Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Capturing Suikazan Fuguki Alive

"How is this possible?"

Suikazan Fuguki noticed the dead Akebino Jinin. His eyes nearly split open with rage.

Orochimaru, who was fighting him, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The current Suikazan Fuguki somewhat countered him.

First, his strength hadn’t reached its peak yet.

Second, he was wary of the Greatsword Samehada.

Although Samehada was called a sword, it was actually a special living organism.

It possessed its own consciousness and could absorb the target’s chakra.

Because of this astonishing effect, ninjas fighting Suikazan Fuguki often appeared timid and restrained.

Orochimaru subconsciously glanced at Natsuki.

A question surfaced in his mind: How did Akebino Jinin die?

Suikazan Fuguki didn’t lose his reason over Jinin’s death.

He scanned the area and shouted, "Everyone, retreat!"

Although the Kumogakure and Kirigakure ninjas were elites, they had fallen into traps first and an ambush second. They had suffered heavy losses long ago.

Konoha and the Uzumaki clan, waiting for the exhausted enemy at their ease, completely held the upper hand.

Actually, Fuguki had called for retreat at the very beginning—but at that time, they had only fallen into traps and still retained most of their strength.

The Kumogakure ninjas in particular had always acted overbearingly. They were unwilling to retreat without a fight.

But the situation was completely different now. If they didn’t retreat, their entire force would be wiped out.

After shouting, Fuguki immediately formed hand seals.

Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique!

A massive amount of chakra transformed into fog, permeating the surroundings.

The other Kirigakure ninjas also used Hiding in Mist one after another.

"Disperse the fog! They’re trying to escape!"

Tsunade immediately ordered.

But there was too much fog. It couldn’t be cleared quickly.

Taking advantage of this, the Kirigakure and Kumogakure ninjas scattered and fled.

Natsuki stood up instinctively.

His fight with Akebino Jinin had only left him mentally exhausted—not drained of chakra.

Four Kakashis’ worth of chakra wasn’t that easy to deplete.

He didn’t have to keep fighting. But he still needed to capture a Tokubetsu Jonin alive to unlock his Smoker template.

He looked around and quickly found a target.

Phantom Blow!

Natsuki raised his hand.

A shockwave struck a Tokubetsu Jonin.

This Kirigakure Tokubetsu Jonin was moving at high speed. He completely didn’t expect a sudden ambush.

He instantly fell into a daze.

Gravity Mitigation!

Reinforcement Magecraft!

Natsuki burst forth at full speed, arriving before him in a flash.

Golden Right Foot!

Just as the Tokubetsu Jonin regained consciousness, he was kicked and sent flying.

Head Chef Dead Weight!

Natsuki leaped up. His entire body crashed into the man.

The Tokubetsu Jonin was knocked completely unconscious.

[Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked Smoker Template Ability 4: White Snake.]

Natsuki nodded. Job done.

He turned and looked deep into the dense fog.

He could hear the sounds of fierce combat.

Although the fog was highly disadvantageous to most non-Kirigakure ninjas, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the others were still fighting.

Shadow Assassin!

Natsuki made a decision and submerged into the shadows.

If he were alone, he definitely wouldn’t dare seek out Suikazan Fuguki.

But two against one—the advantage was his!

After entering the dense fog, his vision was obstructed.

But as long as he was close enough, he could roughly make out his target.

Natsuki arrived behind Fuguki and leaped up.

Water Breathing: Fourth Form — Striking Tide!

Blade light carrying water flow poured out entirely.

Because Fuguki held a slight advantage in his fight with Orochimaru, he noticed the attack.

Hair Needle Senbon!

His hair suddenly scattered. A large number of strands detached and shot out like kunai.

Natsuki’s gaze sharpened.

His sword strike only cut a portion of the hair. The remaining strands enveloped him.

Shadow Assassin!

At the critical moment, Natsuki vanished into the shadows again.

Orochimaru frowned.

He hadn’t expected Natsuki to come running over to join this fight.

But now wasn’t the time for blame. He swung his sword without hesitation.

