Chapter 92: The Dance of the Crescent Moon

Yatsuki Rin's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Sakumo's short sword could not possibly contain chakra to release ninjutsu. 

The only possibility was that Sakumo had infused chakra into that chakra blade beforehand. Had it not been for his lightning chakra armor protecting him, he would have been electrocuted into a pile of ash.

Although he could reconstitute his armor, it required expending a tremendous amount of chakra, which would in turn reduce his speed and strength. Against an opponent like Sakumo Hatake, he would undoubtedly become more passive.

Taking advantage of the moment he was caught in the explosion, not only had Sakumo reclaimed his sword, but had also instantly taken the arm of one of the Cloud jōnin.

What terrifying power!

However, continuously unleashing such speed and powerful sword techniques would inevitably drain even the mightiest ninja of their stamina.

"Don't be afraid, let's see how long he can keep this up!" Yatsuki Rin told the two Cloud jōnin behind him. Horror was etched on their faces, especially the one whose arm had been severed by White Fang in an instant - his expression was filled with terror.

But as jōnin, he used his lightning chakra to cauterize the bleeding wound in an extremely short time, though the searing pain contorted his features.

His eyes were clearly filled with fury towards Sakumo.

"Use lightning ninjutsu to bombard him, don't worry about me!" 

Swish!

Yatsuki Rin's eyes narrowed as his lightning armor re-enveloped his body, and he charged at Sakumo.

His aim was simple - restrict Sakumo's movements to prevent him from using his speed to disrupt the jōnin's hand seals.

And while he had his lightning armor's protection, Sakumo, formidable as he was, was still flesh and blood.

"What a madman!"

Sakumo naturally understood his intent, leaping backwards. Though he could still move faster than Yatsuki Rin, completely ignoring him was impossible.

This guy's formidable defenses were truly vexing.

At the same time, within Sakumo's line of sight, Minato and Uchiha Homura were also locked in fierce combat with Cloud chunin.

Uchiha Homura's regular speed was nearly on par with Minato's, allowing him to handle the chunin's attacks. However, Cloud ninja were physically stronger, giving the chunin an edge in force over Uchiha Homura.

Even so, he had techniques to compensate for this gap - his ingenious kunai skills. The Uchiha's unmatched prowess with kunai, combined with their unpredictable angles, forced the chunin to frequently abandon his pursuit of Uchiha Homura.

And whenever the chunin retreated, Uchiha Homura would instantly counterattack, the roles of hunter and hunted constantly shifting between them.

As for Minato, his combat skill far surpassed the chunin's, and his physical speed could overwhelm his opponent.

After training under Jiraiya for a year, he was used to fighting Jiraiya's shadow clones, a level far above an ordinary chunin.

Whether in skill or force, the battle-hardened Minato could take the offensive against the Cloud chunin.

However, to defeat or even kill the chunin would require Minato to pay an extremely heavy price himself.

But their mission this time was only to kill Kuriyama Shinzō - they just needed to stall their opponents. The true deciding factor was with Toriumi Jun.

Clang!

Toriumi Jun's sword style was exquisitely graceful yet razor-sharp. Combined with her petite, beautiful form, she seemed like a sprite in the night. Yet beneath that alluring exterior lay an utterly merciless killing intent.

Clang! Clang!

Their blades collided repeatedly, sparks flying. Toriumi had never imagined that Kuriyama Shinzō, previously an intel officer, could possess such formidable skills.

So-called 'special jōnin' referred to those with particular special abilities. While Toriumi's own strength ranked respectably among jōnin, until now, Kuriyama had deflected all her attacks.

Not that he was Toriumi's equal - there was still a gap between them. In this dense forest, his retreat was being forced into an ever-shrinking area.

If this continued, he would inevitably be defeated. And given Toriumi's methods, what awaited him would undoubtedly be a lethal strike.

"Useless Cloud ninja scum!" he rasped, cursing. The ninja meant to be his guards had all been intercepted by the Leaf ninja.

Even the esteemed Yatsuki Rin was being forced by Sakumo Hatake to resort to such tactics.

"An opening!"

Toriumi's beautiful eyes narrowed, having noticed Kuriyama's momentary lapse in concentration. She instantly unleashed a flurry of slashes. Kuriyama reacted and avoided or deflected most of the attacks, but could not fully evade the final sidelong strike.

Swish!

The blade trail passed by the left side of his head, shearing off part of his wide robe's hood.

In the faint moonlight, Kuriyama Shinzō finally revealed his true appearance. Upon seeing his photo, Toriumi could not help her pupils contracting in shock.

Though his features were unchanged, his pallid complexion was completely devoid of color.

Combined with his already chillingly cold eyes, it made him seem like a vampire.

Toriumi's sidelong slash had cut into Kuriyama's left shoulder, blood trickling forth. He took the opportunity to discard his wide robe, then raised his equally pale hand to touch the wound.

Then, right in front of Toriumi, he began licking the blood from his hand, remarking, "That really hurt."

Toriumi's response was even colder:

"Next, you won't feel any pain!"

She raised two fingers vertically in front of her while gripping her sword tightly in her other hand.

"Leaf Style: Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

Accompanying the faintly descending moonlight, Toriumi charged at Kuriyama. To him, she seemed to instantly divide into three, rushing at him from three different directions.

The moonlight reflected off the three blade trails, emanating an intensely cold and sharp radiance!

Kuriyama gripped his sword defensively, helpless against the three "Toriumi Juns" converging on him.

But the moment he attacked one, the three unleashed their assault in unison, blurring his vision in an instant.

As the blurred images gradually cleared from his eyes, Kuriyama felt a searing pain in his throat. Toriumi had appeared behind him, her bloodstained blade at the ready.

A crimson fountain of blood instantly erupted from the gash in Kuriyama's neck.

(End of chapter)