Chapter 544: Nine-Tails: This time, I

"That curly-hair can teach such a disciple?"

Hiding outside the range of the Kirin, having avoided the torture of lightning, Senju Toka swallowed hard, her ruby-like eyes filled with disbelief.

As a master of forbidden techniques renowned in the Ninja World, she had been proficient in the seven natures since childhood, casting various high-difficulty ninjutsu with ease; her research into ninjutsu could be said to be second to none.

Therefore, she could see the terror of the Kirin at a glance; the destructive power generated by this forbidden technique, which guides the power of nature for one's own use, has no upper limit.

At the bottom of the massive crater smashed out by the Kirin, members of the Ninja Alliance lay scattered, charred black by the lightning.

"Ouch~ Ouch~"

Although the field was filled with wailing, a discerning eye could see at once that, aside from their clothes being torn to shreds by the lightning, their bodies were not seriously harmed.

Seeing this, Senju Toka nodded secretly. To control the violent Lightning Release with such precision—this Uchiha, in any era, would be a peerless genius.

"What a pity."

At the thought that a ninja with such outstanding talent was actually a disciple of that curly-haired Uchiha Gin, Senju Toka felt deeply depressed.

Just as Senju Toka shook her head and sighed, Uchiha Chirori, who had disposed of the Ninja Alliance members with a wave of her hand, landed slowly before her.

"Tap~"

Putting away the gray short blade flickering with lightning in her hand, Uchiha Chirori spoke,

"The riffraff have been cleared out. Let's continue."

"It really is enviable."

Looking at the purple-haired girl who descended like a deity, Senju Toka lowered her head and uttered a baffling sentence.

Compared to the Uchiha, it seemed as if the Senju clan had gathered all their family's fortune onto those two brothers, to the point that after they were gone, the entire clan declined at a speed visible to the naked eye.

To the point that, even now, there wasn't a single decent expert left.

Not understanding the meaning behind Senju Toka's words, Uchiha Chirori was slightly stunned.

She then noticed that when the other party spoke, she lowered her head and hunched her chest, her white head nearly buried in her magnificent bosom. After her brain processed this at high speed, she finally reached a conclusion:

This white-haired big-breasted woman in front of her was making a pass at her.

"Yours isn't small either."

Unconsciously puffing out her chest, the coldness on Uchiha Chirori's face faded quite a bit, though the scrutiny in her eyes remained.

"Huh?"

Senju Toka blinked in confusion, her mental circuits crashing; it seemed they weren't on the same wavelength.

"There might be some misunderstanding between us."

"I can see the lies hidden deep in your eyes. A woman like you, don't even think about deceiving Mr. Gin."

Uchiha Chirori shook her head gently. Her judgment of people had never been wrong; this white-haired girl definitely carried a massive lie. Perhaps Mr. Gin had been hoodwinked by her flowery words.

"..."

How did it get back to that curly-hair again?

Looking at Uchiha Chirori's determined gaze, Senju Toka gave up on the idea of communicating, and two Flying Thunder God kunai appeared in her hands with a *swish*.

"Getting anxious? Did I hit the mark?"

Senju Toka no longer had time to waste. The struggle between Uzumaki Mito and Uchiha Hikari had reached a fever pitch; if she were any later, the Nine-Tails card would change hands.

"Flying Thunder God Slash!"

Locking her gaze onto the opening in the purple-haired girl's defense, Senju Toka used her signature technique, transforming into a blue light invisible to the naked eye and vanishing instantly.

"Whoosh—"

The next second, Uchiha Chirori's pupils constricted slightly; the sharp kunai was already before her.

"Don't worry, I won't take your life."

Relying on the mysterious and unpredictable Flying Thunder God technique, Senju Toka successfully broke through Uchiha Chirori's defense. Believing victory was in her grasp, she held the kunai against the other's fair neck, her relaxed tone carrying a hint of arrogance.

Forbidden techniques also have their tiers. Your Lightning Release is strong, but it has no advantage in a one-on-one fight. With such a long wind-up, only a fool wouldn't seize it.

It's not like anyone would actually wait foolishly for you to release a Kirin, right?

"Space-time ninjutsu really is troublesome."

Even with the cold, sharp kunai pressed against her vital point, there wasn't the slightest fear on the girl's cold, beautiful face. Instead, she looked at the white-haired girl before her with great interest.

"How many years have you practiced this swordsmanship?"

Senju Toka looked no older than twenty, yet her proficiency with the Flying Thunder God technique was terrifyingly high, as if she had been immersed in it for many years.

"Why do you ask that?"

Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and Senju Toka's heart began to beat faster. Under the purple-haired girl's wise gaze, she had a sense of déjà vu, as if her destiny were being peered into.

"Just curious."

