Hey guys, here is the new chapter hope you will liked and read thru everything.
The battle got intense, and things are about to change for Daigo a lot faster than he realizes.
I've read many comments and reviews regarding the writing quality. I want to tell you that I'm doing my best; even though I know English, it isn't my first language, and it can't always be perfect. If you notice any mistakes, feel free to post the correct phrasing in the comments of that paragraph so others can read it properly
Also for a extra chapter 100 powerstone
Don't forget to leave your power stones along with your comment if you have any ideas or opinions that could help me, as well as a review to continue showing your support.
Enjoy the chapter!
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"I am your complete counter. If I turn you into crystal, you're finished. It seems I won't need that much ingenuity to end you after all," Daigo said, feeling the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
The taste of victory was close, an intoxicating sensation that made him forget for a moment that his opponent was the deadliest prodigy of the Mist.
"I see how it is," Mangetsu whispered. His voice, once mocking, turned into a chilling hiss that made Daigo's skin crawl. "You are dangerous, Daigo of Suna. But if the problem is physical contact between you and me, I will simply have to attack you from afar."
Mangetsu didn't wait for an answer. His fingers gripped the hilt of the Hiramekarei with inhuman strength. The sword began to emit a sonic hum, glowing with a blue intensity that bathed the charred trees in a spectral light.
The amount of chakra Mangetsu was injecting into the weapon was massive; the air around the blade began to vibrate and distort from the pressure.
Instead of turning into a hammer, the blade of light extended. The solid chakra stretched three meters, turning the sword into a scythe of energy capable of cutting through entire forests. The weight of the technique caused the mud beneath Mangetsu's feet to sink, creating a perfect crater under his sandals.
With those words, the battle's rhythm changed instantly. Mangetsu launched an upward vertical slash. It wasn't a simple cut; it was a shockwave that split the ground in two, kicking up a curtain of mud and rocks that raced toward Daigo like a blue energy rift.
Facing great danger, Daigo had to use a desperate Shunshin to the rear. He felt the hot air of the chakra brushing the tip of his nose, a heat that evaporated the sweat on his forehead in a millisecond.
The reach of the Hiramekarei was now ridiculous; every movement Mangetsu made generated pressure blasts that cut through thick trunks as if they were dry stalks of grass.
Daigo, now at a distance, wouldn't be left behind. His fingers moved in a blur of hand signs. He didn't know if long-range attacks would work just as well, but he knew Mangetsu wouldn't let a single crystal touch him out of pure fear of being turned into a crystal statue.
"Shōton: Kesshō Shuriken (Jade Crystal Shuriken)!" Daigo exclaimed, launching dozens of pink projectiles at his opponent.
As Daigo had thought, Mangetsu didn't let any of them get close. With terrifying precision, he fired bursts of his Water Gun (Mizugun) from his free fingers, intercepting every shuriken in mid-air.
The clash of elements created small explosions of crystal shards and cold water. It was a duel of pure artillery where the slightest error in calculation meant death by perforation.
Daigo, who had launched the crystal shurikens, hadn't stayed still. Using them as a visual distraction, he had approached Mangetsu at a blinding speed, coming within millimeters of touching him to seal his fate.
But the swordsman's instincts were superior; the edge of the light sword swung directly toward his arm, forcing Daigo to retreat violently to avoid losing his right hand.
Mangetsu, having foreseen the plan, did not pursue him. Instead, he created two water clones that emerged from the side puddles and began firing constant bursts of water bullets at Daigo.
The young ninja dodged with acrobatic movements, beginning a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, though with his Seismic Sense, he knew at all times where the real Mangetsu was, hidden behind the curtain of water.
With a crystal sword summoned in his hand, Daigo finished off one clone with a clean slash and prepared to head for the other, but then he felt strong vibrations coming from the direction of the other battle.
"Pakura seems to be using 100% over there," Daigo thought as he glanced toward that direction. The ground vibrations told him that Pakura and her opponent had unleashed a devastating attack.
However, that distraction, lasting barely a fraction of a second, was the opening Mangetsu needed. A ninja of his caliber didn't waste opportunities; and Daigo, though talented, lacked the bitter experience that only years on the front lines can provide.
"It seems you don't know that in these battles, distracting yourself for a split second is what kills ninjas," Mangetsu said, emerging right beneath Daigo.
Mangetsu rose from the mud under Daigo's feet and tried to grab him to immobilize him, but Daigo, having sensed him thanks to his Seismic Sense, created two crystal kunai and launched them quickly at the enemy's head.
Upon impact, the kunai only hit water; it was a water clone that destroyed itself in a splash. However, Mangetsu's attack wasn't over, as another Mangetsu emerged from behind a charred tree, leaping toward Daigo with his sword raised.
Daigo, seeing the enemy coming, blocked the sword with a crystal shield on his forearms. The impact was so strong that his knees sank into the mud.
Moving away from the Mangetsu, he turned around to find another clone who, being close enough, was turned into crystal. Daigo not stopping to think, turn back to see the other Mangetsu, but he was no longer there.
Instead of the crystal statue, Mangetsu had swapped places to now be at a close-quarters distance.
Daigo, having no chance to touch him with his hands, performed a quick leg sweep, attempting to destroy what he thought was another clone.
To his surprise, his feet hit water, but it didn't dissipate like a clone. It was the real Mangetsu, looking at Daigo with a challenging and bloodthirsty smile.
