The voice in the four-times-speed time acceleration felt like it was being played on fast forward, making it extremely difficult to hear clearly. However, Pakura could still barely make out the last word, her name.
Coldly, Pakura remarked, "So you know my name, Konoha ninja!"
She hadn't caught most of Kaede's previous words, nor was he wearing the Konoha headband. However, now it was easy to deduce that Kaede must be a Konoha ninja. No ninja from other villages would act the way he did, after encountering them, they would have quickly fled, not deliberately luring them into a battle.
Buzz!!
Five crimson fireballs appeared, emitting a fiery glow. These were not ordinary flames but were created from the combination of wind and fire chakra, forming orbs of terrifying heat.
The fireballs didn't shoot out but instead circled around Pakura's body, protecting her from both sides and behind.
"Interesting." Kaede squinted, but instead of engaging Pakura, he disappeared with a flash, charging toward another nearby Jōnin.
That Jōnin's face changed drastically. Without hesitation, he used the Body Flicker Technique to evade Kaede's attack, but after forcing out the Body Flicker, Kaede immediately targeted another ninja.
"Damn it!" Pakura gritted her teeth. Seeing her comrades in danger, she immediately rushed to support them, but her speed was no match for Kaede's.
The power of Blaze Release was strong, but because of Kaede's overwhelming speed, it was hard for her to use it effectively without risking harming her comrades.
In the brief exchange, whoosh!
Kaede's figure flashed with silver light. His Kusanagi sword, crackling with lightning, pierced through one of the Jōnin's hearts, and blood gushed from his mouth.
Pakura had brought six people to pursue Kaede, and aside from her, the remaining five were all sand Jōnin. In the brief time since the battle started, two of them had already fallen.
"Third Raikage's family?" The remaining three Jōnin looked at Kaede in horror. one of them trembled, voice shaking as they spoke.
Bathed in silver light and using lightning-based techniques, these signs matched those of the Third Raikage's clan from the Hidden Cloud Village. But the young boy in front of them looked nothing like the figures described in intelligence reports, such as the Third Raikage or his son.
"No, he's a Konoha ninja!" one of them corrected.
"Use the barrier!"
Pakura shouted to her remaining subordinates. Against a speed-based ninja like Kaede, the only option was to trap him with a barrier.
The remaining three Jōnin, experienced as they were, had already come to a consensus. Without needing further instruction, they began to form hand seals.
Buzz!!
In an instant, a yellow light curtain expanded from their positions in a triangular formation, combining to form a pyramid-like barrier.
The damp earth was covered by the pale yellow light, drying out and causing large amounts of sand to stir. The sand spiral upwards, covering the surface of the barrier, making it difficult to see what was happening on the inside.
"A barrier…" Kaede drew his Kusanagi sword and looked at the pale yellow barrier enveloping him and Pakura. His figure flashed again, and he struck at the nearest corner, swinging his sword, which crackled with lightning.
Buzz!!
The sword collided with the barrier's surface, and sparks of lightning and fire erupted. However, it was like striking mud, the barrier twisted and deformed but did not break.
"A continuous-maintenance type of barrier... it's somewhat similar to the Four Violet Flames Formation," Kaede murmured to himself.
The barrier created by the three Jōnin was smaller than the Four Violet Flames Formation but seemed more resilient. A single strike wasn't enough to destroy it.
The advantages and disadvantages of this barrier were clear. The advantage was that it could quickly form and cover a large area, making it difficult for even a fast ninja to escape before it enveloped them.
The disadvantage, however, was more obvious.
The inside couldn't attack the outside, and the outside couldn't attack the inside.
Furthermore, three Jōnin were required to maintain the barrier. Even if it trapped one or two enemies, it wouldn't be enough. If the inside continually attacked, the barrier would soon exceed its limits and collapse.
Such a barrier wasn't meant to trap enemies; it was to block their movement and create a more favorable battlefield for the user.
Pakura was well aware of this.
Instead of going for reinforcements, she moved toward the edge of the barrier. The three remaining Sand Jōnin understood and opened a gap for her to enter.
Pakura placed a fireball in front of her and exploded it with intense heat, ensuring that Kaede couldn't use the gap to escape. Then, she herself entered the barrier.
Whoosh!
The three Jōnin immediately sealed the gap.
"Now, your speed won't be of any use," Pakura said coldly, her right hand holding a fireball. "You managed to kill two of our Jōnin... now, inside this barrier, you'll taste my Blaze Release!"
As her words fell, Pakura suddenly waved her hand.
Whoosh!!
The blazing fireball hurtled toward Kaede, emitting an intense white light.
Kaede vanished from his spot, a flash of silver light appeared on Pakura's right side, and the Kusanagi sword, crackling with lightning, descended.
Buzz!
Pakura flicked her fingers, and the fireball on her right side rapidly expanded, enveloping Kaede.
Kaede dodged the expanding fireball, and with another flash of silver light, he reappeared on Pakura's right, the Kusanagi sword once again falling toward her.
Pakura remained calm, manipulating the fireball on her left to expand, forcing it toward Kaede.
Crackling!
Lightning and fire intermingled.
The scorching heat, even though it didn't make direct contact with Kaede, still caused his clothes to catch fire slightly, and he could feel the intense heat on his face.
"Inside this barrier, your movements will be restricted. With your power, you won't be able to overcome my Blaze Release... It's over, Konoha ninja!" Pakura, having successfully blocked two of Kaede's attacks, summoned more fireballs around her, resembling tiny suns, radiating terrifying power as they pressed in on Kaede.
Seeing this, the three Jōnin maintaining the barrier let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness Pakura is here."
Without Pakura, even if they could temporarily trap Kaede with the barrier, it wouldn't last long before it collapsed. When that happened, no one would be able to stop Kaede's speed.
"I didn't expect Konoha to have a ninja with such terrifying speed. If Cloud Village had no reason to fight us, I'd almost suspect this guy is from the Hidden Cloud Village."
"Even now, I'm still suspicious... but it doesn't matter. Whether he's from Cloud or Konoha, he'll soon be a corpse."
Trapped within this barrier and facing Pakura's Blaze Release, even the Fourth Kazekage would likely struggle, let alone anyone else.
A ninja, who was already at a disadvantage in close combat, was now hindered from utilizing his speed.
It was certain death.
------------
Note: If you want to read up to 48+ chapters ahead of the current story, you can support me on Patreon, you can read up to Chapter 116 there! Patreon.com/Veltoria