Chapter 450: 394. Chapter 386: Entering the Finals

394. Chapter 386: Entering the Finals

Gui, whose blood pressure had already skyrocketed due to the issue of his hair disappearing without a trace, felt his vision go black the moment he heard his senior brother shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Hozuki Gengetsu! I'm working the early shift! Why are you yelling so loud?"

He spat out a classic insult the moment he opened his mouth. Gone was his usual cold and arrogant demeanor; a bone-chilling cold radiated from his body, instantly blanketing the entire battlefield.

"S-sorry."

Seeing his junior brother's mental state was somewhat unstable and feeling a hint of the chill, Hozuki Gengetsu shrank his neck and didn't dare to keep nagging.

"Little Potato, prepare to die!"

An icicle appeared on the ground with every step Gui took, showing just how furious he was at this moment.

The exhausted Onoki could only watch helplessly as the other party closed in step by step. Desperate for a glimmer of survival, he racked his brain frantically. When his gaze landed on Gui's forehead, a look of surprise leaped into his eyes.

"Don't get excited! Look closely, you aren't bald, don't you still have hair!"

"Huh?"

Gui stopped in his tracks upon hearing this. He raised a hand to summon a reflective ice mirror and checked his scalp with a pained expression, only to actually discover some survivors.

"Hahahaha! Look, that guy has turned into a Mediterranean!"

In the spectator stands, Danzo covered his mouth, holding it in for a long time before finally bursting into laughter. He clutched his stomach with both hands, tears almost streaming out.

"Danzo, it's a bit impolite to laugh like that."

Beside him, Mitokado Homura pushed up his glasses, a faint sorrow appearing in the eyes hidden behind the lenses.

No reason, they were both in the same boat.

"Snap!"

With one punch, he smashed the ice mirror in front of him into fragments. Gui slowly turned his head, his eyes glowing with a sinister red light. The coldness on his body was even more intense than before. Onoki, who had thought there was a chance of survival, instantly looked as if his parents had died.

Sorry, Grandpa, your unfilial grandson is coming to join you soon.

"I'm going to turn you into an ice sculpture, then break you apart piece by piece to feed the dogs!"

Having transformed from a melancholic ice-mountain man into a sorrowful Mediterranean, Gui had already selected dozens of ways for Onoki to die in his mind. He wouldn't be able to quell the hatred in his heart without torturing him properly.

"Onoki, out~"

However, just as Gui stretched out his hands, which were radiating a profound Ice Release aura, a voice rang out.

Onoki, who had closed his eyes to await death, suddenly felt his body lighten. Accustomed to flying, he immediately judged that he was currently floating in mid-air.

"Eh?"

Opening his eyes in confusion, Onoki found himself getting further and further away from the island where the battle was taking place. The helplessly furious Gui was frantically throwing ice blades, but they were blocked by an invisible force.

"Thud!"

Landing heavily on the ground, the survivor Onoki raised his head and saw a crowd of curious gazes. With the strange music of "You love me, I love you..." echoing in his ears, he realized belatedly that he had arrived at the spectator stands.

"Why save me?"

Onoki looked with a complex expression at the blue-and-red rabbit knight sitting in the crowd, unable to understand why the other party would intervene to save him; they shouldn't have had any connection at all.

"Just the rules."

Uchiha Gin, sitting with his legs crossed, sensed Onoki's confusion and shook his head gently.

"In knight form, it doesn't matter if you fight to the death, but once you de-transform, it counts as elimination."

Uchiha Gin's words were soft, but they fell clearly into everyone's ears. For a moment, the expressions of the crowd became incredibly colorful, a mix of joy and worry.

"Phew~"

With his disciple having luckily escaped with his life, Mu could finally heave a long sigh of relief after being tense for so long, turning his focus back to dealing with Hozuki Gengetsu in front of him.

"Damn it!"

Gui was so angry that smoke was coming out of his seven orifices. He hadn't expected this kind of rule in this battle; didn't that mean he couldn't take revenge on that damn Little Potato?

"Gui! Help me first, I'll help you get your payback after the match ends~"

"Hmph! Go fight yourself! If I had known, I wouldn't have come."

Gui gritted his teeth. Under the surprised gazes of the crowd, he removed the driver from his waist, and the blue armor on his body dissipated into particles in the air.

