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"Earth Style: Earth-Shaking Tremor!"
The chakra of the two fighters slammed into each other. Cracks spread across the ground as the earth split open, waves of soil surging up and swallowing the massive stone whole.
"Hm?"
Akira suddenly froze.
He could sense that the stone hadn't actually been destroyed. Instead, under the erosion of his Earth Style, it was slowly dissolving.
His expression darkened.
"Looks like I'll have to get a little serious."
Thick vines suddenly sprouted around his body out of thin air.
Akira brought his hands together. A dazzling white light gathered between his palms before he hurled it forward.
"Fire Style? Blaze Release: Chidori!"
He clapped his hands again, and scorching flames exploded outward. The blazing fire burned the vines to ash, which rained down like embers.
Akira looked coldly at Nauma, who was sprawled on the ground.
"It's over."
He stepped forward and planted his foot on Nauma's head.
"I don't care what damn jonin you are. You're going to pay for this."
Nauma's eyes widened, but the light in them quickly faded. His gaze went unfocused as he slowly closed his eyes and slipped into unconsciousness.
His awareness vanished. His soul returned to the void.
A faint smile appeared on Akira's face. This battle had drained a huge amount of his chakra.
Looking at Nauma, he muttered quietly,
"Annoying guy… but at least now I can train in peace."
"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"
Akira leapt into the air and unleashed a Water Style technique.
A blue-purple vortex rose before him, followed by a massive tidal wave that surged outward in every direction.
Crash!
The waves slammed against the ground, shattering the rocks beneath them. For a moment, the scene looked apocalyptic.
But soon, the muddy water evaporated away, leaving the battlefield calm once again.
Akira's gaze settled on Nauma's corpse.
A cold sneer crossed his face.
"Hmph. Another idiot who came here to die."
At that moment, a Fire Style ninja appeared before him.
Sarutobi Asuma.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Without wasting a word, Asuma formed hand seals and spat out a massive fireball toward Akira.
Akira didn't show the slightest hint of fear. His hands flashed through seals.
"Earth Style: Rock Wall!"
Two enormous slabs of stone shot up from the ground, surrounding him and forming a thick defensive barrier.
Boom!
The explosion thundered through the battlefield. Smoke and debris blasted outward.
When the dust cleared, Akira stood calmly behind a massive rock, completely unharmed.
The stone at his feet, however, had been scorched black and was hissing with white steam.
Asuma stared in disbelief.
"How is that possible?! You're just a ten-year brat, and you can already use Earth Style? And you blocked my Fire Style jutsu?! What the hell is going on?!"
He couldn't understand it at all.
He had pushed his chakra to the limit, yet he still couldn't defeat a ten-year-old kid.
Ridiculous.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Akira ignored the question and launched another attack.
A violent gust swept across the battlefield, blowing away the smoke and dust. Within the raging wind, an enormous compressed fist of air shot straight at Asuma.
"So powerful… This kid isn't simple at all."
Asuma's expression grew serious. He quickly formed hand seals and spat out another giant fireball to intercept the attack.
Boom!
The two attacks collided with a thunderous crash.
The fireball shattered instantly, breaking apart and disappearing into sparks.
But Akira's wind fist kept charging forward like a battering ram.
It was about to slam directly into Asuma.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Asuma hurriedly formed seals again.
This time, the flames he released were far more condensed. At the same time, he gathered chakra into his right arm.
Finally, the wind fist dissipated.
But Asuma didn't have time to relax.
Because a massive green vine suddenly burst from the ground beneath him. Over ten meters long, it coiled around his body and hoisted him up into the branches.
"Damn it!"
Asuma cursed.
"Wood Style: Almighty Pull!"
Akira gave a quiet shout.
A wooden humanoid appeared in midair, grabbed Asuma, and slammed him violently into the ground. The impact tore open a deep wound across his stomach, blood pouring out.
The pain snapped Asuma back to full awareness.
But before he could recover, he saw more wooden figures being summoned around him.
They surrounded him completely.
Akira walked over slowly, staring down at him with icy eyes.
"I remember you saying something like 'no matter who it is.'"
He paused.
"Well… here's your answer."
"You bastard! Let me go! Damn you!"
Rumble—
Akira smirked faintly.
Then he lifted his leg and stomped down on Asuma's head.
Asuma's face turned red with rage.
"You…"
"Cut the crap, old man. Hurry up and admit defeat."
Akira snorted and kicked him again, this time across the other side of his face.
Crunch.
Several teeth flew out as Asuma spat blood onto the ground, his face swollen and bruised.
"H-hey… wait…"
He quickly tried to stop him, terrified that Akira might beat him to death if he kept talking.
"I surrender…"
He raised his hand weakly and slowly knelt down.
"I give up… I give up… Please spare me… please…"
Akira glanced at him indifferently and looked away.
"Hey! Why aren't you doing anything?"
Seeing that Akira hadn't attacked again, a bad feeling rose in Asuma's chest.
"I already gave you a chance. Since you refused…"
Akira's eyes turned cold.
"Then die."
"Giant Rasengan!"
