Chapter 472: The Gap Between Us

Chapter 472: Chapter 472: The Gap Between Us

Deafening explosions erupted from virtually every direction in the village at the same time.

Konoha, which had only just regained its tranquility after the Box of Ultimate Bliss was closed, was instantly plunged back into a cacophony of explosions and chaos.

Hovering in midair, Kagami swept his gaze across the village.

Within the field of vision of his Byakugan, the eastern district had already descended into complete chaos. Within the narrow confines of just a few blocks, more than a hundred chakra signatures were active simultaneously, and every single one of them was connected by chakra threads.

There was no need to guess.

It had to be Sasori of the Red Sand rampaging through that area with his Performance of a Hundred Puppets.

Compared to the chaotic and noisy eastern district, the western district appeared considerably quieter.

Yet for some unknown reason, a vast bank of dense fog had suddenly appeared over the western district. The fog was growing thicker by the moment, and faint sounds of fighting could occasionally be heard coming from within it.

Battles had also broken out in both the Uchiha clan compound and the Nara clan compound. In one place, flames soared into the sky; in another, explosions rang out one after another. Neither battlefield was small in scale.

"Has the Akatsuki launched an all-out attack?"

As his gaze swept from one battlefield to another, Kagami thought to himself,

"Then where are Obito and Nagato? What are their targets?"

The Akatsuki’s assault had already erupted on every front, forcing Kagami to raise his vigilance even further and guard against a surprise attack from Nagato or Obito.

Obito, in particular, was extremely dangerous.

Now that he had reclaimed his left eye, he possessed both Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan. He no longer needed physical contact with his target; he could use Kamui from a distance to tear apart space itself.

Forget the bone membrane produced by Shikotsumyaku—even Truth-Seeking Balls couldn’t withstand Kamui’s spatial distortion.

So if Obito managed to catch him off guard, Kagami would be in grave danger.

Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were still on the battlefield below, naturally heard the commotion erupting throughout the village as well.

With a grave expression, Jiraiya said, "They’ve launched an all-out attack!"

Tsunade stared at Hiruko in the sky and said solemnly, "Forget everything else for now. First, we take back the Box of Ultimate Bliss! We absolutely cannot let the Akatsuki get their hands on that box!"

With that, Tsunade leaped onto a section of broken wall and shouted to the surviving Konoha shinobi on the battlefield, "We absolutely cannot let the Akatsuki take the Box of Ultimate Bliss!"

"Yes!"

The surviving Konoha shinobi answered in unison.

After enduring that nightmarish battle just moments ago, every survivor understood exactly what the consequences would be if the Akatsuki gained control of the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

Standing atop the fusion summon, Hiruko sneered. "You overestimate yourselves!"

Whoosh—

Before his words had even finished, Hiruko vanished from where he stood.

Immediately afterward, he abruptly appeared on the ground and drove his arm, hardened with Steel Release, straight through the chest of a Konoha shinobi.

The entire process was almost identical to how he had killed Mui moments earlier.

"You!?"

"How could—?!"

"What?!"

It wasn’t until Hiruko pulled his blood-covered arm free that the surrounding Konoha shinobi finally reacted.

The corner of Hiruko’s mouth curled upward.

In an instant, five figures split off from him, each trailing a long afterimage as they lunged toward five different Konoha shinobi in separate locations.

In the blink of an eye, the attack from moments ago was repeated.

All five Konoha shinobi were killed!

At the exact moment they were slain, all five figures vanished simultaneously, as though they had never existed in the first place.

Jiraiya’s expression changed drastically.

"There was no white smoke from Shadow Clones... Those weren’t Shadow Clones—they were Body Flickers!"

Fukasaku, perched on Jiraiya’s shoulder, was equally stunned.

"What incredible speed! So this is the Swift Release Kekkei Genkai?"

The Konoha shinobi who had survived on the battlefield until now might all have been injured, but every one of them was at least a Special Jonin-level expert.

And yet, none of them had been able to withstand even a single move from Hiruko!

"Damn it!"

Seeing Hiruko mercilessly slaughter her fellow Konoha shinobi, Tsunade flew into a rage. Without wasting a single word, she charged straight at Hiruko with her fist raised.

BOOM—

But the moment her fist struck Hiruko, Tsunade realized that what she had hit was nothing more than an afterimage he had left behind.

Her punch slammed into the ground instead.

With a deafening explosion, the earth collapsed beneath her fist, leaving behind a crater several meters deep.

Before Tsunade could even straighten herself—

Whoosh—

Accompanied by the sharp sound of rushing wind, Hiruko appeared directly behind her.

Tsunade didn’t even have time to turn around before Hiruko thrust one hand into her back.

His arm pierced straight through her body and burst out from her chest!

"Pfft..."

Tsunade immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood.

A vicious grin spread across Hiruko’s face.

"Tsunade, do you feel it now?

"This is the gap between us!"

"Tsunade!"

In the distance, Jiraiya cried out as he rushed toward them.

Glancing at Jiraiya, Hiruko chuckled.

"In such a hurry to die?"

Just as Hiruko was about to pull his arm out of Tsunade’s back and teach Jiraiya a lesson, his brow suddenly furrowed.

He couldn’t pull his arm out!

Still coughing up blood, Tsunade tightly gripped the arm that had pierced through her chest. Then she twisted around and drove her elbow viciously toward Hiruko’s head.

Smack—

With a sharp crack, Tsunade’s tremendously powerful elbow strike was effortlessly blocked by Hiruko’s other arm, which had been reinforced with Steel Release.

Hiruko’s eyes had already transformed into a pair of crimson three-tomoe Sharingan.

He chuckled lightly.

"The contraction of the muscles around your shoulder blade gave away your intentions long ago!"

As he spoke, Hiruko kicked Tsunade hard in the back, sending her flying while simultaneously wrenching his arm free from her body.

At that moment, Jiraiya charged in and engaged Hiruko in close combat.

While in Sage Mode, Jiraiya’s speed, strength, reflexes, and sensory abilities were all exceptional, with nearly every aspect of his physical capabilities reaching the limits of an ordinary human.

And with the two Sages, Fukasaku and Shima, assisting him from his shoulders, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that his combat power had doubled.

But Hiruko possessed the Sharingan, Swift Release, and Steel Release.

His taijutsu was also among the absolute best in the entire shinobi world.

So even against Jiraiya, he wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The two fought across the ground like a pair of monsters, countless afterimages trailing behind them as they exchanged blows at incredible speed.

Every punch and every kick unleashed violent shockwaves and thunderous explosions!

A moment later—

BANG!

Hiruko landed a vicious kick on Jiraiya, sending him flying!

BOOM—

Amid a succession of deafening crashes, Jiraiya’s body smashed through several buildings before he finally managed to stop himself, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air!

Hiruko rolled his neck.

"So even Sage Mode is only capable of this much?"

Coughing up blood, Jiraiya slowly crawled out from the rubble.

If he had been in peak condition, there was no way he would have been defeated by Hiruko so quickly.

However, during his earlier battle against Satori, not only had he consumed an enormous amount of chakra, but he had also suffered considerable injuries. His condition was already extremely poor.

Looking at the wounded Tsunade and Jiraiya lying on the ground, Hiruko laughed with satisfaction.

"If the Third Hokage were here too, I’d really love to see what kind of expression he’d be making right now!"

CLANG—!

The moment Hiruko finished speaking, the Box of Ultimate Bliss, which should have been on the back of the fusion summon, suddenly came crashing down from the sky.

Immediately afterward, Kagami’s figure slowly descended from above...

...and landed atop the Box of Ultimate Bliss.