Otonashi gripped his sword tightly with both hands, forcing his muscles to stop trembling.
After fighting intensely for a night, engaging in several battles, and killing over a dozen people, his chakra was nearly depleted, and his muscles were aching. Even the Senju bloodline was finding it somewhat hard to endure, yet strange things appeared here.
'I told you there are no lucky encounters in this world.'
He sighed inwardly at his extended bad luck. Why weren't there any secret scrolls or kind-faced old grandpas underground to help pass on their power? There were only these monsters, monsters whose principles couldn't even be analyzed.
"Take Kakashi and leave first." He shielded Rin behind him and roared in a low voice.
"But Obito..." The girl still didn't want to give up, but her face was filled with panic.
"Go!!" Otonashi held his sword horizontally, making a decisive decision. If they didn't leave, they would all die here!
Who knew how many of these monsters there were? If three came out, ten or a hundred could potentially emerge. If he were at his peak, he might dare to take the risk, but what did he have to fight with now?
An arrow at the end of its flight cannot pierce silk!
"Otonashi, stay alive!"
Rin wasn't an idiot either. She picked up Kakashi and left. The white figure inside the wall took a step towards her, but was pinned to the wall by a sword.
The long sword pierced its chest, yet the monster wasn't dead. Instead, spore-like things grew on the blade and extended towards the hilt. Otonashi pulled out his sword, jumped back, rolled twice, and crouched on the ground.
"Explode!"
Boom—
Several explosive tags detonated violently in the narrow underground space. Rubble collapsed, and a storm rushed forward. Even Otonashi, crouching on the ground, slid back several meters.
Of course, I have to live!
Otonashi looked up, but saw the white figure actually drilling out from the already blocked passage, blasting away the obstructing rocks. This made him take a deep breath.
"But definitely not just survive barely!"
Charge!
Taking large strides, he charged straight towards the white figures emerging from the rocks. Leaping up, as his reverse-grip sword chopped off a head, he heavily stomped the enemy in front into the rocks. Still in mid-air, his hands crossed before his chest.
Sure enough, there are more than three!
Bang!
A heavy punch slammed into his hands. The strong force pushed into his chest cavity, and his back hit the ground, bouncing slightly. Using this force, Otonashi in mid-air twisted his waist and abdomen, actually flipping and delivering a hook kick to the opponent's back neck.
Bang!
The positions reversed. The long sword held in both hands fell fiercely, pinning it to the ground.
Pulling out the sword, jumping back, the whistling wind brushed past his cheek. Then, with a loud 'boom', the spot where he had just stood was blasted into a crater several meters wide.
'The leader?'
Otonashi saw that the opponent's face was no longer pure white but like a spiral. Confirming his guess again, his heart also tightened.
This power is above his Third Gate. Now there isn't even half a chance of winning.
"Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm!"
A fierce wind instantly surged through the passage. The narrow space further amplified the wind's power. Except for the spiral person in front, the other white figures were all sent flying backward. And Otonashi, having just finished the seal, used the recoil to turn and run.
He was running wildly, sticking explosive tags on the rock walls as he ran, detonating one every few meters.
Boom—Boom—Boom
The firelight was dazzling. As the rocks shattered and collapsed, the storm pushed him further out. Otonashi completely ignored the burning sensation on his back, his eyes fixed tightly on the passage ahead.
Just ahead!
Densely packed pale white hands extended from both sides of the rock wall, like a road leading to hell. The teenager's eyes saw only the path forward.
Jumping up, horizontal slash, sliding step, vertical slash!
He seemed to be fighting his way out of hell, the ground littered with white arms.
Closer! Closer!
Otonashi saw Rin ahead, and the light not far in front of her. There seemed to be a huge cavity there, the dawn sunlight shining in.
"Go!"
Kicking the girl fiercely in the back, the two stumbled out. At this moment, Otonashi suddenly turned around, biting the sword hilt in his mouth, giving a savage grin to the white figures stepping out of the earth.
"Sleep here underground for another ten thousand years!"
Earth Release: Rending Land Palm!!
Almost draining the last bit of chakra from his body, the earth shook. The mountain body, already precarious from the explosive tags, actually collapsed entirely.
Rumble rumble rumble...
The mountain fell.
The great power of nature buried everything. Otonashi bit his lip, the sharp pain clearing his mind for a moment, but he frantically escaped the cave before being buried himself.
He leaped out, only to see a hundred-meter deep pit below, as if soaring in the air. Gravity was pulling him towards the ground. Fortunately, at this moment, an anxious female voice came.
"Grab on!"
Otonashi recognized Rin's voice and subconsciously grabbed the rope. He saw Rin and Kakashi lying on a protrusion above, pulling him up with all their might.
That guy finally woke up.
He thought with half relief and half regret, suspended in mid-air by one hand, his peripheral vision glancing again at the still-sliding slope behind him.
"Sorry, Obito."
........
The cavity where the old man resided trembled. The passage ahead collapsed continuously, splashing up countless dust particles, but this cavity seemed to be supported by some sky-pillar.
Although shaking, it surprisingly didn't collapse.
The old man was still sitting on that wooden chair, letting dust cover his entire body. Who knows how long passed. Only when the roaring sound subsided significantly did he slowly raise his head.
"Escaped?"
"Sorry, sorry, didn't expect those few people to hold on for so long. Maybe it was like holding in the last breath when needing to poop." The spiral-faced white figure scratched its smooth back head.
Unexpectedly for Otonashi, this person was less like a silent killing machine and more like a comedian.
"But I brought this guy back." It dropped the person from its back; it was the unconscious Obito.
The boy's lower body was mangled, his legs already gone, clearly forcibly torn out. At this point, he was breathing more out than in.
The old man's eyes slowly moved down, then he stood up shakily. He walked very slowly, came to the boy's side, and lifted him up.
No saving him.
He saw at a glance that this boy would die from blood loss in just a few minutes. He looked again at the ruptured left eye, seeming to fall into contemplation.
What a pity, just a cripple. No need to waste energy. Wait for the next one.
Thinking this, the old man wanted to drop the boy. But before letting go, he heard the dying person actually make a sound.
"Rin..."
Extremely faint, but very clear in the silent cavity. The old man's hand paused, as if feeling an extremely strong obsession, even surpassing the instinct for survival.
A bit interesting.
The old man pondered for two seconds. Putting himself in the other's shoes, he knew that once a person with such strong willpower set a goal, their driving force would be immeasurable.
"Let's make use of waste for now." The old man made a decision and ordered the white figure, "Bring him over."
Sitting back on the wooden chair, he suddenly took out a mass of still-wriggling flesh from his body and slowly placed it on the boy. Watching the boy tremble painfully in his unconscious state, his face remained expressionless.
If it succeeds, he's a good pawn. If not, then continue waiting.
Either way, he wouldn't lose.
Looking again at the painfully writhing boy, the old man actually went to sleep.....