Keenly observing the unnatural look that flashed across Senju Toka's face, the fire of gossip in Uchiha Chirori's heart burned ever brighter.

This white-haired big-breasted woman definitely had some unspeakable secret.

"Has the winner been decided?"

In the spectator stands, Senju Itama was so nervous that her palms were sweating. Both people in the battle were closely related to her; she couldn't accept the outcome of either one getting hurt.

"Little Chirori doesn't seem to want to fight anymore."

Beside her, Uchiha Gin chewed on popcorn and said thoughtfully.

He could clearly perceive that the girl's desire to fight was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye, and what was rising in its place was her uncontrollable fire of gossip.

Did the white-hair reveal an opening?

Uchiha Gin shook his head imperceptibly. He had long ago warned the white-hair to be a bit rougher when attacking in public, so as not to let people see the clues.

So much for that; one stunning Flying Thunder God Slash had successfully piqued Uchiha Chirori's curiosity.

The Flying Thunder God Slash Senju Toka had just released was merely a flashy sword technique in the eyes of ordinary people, but in the eyes of a swordsmanship expert, it was a different scene entirely.

"How is this possible?"

Uchiha Izuna, sitting on the other side of Uchiha Gin, stared at Senju Feizhen in the arena with a solemn gaze, his brows knitted into a deep frown.

"This is definitely not a sword intent she could comprehend at her age."

As the Uchiha clan's foremost swordsmanship expert on the surface, Uchiha Izuna's understanding of swordsmanship far exceeded 99.99% of people in Konoha. He could see at a glance that Senju Toka's sword proficiency was too over-the-top.

Even if the other party were a so-called swordsmanship genius, it would be impossible to comprehend this level of sword intent before the age of twenty.

Unless her father lived inside her body.

Tsk!

Staring at Uchiha Chirori's scrutinizing gaze, Senju Toka steeled her heart, deciding to cut the Gordian knot.

"Eh?"

Uchiha Chirori, who was waiting for the other party's answer, looked in confusion at the hand Senju Toka had placed on her shoulder.

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Next time for sure."

Senju Toka, her face tense, promised stiffly.

Accompanied by a flash of blue light, everyone felt a blur before their eyes; of the two girls who had been standing in the arena, only one remained.

"Phew, finally sent her away."

Truly the fastest woman in the Ninja World; Senju Toka had taken less than a second to send Uchiha Chirori out and return.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye at the Ninja Alliance members being carried out, she finally fixed her gaze on the two women deadlocked on the high platform, the Flying Thunder God kunai in her hand eager for action.

"Only them left."

"Sister Chirori, over here!"

In the spectator stands, Senju Itama waved to the purple-haired girl walking slowly from not far away.

"Sorry, I've let you all down."

Sitting gracefully beside Uchiha Gin, Uchiha Chirori, having just gone through a great battle, looked apologetic. She had wanted to get back at her best friend's rival, but didn't expect to be hindered by her own soul of gossip in the end, and thus be tragically eliminated.

"You were already great. You eliminated so many people; you didn't lose face for the Uchiha."

Uchiha Gin patted the other's head with a smile and handed over the remaining popcorn, while also feeling very puzzled as to how the girl had arrived so quickly.

"By the way, how did you get in? I remember buying tickets requires waiting in line."

"Just happened to run into a kind clansman."

Outside the exam hall, the Uchiha clansman who had finally managed to buy a ticket only to have it snatched away was now staring wide-eyed, holding a mirror and screaming hysterically,

"Transform! Transform for me, quickly!"

Yet, things went against his wishes; the three tomoe spinning in his eyes showed no signs of merging at all.

"Strange, do I have to wait in line again?"

"Mr. Gin, why do Senior Hikari and the others keep maintaining that posture without moving?"

Uchiha Chirori, savoring the popcorn in small bites, pointed her gaze toward the two women on the high platform who were as still as statues.

"It's not that they aren't moving; it's that they can't."

From the moment they grabbed the Tailed Beast card, the two women had started a long tug-of-war, using their monstrous strength as an anchor and relying on the chakra within their bodies to compete for the Tailed Beast card.

Therefore, from an outsider's perspective, the two women had maintained that card-grabbing posture without moving, but in reality, they had already clashed dozens of rounds, and there was still no winner.

"Red-haired sea woman, are you still not prepared to let go? I haven't even used my real strength yet."

Grabbing the Nine-Tails' head, Uchiha Hikari spoke in a deep voice, a faint light flickering in her scarlet eyes, the three tomoe spinning faster and faster.

Just as the girl said, she still had the Mangekyō as her trump card. The moment she used her dōjutsu would be the moment Uzumaki Mito was defeated.

Even if you, Uzumaki Mito, have endless chakra, once you're hit by the Totsuka Blade, won't you obediently become her power bank?

