Chp-107: Flame Dragon Armour! Combination

Due to Onoki's extreme caution towards Hyuga Satoru, the participating Stone Shinobi were almost entirely devoid of any metal items, making it much more troublesome for Satoru to replicate his tactics from the Sand Shinobi battlefield.

But it was only troublesome.

Konoha's ninjas were still equipped with metal kunai. Satoru controlled the multitude of kunai thrown by Konoha ninjas, precisely guiding them to hit the vital points of the Stone Shinobi as if they had eyes. It was a display of godlike swordsmanship, true kenjutsu.

The Konoha ninjas' eyelids twitched. It was such a terrifying ability; thankfully, he was on their side. Otherwise...

Noticing the anomaly, the Stone Shinobi in the front lines quickly formed hand signs, raising massive earth walls from the ground.

It was useless.

The kunai would bend around the walls, easily slicing the throats of the Stone Shinobi who cast the jutsu behind them. One trick to dominate all. Satoru clicked his tongue. Although the efficiency was significantly reduced, and it was nearly impossible to replicate his one-man-army feat from the Sand Shinobi battlefield, it was still quite powerful. Satoru targeted the Stone Shinobi of Chunin rank or higher, selectively striking valuable targets with precision.

In theory, he could also control bone or wooden kunai, but they had to be magnetized first with electromagnetic force, which was laborious and less effective than metal kunai. Controlling the kunai from the Konoha side was much more efficient.

Seeing this, some Stone Shinobi gritted their teeth and quickly formed hand signs. "Earth Style! Rock Armour Technique!"

Dense rocks grew from their bodies, covering their skin in an instant, making them look like stone giants. The Rock Armour Technique was an advanced version of the Rock Fist Technique. While the Rock Fist Technique only covered the user's arms with rocks, experienced ninjas could use precise chakra control to envelop their entire body in rock. This slowed them down but greatly increased their defence, strength, and size. These rock-covered Stone Shinobi immediately moved to the front, forming a human wall to block the incoming metal projectiles.

Kunai clinked against their bodies with dull metal sounds, chipping away at the rocks. Chakra flowed, regenerating the broken stones. Even their eyes had protruding stone guards to prevent being blinded. Although it was humiliating to be used as human shields, these elite Stone Shinobi had no choice. Onoki had set up multiple layers of defence to minimize losses, switching strategies as needed. This was the most efficient method to reduce casualties.

Satoru couldn't help but admire Onoki. As the oldest living Kage, his experience and insight far surpassed that of the fledgling Kazekage, Rasa. A ninja from the Uchiha Madara era was not so simple. He also couldn't help but complain. The war's atmosphere was becoming increasingly bizarre, with towering stone giants and burly men in animal skins throwing rocks and wooden weapons. It looked like a low-magic primitive tribe.

Just then, a loud steam engine-like noise erupted nearby. Thomas the Tank Engine??? Had the ninja world's technology tree deviated so much? Before Satoru could fully process this thought, he saw a ninja wrapped in red armour, trailing a long steam tail, rapidly approaching. As the attack neared, Satoru dodged it with electromagnetic propulsion. The steam engine noise stopped, and the tall figure in red armour halted, leaving a deep trench in the grassland behind him.

Not Thomas. It was Han. Satoru recognized the ninja before him. Han was one of the two perfect Jinchuriki of the Stone Hidden Village, the Jinchuriki of the Five-Tails, and known as the Steam Ninja.

Han turned his head, coldly scrutinizing Satoru. "Your reaction speed is faster than I expected, Hyuga's Magnet Release ninja. Your luck ends here." That the Tsuchikage sent him to intercept Satoru was surprising to Han. As one of the renowned perfect Jinchuriki, he could easily wield the power of the Five-Tails. And Satoru, though recently famous, was just a dual bloodline ninja. However, with Onoki's repeated warnings, Han wasn't going to be careless.

"You're not thinking of controlling my armour, are you? Too bad it's not made of metal." Han chuckled. He wouldn't make such a basic mistake. Otherwise, he'd be offering himself up. Satoru also noticed that Han's red armour, though metal-like, was actually another material. Whether it was originally this way or especially changed to counter him, Satoru couldn't say. However, he never planned to solve this with such a method.

The two stood on the battlefield, the surrounding ninjas tactically retreating to avoid being caught in the crossfire. A battle between a Jinchuriki and Satoru would have a wide impact.

"Minato! The Stone Shinobi have sent Han to deal with Satoru!" Jiraiya shouted as he unleashed a Fire Style attack, knocking back the surrounding Stone Shinobi. Han's ability was distinctive, with a unique sound that Jiraiya immediately recognized.

"Trust him!" Minato smiled slightly. "Satoru isn't a ninja who would go down easily."

"Oh?" If his disciple said so, Jiraiya was intrigued. He looked back towards the figure standing off against the red-armoured giant.

...

"You don't seem skilled in taijutsu," Han taunted with a smirk, steam pouring from his blood-red armour. For a Hyuga ninja, not excelling in taijutsu was unusual. However, based on the available intelligence, Satoru indeed did not specialize in taijutsu, often using crafty sniping tactics instead. A newly appointed Kazekage had nearly been driven mad by his underhanded methods. Satoru had never used the Hyuga clan's signature Gentle Fist in combat. Clearly, Satoru wasn't proficient in taijutsu.

Han, known as the Steam Ninja, was confident in his taijutsu prowess, second only to the Raikage. This made him confident that he countered Satoru.

The steam engine-like roar erupted again as Han prepared to attack but was stunned. "Wait a moment," Satoru gestured for a pause. "I need to transform first."

"Flame Dragon Armour, Combine!" With a transformation pose, fluid suddenly wriggled over Satoru's body, forming a red, silver, and black metal armour. It was far more refined than Han's red armour.

"Alright, let's fight!" Satoru struck a pose reminiscent of a flame dragon warrior. Now you have armour, and I have armour. This is very logical, right?"

???

Logical?

Logical, my foot!

Han felt his head spinning. What kind of person was this???