Chapter 69: Kosuke Maruboshi

"Don't make a move, let me handle this," Marusei Kosuke said, having learned of the bond between the two children and Shiraki. He decided not to let them bear this pain.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Heh, Water Dragon Bullet? I'll let you finish thirty hand signs first, then I'll drink a cup of tea while you do the last ten, and for the final four, I'll run a hundred meters," Shiraki replied, leisurely scratching the back of his head. With forty-four signs for the Water Dragon Bullet, even at four signs per second, he could sprint five hundred meters away.

"Fool, the Second Hokage's legacy is not something those amateurs could ever comprehend."

With a swift motion, only four hand signs were needed. A cobalt-blue water dragon appeared out of thin air in the sky, lunging at Shiraki.

"Hmm???" Shiraki stared at the water dragon's head barreling toward him, bewildered.

Crash!!!

The enormous dragon swallowed Shiraki whole in an instant. The force was enough to shatter boulders, let alone a human body.

"So this is your so-called strong man? Your savior? How arrogant," Marusei Kosuke thought, never expecting such an outcome. He saw clearly that Shiraki hadn't even tried to escape before he was devoured by the water dragon.

"Shiraki!!" Hayate Moonlight and Yugao Uzuki rushed forward; they still had so many questions to ask him.

Yet, the massive water mass left by the dragon was rapidly vanishing, defying all logic, as if a gigantic black hole was draining the dragon dry.

"Why are you calling me?" Shiraki emerged from the evaporating water, brushing his teeth and scrubbing his body, the swirling water behind him sucked into his form like a whale gulping down the sea.

"Banshee Veil": Every forty seconds, a Hungry Ghost Path shield appears, absorbing ninjutsu damage.

"What is this..." Hayate Moonlight and Yugao Uzuki were stunned. Kakashi wasn't loose-tongued, so he couldn't have leaked Shiraki's information, leaving them clueless as to what happened.

"What... The Water Dragon Bullet was absorbed!" Marusei Kosuke couldn't help but sweat—he'd only seen such a thing once in decades traversing the ninja world.

"Could it be... Nether Style?"

He recalled a battle in his youth, alongside the Second Hokage, where a Nether Style user absorbed all ninjutsu and countered by using the enemy's own techniques, growing stronger with each exchange.

No wonder the watchtower fell with barely any resistance... Marusei Kosuke was now convinced Shiraki possessed the Bloodline Limit of the Nether Style.

"Hmph! Didn't expect the old man to have such insight," Shiraki sneered, contemptuous after his secret had been exposed.

Since Marusei mistook it for Nether Style, Shiraki would let him believe it. That way, the three would no longer use ninjutsu against him, perfectly covering his weakness in long-range defense.

"Teacher, what is Nether Style?" The two youngsters, after all, lacked the knowledge of elders.

"A Bloodline Limit that absorbs ninjutsu chakra and retaliates with it. All you need to know is, fight with taijutsu—never use ninjutsu," Marusei Kosuke warned his juniors.

But... he was old, his taijutsu no longer at its peak, blind in his left eye, newly crippled in his left leg, his prosthetic not yet adapted. That's why he'd been reassigned to the camp to train these two; if he couldn't use ninjutsu, he'd be at a disadvantage in battle.

"Hey, don't think knowing the Nether Style's traits guarantees your victory. If the White Fang himself came, I might have some reservations, but your swordsmanship is far inferior to his," Shiraki slowly unfastened the chain blade from his wrist, letting it drop to the ground.

"What do you mean... You've met the Second Hokage? Impossible... There's such an age gap..." Marusei Kosuke frowned. Only one person would dare call the Second Hokage 'White Fang,' and that man should have died long ago...

But their hairstyles were truly alike—that terrifying man...

"Alright, forty seconds are up, no more boasting," Shiraki grinned, having successfully stalled to refresh his Banshee Veil shield.

"Don't waste time, come at me together. I won't call you despicable—after all, my future opponents are the Five Kage!"

"I must uncover the truth. I refuse to believe you're that kind of person!" Yugao Uzuki charged with her blade.

"I've never let go of the book you gave me!" Hayate Moonlight attacked in sync.

"Capture this child and bring him back to Konoha; he holds a secret!" Marusei Kosuke assisted, the three forming a triangular encirclement.

Shiraki crossed his arms, head bowed in deep contemplation, completely ignoring their rapid approach.

"Damn... Is he still lost in thought?"

"What is he doing..."

"Is he ignoring us completely?"

Their blades instinctively avoided Shiraki's vital points.

"This won't do. Without the resolve to kill me, you'll never defeat me," Shiraki shook his head with eyes closed, then suddenly spun as if dancing, completely evading the three stabbing swords.

"Counter Storm"

"What! Such a bizarre movement technique!" Marusei Kosuke was stunned; what kind of battle experience allowed one to dodge three swords instantly with eyes shut?

The three, skilled in Konoha sword style and sharing the same roots, instantly countered with even greater coordination, unleashing a seamless twenty-one strike combo, sword points raining down like a shower.

"You don't understand what true evasion means," Shiraki moved with his chain blade, unleashing a storm of blows that deflected every strike—none landed.

"Now... it's my turn!" The chain blade in Shiraki's hand glowed crimson, and with the finishing move of Counter Storm, he swung a blazing arc at the trio.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Though their swords blocked the chain blade, the explosive effect of the Fire Style's "Charged Strike" blasted all three backward.

"You were only pretending to practice the chain blade before?" Yugao Uzuki couldn't fathom how someone could master such a unique weapon in just a month.

"For a genius, understanding one technique means understanding them all—any weapon is merely an extension of one's true strength," Shiraki shouldered his chain blade, inwardly exhilarated. This was his first true battle.

"I'll take the lead; you two use the opportunity to strike. We must go all out—this child is strong," Marusei Kosuke steadied his longsword.

"Konoha Flow Willow Sword Style"

Like willow branches swept by a spring breeze, more and more floating blades appeared, weaving a cage around Shiraki, binding him tightly.

"Damn, it's genjutsu!" Shiraki, who only watched anime for cute girls and skipped flashbacks, barely remembered this old man's name, much less his battle intel. Just glimpsing the twitching sword, he'd already fallen under the illusion.

Though his Tenacity Boots increased resistance, his opponent was the seasoned elite Marusei Kosuke—he didn't dare gamble.

"System, I'll choose 'Cleanse' as my second summoner skill!"

"Cleanse": Removes all genjutsu and negative status effects. If another illusion is cast within the next three seconds, its duration is reduced by 65%.

The instant Cleanse was activated, a white light flashed in Shiraki's eyes. The world cleared; the willow sword illusion vanished, leaving only Marusei Kosuke's lone figure hurtling toward him.

"Tch, is that all your genjutsu amounts to? How disappointing," Shiraki looked coldly into Marusei Kosuke's eyes with contempt.

"Barbarian King's Scorn"

"What... He dispelled my genjutsu in an instant... What was that look?" Marusei Kosuke's body trembled violently, a long-lost shiver running through him, freezing him midair.

Clang...

The bloody butcher's blade, chained, flew straight at his slightly stooped body, but the black iron pot was raised as a shield.

Crack...

The black pot shattered under the blade's force, scattering iron fragments.

Marusei Kosuke crashed heavily into a tree and fell. His aging body couldn't withstand such wounds; he struggled but couldn't rise.

"Who's next?"