Haruto Saito had actually had a chance to kill the ninja hound earlier, because when the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist attacked, Kuro had also charged at him.
However, Haruto didn't act rashly. At the time, all the enemies were rushing toward him, and while the ninja hound wasn't the fastest, if Haruto had attacked directly, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist would have definitely interfered. In fact, before Haruto could even launch a decisive strike against the hound, Momochi Akahara and the others might have had the chance to kill him first!
The more critical point was that Haruto only had one chance!
Once he attacked the ninja hound, he would inevitably expose his true strength—or rather, his unique abilities. This would also make the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist aware of his intentions. If he failed, the hound would surely retreat and avoid further combat, denying Haruto any opportunity to kill it!
If the enemy didn't give him a chance, Haruto would truly have no chance at all!
Haruto's only advantage now was that the enemy didn't know his true strength. They only wanted to kill him and had never considered the possibility of him counterattacking, so they were unprepared.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
The ground shook repeatedly, and large sections of the forest were destroyed. The thick mist churned violently.
Haruto had used tactics to create an opportunity for himself.
Now, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had split up, unleashing their powerful techniques in different directions. Their dispersion was Haruto's chance.
Haruto's two shadow clones had already been crushed and destroyed underground due to the constant tremors and pressure.
Only his real body remained underground, moving at an extreme speed despite his injuries.
And the ninja hound Kuro still hadn't noticed this!
Because its tracking and sensing of Haruto had been disrupted! Any sensory ability could be interfered with. The area was filled with violent chakra fluctuations, the ground was constantly shaking, the space was repeatedly vibrating, and the air and mist were in chaos, with dust and water waves flying everywhere…
All of this affected Kuro.
Haruto wasn't far from Kuro underground.
Only about a hundred meters away!
A few seconds later.
Kuro still hadn't regained its sense of Haruto, but it suddenly felt a strong sense of danger—coming from beneath its feet. Beneath it was surging water, created by one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist using a water release technique.
Under the water, Haruto burst out from the ground, rushing upward through the water.
He had a **Primary Healing Card** clenched between his teeth, not biting down on it yet!
This was his lifeline. In a critical moment, biting it could save his life!
"What?!" Kuro looked down and vaguely saw a figure rushing toward it like a water ghost.
"It's him!" Kuro immediately recognized Haruto. Instead of being alarmed, it was delighted. With a low growl, it plunged into the water, charging straight at Haruto.
Haruto was stunned!
He almost laughed out loud!
Was this dog really that confident?!
Haruto had originally planned a complex tactic to kill Kuro within a few breaths, using a near-suicidal approach. He would have needed to employ water release secret techniques, barrier removal techniques, blood clones, and self-destruction forbidden techniques to succeed.
But he never expected that before he could even surface, the dog would dive in after him.
It was asking for death!
As Kuro entered the water, its body began to change. Its paws grew larger, its snout elongated, and its teeth protruded, becoming sharper…
By the time Haruto closed in on it underwater, Kuro had transformed into a monster purely designed for combat. Its paws were terrifyingly large, covered in black keratin, and its claws gleamed with a cold light.
This creature clearly had formidable close-combat abilities.
But Haruto wasn't afraid!
In the water, close-combat skills were more effective than long-range attacks, so Haruto used a samurai technique first! **Dual Swords Style: Eight-Foot Wave Breaker!**
Haruto swung both swords in a cross-cutting motion, sending two blade waves hurtling toward Kuro! Haruto had mastered many samurai techniques, and this one was particularly suited for underwater combat.
Water had strong resistance!
But the blade waves Haruto unleashed weren't affected by the water's resistance, striking at incredible speed!
"Roar!" Kuro didn't dodge or evade. With a fierce roar, it swung its massive paw directly at the blade waves.
The blade waves were shattered!
The impact created a powerful surge of water that rushed toward Haruto.
Haruto didn't dodge either!
His small size made him more agile in the water. With a twist of his waist, he avoided the surge, but Kuro was even more agile than he had anticipated. In a flash, it appeared at Haruto's side, its paw slashing toward Haruto's face.
Haruto countered with a slash of his sword!
Kuro changed its attack, its strength terrifying. With a single swipe of its paw, it deflected Haruto's sword.
It then followed up with another swipe, tearing through Haruto's clothes and leaving deep gashes on his side. Blood stained the water red.
In terms of close-combat skills—attack speed and reaction time—Kuro was at the level of an elite jonin! Although it wasn't human, couldn't use weapons, had no equipment, and couldn't perform hand seals to use ninjutsu, its speed alone made it formidable. Speed was the ultimate truth in combat—if it was fast enough, it was strong!
It had injured Haruto in just one exchange…
However, Haruto hadn't yet revealed his true strength.
He needed to end this quickly—that was the plan!
Kuro, having successfully injured Haruto, now had a rough estimate of Haruto's close-combat abilities and became even more aggressive. The two of them moved rapidly underwater, with Kuro circling Haruto and slashing repeatedly with its claws…
Kuro likely knew ninjutsu.
Haruto did too.
But neither used it, as this was close combat. Underwater, neither of them could easily use ninjutsu.
Everything happened in an extremely short amount of time.
The two figures twisted and tangled underwater. Kuro injured Haruto three times in a row and finally seized the opportunity for a killing blow. It lunged forward, opening its massive jaws and clamping down on Haruto's throat.
With Kuro's bite force, it could easily crush rocks.
If it bit a human throat, under normal circumstances, it could bite off a head or sever a neck in one go!
But it was biting Haruto…
It couldn't bite through!
Because Haruto's bones were harder than metal, Kuro only managed to pierce Haruto's throat, damaging his windpipe… It reacted quickly, realizing it couldn't bite through, and tried to tear a chunk of flesh from Haruto's throat.
But it was too late!
At the moment it bit down on Haruto's throat, trying to rip off a piece of flesh, Haruto—who could no longer breathe—launched his killing move!
**Shikotsumyaku: Dragon Bone Dance!**
There was no grand spectacle!
No flashy transformation!
In that instant, sharp, flat bone spikes shot out from Haruto's cervical spine, both forward and backward. The spikes were shaped like double-edged swords, with serrated edges.
The bone spike that shot backward naturally didn't hit anyone.
But the one that shot forward… Since Kuro was biting Haruto's throat, the spike pierced directly through Kuro's defenseless mouth, instantly penetrating its brain. Half of the bone blade emerged from the back of Kuro's head.
Kuro's consciousness vanished, and its life force was extinguished.
A golden light erupted from its corpse.