Chapter 91: Sakumo vs. Yatsuki Rin

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

Uchiha Homura formed hand seals, and a massive fireball erupted from his mouth. Even as he had thrown the kunai earlier, he had already begun preparing for this next jutsu.

Roar!

The enormous fireball instantly divided the battlefield. Even a C-rank ninjutsu was something no shinobi dared to carelessly touch with their bare flesh.

However, Yatsuki Rin was an exception.

Uchiha Homura's opponent seemed to also be from the Yatsuki clan, but his body technique did not seem to be fully mastered, only able to generate some sparks on his body's surface. Those electric sparks could deflect the kunai, but could not protect the chunin from being injured.

Initially, he had severely underestimated his foe. Otherwise, with his strength, he should not have been forced into such a predicament by Uchiha Homura.

Sizzle!

At the critical moment, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, and the lightning surrounding his body fiercely converged there. Finally, lightning armor partially formed over his forearms.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Toriumi Jun moved like a wraith, the blade on her back already gripped in her palm. Although not as exaggeratedly fast as Sakumo, her drawing speed was still very swift.

Swish!

Her blade slashed horizontally towards the only figure still draped in a large black robe - Kuriyama Shinzō, who Sakumo had attacked first.

As a special jōnin, Kuriyama's reflexes were excellent. He retreated several steps, barely avoiding the vertical slash.

"What's this? As a missing-nin, harming your own comrades, you don't dare show your true face now?"

Toriumi said coldly, not hesitating to unleash a flurry of slashes, the blade trails forming an intricate six-pointed pattern.

"This is the Anbu's sword style, combined with sensory abilities and barrier ninjutsu...you must be the Anbu Witch?"

Kuriyama said in a raspy, surprised voice. From his wide sleeves, he too drew a long sword, deflecting Toriumi's assaults with a series of strikes.

"Indeed, you seem to know too much!"

Toriumi stated. Anbu information was strictly confidential, so even Sakumo, who may have seen through her Anbu identity, could not have known her specific codename within Anbu.

But Kuriyama seemed to know.

Kuriyama's exclamation caused a momentary lapse in focus among the Cloud ninja, even Uchiha Homura. However, Minato's movements showed no openings, as if deaf to the distraction.

His previous attack evaded, Minato flicked his wrist, thrusting the kunai down with explosive speed!

To avoid Minato's strike, the chunin had to bend at a ninety-degree angle. Combined with the distraction and Minato's instantaneous burst of speed, he could not fully evade.

But as a chunin, he dropped prone, reaching an arm towards Minato's kunai.

Sacrificing a hand was far better than being disemboweled by Minato.

At that moment, Minato felt a chill run down his spine, and he instinctively aborted his attack.

"Flying Thunder God!"

Almost by reflex, Minato's speed exploded as he leapt backwards.

Clang!

Even so, a bolt of lightning flashed, slicing straight through his kunai and piercing several large trees.

"Boom!"

The thunderous roar that followed made it seem like the very ground had caved in.

Minato glanced over - if his reaction had been even a split-second slower, Yatsuki Rin's thrown kunai would have pierced clean through his entire right arm.

And that thunderous roar was Sakumo's doing.

"You bastard!"

Sakumo too had not expected that, in order to attack a single chunin, Yatsuki Rin would completely forego defending against his assault. But then he realized - 

This guy's target was clearly Minato.

Sakumo's force was immense, his short sword seeming to possess unmatched power. Even against Yatsuki Rin's formidable defenses, deflecting the blade with one arm forced him to his knees, his lightning armor already shattered as Sakumo's White Fang sword buried an inch into his left arm.

Crimson blood flowed freely.

"It's been many years since I was last injured. You are truly strong," Yatsuki Rin said. His body modification made it rare for anyone to breach his defenses, yet Sakumo had forced him to such a wretched state with just a short sword.

The two jōnin beside him had not even had a chance to assist. 

"You're one of the few brave enough to meet my blade with your flesh," Sakumo stated. Modifying one's body did not make the defenses unbreakable - he too specialized in lightning chakra, a direct hard-counter to Yatsuki Rin's abilities.

Though he had yet to go all-out, each of Sakumo's slashes had only managed to pierce Yatsuki Rin's guard, leaving him impressed by his opponent's resilience.

And if this was but a fraction of the defense of the fabled "Ultimate Shield" Third Raikage, how impregnable must that be?

"Is that so?" Yatsuki Rin grinned, gripping the blade of Sakumo's sword with his bare hand. "Without this blade, I wonder how much of the famed 'Sakumo Hatake's' strength remains!"

Sizzle!

In an instant, violent lightning chakra surged from his body. Sakumo forcefully wrenched his blade free, slicing through Yatsuki Rin's palm, but the latter refused to release his grip.

"Come on!" Yatsuki Rin challenged, as the two Cloud jōnin rushed at Sakumo, forcing him to release his sword's hilt.

Sakumo had never faced such a ferocious opponent before.

Swish!

Facing the two attacking jōnin, Sakumo showed no particular concern.

"Not just anyone can wield my blade!"

He leapt up, grabbing a tree branch with his left hand and swinging his body around, charging straight at Yatsuki Rin.

At the same time, his left hand began forming one-handed seals.

Single-handed seals!

"Secret Hatake Technique: Thunder Storm!"

Sizzle!

The white short sword Yatsuki Rin had been gripping erupted in brilliant blue lightning chakra. The thunderous roar it emitted shook the minds of all those engaged in combat.

"Boom!"

Next, the lightning exploded outwards in a devastating blast over two meters wide, fully engulfing Yatsuki Rin's form.

Simultaneously, the shockwave knocked Sakumo's White Fang sword loose, which he deftly caught mid-air.

Landing, White Fang used the momentum to charge one of the Cloud jōnin, his blade descending in a fierce overhead slash.

Though no lightning coiled around his blade this time, the blazing trail it left was no less awe-inspiring in its sheer speed.

Swish!

A flash of white - though the Cloud jōnin dodged the frontal slash, his left arm was cleanly severed.

"Argh!"

The agonizing pain made him cry out. From within the dissipating lightning, a figure shot out, their lightning armor in tattered ruins and speed greatly diminished.

It seemed Sakumo had anticipated this, smoothly sidestepping to allow him to pass.

Yatsuki Rin's body was blackened in places, but he did not appear severely injured.

Despite this, his dark features had taken on an even more sinister cast as he glared furiously at Sakumo. If looks could kill, Sakumo would have perished many times over by now.

"You did that on purpose!" Yatsuki Rin's enraged voice echoed through the forest.

(End of chapter)