"Wig! You're defecting!"

"Get lost! The Hidden Mist Village doesn't hold grudges overnight!"

Ignoring Hozuki Gengetsu, who was jumping with rage, Gui de-transformed and leaped, landing very smoothly in the spectator stands.

"Eh..."

Looking at the Mediterranean with murderous eyes, Onoki, who was lying on the ground and hadn't yet recovered his ability to move, felt his sphincter tighten. A large "DANGER" character appeared above his head.

"Click~ click~"

Gui's hands turned into sharp ice blades. The crisp friction sound made everyone present subconsciously shrink their necks, then look at Onoki, who was squirming in terror on the ground, with very regretful expressions.

"Y-you, don't come over here!"

"Little Potato, get ready to receive the baptism of fury!"

"Brother Decade, save me~"

At this very moment, Onoki remembered Uchiha Gin, the organizer and referee, and immediately shouted at the top of his lungs for help.

"Once you're out of the arena, it's a personal grudge, and I have no right to interfere."

Uchiha Gin was a rabbit knight, not a bald eagle knight; he wouldn't meddle that much.

Besides, wasn't Wig a victim himself~

"Hehehe..."

Gui stood in front of Onoki with a sinister smile. The chilling laughter made people shudder.

"Revenge is fine, but don't make it too bloody; there are pregnant women here~"

Worried that the upcoming scene would be too graphic, Uchiha Gin finally spoke up to remind him.

"Understood."

Gui turned his head and nodded slightly at Uchiha Gin. The gleaming Mediterranean almost blinded his eyes.

"No!"

Mu, who witnessed this scene on the battlefield, was terrified to the core. He leaped and flew toward the spectator stands.

Onoki was not only Mu's disciple but also the grandson of his late teacher—a true-blue third-generation earth ninja. If he died here, how could he answer to the village?

"Wait~ our contest isn't over yet!"

A string of bubbles with a pungent odor chased after him. Hozuki Gengetsu's mocking voice sounded from below. His hands, covered in venom, were continuously producing deadly bubbles.

These bubbles, filled with corrosive gas, would erode bone and flesh upon contact. Even knight armor with strength equivalent to a Tailed Beast chakra cloak could hardly withstand them.

"Damn it!"

Mu had no choice but to change direction helplessly, while simultaneously raising his hand to condense a beam of white light, annihilating all the bubbles following him.

"Ah!! Ah!!"

Just as the two sides were in a stalemate, Onoki's miserable screams echoed through the sky. Mu turned his head away, unable to bear watching his disciple suffer torture. Hozuki Gengetsu, on the other hand, stood on tiptoe, watching with great relish, and even added fuel to the fire.

"Gui! Put some effort into it, don't lose face for the Hidden Mist Village!"

"Ah!!!"

"An eye for an eye! Blood for blood!"

"Help me!!!"

"Damn Little Potato, watch how I shave you!"

"Wuwuwu..."

"Huh?"

However, the development of events was somewhat beyond Hozuki Gengetsu's expectations. The scene of skinning and bone-shaving he had imagined did not occur.

"Swish~ swish~"

Gui, holding sharp ice blades, nimbly swung a few times, precisely peeling Onoki into a lumpy little potato.

"Ah~"

Seeing this scene, the few women present covered their eyes, watching this "inhumane" torture through their wide-open fingers.

As his clothes shattered into powder, Onoki, who was trying his best to cover his private parts, could only watch helplessly as Gui shaved off his brown hair, one blade at a time, then his underarm hair, chest hair...

Until the last curly leg hair fell, Gui, his revenge fulfilled, stood up with satisfaction.

"Phew~ feels good."

And Onoki, lying on the ground without a single hair on his entire body, had an expression of utter hopelessness. His dim eyes were filled with disgust for everything in the world.

"The sky is so blue, the rain is so heavy, I want to die..."

"What an extreme insult!"

Even Uchiha Gin couldn't bear to watch this scene. Upholding the spirit of humanitarianism, he raised his hand and threw a blanket to help this future Third Tsuchikage cover his shame.

"Hmph~"

Seeing Uchiha Gin's action, Gui just gave a cold snort without stopping him. He turned around, found a corner, rummaged through his backpack for a long time, and found a roll of medical bandages, clumsily wrapping his head.

