Chapter 88 : Ultra Guillotine!!

"Hmm?"

Yakushi Nonō was momentarily taken aback, but quickly snapped to attention, her eyes widening. "Wait for me!"

With those words, she hastily rose to her feet and followed Uchiha Sogetsu as he exited the drug store.

The empty street lay deserted, as if all pedestrians had been scared away. 

Three figures of varying heights, one crouching, one standing, and another with arms folded, stared coldly from the opposite rooftop. 

The pair emerging from the drug store made no effort to conceal their murderous intent.

As Yakushi Nonō's gaze fell upon the three figures, her pupils narrowed to pinpricks.

Like the biting chill of winter wind, a sudden rush of cold surged up her spine, segment by segment, until it reached her very core, leaving her feeling as though she had plummeted into an icy abyss.

"They... They are..."

Yakushi Nonō's face drained of color, her lips trembling. "Why are the Seven Ninja Swordsmen here?!"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Sogetsu touched his nose and cleared his throat. "They probably followed me."

"Damn it, was his location compromised?" Yakushi Nonō didn't dwell on it. She simply assumed that he had inadvertently revealed their whereabouts, attracting the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the most formidable force of Kirigakure. 

Faced with such elite enemies, despair gripped her. "Sir, I'll try to stop them. Please leave quickly!"

It wasn't that she was willing to sacrifice herself for others. No one could be that selfless, especially considering that they had only just met.

But given the circumstances, she had no choice.

Uchiha Sogetsu held the 'code,' making him far more crucial in terms of status and identity.

If Uchiha Sogetsu were to perish, even if she managed to survive, she would be hunted down by Konoha's ANBU.

Instead of that fate, she'd rather use her own demise to secure a future for those children.

Yakushi Nonō drew her kunai and stood resolutely in front of him. "Please leave swiftly. Don't hesitate. All I ask is that you take good care of those children once I'm gone!"

Just as she steeled herself for this decision to sacrifice herself, a gentle hand pressed on her shoulder, pulling her behind him.

"Stand back. I don't need you to intervene."

Uchiha Sogetsu strode forward, his robes billowing in the wind. "As for those kids, handle them yourselves," he declared.

Standing beside Yakushi Nono, the figure, not particularly muscular but seemed as imposing as a mountain to her. Though the sky was devoid of sunlight, she felt bathed in its warmth.

"Are you finished?" 

The trio on the rooftop stared coldly at him. "Don't worry, neither of you can escape," they retorted.

"Uchiha Sogetsu, I've finally tracked you down!" Onihei, half-crouching on the roof while on the ground, sneered menacingly. "Shibuki is with you, isn't it?"

"Shibuki? Let me think," Uchiha Sogetsu pretended to ponder for a moment before speaking with a smirk. "Ah, yes, I recall now. But I'm afraid I've disposed of that."

"Arrogant Uchiha, your bravado won't save you," Onihei's expression darkened, a cold glare in his eyes as he slowly rose, hand on the bandaged hilt of his knife. "You didn't bother hiding your tracks, leaving them so obvious. I'll make you regret crossing me!"

Confusion swirled in Yakushi Nonō's mind at his words.

What had she just heard?

He hadn't bothered hiding his movements and had left clear tracks for them to follow.

So, it was this man's carelessness that led the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to them?

Yakushi Nonō's eyes twitched, her neck stiffening as she glanced at Uchiha Sogetsu, silently asking him: Are you for real?

"I didn't conceal my tracks because it wasn't necessary," Uchiha Sogetsu explained calmly, a hint of irritation in his tone. "Do you concern yourself with ants noticing your footprints?"

The trio on the roof erupted in frustration, veins pulsing on their foreheads.

"So, we're just ants to you?"

Onihei's countenance twisted into a ferocious scowl, his eyes threatening to ignite into flames. "Well done, Uchiha Sogetsu. You've succeeded in provoking us," he growled.

Boom!

Roof tiles shattered, chakra whipping up a tempestuous wind.

In the next instant, Onihei, his aura thick with murderous intent, bolted forward like a gust of wind, white bandages billowing around him as his ninja sword gleamed with blue light.

