Chapter 46: The Terrifying Kick
At this critical moment between life and death, Su Xiao did not choose to use the Secondary Invincibility Shield. Deploying that shield required time, and Kakashi's Kamui involved spatial cutting—whether it could defend against it was still unknown.
A layer of pale blue shield appeared before Su Xiao. This shield was three meters high and two meters wide, crystal clear like a work of art. It was an energy shield he constructed using 300 points of mana.
He slammed his elbow into the energy shield, pushing his body back a bit.
Crack!
The energy shield was shattered by the spatial distortion, but before that happened, Su Xiao clenched his left fist, and the Realm Severing Thread wrapped around a high tree branch contracted.
With a whoosh, Su Xiao's body was pulled upward, floating in midair.
Kamui gradually dissipated. The broken energy shield on the ground scattered into fragments. Blood seeped from Su Xiao's chest, where a spiral-shaped wound appeared, with multiple cuts spreading across half his chest.
In midair, Su Xiao gripped his longsword tightly and slashed toward Kakashi's direction.
Clang.
A blade aura flew out, slicing through the air with a hissing sound. Kakashi, who had just used Kamui, was panting heavily and clumsily dodged to the side, barely avoiding the blade aura.
The blade aura plowed across the ground, leaving a deep gash before disappearing.
Withdrawing the Realm Severing Thread, Su Xiao landed steadily.
As soon as he landed, Su Xiao kicked off the ground and charged at Kakashi. Kakashi took a deep breath, preparing to retreat temporarily—his chakra could still use Kamui once.
Just as Kakashi was about to step back, a sudden change occurred. A white snake burst out of the ground, coiling toward Kakashi's feet.
"Earth Style: Rock Layer."
Crack, crack, crack. A layer of black rock attached itself to Kakashi's leg as the white snake climbed up.
Mid-charge, Su Xiao detonated the Alchemy Bomb.
"Explode!"
Boom.
Flames engulfed Kakashi. Su Xiao raised his left hand to shield his face and charged into the fire, ignoring the intense heat.
As soon as he entered the flames, a sound of breaking air came—it was Kakashi wielding a kunai.
The kunai thrust toward Su Xiao's face. A small energy shield, about a dozen centimeters in size, appeared.
Ding.
The kunai struck the energy shield, which remained motionless, leaving Kakashi's palm slightly numb.
Su Xiao's longsword thrust forward as well. Clearly, Kakashi had no ability like an energy shield.
Pfft, the longsword pierced through his chest. Kakashi knew it was over—he was doomed.
"Shadow Stab."
Pfft, pfft. Over a dozen spikes protruded from Kakashi's body. His eyes widened, but at the most critical moment, he slightly twisted his body, and only one pale blue spike grazed the artery of his heart.
Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surged into Kakashi's body, and his consciousness began to blur.
Su Xiao used his sword to lift Kakashi up. His hand, wrapped in a crimson gauntlet, reached toward Kakashi's face.
"Ah!!"
A scream rang out. Su Xiao now held an eyeball in his hand.
He pulled the Dragon-Slaying Flash out of Kakashi's body, leaving the Shadow Stab inside. Su Xiao swung his sword toward Kakashi's throat.
"Night Phoenix!"
An extremely furious roar came, accompanied by a terrifying whistling sound. Su Xiao immediately generated three layers of shields with 300 points of mana each beside him, while activating the Invincibility Shield.
Boom!
Flames shot into the sky. Su Xiao was kicked flying a great distance by the unknown enemy. Midair, he nearly lost consciousness.
Seeing the three layers of energy shields that had been shattered, Su Xiao felt his heart race. However, the last layer was only slightly cracked. Considering the strength of the attacker, the energy shield's defense was quite impressive.
The flames receded. A man in green clothes, his entire body radiating blue steam, stood in front of Kakashi.
With a bang, Su Xiao crashed into a large patch of dirt before stopping.
"Pfft."
He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. His bones felt like they were about to fall apart. He looked at the newcomer—the man blocking Kakashi was named Gai, who had already opened the Seventh Gate!
At this moment, Gai was drenched in sweat, his chest heaving, as if he had expended a lot of stamina.
