Uzumaki Kongming clutched his chest, which was throbbing with pain, and grimaced as he struggled to his feet.
His movements were unsteady, but they radiated determination.
"Oh? You can still stand after an attack of that level?" Ōnoki raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, then scoffed, "Even a Ninja Elephant would rarely be able to get up after taking a punch from me."
Faced with Ōnoki's provocation, Uzumaki Kongming didn't respond, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't open his mouth. His clenched teeth were stained with blood, and the force of the attack was still rampaging through his body. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Just now, listening to the pained groans of his clansmen and watching one fresh life after another wither away before his eyes, he couldn't bear the torment any longer. The smell of blood was driving him mad.
They were the entire fighting force that Hidden Whirlpool Village could muster, the last line of defense without a doubt.
If they were to fall, the elderly, weak, women, and children in the village would surely die at the hands of the enemy. At that point, the Uzumaki clan would truly be finished!
Therefore, even at the cost of his life, he couldn't let the enemy advance a single step. This battle was for protection!
He roared to the sky, immediately turning grief and indignation into fighting spirit. *"Adamantine Sealing Chains"* erupted, a full eight golden chains bursting from his body, piercing through the enemies around him!
He did his best to eliminate the opponents surrounding him, and just as he was about to rush to the aid of his clansmen, he was stopped by this small figure.
Kongming knew in his heart that the unremarkable fellow before him, whose appearance was even slightly comical, was indeed the Hidden Stone Village's renowned Third Earth Shadow!
Rumor had it that he was the grandson of First Earth Shadow Ishikawa, a disciple of Second Earth Shadow Mu, and a powerful ninja who had perfectly inherited the power and Will of Stone of the previous two Earth Shadows. His ability to fly alone was proof of this!
Faced with this small figure floating in mid-air, Uzumaki Kongming's expression immediately became extremely solemn. After all, even for a ninja, being able to fly was an exaggerated feat, a rare existence in the Shinobi World.
Ōnoki raised his hand and formed a seal, launching the first attack. A full sixteen hard rocks rose from the ground, drawn into the air by his Earth Release Chakra, constantly rotating around Ōnoki like asteroids.
He pointed his hand, and the rocks shot away one after another, growing larger in the air. By the time they reached Uzumaki Kongming, they were as terrifying as falling rocks from a high mountain.
He immediately rolled to dodge, one rock after another passing by him. The heavy sound of the wind rushed over him, and his forehead was unconsciously covered in cold sweat.
After the sixteen rocks missed, Ōnoki changed his hand seals, and his next killing move was already brewing.
*"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spear!"*
A wave suddenly rippled across the ground beneath his feet. Uzumaki Kongming's heart skipped a beat, and a warning bell immediately went off in his mind. He immediately jumped into the air, and the moment his feet left the ground, a full eight sharp rock spears burst from the earth!
Fortunately, Kongming dodged in time, avoiding being directly pierced, but his calf was still grazed.
With a "tearing" sound, blood flowed freely.
Ōnoki clenched his five fingers, and the earth spears grew longer against the wind, frantically drawing earth and stone from the ground at an extremely fast rate. Before Uzumaki Kongming could even land, the rock spears had expanded into a cluster of stone forests, fixing his limbs in place and imprisoning him.
*"Earth Release: Rock Iron Cannon!"*
Ōnoki changed his hand seals again, opening his mouth to spit out a stone that shot out at an extremely fast speed. The air instantly tore apart, and the stone rotated at high speed in the air, constantly expanding, slamming over like a solid cannonball!
"Aaaaaah!"
Uzumaki Kongming roared, and the Chakra throughout his body erupted. Relying on the potential that erupted at that moment of life-and-death crisis, he broke free from the stone forest. The stone pillars shattered and rolled away, and he narrowly avoided the blow.
With a "boom," the stone shattered the stone pillars like a cannonball, and countless hard gravel scattered in all directions, affecting many innocent people.
Uzumaki Kongming, who was closest to the blast, bore the brunt of the attack. The moment he landed, two bullet-like stone fragments shot from behind, and with two "pu pu" sounds, two bloody holes immediately opened in his back, and blood gurgled out.
He gritted his teeth and endured the tearing pain, with only one thought in his mind: close the distance!
This little potato's ranged abilities were simply outrageous. If things continued like this, he would surely be worn down to death!
Ōnoki repeated his old trick, raising his short arms to grab, causing the ground to loosen and countless large and small rock spikes to emerge one after another, attempting to block Uzumaki Kongming's movements.
But Kongming already had precautions in mind; he couldn't fall twice in the same place. At this moment, he pushed the Body Flicker Technique to its limit, constantly strafing back and forth to close the distance...
Finally, he even predicted Ōnoki's rock spike attack, feinting a step to lure out the rock spikes ahead of time. Simultaneously, he raised his hand and flicked out a pale golden chain from his palm, firmly hooking into the rock spikes.
He pulled hard, stretching the chain taut, directly swinging his entire body in front of Ōnoki.
However, what greeted him was a small fist.
"Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!"
Ōnoki's eyes flashed sharply. As he landed, the skin on his fist was covered with earth and stone, causing his fist to instantly grow several times larger, as hard as a rock.
This was a blow combining hardness and power, directly hitting Kongming's chest, causing his eyes to widen as he flew out like a tattered sack.
Ōnoki subtly formed hand seals, his entire body floating up, rising lightly into the air once more.
Uzumaki Kongming rubbed his aching chest, raised his hand to wipe away the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze solemn.
Through the previous probing, although he was suppressed and looked quite disheveled, he had more or less understood that when the opponent released that punch containing terrifying power, he seemed to lose the ability to fly.
In other words... power and speed are mutually exclusive...
He moved his feet and charged towards Ōnoki again, skillfully dodging all the obstacles along the way, and suddenly threw a punch.
With a "bang," Uzumaki Qiong Naixiang's body was thrown into the air, her thin body covered in blood. Her back was cut open with a wound deep enough to see bone, her clothes torn, revealing her fair back.
Opposite her, Minazuki Sora's face was somewhat contorted. One of his arms had disappeared, the reason being that he had been hit by Qiong Naixiang's sealing tag.
"Damn it, what was that thing that instantly tore and took away my entire left arm!"
"Forbidden Technique: Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Tag."
Qiong Naixiang swayed as she stood up, her beautiful face showing a smile of resignation.
"With such tags, why don't you guess how many more this servant girl has?"
"You lowly bitch!"
Minazuki Sora roared out of control; it seemed to be the first time he had been so angry.
Soon, he restrained his anger and changed his tone:
"I heard that your Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Technique is quite famous. If you obediently hand it over, I might consider sparing you and your clan a way out."
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