"That's fine, that's fine."

Seeing that Onoki had only suffered some simple humiliation and was not in any life-threatening danger, Mu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"That idiot, missing such a good opportunity!"

Hozuki Gengetsu, on the other hand, curled his lips in dissatisfaction. He could have taken the opportunity to finish off the Hidden Stone Village's Tailed Beast knight, yet that kid Gui was so useless.

Not only did he not kill Onoki, but he also helped him with free physical hair removal.

Do you also want to participate in the Annual Most Caring Knight Selection Contest?

With one person eliminated from each side, the match continued. Mu, who was the first to regain his senses, took advantage of the gap while Hozuki Gengetsu was scolding his junior brother, aimed at him, and dove from a high altitude. Utilizing the gravity of the fall, he infused his legs with the boiling power of the Five-Tails.

"Horn strike!"

"How despicable!"

Feeling the scorching wind pressure above his head and looking at the soles of the feet less than ten meters away, Gengetsu Hozuki cursed in anger.

"Slap!"

Success!

Feeling that he had indeed hit the target, Mu felt a flash of joy in his eyes, but before he could savor the fruits of victory, he felt a piercing pain in his legs.

Looking closely, his legs were actually stuck deep inside Gengetsu Hozuki's body, but they had caused no damage to him; instead, he himself was being injured by the acidic liquid.

The green knight before him was no longer a solid entity, but rather—

"Venomization!"

Gengetsu Hozuki turned his head, looked at Mu who had ambushed him from behind, and pulled a sinister smile at the corner of his mouth.

The Hydrification Technique of the Hozuki clan can transform the body into a liquid state, granting immunity to most physical damage and allowing for silent approaches to enemies.

And Gengetsu Hozuki had cleverly combined the Hydrification Technique with the corrosive power of the Six-Tails, upgrading his Hydrification Technique into a lethal venom.

"Sizzle~ Sizzle~"

Seeing the armor on his legs beginning to smoke, an anxious Mu tried to pull away, only to find his legs tightly sucked in by Gengetsu Hozuki, unable to pull them out no matter how hard he tried.

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World."

With his attempts to pull free failing, Mu immediately raised both hands, locking onto Gengetsu Hozuki's head as his target.

"Heh."

However, how could Gengetsu Hozuki let him have his way? He immediately activated Venomization, turning his body into a pool of viscous, corrosive liquid, and climbed onto Mu's body at extreme speed.

"Damn it."

Mu frowned at the loss of his target, and before he could react, Gengetsu Hozuki's venom had already covered his chest.

"Hehehe, it's too late to beg for mercy now. A single drop of my venom can kill ten elephants."

The large face of Gengetsu Hozuki, manifested from the green liquid, looked at the silent Mu with eyes full of mockery.

"Oh~ is that so?"

Facing the venom about to consume him, Mu displayed unprecedented calmness, which made Gengetsu Hozuki, who thought victory was in his grasp, feel a sudden jolt of unease.

"Are you hiding something up your sleeve, kid?"

"Have you ever heard of high-temperature sterilization?"

"Huh?"

"Steam Armor."

Looking at the puzzled Gengetsu Hozuki, Mu spoke faintly, and scorching steam instantly surged out from the gaps in his armor.

Mu began to steam~

I was just worrying about how to engage in close combat with a guy like you; I didn't expect you to take the initiative to stick to me and seek death.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! ~"

The viscous venom was instantly boiled by the steam. Accompanied by Gengetsu Hozuki's shrill screams, billowing, foul-smelling smoke rose into the sky. The spectators in the stands simultaneously pulled out gas masks to cover their mouths and noses to prevent poisoning.

"Brother Decade, you should wear one too!"

Chiyo, who had put on a pig-nose mask early on, kindly handed a gas mask to Uchiha Gin.

"Don't worry, the poisonous gas can't get in."

Uchiha Gin waved his hand.

The result was just as he said; the foul-smelling gas was blocked by an invisible wall, not leaking in a single bit.

"Eh? It's true~"

Half-doubting, Chiyo took off the mask and sniffed with her nose, finding the air as fresh as new, without the slightest strange odor.

"Ah!"

To prevent himself from being steamed into gas, Gengetsu Hozuki, suffering from extreme pain, had no choice but to abandon the idea of corroding Mu and quickly detached from him.

