Aya stood in the center as her lightning cloak crackled to life. "Your Boil Release has become pointless against my Typhoon Release!"
Stacking the speed of her Swift Release directly on top of her Lightning Release Cloak, Aya vanished. There was no blur or trail... just instant displacement.
She reappeared instantly behind Mei, her hand thrusting forward as she equipped herself with 'Hell Stab' to pierce Mei's heart in a single stroke. But just a second before the Aya moved, Jūzō Biwa hurled his massive Executioner's Blade at the point where Aya was about to reach, it is one of a kind premonition which turned out to be right.
Aya's lightning-infused fingers collided with the legendary sword, slicing it clean in half like a hot knife through butter.
However, that delay was all Mei needed. Realizing the danger, she threw herself backward just as Utakata detonated a cluster of nearby bubbles right in Aya's path. The sudden explosion created an immediate blast wave, forcing Aya to shield her eyes and granting Mei the crucial distance required to survive the encounter.
Mei fought to catch her breath, and she was coated in sweat. Beside her, Jūzō and Utakata stood with their postures tense. They had spent years carving through elite shinobi, but standing against Aya was different. This was what a genuine threat felt like: an overwhelming presence that made every second felt borrowed.
Aya's eyes moved over the remaining mist ninja, as she pieced together their team dynamic. She noticed how Jūzō's shifted micro-seconds before her movements, recognizing an innate instinct in him. She decided to take him out first.
Instead of diving toward Mei as they expected, Aya vanished with swift release and lightning cloak. A crackle of displaced air signaled her disappearance, and before Jūgo could even process the sudden absence of her presence, she appeared in front of him.
Having already lost his massive Executioner's Blade earlier in the skirmish, Jūgo had nothing left to interpose. Aya's hand plunged forward punching straight through his sternum as dark blood sprayed across her forearm, coating her lightning-laced skin in red.
A sense of satisfaction came over Aya's face, but it vanished the moment Jūgo's mouth curved into a bloody smirk.
He didn't collapse. Instead, his dying hands locked around her wrist into a hug with a iron grip. Instinct screamed at Aya to pull back, but Jūgo used the last reserve of his fading life to surge forward, throwing his arms around her in an embrace. Tucked beneath his robes were dozens of explosive tags.
"Drop dead dumbass..." Jūgo rasped.
The explosion tore through the battlefield with a deafening roar.
Concussive force ripped Jūgo's body to shreds, unleashing a localized inferno of concentrated blast waves into Aya's chest and face. When the smoke cleared, Aya was still standing, but her pristine Lightning Release Armor was severely compromised... half of the blue cloak had flickered out, leaving her bare skin scorch-marked and bleeding.
She stared down at her wounds in disbelief. Normal paper bombs couldn't dent her defense like this.
From a safe distance, Kisame let out a guttural laugh, resting his massive sword over his shoulder. "One down, but she's bleeding now," he muttered to himself, his sharp teeth glinting in the pale light. "We owe Uzushiogakure a thank you for those discounted high-quality explosive tags. And Jūgo-senpai, of course. His sacrifice actually bought us a chance."
Unbeknownst to Aya who was still shocked by the damage of her cloak, Mei was already moving... hidden within an invisible bubble of refracted light, she closed the gap while Aya was could clearly see the Mei's water clone left standing in the open.
Just as Aya realized it was a clone and started searching for her, the real threat struck from her blind spot but she reached. However, the attack came from Kisame who lunged forward, swinging Samehada in a wide arc. The sentient blade's scales shredded through Aya's remaining lightning armor, hungrily feasting on her reserves. Aya gasped as nearly a third of her total chakra was drained in a single instant.
"Damn it," Aya spat, stumbling backward as the injuries and fatigue hit her.
Her eyes darted skyward, searching for Utakata. The jinchūriki was infuriatingly sharp. Invisible floating high above the battlefield inside his soap bubbles, he kept out of reach while directing the tactical movements to his squad with pinpoint accuracy.
Aya's body was a tapestry of deep gashes and acid burns. The impact of Jūgo's blast had left internal damage that was rapidly draining her strength. "I should have let mother teach me Medical Ninjutsu," she thought bitterly, her vision dimming for a fraction of a second.
Seeing her freeze in the center, Zabuza saw his moment. He unleashed the Nuibari...the Sewing Needle... hurling the long thin blade straight at her. The razor-sharp steel wire unspooled wildly, whipping around Aya's torso and limbs, binding her tight. Zabuza planted his feet and yanked the wire taut, forcing the thin metal wires to cut deep into her skin, aiming to slice her to ribbons.
Blood gushed from the fresh lacerations, but Aya didn't bother to look at him or feel pain.
With a surge of her physical power, she grabbed the wires biting into her flesh and hauled backward. The force yanked Zabuza clean off his feet, dragging him flying through the air toward her like a launched projectile as she smirked at her next target.
Mei reacted instantly, spitting a stream of acidic mist that melted the connecting wires to free Zabuza, but the momentum was already locked in.
Zabuza was about to collide with Aya, and before he could reorient his stance, her hand shot out and clamped around his throat. With a sickening crunch, she crushed his trachea beneath her fingers. In one fluid motion, she twisted and tore, completely severing his head.
Zabuza fell down and clenched his neck to stop bleeding and he could not cry or shout from the intense pain hitting him but Aya was no saint she lifted her leg drove into his head.
The Demon of the Hidden Mist stopped struggling and crumpled lifeless.
Everyone went silent as only three of the main strike team remained: Kisame, Utakata, and Mei.
Before anyone could make another move, heavy shuffling footsteps approached as Fuguki stepped out from the shadows, carrying a gruesome trophy. Beside him, Mangetsu wiped a line of blood from his chin, his blades dripping.
"He was a slippery bastard to put down," Fuguki chuckled, his massive frame shaking as he held up the severed head of Dodai , the vice commander of Kumo, which suprisingly was not bleeding. "Gotta hand it to Mangetsu, though. The kid really is a prodigy."
Fuguki tossed the head onto the ground as Aya stood amid the bodies of her fallen foes, her breath ragged and broken, staring down the fat swordsman.
~~
A/N: Zabuza and Juzo went down from Kiri, while Dodai went down for Kumo. Before anyone goes down to question how could Kumo lose shinobi, well it war and no one exempt from death. And gotta give it to the Kiri's information on their Kumo.
And as for why they are using very little of water release jutsu, it was because of the saltwater, which would have been used against them with Aya's lightning release.
Utakata is the true MVP in this battle for kiri.
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