---Ryouma's POV---
Explosions, wind blades, and flowing sand—everything reversed in an instant.
The tall Suna ninja's eyes widen in the monts before his death.
From the corner of my eye, I spotted Inoichi's hands forming the distinctive Yamanaka seal. He may not have known what technique I just used, but with his jonin instincts he should recognize the perfect opening.
The effect was imdiate.
Midori's body jerked unnaturally mid-dodge, his movents suddenly uncoordinated. The reversed wind jutsu tore into him, slicing through his jonin vest and flesh alike.
He stood there drenched in blood.
"Damn it."
"What kind of—" Midori coughed blood as he tried to steady himself, "—technique was that?"
---
When the dust settled, the spot where I had been restrained was now a barren crater.
I stood in place, holding the blade Lostvayne, completely unscathed.
Before , the tall Suna ninja lay motionless not far away, his charred body lifeless. The explosive tags had detonated point-blank against his chest, leaving a concave wound where vital organs had been. Having borne the brunt of an exploding tag's power, his life had truly co to an end.
On the other side, Midori was heavily injured. I could see it in his eyes—things looked grim for him. Very grim.
Though his chakra reserves were still plentiful, his physical injuries were too severe. Blood loss would cause unconsciousness within minutes, death shortly after.
He assud a defensive posture—weight shifted to his right leg, left arm curled protectively around his worst wounds, right hand positioned for one-handed seals.
Monts earlier, Inoichi and I had coordinated our strategy telepathically.
"Mind Body Disturbance!"
He once again deployed his family's signature secret art, his consciousness partially projecting toward Midori again.
"I don't care what trump cards you're hiding. I've had enough. I'll end this with one move," I said, forming a Rasengan with one hand.
"Konoha arrogance," Midori spat blood as he glared at . "Always your downfall."
Escape was no longer an option. All he could hope for now was to take down with him. But I won't let this happen.
I could see him pondering over my earlier display of my Rasengan that took down the first Suna ninja.
The battle between ninjas was also a battle of information.
Judging by his deanor, the subtle tension in his jaw, the calculated angle of his stance, I could tell he was plotting sothing. Closing the distance risked a suicidal counterattack, much like the earlier tall Suna ninja's desperate final stand.
But I was no ordinary ninja. I had both strength and technique to spare.
I continued to channel chakra into the Rasengan, making it increasingly violent. The jutsu sounded ferociously as blade-like extensions ford around its periter, resembling a shuriken.
The air distorted around it, trendous energy compression creating visible ripples in space.
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
The shuriken-shaped jutsu, composed of highly compressed wind chakra, was hurled like a projectile.
"What?! He threw it!"
Inoichi's eyes widened in shock.
Normally, such a technique should be impossible to separate from the user without losing cohesion, but with my exceptionally precise chakra control, I could naturally throw the Rasenshuriken and even make slight adjustnts to its direction after release.
The Rasenshuriken closed in on Midori in an instant.
"The geniuses of Konoha really don't play fair," he muttered. "So this is how the desert wind dies... scattered by the leaves."
The Rasenshuriken struck him and instantly detonated, expanding into a 10-ter radius of destruction. Unlike a conventional explosion that blooms outward, this was more like space itself being shredded from the inside out.
The sound of countless sharp wind blades cutting through the air was ear-piercing, as if the entire world was being torn apart. A violent gale roared, creating countless fine and razor-sharp wind blades that shredded everything in their path.
Dust, trees, and even the very air seed to be warped and torn apart by the ferocity of the wind chakra.
Even without Inoichi's interference, the sheer speed of my Rasenshuriken would have made it impossible for Midori to escape its destructive radius.
Witnessing the devastation caused by the jutsu, I could see cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Ryouma, this technique…?"
"It's a jutsu I created myself. You could call it an advanced version of that seal-less orb from earlier," I replied casually.
"Created yourself?" He studied the aftermath, a crater of fine particles where Midori had stood.