"Cough, cough, cough... what a vicious method."

After landing, Gengetsu Hozuki returned to his original form, his aura much more withered than before, and his stature had shrunk by a few inches.

"You, the one playing with poison, how are you in any position to call me vicious?"

Covered in steam and looking like a mobile pressure cooker, Mu couldn't help but roll his eyes upon hearing Gengetsu Hozuki's criticism.

"Come on, Mustache, after so many years, it's time for us to settle this."

Mu raised his hands. His once thin body had become incredibly robust under the blessing of the Tailed Beast's power. With his eyes fixed on Gengetsu Hozuki not far away, he bent down and assumed a sprinting posture.

The next moment, white lightning had already crashed into the stunned Gengetsu Hozuki.

"Pfft!"

Suddenly struck by immense force, Gengetsu Hozuki, who didn't have time to Venomize, spat out a mouthful of blood.

But Gengetsu Hozuki's reaction was fast. The moment Mu prepared to start steaming, he suddenly spread his arms, and a huge green bubble appeared out of thin air, enveloping both of them inside.

"What are you trying to do?"

Mu frowned, but Gengetsu Hozuki naturally wouldn't answer. His green body began to secrete an unknown liquid, and in the blink of an eye, both of their legs were covered by this liquid.

【Zhilangxiu】

"Mustache, do you not want to live anymore?"

Seeing this situation, Mu was instantly shocked. At this moment, the bubble was filled with corrosive liquid; if it exploded, the power generated would be enough for both of them to go report to the Pure Land together.

So Mu immediately prepared to start steaming. The liquid under his feet gradually boiled under the heat of the scorching steam, and the foul-smelling gas became increasingly thick.

"If you want to die faster, keep steaming."

Gengetsu Hozuki tilted his head, looking at the panicked Mu before him with a mocking smile on his face.

"Are you trying to commit suicide with me?"

"Do I look like that kind of idiot?"

"Then you?"

"Only an idiot would tell you~"

Facing Mu's clumsy attempt to fish for information, Gengetsu Hozuki smiled disdainfully, the speed at which his body secreted liquid continuing to accelerate, soon reaching their chests.

"Tsk."

Mu clicked his tongue secretly; at this point, he could only choose to go all out.

"Kokuo, lend me your fastest speed."

In his sea of consciousness, Mu floated in front of the white divine steed enjoying the bondage play and shouted loudly.

The Five-Tails raised its eyelids, a sharp glint flashing in its massive beastly pupils. Looking at the anxious Mu in front of it, it grinned.

"Then let's run."

"Hehehe, I won this time~"

In reality, the liquid in the bubble had already flooded up to their necks. Gengetsu Hozuki looked at the silent Mu, thinking the opponent had given up resistance, and laughed triumphantly.

Having successfully borrowed the power, Mu slowly raised his head. Under Gengetsu Hozuki's puzzled gaze, he pulled a Five-Tails running card from the driver at his waist, didn't even look at it, and inserted it directly into the side slot.

"Deadheat Mach!"

Accompanied by the emotionless electronic voice, Gengetsu Hozuki, who was grabbing Mu, felt a piercing heat and couldn't help but curse loudly.

"You want to die, right? I'll grant your wish!"

"Alright, I won't be responsible for any consequences."

Unlike the plain blue and white, red armor appeared out of thin air, carrying a scorching aura, and precisely locked onto Mu's upper body.

"Die! Explode for me!"

The high temperature of the steam caused the liquid inside the bubble to boil instantly. Seeing the timing was ripe, Gengetsu Hozuki pressed the detonation button, while he himself instantly turned into a pool of liquid and fled the spot.

"Boom!"

A white light flashed, and a huge green mushroom cloud rose. Ohnoki, lying in the spectator stands, had tears in his eyes.

"Teacher!"

"No one can survive under the senior brother's move. Little Potato, spend the rest of your life in endless regret~"

With bandages wrapped around his head, perfectly hiding his bald spot, Katsura walked over. Looking at the sorrowful Ohnoki, he coldly announced Mu's death to him.

"Woooo..."

The explosion filled with toxins gradually came to an end. From the gaps in the ruins, a stream of viscous liquid flowed out, and after wriggling a few times, it turned into a Q-version green knight.

