Future-Ryu said, "Alright… Let's take it to the next level."
Future-Rina's smile widened, a dangerous glint in her eyes, as her chakra flared with renewed intensity.
The second round of the fight between Future-Ryu and Future-Rina began. Real Ryu, watching from the sidelines, nodded, a faint smile on his lips. "This is getting fun now."
In the Mind Palace, Future-Ryu's form blurred, the air itself seeming to distort around him. He accelerated with sudden, explosive speed, a burst of raw physical prowess that left a faint afterimage.
Ryu didn't just move behind Future-Rina; he disappeared from Rina's front with a soft buzz of displaced air and reappeared directly at her back, his intent clear: to exploit her blind spot, a shadow suddenly cast where light had been. Real Rina's breath hitched, realising just how fast Ryu could move and seeing her duplicate move even faster.
Future-Rina, however, was ready for him and could see him clearly. Before Future-Ryu's kick could connect, she executed an impossible acrobatic twist, her artificial leg blades cutting a sharp arc through the air as she launched herself upward.
The sweeping kick by Future Ryu meant for her legs passed harmlessly beneath her. She landed lightly, a faint thump echoing in the Mind Palace, her posture radiating dangerous confidence.
"I know this is not the best you can do," Future-Rina taunted with a razor-sharp, thrilling challenge in her voice.
Future-Ryu chuckled, his grin widening, and his eyes gleamed with genuine excitement behind his glasses. "Right back at you, Bunny. I know you can jump higher… Let us see if you can keep up."
"Let's step up!" Future-Rina declared, her voice sharp with anticipation, as the air around her began to hum. She channelled her wind affinity, and a faint, swirling aura of wind chakra encircled her leg blades. The edges sharpened, almost visible in their deadly sharpness; when she pushed her feet like a raging bull, a scratch appeared on the ground. She then moved with blinding speed, attempting to cut Ryu in half.
Future-Ryu responded and instantly jumped back, and the blade whizzed past him, missing by mere inches.
Future-Ryu gained some distance with a few backflips, and then his unarmed and empty hands moved like a magician, and from his sleeves, several thin, black carbon cards materialised too fast to see, like a magic trick. He then slid the card, and many more cards appeared; then he flicked his wrist, sending them flying towards Future-Rina like razor-sharp projectiles.
Future-Rina dodged and weaved through the air, her movements fluid and precise as she avoided the deadly cards. With a swift motion, she unsheathed another blade from her side, ready to counter Future-Ryu's next move.
Future-Rina was now moving even faster than before. She neutralised the incoming cards with her wind-sharpened leg blades, each slice a clean, effortless cut that sent fragments of carbon dust scattering. Without breaking stride, she rapidly closed the distance, launching a powerful, arcing kick aimed at Future-Ryu's head.
Future-Ryu, relying purely on his honed reflexes and raw strength, brought his forearm up in a reflex guard. The impact of her kick was a sharp crack, meeting an unyielding, almost automatic defence.
The force of the blow rippled through the Mind Palace, but Future-Ryu held firm. She continued her barrage, a blur of motion. A high kick aimed for his head was met by a solid forearm block, a low sweep by a quick pivot, and a downward deflection. Each strike was met and deflected by the persistent reflex guard, creating a series of sharp, metallic clangs as her blades grated against his reinforced skin. Utilising her gymnastic skills, she disengaged with a fluid, spinning motion, stepping back and preparing to launch another assault, this time with her wrist blades, which were now also enhanced by shimmering wind blades, making them glow with a dangerous, faint light.
She was quick to reach him this time, slashing Future-Ryu's torso and head. To everyone's surprise, Future-Ryu blocked her slashes without using [ReflexGuard] this time, instead using his bare hands.
The wind-coated blades, designed to cut through steel and bone, met an unyielding, dark surface. A sickening clang echoed, followed by a shower of brilliant sparks, as the blades buckled slightly against his skin.
Tsunade, Dan, Yuki, and Real Rina were stunned into a collective, breathless silence. Blocking wind-coated blades with bare hands was an impossible feat. When it comes to cutting power, it was even superior to lightning.
