Chapter 493

Slow.

Just as Kakashi was about to swing his blade, Hengchuan Nu's movements slowed down in his eyes.

In a state of no-thought and no-mind, Kakashi did not ponder this; he merely performed the actions he had repeated countless times during his training.

Crackle!!

In an instant, Kakashi's entire body's chakra transformed into lightning-nature chakra, and dazzling lightning enveloped him.

The radiant lightning flowed down his wrist into the sharp White Fangs short blade, extending a lightning blade from it.

"No, is his next move really a sword swing?" Hengchuan Nu sensed something was wrong.

But the other disciples were not stupid; they would not actively rush up to exchange blows with Kakashi. Instead, they would surely choose to deplete Kakashi's chakra, preventing him from using Mushin's Single Slash later.

"Why do you always oppose me? I am making the Grass Shinobi great! I am the leader of the Grass Shinobi!" Hengchuan Nu shouted angrily.

If Hengchuan Nu truly recovered his strength, the outcome of the battle would be hard to predict.

"In that case, Mushin's Single Slash is completely unusable in an internal battle." Kakashi shook his head inwardly.

Seeing this, Nohara Rin activated her medical ninjutsu and rushed toward Kakashi.

Hengchuan Nu flew to a stop above the Box of Bliss, his claws still firmly gripping Long Fei.

Just as Hengchuan Nu flapped his wings to take flight, a golden figure flashed to a position above him.

After all, who knew whether that Lieyang Muyue would vent his anger over his disciple's death on the Hidden Grass Village? Losing such a super genius would also make Konoha's attitude toward the Grass Shinobi unknown.

Normally, he should have been able to sense it before Kakashi made a move.

The Box of Bliss was not cooperating, so he had to find a way to save himself.

Just as Long Fei was forming hand seals to use Fire Release, Hengchuan Nu's upper body suddenly moved. His large hand grabbed Long Fei, and he flapped his wings, flying straight toward the Box of Bliss.

Hengchuan Nu, who had just caused so many of them to struggle in a tough battle, had been cut in two by Kakashi with a single slash.

If he were to be hit head-on by such a powerful slash, he would definitely not escape death.

Feeling the intense pain from his body, Kakashi frowned. He hadn't felt anything when swinging the blade just now, but now he realized how severe the wound on his abdomen was.

Kakashi, lacking strength, didn't want to talk to Obito and rolled his eyes to express his speechlessness.

That's right, even if he remained at his peak and used no ninjutsu, using Mushin's Single Slash once would nearly drain his combat ability.

Since Hengchuan Nu was grabbing Long Fei, Kakashi and the others were not in a great hurry.

The powerful force ravaged the ground around Hengchuan Nu, triggering an explosion.

When the slash that seemed to tear everything apart struck Hengchuan Nu's body, he let out an extremely agonized cry.

"The Hidden Grass Village will not forget your contributions. I will reward your family's descendants."

"Monster, you will regret this." Long Fei still did not back down.

"I wonder what the situation is with Teacher Muyue." Shisui used his Sharingan to look at the entrance of the Box of Bliss, but could not see through the darkness to the scene inside.

He hadn't expected Hengchuan Nu to have such perverse vitality. That slash from Kakashi just now had cut through Hengchuan Nu's body so cleanly, with no lingering connections.

After all, stacking things that way would probably drain all of Kakashi's chakra with a single swing.

Previously, during the Chūnin Exams, he unexpectedly encountered a Mist Jōnin. Kakashi, heavily injured, one-shotted the Mist Jōnin. This time, again heavily injured, he one-shotted Hengchuan Nu.

Long Fei walked to Hengchuan Nu's corpse, his mind recalling the times they had once seen each other as rivals and pushed each other to improve.

Bang!

Hengchuan Nu flew into a rage, raised his arm, and slammed Long Fei hard onto the ground in front of the Box of Bliss.

If it weren't for Nohara Rin and the slug's treatment, he would probably have gone into shock immediately after completing Mushin's Single Slash.

"This guy, when did he become so strong?" Obito stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the scene.

Long Fei sneered, "You monster, you're dreaming. You're not worthy of sharing my life."

That slash of Kakashi's just now was ridiculously powerful, but considering the Transparent World, Lightning Breathing Chakra Mode, and the powerful Lightning Release sword technique taught by Muyue, such power was actually normal.

Do you, Kakashi, have a kekkei genkai where serious injury triggers a power-up?

In the Lightning Breathing Chakra Mode, stacked with the Transparent World, his strength and speed would reach a new level, and his Lightning Release techniques would also be greatly enhanced.

"Kakashi, you bastard, are you doing this on purpose? Can't you use ninjutsu unless you're seriously injured?" Obito couldn't help but complain as he looked at the wound on Kakashi's abdomen.

Watching Kakashi's strength inexplicably surge, Obito felt troubled—how the hell was he supposed to fight in the next internal battle?

The best outcome would be for Kakashi and Might Guy to meet in the first round, while he fought Shisui; then they might avoid punishment, but they'd still miss out on being the strongest disciple.

If Kakashi were done for, he would have no choice but to sacrifice himself using the Dragon Life Reincarnation to prolong Kakashi's life.

"Box of Bliss, please help me recover my injuries, or control Ryūhi to use Dragon Life Reincarnation on me." Yokogawa couldn't help but seek help from the Box of Bliss.

"Impressive." Aburame Shiki lifted his sunglasses and exclaimed in admiration.

Seeing this, Obito quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to move to Kakashi's side and help him up, to prevent Rin Nohara from having to do it.

