Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder was an A-rank ninjutsu.
Its power surpassed that of ordinary A-rank techniques.
It generated extremely high-temperature steam that could evaporate all the moisture in an opponent’s body in a single strike.
It was an especially cruel technique.
Those killed by it were reduced to corpselike figures resembling mummified bodies.
However, Yagami Yue’s Three-Sword Style: Twister was even more formidable.
The violently rotating wind directly pushed the scorching steam back toward Pakura.
Seeing her own Extremely Steaming Murder being reflected back at her, Pakura was shocked and hurriedly leapt aside.
And at that very moment, Yagami Yue’s second attack followed immediately.
“Seventy-Two Pound Phoenix!”
Two waves of sword energy spun rapidly through the air and shot toward Pakura.
Pakura gritted her teeth and dodged.
Cold sweat covered her forehead.
The strength of the Yagami Yue before her had far exceeded her expectations.
His attacks were simply too fast.
Even dodging them was extremely difficult.
And those strange waves of sword energy were something she had never encountered before.
Their energy density was extraordinarily high.
It was extremely difficult to block them with ninjutsu.
But trying to stop them with a kunai was even more impossible.
Troublesome!
Pakura realized that she had almost no way of defending against this kind of attack.
What frustrated her even more was that she hadn’t even managed to force Yagami Yue to use his true trump card—
That technique known as the Shooting Star.
The Railgun.
“Eagle!”
Another wave of sword energy came rushing toward her.
Bang!
“Substitution Technique!”
Pakura barely managed to perform the Substitution Technique.
Her body was replaced by a wooden log.
Her real body appeared on the rooftop.
“Huff… huff…”
Pakura gasped heavily on the rooftop.
Cold sweat had already soaked through her back.
Her eyes were filled with disbelief as she stared at Yagami Yue.
Her heart was overflowing with shock.
Why is this Yagami Yue so strong?
How exactly does he train?
Are all Konoha shinobi this monstrous?
During the Second Shinobi World War, Konoha had produced the Konoha White Fang and the Legendary Sannin.
Now, during the Third Shinobi World War, there was the Yellow Flash…
And this guy standing in front of her.
What did Sunagakure have?
Nothing!
Sunagakure had completely lost face.
How the hell are we supposed to keep fighting this war?!
“Your name is Pakura, right?”
Completely beyond Pakura’s expectations, Yagami Yue put away his sword.
“So what if it is?!”
Pakura raised her chin proudly.
“It’s really you.”
Yue smiled.
He had just thought of a new plan.
His ultimate goal was to eventually leave Konoha and establish his own organization.
Naturally, he would need powerful subordinates.
And Pakura was clearly an excellent candidate for recruitment.
Why?
Because Pakura had a deep conflict with the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
In the original story of Naruto, Pakura was a hero of Sunagakure.
But later, when Sunagakure was preparing for a decisive battle against Iwagakure, Rasa personally ordered Pakura to go to Kirigakure as an envoy.
The purpose was to eliminate the threat from Kirigakure’s rear and protect Sunagakure.
Rasa specifically told her that it was a secret mission and that she should act quietly without informing the village.
Pakura therefore secretly traveled toward Kirigakure.
But as soon as she entered Kirigakure’s territory, she was ambushed by Mist shinobi.
She died at the hands of Kirigakure.
Pakura had been a hero of Sunagakure.
She was also extraordinarily powerful, far beyond an ordinary jōnin.
And with Sunagakure already struggling on the battlefield because of its limited strength, she could be considered an extremely important combat asset.
Yet Rasa had deliberately manipulated the situation and sent her to her death.
He had effectively caused Sunagakure to lose one of its strongest shinobi at a time when the village could least afford it.
That showed just how deep the conflict between Pakura and Rasa could become.
Therefore—
There was still a chance Yue could recruit her.
Having reached this conclusion, Yagami Yue had already made his decision.
He took out a coin.
Pakura’s eyes narrowed.
According to the intelligence reports, the attack that had seriously injured Rasa had been fired using a coin.
“You should know that I have a ninjutsu called the ‘Shooting Star’…”
Yagami Yue casually tossed the coin in his hand.
“…”
Pakura’s entire body tensed.
Her concentration reached its peak.
“Actually, its name isn’t Shooting Star.”
Yue looked at the coin.
“It’s called the Railgun.
As for how it works, I won’t bother explaining…”
Electric sparks began crackling around his hand.
Pakura’s vigilance skyrocketed.
Her mind raced as she considered every possible way of escaping.
“How about I give you a chance?”
Yue’s normally cold face suddenly broke into a smile.
However, because he rarely smiled, the expression looked somewhat awkward.
“What chance?”
“I’ll let you run 100 meters first…”
Before he could even finish speaking—
Pakura immediately turned around and fled.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
After several rapid leaps, she quickly reached a distance of one hundred meters.
Yagami Yue jumped onto the rooftop.
He looked at the fleeing figure.
The corner of his mouth curled upward into a mischievous smile.
He tossed the coin into the air.
It spun upward.
Zzzzt—!
Electricity erupted from his hand, shining especially brightly against the darkness of the night.
And then—
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion erupted.
The projectile broke through the sound barrier.
Its terrifying velocity reached nearly 3,000 meters per second—roughly eight times the speed of sound.
The tremendous speed instantly caused the surrounding air to explode.
The magnetic field, electric field, and force field all became violently distorted.
An enormous burst of light erupted.
It transformed into a shooting star.
It streaked across the night sky.
Brilliant.
Dazzling.
Radiant.
Magnificent.
A spectacular shooting star.
Its roar echoed throughout Kikyo City.
And its target—
Was the fleeing Pakura.
Pakura was terrified out of her mind.
An overwhelming sense of danger made the skin on her back prickle as though it were being pierced by countless needles.
She fled even faster.
But no matter how fast she ran—
She could never outrun the Railgun.
The distance of one hundred meters…
Was nothing more than the blink of an eye.