"As if I've used my real strength."

Hearing Uchiha Hikari's words, Uzumaki Mito curled her lips in disdain. She still had an endless stream of sealing techniques she hadn't deployed yet.

Even if your Uchiha Sharingan is strange, once I put a blindfold on you, won't you obediently play the dog?

"Hmph!"

The two women refused to give an inch, which naturally made it miserable for the Nine-Tails inside the Tailed Beast card. But my old Nine-Tails had now recognized the cruel reality, finally giving up resistance and choosing to lie on the ground and rot, waiting for the outcome of being split in two.

"Heh, you guys continue. It's not like I haven't been cut before."

Since it couldn't live standing up, the Nine-Tails decided to die lying down, letting the two women pull its origin chakra left and right.

Anyway, the worst outcome was death; for the Nine-Tails trapped in the Tailed Beast card, wasn't death a form of liberation?

Under the unremitting tugging of the two women, a visible crack actually appeared on the surface of the indestructible Tailed Beast card. Uzumaki Mito, who discovered the crack, furrowed her brows slightly.

Logically speaking, with the blessing of eighteen Four-Symbol Seals, the Tailed Beast card shouldn't be easily damaged.

"It didn't actually crack, did it?"

Uchiha Hikari also discovered the crack on the card, her tone carrying a bit more hesitation.

She had only come to find trouble for Uzumaki Mito; if she accidentally destroyed the Tailed Beast card, would it cause unnecessary trouble for Gin?

"How about I count to three, two, one, and we all let go at the same time."

Uzumaki Mito was also a bit uncertain; she had only come to play around, so she whispered a suggestion.

"Fine. After we're done, I'll use glue to stick the card back together, and then we'll continue the competition."

Weighing the pros and cons, Uchiha Hikari nodded and agreed to Uzumaki Mito's proposal, the two agreeing to let go simultaneously to preserve the integrity of the Tailed Beast card.

"Three."

As Uzumaki Mito's countdown rang out, the two women slowly relaxed their strength simultaneously. The Nine-Tails, being pulled, felt its whole body lighten. Looking down at its crotch, which had been stretched wide, it wept with joy instantly.

Many thanks to the Old Man's spirit in heaven for the protection.

"Two."

Just at the moment the two relaxed, Senju Toka, who had been lurking for a long time, seized the opportunity, raised the Flying Thunder God kunai radiating space-time power, and charged toward the high platform.

"Flying Thunder God Slash!"

"One."

Just then, the countdown ended. The two, having a sense of contract, didn't play any tricks and simultaneously released their little hands that were pinching the Nine-Tails card.

However, the next moment, a blue light shone before their eyes.

The Flying Thunder God kunai cut straight down, landing exactly on the Nine-Tails card floating in mid-air, and, as luck would have it, slashed right at the crack in the card.

*Sshhh—*

"Ahhh!!!"

Hearing only a crisp tearing sound, the entire exam hall fell into a deathly silence. Before the screams could even start, the Nine-Tails' tragic, inhuman wail echoed through the arena.

"I'm split open!"

A few seconds ago,

Inside the Tailed Beast card space, invisible to everyone, the Nine-Tails, which had been lying flat and rotting, had its slender limbs tightly bound by chains extending from the void.

A deep, cold aura permeated from the other end of the space. Feeling the aura from the Underworld, the Nine-Tails widened its eyes in shock, staring straight into the bottomless darkness.

Its Tailed Beast keen perception radar told it that something was about to descend.

"Tap, tap..."

Heavy footsteps rang out. The Nine-Tails subconsciously shrank its head. When a green-faced, fanged figure walked out of the darkness, looking at the short blade held high in the other's hand, only endless fear remained in its beastly pupils.

"I'm eating lemons! Wasn't it agreed to only use the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style?"

*Sshhh—*

The tearing sound, synchronized with Senju Toka tearing the Tailed Beast card in the outside world, echoed in the Tailed Beast space. The Nine-Tails watched helplessly as its origin chakra was split in two by the green-faced, fanged Death God.

"Ahhh! I'm split open!"

"Oh ho, you're in big trouble now."

Uchiha Gin, sitting in the spectator stands, suddenly shivered. But looking back, he didn't find anyone coveting his magnificent appearance, so he rubbed his chin in confusion and turned his gaze back to the Tailed Beast card that had been cut in half by Senju Toka's blade.

"That shouldn't be. I remember I applied eighteen Four-Symbol Seals."

Recalling the details of when he made the Tailed Beast card, Uchiha Gin's expression suddenly froze.

He suddenly remembered that when applying the last two Four-Symbol Seals, to save trouble, he had skipped the stacking step and applied an Eight Trigrams Seal instead.

"I shouldn't have messed up the hand signs at the time, right?" (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 545 =====