"Hiramekarei Unleashing!"

The twin blades, resembling flounders, emitted potent gusts from their perforations.

In that moment, chakra surged through the entire length of the swords. The ninja blade resonated with Onihei's will and their mutual understanding, amplifying their destructive potential several fold. 

A cacophony of harsh roars and explosions rent the air.

"Watch out! It's called Hiramekarei!"

Yakushi Nonō's expression shifted, urgency tainting his voice. "It'll gather the wielder's chakra, then unleash it in a single burst!"

Boom--!!

The street quaked under the force of a violent impact, unleashing a massive shockwave.

The turbulent currents of air thrashed in all directions like a tsunami. In Onihei's vicinity, stone slabs cracked and shattered, visible ripples sweeping through as chaos engulfed the long street.

The flounder, enveloped in surging chakra, carved a crater three meters in diameter into the ground.

Yet, the pit lay empty.

"Body Flicker Jutsu, is it?" Onihei snorted coldly, having missed his mark with the attack, swiftly fixing his gaze a short distance away. "I recall now, the intel from the Higashi Shibito mentioned your adeptness in Body Flicker Jutsu. Show yourself."

"Hahaha, Onihei, need a hand?" Two figures remained on the rooftop, their laughter echoing as they observed the scene. "We could lend ours instead."

"Silence! I can handle this alone!"

Onihei's expression darkened, coldly dismissing his two comrades before pressing on.

Boom!

The blue chakra surged like a tsunami, its power resonating with the force of nature itself.

Gusts of wind erupted from the circular orifice, enveloping the blade in a torrent of chakra, conjuring tempestuous currents seemingly out of thin air.

Successive waves, each building upon the last, crashed forward with the unstoppable force of a tidal wave, smashing against obstacles like rocks in its path, relentless and indomitable.

"Hurrah!"

A fierce gale whipped against Uchiha Sozuki's countenance, causing his ebony garb to flutter in the wind.

"Go to hell - Uchiha Sogetsu!!!"

Onihei deftly flicked his wrist, channeling chakra to its zenith within the twin swords, which he then thrust forward with precision.

As the twin blades lunged towards their target, poised to rend it asunder, Uchiha Sogetsu shifted ever so slightly, his right hand's fingers curling in a subtle gesture, unleashing a piercing, discordant shriek that sliced through the air like a blade.

"Is that the wail of the wind?"

The acerbic, cutting sound assailed the senses, seeming to pierce through the very core.

Yakushi Nonō winced in agony, instinctively shielding his ears from the assault. Through squinted eyes, he glimpsed the tumultuous scene unfolding amidst the raging winds.

Hiss!

The ferocious tempest roared relentlessly around Uchiha Sogetsu.

Observing the high-velocity cyclone swirling around him, Uchiha harnessed its power, coalescing it within his right hand from all directions.

It resembled the relentless hammering of a blacksmith's forge, with the gathered winds acting as the anvil's strike, incessantly pounding and refining an invisible blade, its razor-thin edge seemingly as fragile as parchment, ready to cleave with the slightest application of force.

"Wind Release: Guillotine!"

With deliberate motion, Uchiha Sogetsu raised his hand, the ethereal wind blade poised lightly in his grasp, before sweeping it downward in a swift arc.

Laughing—!

The slender blade sliced through the air like a streak of light, cutting vertically from the center of Onihei's eyebrows.

Onihei's movements froze, halting in place. The dual swords pulsating with chakra seemed to wail as their blue glow gradually faded.

In the stunned gaze of everyone present, a thin line began to spread downward along the center of Onihei's brows.

Puff!

Bright crimson blood gushed out like a fountain, spraying directly along the path of the cut.

Only then did Onihei's realization sink in: "Have I been... killed?"

Plop!

His body collapsed heavily to the ground, blood gushing forth.

"Well, I suppose I'm still a bit rusty."

Uchiha Sogetsu nudged the frame with his index finger, his eyes calm and composed, though he furrowed his brow in dissatisfaction. "Was that strike too gentle? I had intended to cleave you in half."

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