"Sigh~ why do I still feel a little disappointed?"

Having had most of his body evaporated by the suddenly powered-up Mu and barely saving his life, Gengetsu Hozuki looked at the mess on the ground and suddenly felt a sense of emptiness in his heart.

He and Mu had fought for so many years; this time, there was finally a result. As the final winner, he couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental.

"Cough, cough, cough... Mustache, sighing and lamenting is not your personality."

Suddenly, just as Gengetsu Hozuki was mourning his departed old rival, a familiar voice came from behind him. Surprised, he turned around.

He saw Mu, whom he thought was dead, standing behind him, panting heavily. His body was covered in wounds of all sizes corroded by venom and filled with pus. His mask was torn in half, and dark red blood flowed from his exposed mouth and nose.

"No way, you didn't die from that?"

Looking at Mu, who had only half a breath left, Gengetsu Hozuki rubbed his eyes, and after confirming he wasn't dreaming, he shouted in surprise.

"Heh, as long as I run fast enough, the explosion can't catch up to me."

Mu, struggling to stand in place, didn't want to be weaker than Gengetsu Hozuki in momentum. Even though his current state was terrible and his internal organs were eroded by poisonous gas, he still gritted his teeth and replied.

"You people from the Land of Earth, your mouths are as hard as ever."

"Better than you spineless cowards from the Land of Water."

"You're courting death!"

The chibi Gengetsu Hozuki suddenly leaped up and kicked Mu in the knee.

"Uh."

Mu looked down in confusion at the chibi Gengetsu Hozuki, who didn't even reach his knees; if he hadn't been severely injured, he truly wouldn't have felt that kick just now.

"Smack!"

Channeling the little remaining power he had, Mu raised his leg and delivered a gut-wrenching kick to Gengetsu Hozuki, sending the chibi green knight flying backward until he slammed into a protruding stone wall and turned into a puddle of viscous liquid.

"Plop~"

As the liquid hit the ground, a gray driver fell out, and the shrunken version of Gengetsu Hozuki was forced to deactivate his transformation.

"Gengetsu Hozuki, out~"

"This time, I won."

Seeing his arch-rival eliminated, Mu felt a sense of relief in his heart and finally lost the support of his obsession; he fell backward, and the armor on his body turned into light particles and dissipated.

"Mu, out~"

With another contestant eliminated, Uchiha Gin, as the organizer, naturally provided proper service; he raised a hand and used gravity to pull the two unconscious men to the spectator area, where Katsura, who had been waiting for a long time, and Ohnoki, who had recovered some stamina, immediately ran over.

"Tsk."

Katsura picked up the feather-light Gengetsu Hozuki, a trace of gravity flashing in his eyes.

Although Gengetsu Hozuki appeared to have no wounds on the surface, the foundation of his body had suffered irreversible damage; whether he could recover his physical form was a minor matter, but whether he could save his life depended on whether the Sage of Six Paths blessed him.

"Master!"

Wrapped in a blanket kindly gifted by Uchiha Gin, Ohnoki checked Mu's injuries with an anxious face, only to see that the bandages usually wrapped around his body had long since fallen off, revealing hideous burn marks.

But these old wounds were not important; from the dark red blood seeping from Mu's nose and mouth, Ohnoki smelled a pungent odor—it was a highly toxic, corrosive gas.

This meant that his master's body was currently filled with toxins, and if not treated in time, he would very likely die on the spot.

"We're leaving first."

There was no time to lose; both of their injuries required timely medical treatment, otherwise, their lives would be in danger. Katsura hoisted the unconscious chibi Gengetsu Hozuki and, after greeting Uchiha Gin, left in a hurry.

At the same time, Ohnoki carried the unconscious Mu on his back and flew up, waving at Uchiha Gin before instantly disappearing into the dark skyline.

"Have the small fry finally been eliminated?"

On the battlefield, Kinkaku, the only one who had not yet transformed, looked at the backs of the people leaving and curled his lips in disdain.

These weaklings were not worthy of competing on the same stage as them; Mr. Gin was still too kind.

"You talk pretty cocky, I just wonder if your dick is small?"

Unbeknownst to him, the white fox knight stood behind him, his words laced with a faint fighting spirit.

"My cock is huge, do you want to compare?"