CHAPTER 158
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
Ōnoki's icy voice echoed across the battlefield.
The four Stone Clones surrounding Konoha's White Fang trembled simultaneously.
"I've been on guard against you this whole time."
White Fang narrowed his eyes without the slightest hint of panic.
Whatever those Stone Clones intended to do...
He had already anticipated it.
Most likely, they would attempt to restrict his movements.
Only then could Dust Release strike him successfully.
However...
The next moment, White Fang's expression changed.
The four Stone Clones did not rush toward him.
Instead, they instantly transformed into four massive stone walls.
From every direction, they completely surrounded and protected Ōnoki.
The Tsuchikage sealed himself within a fortress of stone.
Only the narrow gap between his hands, where the Dust Release continued gathering, remained exposed.
White Fang was momentarily stunned.
What was this?
Instead of restricting his movement...
Ōnoki was using every means possible to protect himself.
With the Tsuchikage acting this way, White Fang could easily avoid the incoming Dust Release.
Then what was the point of gathering such an enormous amount of Chakra for so long?
Wouldn't it all be wasted?
Then...
Every hair on White Fang's body suddenly stood on end.
"His target..."
"It isn't me at all!"
"It's the battlefield below!"
White Fang's gaze instantly swept across the battlefield beneath him.
There...
He saw several familiar figures.
Inoichi Yamanaka.
Asuma Sarutobi.
Might Guy.
And the dozens of Konoha Shinobi fighting around them.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!"
There was no longer time to think.
White Fang could only roar with every ounce of strength he possessed.
At that same instant, dazzling white lightning erupted violently from his entire body.
"Lightning Release: Fang Flash!"
In almost an instant, White Fang transformed into a streak of white lightning that tore across the battlefield.
He appeared directly in front of Ōnoki.
The white chakra short sword in his remaining hand carried absolute killing intent as it shattered one of the stone walls.
The blade slashed directly toward Ōnoki's hands, which continued maintaining the Dust Release.
"Hahaha! You fell for it after all!"
Ōnoki burst into laughter.
A thick layer of Stone Armor instantly formed around his arm.
He forcefully blocked White Fang's desperate slash.
At the same time...
Ōnoki suddenly spread his hands apart.
The Dust Release that had originally condensed into a narrow cone instantly expanded.
The brilliant white light rapidly transformed.
It changed from a focused cone...
Into an enormous cube.
A precise killing technique had instantly become a devastating area attack.
White Fang's sword arm, stretched forward during his strike...
Was immediately enveloped within the Dust Release's range.
White Fang's pupils contracted violently.
He instantly retreated at maximum speed.
But...
He was half a step too late.
"Sssshhh!"
No deafening explosion followed.
Only complete silence.
Matter simply disappeared.
White Fang's right arm...
Along with the iconic white chakra short sword held within it...
Was forever erased by Ōnoki's Dust Release.
"Hahaha!"
"They say Konoha's White Fang is softhearted!"
"It seems the rumors are true!"
"Especially when I targeted Hiruzen Sarutobi's precious son!"
"You simply couldn't watch him die!"
Ōnoki laughed without restraint.
His face overflowed with the delight of a perfectly executed scheme.
Everything had gone exactly according to plan.
His earlier feint against the Konoha forces below had never truly been intended to kill them immediately.
Instead...
He had used Konoha's elite Shinobi.
Including Hiruzen Sarutobi's son.
As bait.
As long as White Fang rushed in to interrupt Dust Release...
Ōnoki could instantly expand its shape.
Although transforming the technique from a cone into a cube reduced its firing speed and precision...
Its destructive power remained unchanged.
And its attack range increased tremendously.
Trading one arm of Konoha's White Fang for that opportunity...
Was the ideal outcome.
Of course...
Ōnoki hadn't escaped unharmed.
White Fang's slash had cut deeply into his left arm.
Blood flowed continuously down his sleeve.
Even with both the stone wall and Stone Armor protecting him...
Receiving White Fang's full powered strike head on still left him injured.
The chakra pathways throughout his left arm had also been damaged.
Although the arm remained attached...
It had completely lost sensation for the time being.
Yet...
Faced with Ōnoki's mocking laughter...
White Fang ignored him completely.
His face had turned deathly pale.
Cold sweat covered his forehead.
Blood poured endlessly from his severed shoulder.
But none of that mattered.
His eyes remained fixed upon the path of the Dust Release.
After expanding from a cone into a cube...
The technique had sacrificed accuracy.
Yet its coverage became terrifyingly vast.
It still completely engulfed Asuma...
Inoichi Yamanaka...
And everyone around them.
That location formed one of the central positions of Konoha's battlefield.
More than thirty Konoha Shinobi were gathered there.
Every one of them had heard White Fang's desperate warning.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
They instinctively looked upward.
Trying to determine whether the warning was directed at them.
But the moment they saw the gigantic white cube descending from the sky...
The Dust Release had already been unleashed.
Everything that had just happened seemed lengthy.
In reality...
From White Fang's warning until Dust Release fired...
Barely two seconds had passed.
Simply realizing the warning and understanding the situation...
Consumed nearly half a second.
Leaving only one and a half seconds to react.
Among the more than thirty Konoha Shinobi trapped within the Dust Release's range...
Only those positioned along the outer edge...
Including Might Guy and Ebisu...
Possessed enough space to escape through pure reflex and positioning.
As for those near the center...
Even most Chunin stood no chance.
Unless they possessed the speed of a Jonin...
Escaping the Dust Release within barely more than a second was impossible.
Those unable to escape included...
Inoichi Yamanaka.
Asuma Sarutobi.
Shikuro Nara.
And...
Kurenai Yuhi.
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