The forest burned. The mountains quaked with explosions.
Tobi's body pulsed with raw power as he unleashed his second form:
"Stage Two: Beast Slayer!"
The sky cracked with thunder as he clashed against the shadow puppet—now twisted into a new monstrous form. Their blows tore apart the sky, each strike birthing explosions that leveled forests and shattered ridgelines.
Tobi gritted his teeth as he combated against his opponent, his mind racing between attacks as he continued to fly and dodge.
"Damn it… when did this thing get so strong?! I killed it before—so how is it back, and stronger than before too? It's giving me hell… but I'll figure something out."
The puppet's claws stretched forward, condensing into a blazing beam. It cut through the air like a scythe of annihilation, ripping apart everything it passed.
Tobi braced. His sword gleamed as he deflected the beam. It detonated in the distance, obliterating mountains. Tobi was flying downwards to catch his breath.
But there was no time to breathe.
A storm of beams rained down from above, splitting the sky. Tobi was shocked, he shot upward, weaving between them at breakneck speed. Each impact erupted into a thunderous explosion, blanketing the battlefield in fire.
"Such explosive power…" he smirked through his exhaustion. "Well, since we're making fireworks… let me join in!"
He carved a blazing circle into the air with his sword.
"Hallow Death Explosion!!"
A flaming skull the size of a mountain roared into existence, unleashing a torrent of annihilation straight at the puppet. The blast swallowed half the forest and ripped mountains from their roots.
But as the smoke curled… the puppet walked out. Unscathed.
Tobi's eyes widened. "What the hell?!…"
The puppet lunged, claws extended. Tobi poured every ounce of strength into his blade, forcing the monster back with a strike as they started to clash at insane levels of power and speeds. Their clash sent shockwaves so violent they sank entire peaks into the earth. They're sword clash was devastating, their skills had surpassed regular sword clashes and transcended into a new level of skill.
They soared higher, faster—sword slashes against spears of energy, beams against waves of destruction. The air became a canvas of fire and lightning.
Tobi seized an opening, descending like a purple and red beam of energy with his sword. He hammered the monster with a flurry of explosive strikes, each blow carving screams from its throat.
And then—his final attack.
"Final Flash: Infinite Destroyer!!"
Lightning surged through his blade. Bolts rained down like divine retribution, shredding the puppet apart. Its body disintegrated, crumbling into ash as the world around them shook under the force.
Breathing ragged, Tobi hovered above the ruins of the wastelands.
"At the end of the day…" he panted, smirking weakly. "I win. That's right—I win."
Then pain.
A claw tore through his chest. Blood burst from his mouth.
"What the—?"
The puppet's remains twisted, regenerating into its monstrous form. It rose from the shadows behind him, one arm morphing into a colossal hammer. With brutal force, it slammed Tobi from the sky, crashing him into the earth below.
Kazui and Luck finally arrived, only to witness their comrade crushed into the ground.
"TOBI!!" Kazui shouted, horror in his voice.
Tobi staggered, forcing himself upright—but the puppet unleashed relentless barrage of beams like rain. Explosions tore into him one after another, his body bursting apart and tearing up until he was swallowed in fire after being hit by thousands of beams per-second. Smoke and an explosions erupted the place non stop.
Kazui froze, his body paralyzed. Luck's eyes welled with tears as she screamed,
"Kazui!! What do we do?! We have to help him—Tobi's going to die!"
Her voice cracked, raw with desperation.
"WELL? DONT JUST STAND THERE! SAY SOMETHING! OUR FRIEND —TOBI'S GOING TO DIE!!"
Kazui's chest heaved, panic coursing through him. His mind screamed at his body.
"Move! Do something! Do something! MOVE DAMN IT!!"
But his legs refused.
After the relentless beams had stopped and the smoke had cleared, the shadow puppet charged one final, devastating blast. Tobi's broken form trembled on the ground, burns and blood marking his body. He rolled over to stare at the oncoming death, fear and longing warring in his heart.
"Is this it? Am I going to die here…?"
"No… I don't want to die. Not yet. I still haven't seen Kirihai. I need to see my sister again. I want to grow older. I want to laugh with everyone… I don't want it to end here!!"
A memory surfaced.
Six years earlier.
A younger Tobi, only eight, sat with his fourteen-year-old sister, Kirihai, in their bedroom. It was in the middle of the night, about 10:00PM.
"Hey, Tobi," she asked softly, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"
He blinked. "What I want to be? Hm… never thought about it. I don't know."
Kirihai smiled mysteriously. "Then let me show you something."
She led him to the old family tower, where ancient scrolls and tomes lay hidden in the dust. Her hands trembled with excitement as she unrolled two forbidden manuscripts.
"These scrolls… they hold techniques unlike anything we've ever seen. Sword arts. Techniques. Power beyond imagination. Isn't it cool?."
Tobi's eyes lit up with wonder as he found one section titled The Three Forbidden Techniques: Sword Demon. Beast Slayer. God Eater.
He gasped in awe. "Wow, cool! So much power… and they're forbidden?"
Kirihai's grin widened. "Because the power is too much, that's why they are in the forbidden section. But Tobi—this is my dream. I want to master swords to its fullest extent. I'll become the strongest sword woman in the world."
Tobi's lips curled into a smile. "If that's your dream, Sis… then I'll get stronger too. Strong enough to stay by your side. Forever."
END OF CHAPTER.