with veins, sweat pouring down, unable to push the shadow further.

Ye Zi, hiding in the shadows, was extremely tense. The power to keep a body still after such a powerful blow to the heart was terrifying. Had this person's physical skills reached such a level that a sneak attack would be ineffective?

Hesitating, Ye Zi saw Shicun was caught by the shadow technique. Maybe due to instinct or experience, he knew he couldn't wait any longer. This might be the only chance. So, he suddenly moved, his body wrapped in lightning, tightly gripping the his blade, and shot out from the shadows like a venomous snake, aiming at Shicun's heart.

Blade, imbued with lightning, cut through the air, targeting the back of Shicun, precisely at the heart area.

Sensing a gust of wind behind him and with no time to defend, Shicun's expression changed dramatically. His intense sense of danger made him instinctively react, breaking free from the shadow technique and sidestepping the incoming sword.

Slash!

Blood spurted.

The sword cut through Shicun's left shoulder, severing a robust arm and causing blood to spray from his shoulder. The air was thick with the smell of blood.

Shicun grunted and quickly kicked Ye Zi from behind.

Boom!

The kick landed heavily on Ye Zi's back, making him grunt and fly forward, crashing into several trees before stopping.

Leaning against a tree trunk, Ye Zi coughed blood, looking at Shicun who had only lost an arm. His face was grim. If it hadn't been for the chakra concentration on his back at the critical moment, that kick could have been fatal.

The lightning-fast change left Shikaku and Inoichi stunned for a moment, but Shikaku quickly reacted, retreating and keeping a safe distance.

Shicun, clutching his bleeding left shoulder, glared at Ye Zi with fury. Seeing the symbolic Thunder Fang, his expression turned extremely vicious, and the killing intent in his eyes surged like a tide.

"You must be Ye Zi… Good, very good."

With a face full of cold, murderous intent, Shicun's gaze focused solely on him, his voice icy: "It was worth losing an arm for you to show up."

Ye Zi's expression changed upon hearing this. He sensed something significant in Shicun's words...

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