Far off, atop the central tower, Torifu and Homura were speculating about Orochimaru and the others' intentions. Homura watched their movements and shook his head.
"A simple trap like that will, at most, only trip that brown bear. To actually take it down is pure fantasy. Get ready to clean up after those genin. It's truly difficult for them to deal with a gigantic ninja beast like that.
Even most Anbu-level shinobi would struggle. It's already quite impressive that they managed to get the scroll using their wits."
But Torifu raised a hand, interrupting him."Not so fast. Let's wait and see. I have great faith in my student."
Homura rolled his eyes at that. "If I didn't know your summoning animal was already prepared nearby, I might have actually believed you."
Torifu chuckled at the remark, no longer bothering with Homura, and focused on waiting for Hoshiyomi to appear.
Under everyone's expectant gazes, Hoshiyomi's figure slowly came into view. Seeing him, smiles appeared on everyone's faces. Orochimaru loudly warned, "Jump from the branches! There are steel wires on the ground!"
Hoshiyomi understood, swiftly leaping onto a large tree. With a few agile jumps, he cleared the steel wires and landed steadily. He turned back and made a taunting face at the giant brown bear.
Infuriated by the gesture, the brown bear roared and charged forward. Just as it burst through two large trees, it suddenly felt its feet get tangled, lost its balance, and tumbled down.
The moment the bear fell, Hoshiyomi, who had been making faces not far in front of it, vanished. Simultaneously, three voices rang out from the forest:
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"
It was a coordinated attack from Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. First, the Earth Flow Spears shot up from the ground, piercing into the brown bear's belly. Although they weren't sturdy enough to fully penetrate, they still caused significant damage.
What was surprising was that Tsunade's Flame Bullet and Jiraiya's Great Breakthrough, whether by chance or true teamwork, were unleashed at the same time and merged.
With wind fueling the flames, the two jutsu combined, and what was initially only a half-meter-sized fireball rapidly expanded into a two-to-three-meter massive fireball during its flight. Its power was comparable to a B-rank jutsu like the Fire Release: Flame Bullet.
The colossal fireball hurtled straight for the bear's massive head, causing the giant creature to howl in agony as a stench of burning flesh wafted from its face. The brown bear was in immense pain, pawing at its face and thrashing its massive body on the ground, the tremors resembling a minor earthquake.
At this moment, Shinku quietly circled around to a large tree behind the giant brown bear. Shinku pulled out a ninja tool scroll and drew a massive Fuma Shuriken from it. He hurled the Fuma Shuriken with all his might, nearly falling off the tree from the exertion.
The Fuma Shuriken spun through the air and landed on the bear's thick hind leg. The downward momentum, combined with Shinku's full-force throw, managed to pierce the bear's thick hide and embed itself in its hind leg.
The brown bear, which had been rolling around on the ground trying to get up, was struck by the shuriken and thrown back down.
Just as it began to roar madly, Hoshiyomi, who had previously disappeared, silently reappeared on a large tree. He held his Mikazuki Munechika with a reverse grip in both hands, gritted his teeth, and leapt down from the tree.
The moment he descended, First Crescent Moon Slash activated, his landing point precisely the left side of the bear's neck.
This idea was inspired by a skill called "Silverlight Falling Blade" from the Ghostblades in a game he played in his previous life.
Since the successful development of Silver Moon Cross Slash and the system experience points he received as a reward, Hoshiyomi had come up with many prototype skills by referencing anime and games from his past life.
Silverlight Falling Blade was one of them. However, coming up with the prototype was easy; actually developing it was fraught with problems.
Take Silverlight Falling Blade, for example. This was a skill that required jumping from a high altitude. If he jumped too close, it would be ineffective, and he'd be vulnerable to attacks during the defenseless period in mid-air.
If he jumped too far, what if he got crippled by the impact upon landing? He didn't want to end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life like Might Guy. Even if he wasn't injured, being momentarily stunned could allow another opponent to seize an opportunity and finish him off.
This was why he only attempted it today, with such a massive brown bear to serve as a cushion and such a guaranteed hit. If the circumstances were different, he would never dare to try something like this.
However, Hoshiyomi knew these intricacies, but that didn't mean others did. At this moment, in the eyes of Jiraiya and the others, Hoshiyomi was as unstoppable as a god descending from the heavens.
Even Torifu and Homura, who were observing from afar, were stunned. They had been active in the shinobi world for over a decade and had never seen a sword technique that descended from the sky like this.
The speed of his descent, combined with the acceleration from Crescent Moon Slash, made Hoshiyomi truly appear like a falling ray of moonlight as he landed on the brown bear's left shoulder. His Mikazuki Munechika, empowered by the downward momentum and the silver sword aura, pierced into the brown bear's neck without any resistance.
The critical blow to its vital point made the brown bear let out a horrifying shriek. It disregarded retreating or its facial injuries and swung a paw with all its might towards Hoshiyomi's location. But Hoshiyomi was already prepared. He didn't think this one strike would take down the giant brown bear.
The moment he landed on the bear's shoulder, he flipped his grip on the Mikazuki Munechika from reverse to forehand and immediately jumped off the bear's shoulder without hesitation.
He applied all his strength to the Mikazuki Munechika in his hand. The blade, which had already pierced into the bear's body with only the hilt remaining exposed, shifted position under the influence of his body weight. As Hoshiyomi descended, the blade inside the bear traced a semicircle, effectively slitting the bear's throat.
Hoshiyomi slid from the bear's left neck down to its throat, finally sliding off with the Mikazuki Munechika in hand. A large amount of blood gushed from the bear's severed neck, drenching Hoshiyomi and turning him into a blood-soaked figure.
Hoshiyomi didn't care about that. He unceremoniously rolled twice on the ground with the Mikazuki Munechika in hand, narrowly dodging the falling bear's head. Hoshiyomi hadn't even rolled twice when the massive bear's head landed just a few centimeters behind him.
The brown bear hated Hoshiyomi with a passion. It knew it wouldn't survive, but that didn't diminish its resolve to take Hoshiyomi down with it. Ignoring the tearing pain from its neck wound, it opened its massive mouth wide, intending to swallow Hoshiyomi whole.
Hoshiyomi's face turned ashen as he watched the enlarging bear's maw. No way, it's had half its head cut off, and it still has the strength to attack me? It was over. Hoshiyomi closed his eyes in despair as the bear's mouth drew closer.
Just as he thought he was doomed, the bear's massive mouth, which had begun to close, suddenly opened again. It involuntarily reared its head back and let out another heart-wrenching shriek. At that moment, two thin lines wrapped around Hoshiyomi's waist and pulled him away, saving him from being crushed by the bear's head.