"Watch out!" Shichikon shouted, his already ugly features twisting further.
Too late.
Yako caught only a blur before a fist rammed into his chest.
Chakra poured through the blow, pulping organs. Impact exploded, flinging him.
A dull thunderclap rang through the cave.
The lifeless body slammed into the far wall and lodged deep in the rock.
Rubble and dust rained down, leaving a man-shaped crater.
The sudden crash finally roused the bandits below the stone platform. They clustered in small groups, craning their necks upward, some at the platform, some at the corpse embedded in stone, igniting a commotion.
"What happened on the stone platform?"
"Look, isn't that the second boss, Yako?"
"Are the leaders arguing?"
"Fool, who fights this viciously over an argument? He's clearly not getting out alive."
Several alert bandits sensed something wrong and already grabbed their weapons, creeping toward the stone platform.
Standing on the platform, Shichikon froze, his face shifting between pale and flushed as dread spread through him. His fingers trembled uncontrollably while he stared at Mamoru slowly withdrawing his fist.
"Cough cough! That bastard nearly killed me. He stinks like hell, did he grow up eating shit?" Mamoru kept waving his hand to disperse the dust and the sickening stench in front of him, his brows tightly knit.
Once the smell faded a little, he stopped and turned to Shichikon. "You're Shichikon, right?"
Shichikon didn't answer, he simply watched in silence, eyes wary, body slightly crouched in a defensive stance.
When no reply came, Mamoru shrugged, pointed at the ground in front of him, and smiled. "I got rid of that disgusting thing for you, shouldn't you come over and thank me on your knees?"
"Stinking brat, you're too arrogant!" Shichikon roared and began rapidly forming hand seals.
"Why does everyone need to suffer before they face reality?"
Mamoru stood still, letting him finish the seals, not taking him seriously at all, even lazily slipping his hands back into his pockets.
Wind Release: Gale Palm!
Shichikon thrust both palms forward and countless wind blades howled toward Mamoru with a shrill whistle.
Mamoru kept his hands in his pockets. Yet the moment those wind blades touched him, they vanished as if swallowed by something invisible.
A few blades that missed sliced through distant stalactites, sending rubble clattering down.
"What!?" Shichikon's eyes bulged in disbelief.
His Ninjutsu had clearly struck, so why was the boy unscathed? The severed stalactites proved the technique wasn't just for show.
"Looks like your Ninjutsu didn't hit me. How about you try again?" Mamoru said flatly, a hint of mockery in his tone.
"Damn it, what's going on?"
Unable to understand, Shichikon formed hand seals again, his fingers moving even faster.
When the technique was ready, he inhaled sharply and spat out countless invisible shockwaves. But no matter how hard he tried, Mamoru stood unharmed, not even his clothes fluttering.
Still unwilling to give up, Shichikon unleashed several more Wind Release Ninjutsu in succession, yet every one failed to scratch Mamoru.
"Why?"
Crushed, Shichikon instinctively stepped back.
Then a sudden flash of insight made him shout, "Could it be Genjutsu?"
Mamoru yawned in boredom. "Too bad, wrong guess. Of all things, Genjutsu is the one thing I never learned."
He stretched, joints cracking. "Time to switch turns, shall I make my move?"
Shichikon's heart lurched and he gulped, body tensing. "Wait!"
He stared fixedly at Mamoru, every movement now felt like an unknown threat.
Leaving aside how the boy had blocked his Ninjutsu, the brutal scene of Yako's instant death was fresh in his mind—one lapse and he could end up the same way.
Mamoru narrowed his eyes in a smile that didn't reach them. "So afraid to die? Then come quietly with me."
To Shichikon, Mamoru's gentle smile now looked like the grin of the Shinigami—sinister, savage, cruel—making him shudder.
Shichikon wavered.
He knew his own strength: handling ordinary Chunin was easy, he could trade blows with a Jonin of Konoha for a few rounds, and even if outmatched, he could still escape.
Yet Yako, whose power rivaled his, had been killed in an instant. The more he thought, the more terrified he became.
How much better could he fare against this boy?
The answer was obvious: the outcome wouldn't differ much.
But how could he resign himself to being captured without a fight?
"Still can't decide? Let me choose for you. Cripple you first, then take you back." Noticing Shichikon' shifting expression, Mamoru made the decision for him and started walking over.
"Wait… I have something… to say…" Shichikon quickly raised a hand and shouted, voice quavering with fear.
If he didn't stop the boy now, he feared the next second would be too late for regrets.
"Boss, what happened? Why is the second boss…"
Just then, several bandits popped their heads up the stone steps, staring in horror at the corpse on the wall and then at the two on the platform.
The sudden arrival of the bandits instantly disrupted the atmosphere on the platform.
Shichikon seized the lifeline. With the fastest reaction he'd ever shown, he dashed for the steps, grabbed the first bandit he reached, and hurled the man at Mamoru on the platform.
"Boss, how—"
The second bandit didn't even finish before he too was flung through the air, screaming in terror.
Like a madman, Shichikon grabbed anyone within reach and tossed them at Mamoru.
Ordinary bandits were powerless to resist and sailed through the air one after another.
All Shichikon could think of was stalling for time and escaping, the scar on his face twisting with frenzy.
Seeing a silhouette flying at him, Mamoru kicked it aside and muttered, "Futile effort."
His gaze remained locked on Shichikon, as if enjoying a clumsy performance.
Facing the figures flying towards him one after another, Mamoru didn't show the slightest bit of mercy. His body moved like lightning as he raised his leg and kicked. His movements were concise and sharp, each strike containing explosive power.
Bang... Bang...
Dull impact sounds echoed one after another in the cave. Figures drew messy arcs in the air and slammed heavily against the hard cave walls, then slumped down and slid to the floor, motionless.
By the time Mamoru kicked away the last 'sandbag,' Shichikon, standing at the edge of the stone platform, had already completed his Ninjutsu.
A flash of ruthlessness crossed his face as he slammed his hands onto the ground.
Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!
In an instant, the ground shook violently, and countless sharp, hideous earth spikes burst forth like a forest of man-eating stalagmites, rapidly spreading toward where Mamoru stood.