In the massive crater, sparks flew.
Yagetsu Yū, eyes blazing with ferocity, pinned Hikari's red-clad arm beneath his heel.
Chakra surged wildly within him, transforming into crackling lightning.
Hikari didn't back down. Her chakra core trembled slightly, deep blue chakra morphing into an eerie black-red energy, countering the lightning's assault.
Red and blue clashed fiercely.
In the end, Yagetsu's chakra proved stronger. The lightning overwhelmed the red, creeping toward Hikari's body.
As the blinding bolts neared her skin, Hikari's eyes narrowed.
Ping! Crack! Pop!
Sparks exploded from the lightning armor.
Invisible vacuum blades erupted from Hikari's pores, tearing at Yagetsu's body, slashing his Lightning Release armor with a sound like ping-pong balls ricocheting.
At the same time, a fierce gust whipped through, her silver hair dancing wildly in the air.
A single strand, almost unnoticed, grazed the prominent scar on Yagetsu's chest.
His expression shifted abruptly. He yanked back his right leg, then unleashed a lightning-fast whip kick toward Hikari.
Whoosh!
The kick sliced through the air with ruthless precision.
Facing the terrifying strike, Hikari's muscles tensed instantly, channeling strength to her legs in a unified force.
Her tailed beast cloak enveloped her legs.
She raised her leg.
Konoha Gōriki Senpū! (Leaf Strong Whirlwind!)
Boom!
One large leg and one small collided in midair.
Then came a furious barrage of kicks clashing in the sky!
Boom, boom, boom!
Red and blue cloaks collided violently, lightning and crimson flames eroding each other.
Shockwaves rippled outward.
Both fighters staggered back several steps, locking eyes from a distance.
The beast horde whimpered, encircling them. The drug's control over their minds seemed to be fading, restoring some semblance of reason.
Roar…
The beasts' roars grew subdued.
They hovered, surrounding the two, but none dared approach.
Crackle!
Yagetsu's lightning-clad hand sliced through the hair on his chest, pulling out the strands that had burrowed into his flesh, wrapping them around his fingers.
Staring at the seemingly childish blind girl, the pain in his chest fueled his rage.
He'd rushed as fast as he could, but he was still too late.
The beasts and the giant bird had been killed by this girl with some unknown ninjutsu.
Without the bird—their living transport—the plan to seize the Nine-Tails had failed. He, who'd infiltrated Konoha alone, would likely die here.
He didn't care about life or death.
Entering Konoha solo, he'd never planned to leave alive.
The plan's final piece was clear: if Konoha's reinforcements arrived, the "beasts" would escape with the Byakugan and the jinchūriki, while Yagetsu stayed behind to cover their retreat.
But now, everything was ruined.
A spy who'd been undercover for years, with unique talents.
Three speed-focused taijutsu Jōnin.
A rare giant bird, practically a legend in the Land of Lightning.
Kumogakure had invested so much in this plan, only for it to be obliterated by this girl's single strike!
"You. Must. Die!"
Yagetsu glared at Hikari, spitting each word with venom.
The Nine-Tails could revive if killed.
But Konoha's geniuses? Kill one, and they're gone forever.
Knowing his death was certain, Yagetsu abandoned the mission. He wanted to crush this girl with lightning.
Hiss!
Hot steam poured from Hikari's nose and mouth as her muscles repaired the damage from her earlier exertion. She didn't know where his killing intent came from or why it was so intense.
But she didn't care to find out.
The best enemy was a dead one. Reasons were the least important thing in the world.
Her Byakugan peeled back his skin, revealing the bones and flesh beneath.
Data flooded her mind:
Only three kunai on him, tattered clothes, a wind-release cut on his chest, and burns from lightning or fire—clear signs of a recent battle.
The charred flesh was completely dead, unable to be reactivated by Lightning Release chakra, creating the only flaw in his lightning armor.
Analysis complete.
Shikamaru and the others escaping was good news. They'd only get in her way, and their presence limited her ability to use her hidden techniques.
Like…
The Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse), a kekkei genkai shared by only two people in the world!
Crack! Snap!
Under the moonlight, on blood-soaked ground, Hikari's pale skin split open.
Pop! Pop!
Bones laced with blood burst from her body in Yagetsu's shocked gaze.
Grind! Creak!
The bones grated with a teeth-aching sound, growing like twisted tree branches, casting grotesque shadows on the ground.
Click!
