Over the water, thick smoke still hung like a funeral veil.
Through the haze, the elegant pavilion that had been the epicenter was gone without a trace. The air reeked of acrid gunpowder and scorched flesh.
Battered by blast after blast, the once-pristine courtyard had been obliterated, reduced to a jagged wasteland.
Splintered beams jutted from the soil like the ribs of some dead leviathan.
Pool water flowed backward across the ground. The turf was gone, leaving raw earth the color of dried blood.
A ripple stirred the broken pool, and a figure rose straight from its depths, standing on the surface.
Tosuke shook his lion-like hair, water spraying everywhere, then strode ashore, each step sinking deep into the mire.
"Hahaha…"
The moment his boots hit the mud, he doubled over, laughter erupting unchecked, echoing through the ruins.
"Hahaha… what was all that swagger, brat? Unlimited potential? You still died by my hand. Every last one of those explosive tag was worth it."
"Hahaha… look at what's left of you! Thought you could cross me?"
A voice like a nightmare cut through the gloating.
"Cough, cough… smells awful… cough…"
It was lazy, mocking, and it froze Tosuke's blood mid-beat.
From the smoke still coiling above the pool, a silhouette emerged, one hand masking mouth and nose, the other lazily fanning the air. He walked unhurried, ripples spreading beneath every step.
Tosuke spun around as if struck by lightning, body locked rigid, eyes bulging in disbelief at the youth strolling across the water.
His mouth worked soundlessly, the only noise being the ragged pull of breath.
How had anyone survived that, unscathed?
"How many explosive tags did you burn? Those things cost money, you know."
Mamoru stepped clear of the smoke, planted himself on the surface, and pointed, grinning. "You're weak, but crafty. Against anyone else, that stunt might've worked—no, it already worked."
From the start, Mamoru had sensed something off, yet he'd assumed Tosuke meant only to use the terrain against him. After all, his strength dominated in close quarters.
That assumption had dulled his first instinct. He'd underestimated the man. Faced with an opponent he couldn't overpower, Tosuke had turned himself into bait to herd his enemy into a killing field.
Perhaps he had never once looked down on anyone. That was why he'd been willing to spend a fortune in explosive tags as his final ace.
A cold, calculating bastard to the end.
"H-how… how are you standing there!? Did you dodge!?" Tosuke flailed, voice cracking.
"Dodge?" Mamoru's smile curved sly. "Impossible. You know better, there was nowhere to run from that many explosive tags."
To spare his brain, he filtered everything that lacked Chakra. Only at detonation had the Six Eyes registered the explosive tags. That split-second delay had let the trap spring.
Thankfully, with Infinity active, no physical blast could touch him.
"Then what the hell happened!?" Bloodshot eyes stared, unblinking.
Was this thing even human?
"Hard to explain." Mamoru curled a slow fist, knuckles popping. "The tags did go off, right on me."
He opened his hand, palm up, in a lazy flourish. "Yet they didn't touch me at all."
"Speak plainly!" Tosuke shrieked, veins writhing across his forehead.
Mamoru said, slicking back wet bangs, "I'd love to, but the Chakra I've got left is earmarked for killing you. No demonstrations."
He cocked an eyebrow. "Though if you surrender quietly and let me murder you, I could describe it while you die. Fair trade? One-of-a-kind intel, guaranteed."
"Like hell! Die, die, DIE!!!"
Tosuke's muscles knotted, nails gouging blood from his palms, eyes rabid as he glared at the boy he could not comprehend.
"Scary." Mamoru's lips curled in playful amusement, his tone thick with mockery, yet his eyes were perfectly clear.
Moonlight spilled across his upturned lips, lending the boyish face a depth far beyond his years.
Tosuke had never really lost control, it was all a ruse to buy time.
He roared on the outside while inside he raced through calculations, blood-shot eyes darting for the best moment to escape.
"Time to end this farce."
The words had barely left Mamoru's mouth before he exploded forward, a bolt of lightning splitting the night, twice as fast as before, a blurred after-image streaking straight at Tosuke.
Tosuke's pupils shrank and he leapt back, hands flashing through seals too quickly to follow.
A moment later, he slammed his fist into the ground.
Earth Release: Stone Torrent!
Rumble!
The earth heaved, sand and rock burst forth like a waking beast, a crashing wave surging toward Mamoru.
Chips of stone flew, spraying dust into the air.
Watching the onrushing tide, Mamoru's eyes flickered with contempt. Without slowing, he skimmed across the surface, vaulted atop the wave, and dove at his foe.
Tosuke knew the avalanche couldn't stop the boy, it only had to slow him.
He shifted hand seals, old power still surging as new rose.
Earth Release: Earth and Stone Dragon!
The sea of sand roiled, a dragon of rock and soil erupted, claws bared, jaws gaping to swallow Mamoru mid-air.
Mamoru never flinched. A dense sphere of Chakra whirled alive in his palm, Rasengan, howling as it met the dragon's head head-on.
Bang!
The sphere punched through the maw and the earthen skull shattered, the body crumbling into a rain of sand that pattered down.
Even as the dragon launched, Tosuke had spun and sprinted for a breach in the ruined wall, breath ragged, feet flying.
Seeing it, Mamoru would not let him go. Still airborne, he flashed through seals: Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
His feet touched stone just as a searing orb of flame burst from his mouth, the heat warping the air, streaking toward Tosuke's fleeing back.
Tosuke glanced back and saw the blazing sphere, draining the color from his face. He lurched aside, stumbling over broken rock.
As Mamoru expected, the clumsy fireball missed, exploding in a distant shower of sparks.
Watching the running figure shrink, countless intersecting lines filled the vision granted by the Six Eyes.
Mamoru stretched one hand, palm open, and whispered, "Blue."
A thumbnail-sized orb of blue-black light snapped into existence ahead of Tosuke, a tiny rip in the night.
Relief at dodging the fireball still warming him, Tosuke felt his body lighten, heels lifting an inch off the ground.
Before a cry could escape, an irresistible pull yanked him violently forward. He dropped his weight, feet grinding into the earth, veins bulging as he strained every muscle against the drag, cloth tearing under the stress.
In the instant he fought for balance, the force vanished. Before he could steady himself, Mamoru stood behind him, silent as a shadow.
Rasengan!
The dense Chakra sphere smashed into Tosuke's back. The crack of bone rang through the hush as he was hurled spinning across the ground.
Mamoru exhaled and deactivated the Six Eyes. The pale blue faded, the world settling into stable clarity.
It had been the longest he'd ever kept the Six Eyes active since awakening it, prolonged use did the brain no favors.
"Huff… Huff…"
Faint, broken breaths drifted over.
Frowning, Mamoru lifted tired eyes toward the sound.
Tosuke's body was tough, a clean Rasengan hadn't knocked him out. He crawled inch by inch, breathing in ragged gasps.