Chapter 68: Black Thorns Forest!

"Yagura..."

Upon receiving the memory feedback from his shadow clone, Fujinaka Genma’s expression flickered, but he immediately separated his clasped hands and pressed them to the ground.

At that very moment.

Fujinaka Genma’s second shadow clone had also been eliminated, and now he faced a team of jonin led by Ao.

But.

Between the two shadow clones, since their deployment, they had already killed more than twenty Kirigakure ninja.

None were wounded—all were killed in a single strike!

"Retreat!"

Seeing Fujinaka Genma press his hands to the ground, clearly preparing a jutsu, Ao and Yagura both paled, shouting orders as they leapt backward.

Many Kirigakure ninja also sensed danger and retreated swiftly.

But.

Not every Kirigakure ninja could remain calm, nor did every one obey orders.

With his shadow clones gone, Fujinaka Genma’s current state was utterly defenseless—an ideal opportunity for a surprise kill.

"Die!"

"I’ll avenge my brother!"

"Beg forgiveness from my sister!"

One by one, Kirigakure ninja roared, sweating, faces twisted in fury, charging at Fujinaka Genma from all directions.

But the next instant.

As the ground trembled and rose, countless metal spikes burst from the earth, erupting upward and spreading outward from Fujinaka Genma like a metallic forest rapidly growing.

Plop! Plop! Plop!

The Kirigakure ninja who had rushed close to Fujinaka Genma were pierced through their bodies by the metal spikes—some spikes even impaled two men at once, skewering them like meat on a stick.

Meanwhile, Yagura, Ao, and others who had retreated had time to react and avoided the attack.

But the spikes were dense and utterly sudden; even with preparation, a dozen or more Kirigakure ninja were killed or wounded.

In an instant, half the battlefield was filled with pitch-black metal spikes.

These were spikes formed by Fujinaka Genma’s magnet release, gathering underground metal.

"This jutsu is called... Black Thorns Forest!"

Fujinaka Genma rose to his feet, unrolled a scroll, and with a puff of smoke, he seized two swords in his hands.

These were the Lightning Blade—Kiba, one of Kirigakure’s Seven Ninja Swords.

Because it was sealed with a contract, Fujinaka Genma had no fear the blade would be recalled by other Kirigakure ninja.

"Fall back!"

"Get out of here!"

At this moment.

Yagura, Ao, and the other Kirigakure jonin shouted in unison.

With vast amounts of metal present and Fujinaka Genma skilled in Lightning Release, what he would do next was obvious.

Clearly, this jutsu was merely an appetizer!

Kirigakure ninja began falling from the air—some landed on the ground, others on the spikes.

Yagura and Ao both landed on the black thorns, instantly feeling a slight numbness in their bodies, slowing their reactions slightly.

"Trouble!"

"These metal spikes are all connected underground!"

Both realized the danger and urgently warned those still airborne: "Don’t land on the spikes!"

Yet even with the warning, some Kirigakure ninja couldn’t react in time.

Or rather, Fujinaka Genma’s Black Thorns Forest was too dense, leaving almost no gaps.

"Water Release: Great Water Bullet!"

Yagura formed hand seals and spat forth a torrent of rushing water.

He wasn’t attacking Fujinaka Genma—he flooded the towering black thorns forest so Kirigakure ninja could land on the water’s surface and escape quickly.

Watching the surging water flow past his feet without touching them, watching Kirigakure ninja flee rapidly using Water Body Technique, Fujinaka Genma showed no concern.

He crossed his swords in both hands, electricity surging along the blades, then erupted skyward.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunder rumbled from high above.

Immediately, streaks of lightning descended from the heavens, tearing through the sky.

From Fujinaka Genma’s position, deadly bolts of lightning rained down in dense clusters.

Boom!

Lightning struck the water and exploded.

Some lightning spread along the water’s surface—Kirigakure ninja who couldn’t dodge were instantly convulsing, then plunged into the water.

Yagura, Ao, and several other jonin who hadn’t escaped all leapt into the air, forming hand seals to manipulate the water, separating and redirecting its flow to weaken the lightning’s power.

Aah!

Suddenly, a jonin caught midair was struck by lightning, his body charred black, falling from the sky.

"Yagura, watch out!"

Ao shouted suddenly.

A bolt of lightning struck Yagura directly.

But Yagura wasn’t panicked—he had already completed his jutsu before Ao’s warning, his entire body enveloped in a swirling hollow sphere of water, the current spinning rapidly.

The lightning struck—but didn’t shatter the water sphere; instead, the current spun the electricity away, preventing it from reaching Yagura’s body.

The entire electrical assault lasted nearly a full minute.

Within the Black Thorns Forest’s radius, only five men remained standing—and they immediately retreated.

All other Kirigakure ninja had either escaped or been killed by lightning.

Even the survivors—Yagura and the others—each bore charred wounds.

Water levels were receding; corpses drifted with the current.

In that one minute, at least thirty to forty Kirigakure ninja had died.

Fortunately, they were all elite, battle-hardened veterans—otherwise casualties would have been far worse.

And now, after this battle.

Kirigakure had suffered over a hundred casualties—nearly one-third of their force eliminated.

The surviving Kirigakure ninja, withdrawn to the perimeter, stared in silence at the scattered corpses.

Within that silence lay fear—and hatred.

Fujinaka Genma sheathed both swords, drew his Lightning Blade-Chakra Sword again, and stood atop a black thorn, gazing at Yagura and the others with a cold expression: "Today, Itachi are defeated."

"Fujinaka Genma, don’t get too arrogant—Itachi’re dead today!"

A panting Kirigakure jonin roared, dashing forward in a flash.

"No!"

Ao shouted.

But the moment he spoke, the charging ninja had his head severed by Fujinaka Genma.

"Too weak!"

Fujinaka Genma shook his head with a smile. "Is this all the Kirigakure can offer?"

"Hundreds of Itachi couldn’t even force me to use my full strength!"

Arrogant!

Reckless!

And yet he wore a gentle smile.

This only fueled the Kirigakure’s rage, even overcoming their fear.

"Brat, Itachi’ll pay for your words!"

A tall Kirigakure ninja wearing a mask appeared near the edge of the Black Thorns Forest—he was U, leader of Kirigakure’s Special Assassination Unit.

At that moment, he waved his hand.

Instantly, masked ninja appeared all around the Black Thorns Forest.

Water Release: Great Water Bullet!

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

Massive torrents surged toward Fujinaka Genma, while water dragons coalesced above and dove down from the sky.

This was a simultaneous ground-and-air blockade.

Especially since the Kirigakure had already withdrawn from the area.

U noticed that Fujinaka Genma’s kunai used for Body Flicker Technique were all trapped within the metal spikes.

The area was now empty of his own men.

And Fujinaka Genma’s large-scale, windmill-style jutsu required time to prepare.

Now, he had no space to move—and no time to prepare a large-scale jutsu.

He’s dead for sure!

Wu Xin was confident.

Besides the water release specialists preparing to seal Naruto Uzumaki, the other Mist ninjas surrounding him had already readied their hidden weapons and explosion tags.

Some even had ice release ninjas prepared with ice release techniques.

Once Naruto Uzumaki dodged all these attacks and fell into the water, they would strike instantly and freeze him solid.

However.

Just as the floodlike water and countless water dragons were about to engulf Naruto Uzumaki, he vanished from the eyes of the Mist ninjas.