Bones at her joints morphed, those along her chest and abdomen bending and interlocking.
A mechanical, ivory exoskeleton armor encased her body.
Yagetsu frowned at the bone-covered girl.
The black-red chakra that rivaled Killer B's, the hair that burrowed into his flesh like parasitic worms.
She was human, yet not.
Like an alien trying to masquerade as human, but failing to capture the essence, becoming something neither human nor ghost.
Disgust, repulsion, fear—primal emotions stirred in his genes, challenging his rationality.
"What are you?"
Hikari ignored his question, continuing her transformation.
The second stage of Shikotsumyaku, bone manipulation, was an exceedingly rare ability, akin to the Sharingan's Mangekyō form.
Even Kirigakure's people didn't fully understand it, let alone outsiders.
Every time she used Shikotsumyaku, someone questioned her humanity. Over time, even she started to feel less human.
Crack!
The exoskeleton formed a helmet, shielding her vulnerable head.
The tailed beast cloak was too chakra-intensive. Her vacuum cannon had already consumed a third of her chakra, making the cloak unsustainable.
Her face was covered by a diamond-shaped mask, her arms morphing into sharp bone blades.
Clang!
The gleaming dual blades extended from her sides like wings.
Winds climbed the blades, making the already razor-sharp weapons hum ominously. With her bone armor, Hikari looked like a weapon crafted solely for slaughter.
Finally, Yagetsu's lightning eradicated the invading chakra in his chest.
Without wasting a second, a blue streak cut through the night as he flashed toward Hikari with Lightning Release.
He raised his hand.
His bulging biceps, harder than tungsten steel, gleamed.
Raiyaku Suimei Chiyomai! (Lightning Tyrant Horizontal Thousand-Year Dance!)
His hand-chop descended like a giant axe.
Hikari's pupils constricted, her heightened perception slowing the attack slightly.
Her right bone blade swung upward.
Her left blade, infused with Wind Release, thrust at his chest!
Takigiri-ryū: Sōtō: Gō no Mai! (Bamboo-Taking Style: Dual Blades: Dance of Karma!)
Clang!
The upward bone blade met his hand-chop precisely.
Yagetsu's full-force attack overwhelmed Hikari's single-handed strike. His black hand-chop, carrying terrifying momentum, smashed her bone blade against her shoulder.
Crack!
Her steel-like bone armor cracked under the blow, her right blade snapping entirely.
The immense force sank into her shoulder, her feet digging two deep pits into the ground.
Even her thrust aimed at his chest veered off from the impact, grazing his right rib.
Wind and lightning sparked against each other!
Crackle!
Lightning flared around Yagetsu.
Electric arcs surged toward Hikari.
But—useless!
The terrifying current gathered in her bone blade but couldn't reach her body.
"Let me teach you some physics!" Hikari snapped, her temper flaring under his relentless assault. She raised her left blade again, despite the pressure.
"Bones don't conduct electricity!"
Her Wind Release-infused blade stabbed toward his chest again!
Zap!
Lightning gathered in Yagetsu's legs, fully activating his muscles.
His reflexes heightened, and with his vast combat experience, he calmly sidestepped half an inch—just beyond the blade's reach.
The lightning in his legs wasn't wasted.
His left leg braced for balance.
He twisted, delivering a side kick.
Lightning gathered in his right foot, its dazzling glow illuminating the forest.
Hikari's lips curled into a cold smirk.
Snap!
Her left blade extended two inches, piercing Yagetsu's chest!
"Guh!"
Blood sprayed.
Caught off guard, Yagetsu's experience kicked in. Ignoring the wound, he clapped his hands, catching the bone blade like a sword between bare hands, preventing it from piercing deeper.
Hikari tried to push twice but couldn't budge it.
Gritting her teeth, she sent Wind Release chakra through the blade, aiming to shred his lungs.
Crackle!
Lightning flared in his hands, blocking the Wind Release.
Yagetsu's eyes burned with killing intent.
His hands shifted from clamping to gripping the blade tightly. His interrupted side kick morphed into a straight thrust.
Danger!
Hikari's instincts screamed.
She yanked her legs from the ground to counter, but Yagetsu's taijutsu flowed like water, honed a thousand times.
His thigh muscles exploded like springs, giving her no time to react. The lightning-fast kick slammed into her abdominal armor!
Boom!
Her bone armor cracked instantly.
