"What in the... hell?!"
The sheer, terrifying destructive force sent a visible shockwave through the assembled swordsmen.
When Yuta had first appeared, the ninjutsu he unleashed was formidable, yet it hadn't caused mass casualties, leaving its true power a vague, unsettling threat. Now, they understood.
In a single clash, Kurosuki Miki—one of the Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen, a figure who ranked among their top three—was dead.
"Second."
Yuta slowly raised a second finger, his calm gaze sweeping over Yamagishi Kyanosuke, the wielder of the bludgeoning sword Kabutowari, who stood nearest.
The declaration hung in the air, cold and absolute. This was the second swordsman he had eliminated.
Today presented a perfect opportunity for a complete, clean sweep. A group like this should always stay together. No half-measures, no survivors to form new, lesser squads.
So, next would be the third.
"Everyone, attack together!"
The voice of Ōyama Kentarō, their nominal leader, held a barely perceptible tremor.
In truth, his strength was on par with the fallen Hozuki Satsuki and Kurosuki Miki. And the implication of Yuta's words was clear: Satsuki had also fallen to him. A seed of genuine panic took root in Ōyama's heart.
'Regrettable that you only take this seriously now,' Yuta thought, a flicker of contempt in his eyes.
Yuta's form vanished from its spot.
When he rematerialized, he was already beside Yamagishi Kyanosuke. Yet, a keen observer would notice Yuta's physical body seemed momentarily vacant, as another, more ethereal form—a shimmering, jade-colored spiritual duplicate—had split away in that same instant.
"Wha—?"
A flash of blinding white light.
The shock on Yamagishi Kyanosuke's face froze, etched permanently. The ethereal spirit, like a dissipating shadow, snapped back into Yuta's body, whose expression returned to normal in the blink of an eye.
Sage Art: Soul Sealing Technique!
A ninjutsu born from four years of refinement based on the Spirit Transformation Technique.
An unprotected soul, struck by the raw force of the Spirit Transformation Technique, could be traumatized enough to stun even a Kage-level opponent.
Infused with the power of Sage Mode, that impact was not just amplified; it was weaponized.
A sage art that targeted the soul itself.
The result was exactly as Yuta anticipated. Yamagishi Kyanosuke's defenses crumbled instantly. Blood seeped from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.
His gaze glazed over, the world blurring into nothingness as all consciousness was violently ripped away. He slumped to the ground, lifeless.
'Choosing to master the Spirit Transformation Technique back then was indeed the right choice,' Yuta mused inwardly. 'A technique that directly attacks the enemy's soul was pretty effective.'
Moreover, by merging Sage Mode with the Spirit Transformation Technique, he could maintain a spiritual body state sustained by ambient natural energy itself—a technique he called Sage Art: Soul Return to Nature.
While its limitations were significant, it offered unique avenues for survival and made his spiritual assaults far more potent.
The truly formidable techniques, however, were the other derivatives he had developed.
'Another one down.'
Ōyama Kentarō felt a cold dread crawl up his spine. They couldn't continue like this, being picked off one by one by this monster's blinding speed and bizarre, unknown jutsu. They had to counter, now!
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Despite his corpulent frame, Ōyama launched himself with surprising agility, soaring into the air. His cheeks bulged, and from his mouth erupted a cataclysmic wave of water. It expanded mid-air, forming a vast aquatic prison meant to engulf Yuta completely.
His logic was simple: if the enemy moved like lightning, drown him in a sea.
The maximum range of this technique could theoretically span kilometers. While Ōyama lacked the chakra to achieve such a scale, what he summoned was more than enough to restrict any movement.
Yuta's advance halted.
Above his physical form, another sage art spiritual body coalesced. This time, all present saw it clearly—a figure of translucent white, Yuta's perfect duplicate.
Whether it was the battle-hardened Ōyama or the other sword-wielders, bewilderment was universal. They had never seen or heard of such a unique Jutsu. It could only be some secret art or a kekkei genkai.
Their ignorance was expected. After the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, created the Spirit Transformation Technique, it was immediately sealed as a forbidden jutsu.
Were it not for Yuta, this Jutsu would not surface until the Second Great Ninja War in the hands of Kato Dan—and even then, only in its most rudimentary form, used for reconnaissance and communication, not honed to its terrifying potential as Yuta had done.
And honing it to its peak meant…
The spiritual body's eyes narrowed. Its hands came together in a silent clap.
Brilliant blue orbs of light shimmered into existence around it. The moment they appeared, the very space around them warped.
Violent air currents howled, whipping towards the spiritual form, and the ground beneath cracked with a web of fissures.
"Dammit… what kind of jutsu is he preparing now?!" cried Okajima Taido, his grip tightening on the explosive blade Shibuki.
The instinct of a seasoned shinobi, screamed at him. This was different. This felt infinitely more dangerous than anything the Konoha brat had displayed before. The very air thrummed with annihilating promise.
"Stop him! Don't let him complete it!"
He didn't even notice the tremor in his own voice.
_____
_______
Show your support with Power Stones guys!
[email protected]/Raven_scroll