Chapter 28: Boom!

"Kiyosuke… do you think Dad will be okay?" Kurenai asked worriedly.

"I don't know if Shinku-sensei will be, but we're not," Kiyosuke replied, whipping around. With a flick of his sleeve, dozens of venomous snakes burst out, lunging toward the approaching Galobi.

"Cheap trick!" Galobi sneered, slicing off the snakes' heads with a swing of his blade.

But Kiyosuke remained calm under pressure.

Asuma reacted quickly, hurling shuriken while forming hand seals.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

At the same time, Kiyosuke's arm ignited in searing flames. A thick column of fire roared out in an instant.

Galobi opened his mouth and released a high-pressure jet of water. It blasted through the incoming shuriken and crashed into the pillar of fire. A massive cloud of steam exploded outward, engulfing the battlefield in mist and obscuring everyone's vision.

"This time, we're not getting out of this," Kiyosuke muttered. "We're not equipped to deal with a jōnin."

They could handle most chūnin-level opponents—but against a jōnin? That was a whole different league.

"At least you know your place. Let me take you out first!" Galobi grinned maliciously, his blade gleaming with lethal intent.

"Is that so?"

Kiyosuke drew two kunai, flames enveloping them as the metal turned red-hot in his grasp. He held them without flinching.

The sight of the glowing kunai made Galobi narrow his eyes.

"You… are you a Konoha kekkei genkai user?"

"Take a guess."

"Hmph, looks like I can't kill you after all." Galobi's grin widened.

A kekkei genkai user was extremely valuable. Capturing one alive was worth far more than killing. As for the other two—kill them and take the special one back.

"Kurenai, Asuma. Same plan."

"Got it."

Kurenai nodded and quickly scaled a nearby tree. Asuma flanked Galobi from behind.

"You brats are overestimating yourselves! You have no idea how wide the gap is between genin and jōnin. Let me show you."

Laughing wildly, Galobi lunged—not at Kiyosuke, but at Kurenai in the tree.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

More snakes erupted from Kiyosuke's sleeve—larger this time. They couldn't bind him in time, but they blocked his path.

"Fire Style: Great Flame Jutsu!"

Asuma unleashed a wave of fire. Galobi clicked his tongue in annoyance and swung his blade to disperse the flames.

Kiyosuke jumped, landing a hard kick on Galobi's arm.

"Kurenai! Are you ready?!"

"Ready!" Kurenai's final hand sign sealed into place.

"Genjutsu!"

A flurry of pink petals suddenly filled Galobi's vision, blocking his sight.

"Genjutsu, huh?"

He immediately tried to release it—but in that split second, Kiyosuke created shadow clones.

"Retreat!" he ordered.

Asuma and Kurenai immediately disengaged and ran.

Kiyosuke stayed behind.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Hmph, don't get cocky just because you have a kekkei genkai," Galobi scoffed, twisting his blade. He aimed to knock Kiyosuke out with the flat of the sword.

"You're welcome to try."

Galobi grunted in annoyance. This arrogant genin was seriously grating on his nerves.

He charged forward, swinging the back of his blade at Kiyosuke's neck—

And sliced clean through it.

The sword passed through with no resistance. It was like hitting a ghost.

Galobi's eyes widened in horror.

"What the—?! I already broke the genjutsu!"

"You idiot," Kiyosuke's voice echoed coldly. "You've been trapped in Kurenai's illusion the whole time. You never escaped."

His chakra type must've made him vulnerable to illusions—he thought he'd broken free, but he was still trapped. That made things interesting.

"No way! Release!"

He formed the hand seals again, dispelling the genjutsu.

Then he slashed at Kiyosuke again.

The blade cut him in half—

But flames surged out, reforming Kiyosuke's body.

"It's pointless," Kiyosuke said calmly. "I told you. It's genjutsu. You're not getting out. Even the Uchiha struggle with Kurenai's illusions. You think you can break it?"

"No! This isn't genjutsu! It's fake! All fake!" Galobi roared.

Like many from Kumogakure, he relied on brute force. Not knowing what was real or not, he kept swinging wildly, chopping Kiyosuke's body to pieces—only for it to reform over and over in fire.

"Stop struggling," Kiyosuke said with a smile.

His clones closed in.

A small white snake dropped from his sleeve and slithered away.

"Wait… you…" Galobi's eyes finally showed panic.

Clone after clone grabbed onto him tightly. Kiyosuke lunged forward and shouted—

"Die, you idiot!"

Ultra Bomb!!!

BOOM!!!

A deafening explosion rocked the forest.

Even Yūhi Shinku and Rakei, still locked in battle, were startled and turned toward the source of the blast.

"That was… Kiyosuke's jutsu?"

Shinku recognized the technique. It was a forbidden-level jutsu Kiyosuke had developed. Its destructive power was terrifying—even a jōnin would be in serious trouble if hit directly.

Had it really come to this?

"What happened? Maki, what about Galobi?"

"His chakra… it's gone," Maki said, face pale. "That brat's plan worked… Galobi's dead. I'm going to check it out!"

If she couldn't sense his chakra at all, it likely meant—

"Be careful," 

"Tch. That idiot…" Rakei cursed. "But it looks like your student isn't useless trash after all."

The death of one subordinate didn't faze Rakei. His only focus was finishing off Yūhi Shinku as quickly as possible.

He jumped back and formed hand seals.

Electric arcs spread across the ground like a web. Shinku leapt into the air to dodge.

Rakei followed, channeling Lightning Chakra into his longsword. With a burst of taijutsu speed, he struck at Shinku mid-air.

"Ugh!" Shinku's body was hit by lightning, paralyzing him mid-air.

Rakei took the opportunity to slash—

Only to slice through a log.

"Substitution Jutsu!"

"Now's my chance," Shinku murmured from the shadows. "The sensor ninja is gone. I don't have to hold back anymore."

He weaved hand signs swiftly.

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"

A giant tree sprouted behind Rakei, its branches wrapping tightly around his limbs.

"What the—?! Genjutsu?!"

From above, Shinku emerged from the tree trunk itself.

"That's right. The moment you chose to fight alone… your fate was sealed."

Fighting a genjutsu user solo was suicide—he'd walked right into the trap.

Rakei struggled, but it was useless. A cold slash to his throat silenced him for good.

The illusion ended.

Shinku calmly flicked the blood from his blade and collected Rakei's corpse—it would be useful material.

With that done, he took off in the direction Maki had gone.

...

At that moment, Kiyosuke, having used the Ultra Bomb, had exhausted every last bit of chakra. His body was barely reformed—he could no longer move.

He slumped onto the scorched, steaming ground.

And saw Maki approaching.

"Of course…" he murmured, voice bitter. "When it rains, it pours…"

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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