Hikari's mind buzzed, feeling like an elephant had kicked her. The searing pain and impact sent her airborne, her taijutsu stance shattered, her body nearly paralyzed.
Opportunity!
Decades of combat let Yagetsu seize the moment.
Not letting her go, he yanked the bone blade, pulling her airborne body forward. His right leg rose again, charging for another kick.
Unable to brace in midair, Hikari couldn't dodge this one!
Yagetsu's eyes gleamed blue, his seven-tenths-power kick surging to full force.
Trapped by her arm and airborne, Hikari watched the lightning grow closer, adrenaline surging.
Time seemed to slow.
His combat experience was terrifyingly vast.
She'd found his weakness first, but his superior experience turned the tables, putting her in danger.
He wouldn't let this chance slip.
This kick was just the appetizer. If she couldn't break free, he'd unleash a relentless combo until she was incapacitated.
With no way to brace, even severing her blade wouldn't dodge this kick.
Hikari's mind raced.
The lightning closed in.
His ruthless kick targeted her shattered abdominal armor, like a spear aiming to pierce her frail body.
Ohhh!
Chakra flooded her bone-forming cells.
The blade extended again, pushing her body back.
The sure-hit kick fell two inches short, lightning halting before her as she landed.
Crack!
The blade snapped itself in half.
Freed from his grip, Hikari leaped back the moment she touched the ground, her restored right blade sweeping horizontally, unleashing a wind-infused sword aura.
The Wind Release and sword aura fused into a wide vacuum slash, tearing through the air toward Yagetsu's face.
His lightning armor flared blue again.
Clang!
The slash didn't break through, but its impact halted his pursuit, letting Hikari widen the distance.
Whoosh!
A breeze whistled.
Thud, thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed in the battlefield's center.
The two circled each other, searching for openings.
Yagetsu gritted his teeth, pulling the broken blade from his chest.
Another bloody wound joined the scars on his chest.
The intense pain ignited his fighting spirit, his entire being like a blazing fire.
"Huff, huff—"
His left fist pressed the wound, his right palm raised like a blade, aimed at Hikari. Staring at the ivory figure, the carved wrinkles at his eyes radiated cold ruthlessness.
This girl's abilities were too versatile, too tricky.
Byakugan-like perception and dynamic vision; an eerie cloak rivaling Lightning Release chakra mode; invisible wind aura around her; transforming, extensible bone armor;
Even her hair could harm!
Her taijutsu was her strongest asset.
Aside from slightly slower speed and less combat experience, she had no clear weaknesses.
How do you fight an enemy like this?
Yagetsu felt a headache coming on.
His vast experience had limits. In all his years across the ninja world, he'd never faced someone like Hikari.
But there was no time to probe her weaknesses.
He had to end this quickly.
If Konoha's reinforcements arrived, Kumogakure's Byakugan theft plan would become a joke, and his death would be meaningless.
Only one move left!
Chakra gathered in his four fingers, locking onto Hikari's body.
The frosty moonlight bathed the battlefield.
Lightning converged at his fingertips, bursting with brilliance brighter than the moon above.
Killing intent surged, Hikari's skin prickling, her survival instincts blaring warnings of his danger.
But it was redundant.
Her Byakugan never left him—she knew he was about to unleash a trump card.
His iconic taijutsu stance gave it away: the Third Raikage's ultimate spear—Jigoku Tsuki: Yonhon Nukite! (Hell Stab: Four-Finger Piercing Hand!)
Who was this guy?
To wield the Third Raikage's signature technique?
Why not just become Raikage yourself!
Hikari's eyes widened, the move catching her off guard.
Veins bulged at her temples, nearly reaching her cheeks.
Chakra surged like a tide into her eyes.
She'd already suffered against his lightning-fast speed, so she stayed on high alert, muscles tensed, Byakugan tracking his every move.
Crack!
Her shattered abdominal armor finally repaired itself in the brief standoff. Her broken left arm regrew, not as a blade but as a diamond-shaped shield.
Her speed couldn't match his Lightning Release, but her strength and defense were nearly on par.
She raised the shield before her.
With her bone armor and subcutaneous bone membrane, she was armed to the teeth with three layers of defense.
But she didn't dare underestimate the legendary Hell Stab.
Three green chakra points—brain, chest, and another—aligned in a straight line, igniting the fourth point below her collarbone along her meridians.
Eight Gates, Fourth Gate: Dumon! (Gate of Pain!)
Open!
vote and read more inpatreon
belamy20