Although Minato hadn't yet invented the Rasengan during this tiline, I felt no sha in claiming credit for the technique's creation, preemptively registering its copyright, so to speak.
My version had been refined through my own understanding and practice. The theoretical frawork might be borrowed, but the execution was entirely my own. I could rightfully call this mine because, unlike Naruto's version which left the body intact, my technique destroyed everything after detonation.
"I see," Inoichi remarked, albeit with a bit of unease.
His eyes studied .
"Truly impressive..." he said after composing himself.
Even I felt slightly embarrassed by his praise. I shifted my weight, the back of my neck warming. His complint made a bit uncomfortable.
When I t Minato soday, I would show him how to form this jutsu and its variations properly.
It should be his legacy after all.
That was right.
I hadn't just recreated the Rasenshuriken but had also developed a variety of derivative jutsu based on the Rasengan. Without these innovations, relying solely on basic five elent techniques, I wouldn't have solidified my identity as a ninjutsu specialist.
"Your chakra reserves?" Inoichi asked, returning to his professional deanor. "That technique must have consud a significant amount."
"I can still operate at full combat capacity for another hour, reduced effectiveness for two after that," I answered honestly.
"Good," he nodded. "We should assist the others then. Their chakra signatures show sustained combat."
"Agreed. Heiji's movents have slowed in the last few minutes. Likely approaching his limit."
We quickly rushed through the trees toward the final battle. As we moved, I used the Rikugan to observe their situation.
---
Splintered wooden parts littered the ground.
Heiji circled cautiously at the edge of the combat zone, a kunai in each hand and his Byakugan activated. Fifteen feet away, Shiori crouched behind a fallen tree, her hands flashing through fire jutsu seals.
The puppeteer stood at the far end of the clearing.
"Now, Shiori!" Heiji called, launching three shuriken in rapid succession toward the puppeteer.
Shiori sprang up from her cover, inhaled deeply, and released a fireball that rged with Heiji's shuriken, creating flaming projectiles that streaked toward their target.
The puppeteer didn't even blink. With a twitch of his left hand, a wooden shield puppet intercepted the attack, its surface imdiately catching fire.
"Insufficient," the puppeteer said, his voice unnervingly calm.
He flicked open a scroll with his free hand. A puff of smoke erupted, and from it erged a new puppet more elaborate than the one now burning on the ground.
"You children thought I'd only bring one puppet to war?" The puppeteer's face split into a cold smile. "Then you are just children playing at being ninja!"
The puppet skittered forward with unnatural speed. Heiji leaped backward, narrowly avoiding a spray of senbon that glead with purple liquid where they embedded in a tree.
"Don't let it touch you!" he warned, flinging an explosive tag attached to a kunai. "Everything's poisoned!"
The explosion rocked the puppet but didn't stop it. Shiori tried to catch the puppeteer's eye for a genjutsu, but he fought with his gaze fixed on Heiji's feet, using chakra sensing to track movents.
Shiori's hands ford seals again, but I could see her movents were sluggish from chakra depletion. A small fireball, not even half the size of her earlier attacks, shot toward the enemy. But he simply sidestepped it.
By the ti Inoichi and I arrived to provide backup, the two were still locked in combat.
I couldn't help but ntally complain, We each took care of one already. Are these two running so kind of staged match here? Maybe they're deliberately prolonging the fight to avoid the real work of body disposal and mission reporting... Oh, damn!
But I knew, it wasn't their fault.
Neither of them matched the level of a jonin in terms of strength. Moreover, Heiji's taijutsu was entirely countered by the poison-coated puppets.
Without any dical ninjutsu skills, getting poisoned would spell disaster for him, so he was likely extrely cautious with every move he made.
And our mission was simply to hold off the opponent.
anwhile, Shiori's genjutsu was effectively useless. The experienced puppeteer avoided eye contact entirely. After a few fire jutsu, her chakra reserves were nearly depleted.
Her hands trembled slightly as she ford seals for another fireball—smaller than the last, barely the size of a lon.
In summary: they tried their best.
Reviews
All reviews (0)