Future-Rina pulled back, her eyes fixed on Future-Ryu's hands, now a deep, obsidian black, absorbing or reflecting the light around them.
Future-Ryu smirked, flexing his fingers, covered in the black skin.
"Cool, huh? This is as hard as iron, as light as wood, and even harder when I reinforce it with my chakra." He then added, his voice resonating with power, "I can cover my whole body."
As he spoke, a wave of dark, shimmering energy flowed like liquid shadow over him, engulfing him. In an instant, his entire body was now covered in all-black, his exposed skin merging into a seamless, hardened shell, like a living gemstone. His black skin seemed to shine light at some angles when he turned his face, his very silhouette sharpening, becoming less human, more a sleek, predatory shadow.
The transformation was complete, and he stood before them as a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Real Rina's eyes widened, a gasp escaping her lips. "He... he covered his whole body!"
This time, Future-Ryu moved first; his black-clad body moved very swiftly like a solid shadow. He closed the distance in an instant, a burst of speed that made him almost invisible. He navigated through Future-Rina's retaliatory kicks with fluid, minimal movements, a master of evasive taijutsu, his body flowing like water around her strikes.
Tsunade turned to Real Ryu, her brow furrowed in curiosity. "Ryu, what is that black thing? That black skin... is it a new jutsu?"
Real Ryu smiled, a hint of pride in his voice. "Indeed, Auntie Tsunade. It's a new jutsu I've been working on… a personal project. It will be fully perfected and ready before I'm even out of the academy."
Future-Ryu countered with a powerful, spinning kick of his own, aiming for her chest, a blow designed to shatter ribs. Simultaneously, Future-Rina, reacting with lightning speed, landed a fierce kick to Future-Ryu's chest. Both impacts resonated with a dull, heavy thud that shook the very air of the Mind Palace.
Future-Ryu rolled back, landed on the back of his head, and jumped right on his feet using his neck as a spring. His suit showed a faint, dark imprint where Future-Rina's blade had struck, but no damage, not even a scratch. Future-Rina, too, stumbled back after kicking Ryu but rolled fully and landed on her blade legs, a surprised grunt escaping her lips as she felt the sheer density of his defence.
Future-Rina's eyes narrowed, a flicker of tactical thought crossing her projected face. Direct power wasn't working. Her next charge was a rapid barrage of precision strikes, her blades aiming for joints and critical pressure points—the knees, elbows, and neck—seeking a gap in the black armour, forcing Future-Ryu into more intricate blocks and evasions.
Future-Ryu brushed a hand over his chest, as if dusting off a speck of dirt. "Cool. You thought my suit was just for show. It's more like armour itself. My suit can absorb impacts and harden itself when it is hit or slashed. It's designed to distribute kinetic force across its entire surface, turning blows into mere ripples, like striking solid rock."
Future-Rina, "I want one too."
Ryu chuckled softly, a knowing glint in his eye. "It's already a work in progress, but some of the abilities you're seeing are linked to my unique jutsu and chakra reinforcement. For you, it will be incredibly lightweight, durable armour, far superior to anything else out there, but it won't have all the same properties you're witnessing right now."
Future-Ryu then shifted tactics, creating distance with another explosive burst of speed. His hands crackled with raw, unrefined lightning chakra, forming mid-range lightning bolts that shot towards Future-Rina, crackling with uncontrolled energy, tearing through the air.
Future-Rina, with incredible agility, was able to jump and dodge them, her augmented legs allowing for explosive bursts of movement, leaving faint afterimages in her wake, a testament to her speed. The lightning bolts struck the Mind Palace floor, leaving shimmering scorch marks that quickly faded.
As a particularly potent lightning bolt streaked towards her, Future-Rina didn't just dodge. Her hands blurred, gathering wind chakra, and she thrust them forward. A concentrated "Wind Bullet" erupted from her palms, a spiralling vortex of air that collided head-on with the lightning bolt. The two elemental forces met in a dazzling, explosive flash, neutralising each other in a burst of light and dissipating energy in the Mind Palace.
##PoWeR StOnEs##
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