Although it was a bit unfair to his clan, the matter involved all of Kusagakure; even if Yokogawa actually let his clan go, the arriving Konoha ninja forces would equally send all Kusagakure ninja to their deaths.

Shisui guessed that the space inside this box might be different in size from the outside; otherwise, given Muzuki's strength, fighting in such a box would definitely produce no small amount of noise.

"Fire Release: Demon Lantern!"

But what made Yokogawa feel uneasy was that the Box of Bliss showed no sign of stirring; no matter how hard he tried to contact it, it gave no response.

Meanwhile, Yokogawa, at the center of the slash, was split into two halves, his body severed at the waist.

Yokogawa wanted to quickly get away from Kakashi, but it was too late; the moment he had that thought, Kakashi swung his lightning blade, unleashing that ultimate, thoughtless slash.

Overall, this trip to Kusagakure had been a great improvement for him; if he could seize the opportunity to truly master the Thoughtless Slash, even Might Guy wouldn't be impossible to defeat.

To give Yokogawa a final shred of dignity, Ryūhi prepared to use Fire Release to burn him to ashes, preventing him from dying as a monster.

He could only use the Thoughtless Slash under the enhancement of the Lightning Breathing Chakra Mode, and the massive consumption allowed him to swing only a single slash.

As Shisui had expected, Kakashi couldn't stay cool for more than three seconds before he leaned back and fell to the ground.

"Then go ahead." Ryūhi said flatly.

"The Lightning Breathing Chakra Mode is quite a good gain." Kakashi felt this trip wasn't a loss.

Shisui quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Kakashi's side, his closed Sharingan re-opening, staring intently at Yokogawa.

At this moment, Ryūhi also walked over to them, relieved to see that Kakashi could still muster such a lively expression.

Severe injuries combined with excessive chakra consumption—this state was simply too bad.

Boom! Boom!

"This is...?" Karin Uzumaki, after waking up, looked at the mess around her in bewilderment.

Ryūhi shook his head, suppressing his chaotic thoughts, and began forming hand seals to use Fire Release.

Because Kakashi collapsed after that one slash, the rest depended on his teammates; so the slash he delivered had to be crucial—even if it couldn't kill the enemy, it had to inflict severe damage.

"Ryūhi, the time has come for you to sacrifice yourself for Kusagakure. Use Dragon Life Reincarnation on me, so that I can recover my strength and kill all these Konoha ninja." Yokogawa commanded.

As a veteran ninja, he had been on the battlefield alongside White Fang; White Fang killed ninjas like cutting melons and vegetables, but fighting such a monster, he might not be able to deliver such a slash.

If Yokogawa still had his previous combat ability, he could have taken advantage of Kakashi's weakened state to launch a surprise attack, catching them off guard.

Boom!!

A flash of purple lightning, and a lightning slash struck Yokogawa, who was trying to escape, with extreme speed.

Not only in internal battles, but in normal combat as well, timing was crucial.

Yokogawa had schemed endlessly, even risking the entire Kusagakure village to grow stronger, yet he couldn't defeat Konoha's elite team.

They couldn't possibly risk their lives for a ninja from another village they didn't know well, especially now that it was proven that Kusagakure had helped Iwagakure attack Konoha.

"His injuries are serious. Thank goodness Lady Katsuyu is here." Rin Nohara immediately began treatment upon reaching Kakashi's side.

"Such strong vitality—he still isn't dead?" Nara Shijaku was extremely surprised.

Rin Nohara noticed this and briefly explained the situation to Karin Uzumaki through the Katsuyu on Kakashi's body.

Obito wanted to report Kakashi for cheating.

Seeing this, Kakashi and the others quickly refined chakra, Aburame Shiki continuously used chakra to hatch more bugs, and Nara Shijaku, after careful deliberation, chose a position neither too close nor too far from Yokogawa.

"Since you won't help me, I'll kill all your family members!" Hengchuan Nu grabbed Long Fei and threatened.

This sudden change shocked everyone on the scene.

"Cough, cough, everyone don't panic. He must have suffered severe injuries," Kakashi said with difficulty.

"Thunder Breathing Chakra Mode?" Shisui had a conjecture after observing.

The big commotion here had already attracted the attention of the entire Grass Village, but because Hengchuan Nu's appearance was too terrifying, no civilians dared to approach.

At this moment, he truly only wanted to kill Hengchuan Nu, but seeing Hengchuan Nu turn into a monster only to be slain by a young ninja like Kakashi still made him unable to suppress a sigh in his heart.

His body was mercilessly sliced apart by the lightning strike, and every cell that contacted the strike was eroded by the terrifying lightning.

Nara Suzaku and Aburame Shikihiko formed hand seals, preparing to intercept.

Kakashi speculated that Hengchuan Nu had survived thanks to some characteristic of the monster, but his current condition was not much better than his own.

"Is this the gap between Grass and Leaf?" Long Fei's expression was complicated as he saw Hengchuan Nu cut in two by a single slash.

"What a powerful slash. This is combining Lightning Release with swordsmanship to forge his own path," Maruboshi Kosuke said with surprise.

"Did you think I was bluffing?" Hengchuan Nu swung his claw again to grab Long Fei's body, preparing to threaten Long Fei into treating him using the lives of his family members.

Although it couldn't be said that Kakashi had already surpassed White Fang, it showed that Kakashi was not simply following his father's path.

Kakashi, Shisui, and the others all brightened. Obito, who had entered Fire Breathing Chakra Mode, swiftly retreated. Hengchuan Nu's fate was sealed.

PS: There will be another chapter soon that will end the battle. It should be posted before 2 o'clock.