He stretched out two fingers.
In an instant, a massive Rasengan formed, spinning violently before surging forward. Everything in its path was ground into dust.
"What?!"
Asuma felt the terrifying pressure approaching and immediately turned to run.
But his reaction was already too slow.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed across the arena as a powerful shockwave blasted outward.
"Cough… cough…"
Asuma staggered backward, clutching his injured chest and coughing violently.
Then he glared at Akira with bloodshot eyes.
"I'll kill you! Fire Style: Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Style: Great Explosion!"
Boom! Boom!
The powerful techniques clashed once again.
Flames and sandstorm-like shockwaves tore across the battlefield.
This time, Asuma was left far worse off. His body was charred black as he collapsed to the ground, barely breathing.
"Hey… bastard… I surrender… I surrender…"
He gasped desperately.
He knew if he didn't admit defeat now, he would die.
"Surrender?"
Akira smiled faintly and walked toward him.
"H-hey… what are you doing?!"
Asuma panicked, but his injuries were too severe for him to move. All he could do was watch Akira approach.
Smack.
Akira stepped on his face.
"Bastard…"
Asuma glared at him with hatred.
He was the Hokage's son.
And yet he had been defeated here. It was the greatest humiliation of his life.
Akira only chuckled and walked away.
"You bastard! Damn you!"
Asuma roared angrily.
Suddenly, a cold breeze brushed across his neck.
He shivered.
"…Huh? That hurts…"
Touching his face, he realized it was covered in blood.
"Damn it! I'll kill you!"
He continued cursing while struggling to get up.
But when he looked toward Akira again, he froze.
Akira was standing in the distance, completely motionless.
Steam was rising from his back.
Burns from the flames.
"He… died?"
Asuma stared blankly for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Hahaha! That bastard's finally dead!"
"Great! I'm finally free of that monster!"
"Now I can finally focus on training!"
"When I reach elite jonin level, I'll take revenge! I'll tear that bastard to pieces!"
"You freak! You'll be punished for this!"
He ranted wildly while struggling to stand up.
"Oh right. There's still one more thing to deal with."
Akira's cold voice drifted through the air.
Asuma froze.
"W-what?! You monster! Don't come near me!"
The humiliation he'd felt earlier was gone, replaced by pure terror.
Even though Akira looked unharmed, Asuma knew the truth.
He had already used everything he had.
Even his strongest Fire Style techniques had been useless.
The gap between them was overwhelming.
"Stay away! Stay away from me!"
He screamed.
Whoosh.
Akira ignored him and rushed forward, kicking him violently.
Bang!
Asuma slammed into a rock and slid down onto the ground.
His body felt like it had fallen apart.
He lay there, barely breathing.
"You… you're really going to kill me…?"
Asuma asked weakly.
Akira's expression turned icy.
"Not kill you? If you become a genin, you'll only become more troublesome."
"So… go meet the gods."
He raised his fist.
And smashed it down on Asuma's head.
One blow.
Fatal.
The light faded from Asuma's eyes, disbelief frozen on his face.
Akira turned and looked at the unconscious trio of Shikaku and the others lying nearby. Then he pulled out a scroll from his pocket.
He had secretly taken it the night before.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."
He formed hand seals.
A fireball shot out.
"Ahhh!"
"Help… help me!"
"I don't want to die!"
The flames instantly ignited Asuma's clothes, spreading across his body and face until he became a living torch.
Moments later, the flames died down.
Only a dried corpse remained.
Sarutobi Asuma—dead.
With that, the Fire Daimyo's entire guard force had been wiped out by Akira.
Without hesitation, Akira entered the Daimyo's mansion.
Without his guards, the Fire Country Daimyo was just an ordinary man.
Killing him was effortless.
...
Afterward, Akira immediately set out for his next destination.
The Land of Water.
His goal this time: the Two Tailed Beasts there.
The Six-Tails and the Three-Tails.
One day later, Akira arrived in the Land of Water.
Before he could even reach Kirigakure, a Mist ninja blocked his path.
The man was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Zabuza Momochi.
"You brat with a death wish… daring to cause trouble in the Bloody Mist Village."
He raised his blade with a cruel grin.
"I'll show you what real cruelty looks like."
With that, Zabuza swung his massive sword and charged at Akira.
Among the Seven Swordsmen, he was infamous for his brutality. He had never shown the slightest mercy to anyone.
To him, the boy before him was nothing more than an insect to torture.
And he had done this countless times before.
Every victim ended up broken and half-dead before he finished them off.
"Heh… just as I thought."
Akira let out a cold laugh.
From that one sentence, he could already guess that this was exactly how things had gone in the original timeline.
But so what?
There were always idiots in this world who wanted to die.
And he was more than happy to grant their wish.
"Wind Style: Wind Blade Shuriken!"
Akira flicked both hands sharply.
Several razor-sharp wind shuriken shot straight toward Zabuza.
Even though he couldn't fully use his chakra yet, attacks at this level were still trivial for him.
After all…
Akira had mastered far more powerful jutsu than this.
"..."
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