In a forest clearing in the Land of Birds, Tengen blocked an Iwa-nin aiming to pursue Anko and Jurin. Here, he'd make his stand to kill all three.
He wouldn't let them escape, not for Anko's sake, nor his own.
"Didn't expect you to be a chunin. Impressive." A Iwa-nin grinning savagely. "If you'd ditched your teammates and fled, you might've survived. But staying to face us alone? I admire your courage, though it's more foolish than brave."
"Is that so? I'm not just staying for my comrades." Tengen drawing his kunai.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Another Iwa-nin asked, puzzled.
"To kill all three of you." Tengen vanishes from sight.
"Damn!" The three Iwa-nins drew their kunai, bracing for impact.
Clang!
One ninja's kunai clashed with Tengen's, but his face paled as he realized he was outmatched in taijutsu.
Impossible.
"Nothing's impossible." Tengen said, his kunai knocking the ninja's weapon away. In the Iwa-nin's shocked gaze, Tengen's blade slashed across his throat.
But Tengen didn't celebrate. The struck ninja dissolved into a puddle of mud.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Substitute."
"Impressive kid. Your taijutsu's top-notch for a chunin." The ninja said from a distance, heart pounding from the near miss.
"But ninjas aren't just about taijutsu." He began forming hand signs.
The other two Iwa-nins flanked Tengen, all three weaving signs in unison, trapping him. Attacking one would expose him to the others' assaults.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
A massive earthen dragon formed before them, its gaping maw spewing countless mud projectiles at Tengen.
The barrage of mud bullets, like arrows, enveloped him.
"Ninjutsu, huh?" Tengen's eyes flashed coldly. He charged straight at the ninja he'd just faced.
"Think raw strength can counter ninjutsu?" The ninja sneered. "Die!"
"Why not?" Tengen's speed surged, propelling him into the Earth Dragon Bullet's range.
Armament Haki!
A powerful aura cloaked Tengen's body. Elevated to elite chunin, his taijutsu had grown, strengthening his Armament Haki.
Boom!
The mud bullets engulfed Tengen, kicking up a cloud of ochre dust. The Iwa-nins smirked.
Under such a ninjutsu barrage, the Konoha brat was surely dead.
"Wrong move!" A figure burst from the dust, zeroing in on the same ninja. Tengen's speed brought him face-to-face in an instant.
"Dodging won't help." The ninja scoffed. If he blocked this attack, his allies could reinforce him, pulling him from danger.
From their earlier clash, he'd realized a harsh truth: one-on-one, he couldn't beat this kid. Jealousy gnawed at him.
"But crushing a genius is always satisfying." He growled, swinging his kunai at Tengen.
Unnoticed, Tengen's arm darkened.
Armament Haki: Hardening!
Coating!
A surge of potent energy wreathed Tengen's kunai, its edge gleaming with lethal force.
The air shrieked as his kunai struck.
Clang!
Tengen's blade sent the ninja's kunai flying, then sliced through his skull.
Under the full force of Armament Haki and taijutsu, the veteran Iwa-nin fell, his head soaring as blood sprayed from the severed neck.
His body twitched, then collapsed heavily.
Dead for real this time.
"How?" The remaining two Iwa-nins froze, stunned. Killing a Konoha-nin should've been effortless, yet Tengen had brutally slain their comrade.
Decapitated, no less.
"You're dead." They snarled, faces twisted with rage. Losing a man under such favorable odds was unforgivable.
"Earth Release: Rock Collapse!" One ninja formed signs, slamming his hands to the ground.
The earth around Tengen shattered, leaving no room to dodge except upward.
"Got you." The other ninja sneered, his ninjutsu ready.
"Earth Release: Stone Needles!"
Countless earthen needles formed, dense and sharp, glinting menacingly, like a ninjutsu-crafted senbon storm.
Tengen was cornered.
Shoo!
The needles shot toward him mid-air.
Tengen's pupils narrowed, hands flashing through signs with blistering speed, then pressed to his mouth, a familiar technique.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball erupted, engulfing the needles, reducing them to ash in the searing heat.
"Such speed!" One ninja's face tightened. Tengen's casting was lightning-fast. He'd expected the Stone Needles to kill him, but Tengen's swift signs saved him.
"Pointless!" The other ninja struck.
"Earth Release: Mud Spear!"
As Tengen landed, a massive spear of earth surged from the ground, hurtling toward him like a giant crossbow bolt.
***
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