On the battlefield, Shinku was a mysterious presence. Illusion-style (genjutsu) shinobi differed from other types of ninja—large-scale genjutsu were uncontrollable, so no one used wide-range genjutsu during battle.
The true purpose of a genjutsu user in war was to cooperate with another powerful ninja in coordinated, precise assassinations of enemy Jōnin or Elite Jōnin.
At that level, even a second's lapse in awareness could an death—so being targeted by a genjutsu user in a chaotic battlefield was truly terrifying.
In just the early phase of the war, Shinku had already coordinated with Hoshiyomi—who remained in his Transparent Escape state—to successfully assassinate several Iwa-nin jōnin.
Without exception, every single one of them died, unable to even put up a resistance. They were simply slain within the illusion.
After effortlessly taking down another enemy Jonin with his kunai, Shinku suddenly heard Takekawa's provocation. He frowned and instinctively looked toward Hoshiyomi within the crowd.
His gaze was asking whether they should go together to take Takekawa down. With his genjutsu paired with Hoshiyomi's assassination skills, the target would most likely have no way to escape.
But Hoshiyomi shook his head—he didn't want Shinku to intervene. It wasn't a matter of difficulty, but of morale.
If the two of them took Takekawa out together, it would certainly be easy—but it would lack the dramatic impact.
If Hoshiyomi could defeat the remnants of the Explosion Release Unit in front of everyone's eyes, it would serve as a huge morale boost for Konoha's forces.
War wasn't a solo act. Factors like morale also had to be taken into account, and as the battlefield commander, Hoshiyomi needed to think comprehensively.
He gave Shinku a look, signaling that he didn't need to worry. Then, in a flash of movent, Hoshiyomi's figure blinked across the field and appeared near the remnants of the Explosion Release Unit.
The remnants were still yelling and roaring like hyperthyroid patients. Apart from their leader Takekawa, none of them had noticed Hoshiyomi's presence.
But Takekawa had sensed sothing wrong. He warned his clansn:
"Be careful. I feel that Gekkō Hoshiyomi is nearby."
Unfortunately, his warning ca too late. As the words left his mouth, the head of a clansman behind him suddenly flew off. The decapitated body sprayed blood like a fountain, so of it splattering across Takekawa's face.
The Iwa shinobi, who monts ago had been fired up and shouting alongside Takekawa, all froze at once, shocked by the eerie sight.
Hoshiyomi appeared behind the headless corpse, gazing directly at Takekawa with a faint smile.
"Didn't you ask to co out? Why do you look so startled now that I'm here?"
"You bastard!"
Takekawa 's eyes turned bloodshot. He spun around and threw a punch at Hoshiyomi—but Hoshiyomi showed no sign of panic. He instantly flickered away using Shunpo, widening the distance between them, and after dodging Takekawa's Landmine Fist, he swung his arm and sent out a slash of sword energy.
Takekawa heard the sound of the wind cutting behind him and sneered in disdain. He spun around and punched directly at it.
Then ca a scene that surprised Hoshiyomi—Takekawa didn't dodge or evade, but instead confronted the sword enegy head-on, throwing his punch straight into it.
The collision between the punch and sword enegy resulted in a powerful explosion—the blast wave even lifted Hoshiyomi's hair, though he was standing a fair distance away.
He can confront my sword enegy with his bare fists? Interesting.
If sword enegy from other elental types could be blocked like that… what about lightning-release?
Hoshiyomi recalled that Deidara's explosive clay could be neutralized by lightning release. However, Takekawa wasn't the sa as Deidara, who used explosive clay—he was more like Gari, channeling Explosion Release directly into his fists for close-range combat.
But Hoshiyomi wasn't sure whether Takekawa, who had just shattered his sword energy with a punch, could resist lightning-style sword aura.
With that in mind, he activated Nature Transformation. Under its effect, the Wind nature of his previous attack transford into Lightning Release.
Against most Jōnin, Takekawa's speed was already considered fast—but compared to Hoshiyomi, he still had a long way to go.
Before Takekawa could even get close, Hoshiyomi had already lifted his hand and unleashed a sword energy crackling with lightning.
Seeing the electric light sparking along the blade, Takekawa's eyes briefly flickered with unease. This ti, he didn't try to block it head-on—instead, he used Body Flicker Technique to dodge the strike and rushed toward Hoshiyomi.
Seeing this, Hoshiyomi's eyes lit up.
So the ani wasn't wrong after all—Takekawa's Landmine Fist really can't handle lightning-release sword energy.
What a sha he didn't know Kumogakure's Lightning Release Armor. If he could master that, he might have been able to fight Takekawa in a close-quarters battle.
He shouted directly at Takekawa:
"Just as I thought—Lightning Release is your weakness."
A flash of anger crossed Takekawa's eyes. He had calculated everything but hadn't expected Hoshiyomi to use Lightning Release. He retorted sharply, "So what? I can still blow you to pieces."
Though he said that, his eyes were already signaling his nearby clansn to quietly surround Hoshiyomi. At the sa ti, Yōgan, who had been coldly watching from the crowd, also started to move.
Hoshiyomi saw all of this clearly. Suddenly, he shouted:
"All Konoha shinobi—fall back at least 300 ters from !"
Though confused, Konoha's shinobi didn't hesitate. Thanks to Hoshiyomi's accomplishnts on the battlefield, they had co to trust him unconditionally. They imdiately pulled back without question.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Hoshiyomi sheathed his blade. Those familiar with him knew—this ant he was about to use one of his most formidable kenjutsu techniques.
Piercing Sky Draw Slash: Lightning!
The mont Yōgan saw Hoshiyomi's movent, his expression changed drastically. Without a second thought, he rapidly ford hand seals.
Earth Release: Iron Prison!
To defend against such a fierce sword energy, it would've been more effective to use Earth-Style: Earth-Style Wall or so other heavy, layered wall. But considering he also had many Iwagakure shinobi to protect, Yōgan could only use a defensive jutsu like Iron Prison.
The Iron Prison enclosed both Hoshiyomi and Takekawa within it, leaving the remaining four Explosion Release Unit mbers outside. It wasn't that Yōgan was trying to abandon Takekawa—
But he knew that Takekawa and the others, who couldn't use conventional Earth Release, had no way of defending against the incoming sword energy.
So Yōgan had no choice but to sacrifice the arm to save the body—leave Takekawa inside to buy ti and protect the rest.
Unfortunately for him, his plan miscalculated Hoshiyomi's power.
Lightning flash!
In the next mont, the inside of the Iron Prison lit up with a blinding burst of lightning. A mont later, a slightly tilted glowing ring of electricity flashed, leaving many on the battlefield montarily blinded.
As the two sides struggled to recover from the flash, they suddenly heard a trendous boom in front of them.
It wasn't an explosion caused by the Explosion Release unit.
It was the Iron Prison itself—it had been cleaved through, collapsing sideways with a deafening crash.
That half-ter-thick reinforced circular prison had been slashed in two by Hoshiyomi. Along with it, Takekawa and the other four mbers of the Explosion Release Unit lay dead, their corpses frozen in death, eyes wide open.
The Explosion Release Unit—completely annihilated.
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