They had no chance to defend themselves. With a fluid movement, the attacker pulled one of the bones from his own forearm and used it as a dagger, piercing a ninja's chest and driving him brutally against the rock wall.
The victim coughed blood; his terrified gaze could be seen even through the mask that had been largely shattered by the impact.
But the man did not stay to watch how that subject was brutally slain, so he turned his eyes to the bones and noticed something else.
The bones were not normal; they were dense, sharp, almost crystalline… and worst of all, they kept growing out of the man's body as if he had an infinite supply of them.
Another ninja tried to run.
—"We must regrou—!"—the ninja could not finish his sentence because a white projectile shot from the attacker's palm and lodged in the ninja's head with a wet sound.
The corpse fell to the floor with a dull thud.
—He fired his own bone like a bullet.—
The last enemy, trembling, tried to pull out an explosive seal, but he didn't make it to activate it.
The white-haired man sighed and ,calmly, walking slowly, drew closer, tilting his head with false disappointment.
—"Too slow."—the white-haired man said disdainfully.
With another movement, his spine emerged from his back, sliding out of his skin like a living chain. He pulled on it and used it as a whip, wrapping it around the ninja's neck.
A dry yank was more than enough for the masked man to fall; a
The body crumpled.
Silence.
Hidden in the shadows, the man watched the scene with an expression of astonishment at seeing how that subject was capable of performing such techniques with his own bones and continuing as if nothing had happened.
Still surprised by what had occurred, he felt neither horror nor pity. Only curiosity. He had seen many ways to kill in his previous life, but this… this was new, something merciless.
The white-haired man turned his head slowly. His eyes fixed exactly where the man was hiding.
For the first time since he had awakened, the man felt that someone was hunting him—a ninja with unreal power.
And after what he had witnessed, one thing was clear… this ninja was not like the others; he was worse. The man did not move; he held his breath. He knew when someone was about to attack.
One false move and it would be a sentence to his imminent death. By strategy, he kept his composure; he had learned long ago that sometimes the most lethal predator is not the one who strikes first, but the one who waits for the right moment to do so.
The white-haired ninja stared at him with intensity. His posture was relaxed, but his body radiated danger, like a predator deciding whether it was worth tearing apart its prey.
The man prepared himself. He was not in condition to fight, but he was not going to die without trying. But this white-haired subject… this being who ripped his own body as if flesh and bone were nothing more than replaceable weapons… was superior to anything he had seen before.
The white-haired ninja still watched him. Fresh blood from the fallen ninjas dripped from his bony spine, which slid slowly back into his back, hiding into his skin with an unpleasant sound. His pale eyes and sadistic smile gave the impression that he enjoyed the idea of finding someone else in this labyrinth of death. Without warning, a dry sound echoed in the rocky corridor.
The white-haired ninja moved his arm…and a bony projectile shot from his forearm.
The man reacted instinctively. He twisted his body aside, but he was not quick enough. The projectile grazed his side, opening a thin but deep cut.
The pain was sharp, but bearable. He had had worse wounds.
—"Interesting. You are not one of them…"—he murmured, taking a step forward. The white-haired ninja smiled.
The man tried to block the next attack with the kunai, but the enemy was incredibly fast, too fast.
The enemy's arm lengthened in a deadly twist, and a curved bone emerged from his elbow, like a sword growing from his body.
The man jumped backward just in time, dodging the slash. The bone blade struck the rock wall and cut it as if it were butter.
—Shit… that was close.—
The man knew he could not win this fight. Not even when his body reached its maximum capability, much less in his current state.
The white-haired ninja moved in a blink; with a leap, he closed the distance between them, while from his unnaturally bending arm another bony fragment emerged from the palm of his hand, sharp as a spear, heading straight for the man.
The man barely had time to react. He twisted his body at the last second, dodging the lethal thrust aimed at his heart.
But the ninja was quick; his leg rose in a brutal spin, seeking to break his ribs with a devastating kick. The man raised an arm to block, but the impact sent him several meters back, sliding and rolling across the stone floor.
His arm hurt along with his torso—possibly both were broken.
—Damn it, that hurt.—
This guy was strong. That was something he knew for sure; not only that, but his fighting level was superior.
The white-haired ninja advanced, preparing another lethal blow, but just as he was about to attack again, his eyes fixed on something and he stopped immediately.
The cables still hung from the man's body. His expression changed. His smile vanished, and then he fixed his gaze on the man's body.
The man noticed that his opponent had lowered his guard; at any other time he would have taken that chance to finish him, but he had neither seen nor heard anything like that monster and did not know what it was capable of. He did not understand what, but it was clear there was a reason why he had stopped attacking. He felt when the white-haired ninja's eyes drilled into his neck and frowned.
He didn't understand what the hell he was looking at, but something made him stop.
The white-haired ninja sighed, and his posture became more relaxed.
—"Heh… interesting."—He crossed his arms, with a strange smile on his face. There was no longer any murderous intent in his gaze—. "I didn't think Orochimaru-sama had already awakened another of his toys."
The man did not respond.
—Orochimaru? That name again. Who the hell was he? Why did he have one of his marks?—
—"If you continue down this path, you will end up dead."—He turned, giving his back as if he no longer considered him a threat—. "I'll tell you how to get out."
The man did not lower his guard.
—"Why help me?"—the man asked the ninja.
The ninja smiled arrogantly.
—"Because you bear Orochimaru's mark,"—the white-haired ninja answered.
The ninja watched him one more second before sighing and turning his head, as if deciding something.
The ninja bent over the corpse of one of the fallen ninjas. Then, as if he remembered something, the white-haired ninja extended his hand toward his own forearm…and tore out a long, sharp bone fragment, almost like an improvised sword, but sturdy and lethal.
He tossed it to the man, who caught it in the air.
—"Listen, new thing,"—he said in an amused tone—. "I don't have time to play with you, and it seems he took the trouble to mark you. I'm not interested in fighting Orochimaru-sama's experiments."
The man remained silent.
—"You're lucky I don't care what you do,"—he continued—. "But if you want to live, you'd better get out of here before more of those insects arrive"—he said, pointing at the corpses—, "If you find Rock ninjas, use it well—stab it in their necks and watch them fall."
The man looked at the bone in his hand. It was dense, solid, sharper than any knife, light but incredibly sturdy—A deadly weapon. It could be more useful than any melee weapon.
—"Go straight through this tunnel. There's a secret exit before the next collapse. If you hurry, you'll get out before more reinforcements arrive."—The ninja nodded toward a side tunnel, one narrower than the rest.—"Follow that passage, and after ten minutes of walking, you'll see a stone door. There's a hidden mechanism in the wall to the right. Open it and you'll get out of the complex."
The man kept his gaze fixed on the white-haired ninja; he did not argue. He didn't trust him, but he had no other option.
Giving the ninja one last look, he began to move down the tunnel.