CLANG!

Fuguki blocked his Kusanagi Sword with Samehada.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

Orochimaru formed a one-handed seal and blew a fierce gust from his mouth.

While dispersing the fog, the wind struck toward Fuguki.

But Fuguki leaped backward, using the fierce wind to widen the distance.

He didn’t want to continue fighting. If he didn’t retreat now, once the others escaped, he would be trapped like a turtle in a jar.

Projection Magecraft!

Natsuki reappeared, his hands moving continuously.

In an instant, a large number of kunai flew toward Fuguki in mid-air.

"Courting death!"

Fuguki snorted coldly. Thinking of the dead Jinin, he immediately plummeted from the sky.

Samehada in his hand acted like a hammer, deflecting the incoming kunai and aiming straight for Natsuki.

Shadow Assassin!

Natsuki repeated his old trick, melding into the shadows.

BOOM!

Samehada smashed into the ground.

The ground cracked—but Natsuki’s shadow remained unscathed, rapidly fleeing outward.

"Immune to physical attacks?"

As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Fuguki naturally had extraordinary experience.

Coupled with Natsuki using Shadow Assassin multiple times in quick succession, he noticed its characteristic.

A piercing sound of wind rang out.

An invisible blade struck toward Fuguki at extreme speed.

Orochimaru’s Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique.

Body Flicker Technique!

After dodging the wind blade, Fuguki immediately placed Samehada on his back and formed hand seals.

Time was urgent. Orochimaru was no longer his target.

His current thought was to quickly kill Natsuki—then retreat.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!

The roaring sound of water echoed with Fuguki at the center.

Water shot skyward, transforming into a ferocious dragon. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The water dragon, containing terrifying impact force, accelerated instantly—biting toward Natsuki’s shadow.

Right at that moment, Natsuki suddenly dispelled Shadow Assassin.

He forcefully threw a smoke bomb.

As smoke permeated the air, the water dragon crashed into the ground and exploded.

The ground cracked. Water splashed everywhere.

There was no corpse within the residual smoke—only a wooden log.

"Substitution Jutsu?"

Astonishment appeared on Fuguki’s face.

The essence of the Substitution Jutsu was leaving a wooden log to confuse the enemy. But it wasn’t space-time ninjutsu—the user couldn’t vanish into thin air.

As for Shadow Assassin, Fuguki saw clearly that there was no shadow nearby.

He had no time to think carefully. Orochimaru’s attack had already arrived.

Clusters of bullet-like Wind Release waves enveloped him.

Fuguki immediately grabbed Samehada, turned, and swung.

But what he didn’t see was that the residual smoke from the bomb was slowly drifting toward him.

"Orochimaru, no need to see me off. Next time we fight, I will definitely take your head!"

After dealing with Orochimaru’s Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves, Fuguki prepared to leave.

Although he really wanted to kill Natsuki, this brat’s abilities were too strange. He couldn’t handle him quickly.

Right at that moment, a powerful sense of crisis surged in his heart.

He instinctively looked down—and saw a stream of smoke wrapping around his entire body, starting from his feet, like a white snake.

"What is this?"

Fuguki’s expression changed drastically. He couldn’t move.

"Teacher!"

Natsuki shouted urgently.

Orochimaru didn’t need the reminder to know this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He formed hand seals without hesitation.

Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!

He didn’t use ninjutsu because he was worried it would be absorbed by Samehada.

But the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu wouldn’t be.

A sky full of shuriken enveloped Fuguki.

In an instant, miserable screams rang out. Blood spurted wildly.

However, Orochimaru avoided Fuguki’s vital spots.

The reason was simple: capturing him alive was more valuable.

Orochimaru subconsciously looked at Natsuki.

Surprise appeared on his face.

Because at this moment, Natsuki’s arm was continuously spewing thick smoke.

And the white snake that had wrapped around Fuguki came precisely from that smoke.

This was the ninjutsu he created by modifying Hiding in Mist?

Orochimaru felt a sense of absurdity.

Hadn’t he just given Natsuki the Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique a week ago?

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