That was indeed the case. Gai had opened a gate earlier when fighting Kisame, then battled enemies simulated by a barrier, greatly reducing his stamina.
Behind Gai, Kakashi's left eye was tightly shut, blood trickling from the socket, with a not-shallow wound on his neck.
"Kakashi, are you alright?"
"I'm fine... for now... won't die. Be careful in close combat with the enemy."
"Mm."
Gai steadied his breathing, his gaze burning as he stared at Su Xiao.
Su Xiao glanced at Kakashi, feeling that he wouldn't be able to kill him today.
"You're lucky."
Su Xiao's mind moved, and hundreds of small white frogs emerged from the ground.
Boom, boom, boom!
Explosions echoed through the valley. Gai could only shield the severely injured Kakashi.
Su Xiao mounted Bubu Wang, who had already come to pick him up. Although Bubu Wang usually didn't participate in battles, he was good at finding opportunities to retreat.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang sprinted away. Gai chose not to pursue, as Kakashi's injuries would be fatal if not treated immediately.
Ten minutes later, Su Xiao burst out of the forest. Roars came from behind in the woods.
A black energy ball flew into the sky and exploded. Seeing this, Su Xiao already guessed what it was—a Tailed Beast Ball. It was probably Didara who had angered Naruto.
Su Xiao didn't bother with Didara. That guy had provoked the Nine-Tails on his own. If Naruto unleashed the Nine-Tails, even Nagato might not be a match.
This place was no longer safe. Su Xiao planned to leave temporarily.
Just as he was about to rush out of the forest, a bloodied figure burst out of a bush.
"Brother Bai Ye, great to see you, hmm."
At this moment, Didara looked miserable, with one hand and one leg missing.
Without a word, Su Xiao grabbed Didara by the collar, and Bubu Wang sprinted off.
"Wait, my limbs are still in the forest. If I find Kakuzu, he can sew them back on."
"We'll talk later. There's something stronger than a Tailed Beast in the forest."
"Huh?"
Didara was clearly surprised.
"Otherwise, why do you think I retreated first?"
Su Xiao didn't explain further to Didara. He had nearly killed Kakashi, which had clearly enraged Gai. It wouldn't be surprising if Gai opened the Death Gate and gave him a Night Gai kick.
Gai's Seventh Gate Night Phoenix kick had nearly broken through three layers of energy shields. As for Night Gai, that move was on a completely different level from the Seventh Gate. Su Xiao could say with certainty that the Secondary Invincibility Shield absolutely couldn't withstand that kick—he would be one-shot.
Su Xiao and Didara rushed out of the forest. After erasing their tracks along the way, the two rested in a village within the Land of Rivers.
It was unlikely that Konoha ninjas would pursue them. That night, Didara rode a clay bird back into the forest alone, presumably to find his severed hand and leg.
Su Xiao lay in a civilian house, his chest wrapped in bandages. He didn't want to move at all. Gai's kick earlier was too powerful, nearly killing him.
Just as Su Xiao was dozing off, a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[You have shaken off pursuers. The One-Tail Capture Battle has ended. Result: Victory!]
[Calculating rewards...]
[You have received 15% World Source.]
[You have received Soul Crystal (Medium) ×5.]
[You have received 600 points of Akatsuki Contribution.]
A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. Although the One-Tail Capture Battle was fraught with danger, the rewards were exceptionally generous.
He took out a glass bottle from his storage space. Inside was a pale yellow solution, in which floated a Sharingan eye. This was the eye he had taken from Kakashi, and it had not been certified by Reincarnation Paradise.
"Obito, what are you willing to pay to get this eye back?"
If it were before, Su Xiao wouldn't have dared to trade with Obito. His strength was insufficient, and it would have been suicide. But after raising Cyan Steel Shadow to Lv.20, things were different. The Energy Shield was practically a divine skill, greatly enhancing his power.
Now, Su Xiao had the qualifications to trade with Obito. He was curious—what price would Obito be willing to pay for this eye? After all, one Sharingan eye and two were completely different concepts.
Su Xiao had a vague feeling that his greatest gain from the One-Tail Capture Battle, aside from upgrading Cyan Steel Shadow, was this Sharingan eye.