Mangetsu, having Daigo at that critical distance, did not hesitate to use his signature jutsu. He pointed his finger directly at Daigo's face. He didn't wait to charge much chakra only enough to cause irreversible damage.
"Suitenpō: Mizugun!" Mangetsu whispered.
BANG!
The point-blank water shot was at a speed Daigo could barely process, even with the Seven Heavens Breathing active. Seeing the water bullet approaching his face like a cannon projectile, Daigo knew he wouldn't come out unscathed. He moved his head with a violent spasm of survival, trying to save his life.
The shot didn't pierce his skull, but it hit his right eye directly. Upon the slightest contact with the high-pressure water bullet, the eyeball exploded from the brute force of the jutsu.
Daigo felt a pain that cannot be described in words. He had suffered serious injuries before, shattered muscles and broken bones but this was a white fire consuming his brain.
Mangetsu, seeing that although he hadn't finished the battle, he had landed a critical blow, leaped away to prevent Daigo from attacking him in a fit of madness and observed him from a distance.
Daigo, with the only eye that could still see, observed Mangetsu's blurred silhouette before falling to one knee, covering his face as blood gushed in a cascade between his fingers, staining the mud a dark, viscous red.
Amidst all that agonizing pain, Daigo fought the urge to scream, feeling as if his head were about to explode. Looking through his remaining left eye, he felt the terrifying absence of his right vision; the world had become a massive shadow on that side, a blind spot that left him vulnerable.
Thinking fast, and knowing he was in a life-or-death battle, Daigo tore part of his shirt with his teeth and his free hand. With movements erratic from shock, he wrapped the cloth around his head and his destroyed eye, tightening the knot to try to stop the bleeding that threatened to leave him unconscious.
He knew that although he had been training in medical jutsu, he didn't have enough time to heal himself; that would take minutes or more depending on the wound.
Mangetsu walked slowly toward him. The Hiramekarei shone brightly, fueled by the swordsman's last breath of chakra. He too was at his limit; his fluid form was trembling and dripping water uncontrollably, but victory was at his feet.
"You are strong, Daigo, but you have a long way to go to reach the level of your own fame," Mangetsu said, raising his sword over his head in a ceremonial movement.
"The world has no room for two geniuses of the same generation, especially not someone from Suna."
Mangetsu launched a final downward slash. Daigo, almost blinded by blood and the pain clouding his judgment, could barely see the blue flash of energy. The steel cut deeply into his chest, tearing through what little remained of his tactical vest and opening a diagonal wound that would leave a scar for the rest of his life.
Although Daigo was not fully conscious and his vision was fading, he remained on his feet, refusing to die on his knees.
Mangetsu, faced with such fortitude, smiled. It was a real smile, feeling that for the first time he had met someone with a potential equal to his own, though with less time to flourish. He raised the sword one last time, aiming directly at Daigo's neck. He decided he couldn't leave him alive; he was too great a threat to the future of the Hidden Mist Village.
"You earned my respect, Daigo. Die with honor." Those would be the last words Daigo would hear before dying.
Just as the blade began its mortal descent, a thread of chakra, almost invisible under the sword's light, wound firmly around Mangetsu's wrist, stopping the blow in its tracks. At the same time, a sphere of scorching heat, orange like a miniature sun, whizzed past Mangetsu's ear, instantly evaporating part of his hair and his hydrated skin.
Mangetsu had to jump back, letting out a groan of pain as he touched the area affected by the Shakuton sphere.
At the edge of the clearing, two figures appeared who looked like they had come from a battle to the death.
Pakura stood there, her clothes in tatters and her left arm burned, but with three heat orbs orbiting around her.
Beside her, a grotesque human puppet stood on guard, controlled by the bloodied fingers of Sasori's only remaining hand.
"Get out of here, Swordsman," said Sasori's . This time it wasn't his puppet Hiruko's voice, but his real, cold, and sharp voice. "Or you will be the next body to become an eternal piece of art."
Mangetsu looked at the two Suna ninjas. He was frustrated at not having finished his job, but his tactical mind screamed that the situation was unsustainable. He had lost too much water mass, his chakra was barely at 25%, and now he was facing a woman who would dehydrate him and a puppeteer who showed no weakness and whose puppets gave him a bad feeling.
"You got lucky this time, Daigo. Next time I won't give you this chance," Mangetsu said, turning into a mass of water that quickly filtered through the roots of an ancient tree to disappear into the darkness of the forest.
With Mangetsu's departure, silence returned, but it wasn't a silence of peace. Pakura ran toward Daigo, falling to her knees, terrified to see the gravity of his wounds.
"Daigo! Look at me! Don't stop breathing!" Pakura cried out, using what little cloth Daigo had left to try to stop the massive bleeding from his face and chest.
Sasori approached, looking at the situation coldly. A biting joke had occurred to him upon seeing his companion's state, but noticing that Daigo's pulse was barely a thread, he decided to keep it to himself. He pulled out another puppet and controlled it to carry the boy.
"He is at death's door," Sasori declared. "If we don't get to the camp as quickly as possible, he will die from blood loss on the way."
Without wasting time, the puppet carried Daigo's broken body. Pakura, with what little strength she had left, stayed by the puppet's side to ensure Daigo kept breathing, holding his hand tightly.
The journey back was silent, interrupted only by Daigo's unconscious moans from the pain wracking his body.
They had won the battle. They had survived the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. But looking at Daigo's bloody face, Pakura knew that the war had just taken something that they could never recover.
While this was happening, something else had occurred in the depths of the forest that no one else knew yet.
End of Chapter 56