Zzzzt…
White steam hissed from Chiba's pores as the First of the Eight Gates opened within him—sweat vaporizing from the sheer heat of his unleashed potential.
"Earth Style: Rock Fist Technique!"
In the split-second it took for the Gate to open, Sekido was already upon him, a fist sheathed in jagged stone swinging for a killing blow. Too late.
With the brain's limiters released, Chiba could now wield 100% of his body's capabilities. His power, his speed—everything surged.
"Hard Strike!"
Chiba sidestepped. The rock fist whistled past. He pivoted on his heel, torque coiling through his waist, and his own fist lashed out to meet the hardened form of Tetsusai, who was charging from behind.
CLANG!
Fist met fortified flesh with the sound of clashing metals. Tetsusai's expression twisted.
"This force…?!"
It was no exaggeration. Aside from the Tsuchikage's own son, Tetsusai had never met anyone who could match his raw, hardened strength head-on.
But the power behind this brat's punch… it wasn't just equal to Lord Kitsuchi's. It surpassed it.
Tetsusai's insides churned. He stumbled back, feet skidding against the dirt.
Whoosh!
Like a ghost, Chiba flowed with his momentum. He closed the distance, sticking to Tetsusai's off-balance flank. Sekido, scrambling to re-engage, could only watch in furious frustration.
"Damn it, Tetsusai, move!" Sekido barked.
Tetsusai had no breath to answer. Chiba's fist was already coming again—this time, straight for his face.
CLANG!
Tetsusai crossed his arms, a solid barrier. The impact rocked him, but the punch didn't break his Hardening.
Then, the change.
Chiba's fist turned white. Sheets of paper, sharp as razors, peeled from his skin like shedding scales and shot point-blank at Tetsusai's eyes.
Thwick-thwick.
Tetsusai never saw it coming. At this range, dodging was impossible. The paper cut deep, scooping out gory chunks.
"GYAAH! My eyes—!"
Instinctively, his hands flew to his face. Agony shattered his focus. The steady chakra flow for Hardening broke.
And in the same moment the paper flew, Chiba's other hand had already shaped itself into a scalpel. Now, it plunged for Tetsusai's throat.
"You thought I was just playing around?"
"NO!!!"
Sekido's roar was pure rage. But it all happened in a breath—the opening, the blinding, the kill. He was too far, too slow. No, he was simply unprepared. The kid they'd been pressuring just moments ago had turned and erased Tetsusai in a single, flawless exchange.
"Tetsusai! Tetsusai!!"
By the time Sekido reached his partner's side, a dark, bubbling hole already marred Tetsusai's neck. The life was gone.
"Hey. He's gone. Trust me, I'm a medic."
Chiba offered the helpful tip as Sekido clutched the body, his face a mask of grief. As he spoke, Chiba let the Eight Gates close. The strain was real, and sustaining it was costly.
One enemy down. The dynamics of the fight had flipped. Control was his.
Just as planned.
Chiba was pleased. In an even match, the one with a sudden, overwhelming burst often clinched victory.
And if he finished off this last one… this smooth little combo would remain his secret weapon for next time.
"Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"
While Sekido grieved, Chiba's hands moved. The ground beneath the two Iwa ninja softened, churned, became a sucking mire intent on swallowing them whole.
"Earth Style: Solid Rock!"
Eyes bloodshot, Sekido slammed his palms into the mud. Instantly, the swamp hardened into unyielding stone. He launched himself from it, a vengeful projectile aimed at Chiba.
"Earth Style: Rock Fist Technique!"
Rage burned away caution. Sekido encased both fists in stone, swinging a furious, relentless barrage at Chiba's head.
"Shadow Dance Step!"
If Sekido wanted to brawl, Chiba would dance. He weaved and flowed, letting every heavy swing cleave empty air, letting the Iwa ninja exhaust himself.
"Fight me, you coward!" Sekido snarled, spittle flying. "Stop running! Come at me! What, your woman know you've got no spine?!"
Chiba wasn't angry. He was, factually, well-endowed. And he had no woman.
He dodged another wild swing, a grin on his face. "Hey, you're taking this pretty hard. Was Tetsusai your hubby?"
"Who was on top? Or did you take turns?"
Trash talk? Please. Chiba was an artist in a past life. He'd played piano in the toxic choruses of online battles.
"BASTARD! DIE!"
Sekido broke. His punches came faster, wilder, fueled by pure hatred. They still didn't touch Chiba's clothes.
The fight was over the moment Sekido lost his cool.
Chiba slipped inside a wide haymaker. As Sekido's momentum carried him forward, old force spent, new force not yet gathered, Chiba's scalpel-hand flickered out.
Not a stab—too risky, could get his arm trapped. A slice.
Across Sekido's thigh.
"Ghk!"
Blood sprayed. Sekido's leg buckled. Balance faltered. Chiba's blade flashed again, across the Iwa ninja's side.
"You hit softer than my eighty-year-old granny," Chiba taunted, throwing their earlier insults back with a sneer. "What, can't get it up?"
"BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Veins bulged at Sekido's temples. He glared, the promise of murder in his eyes. He knew, logically, he should have run the moment Tetsusai fell. But seeing his lifelong friend die like that… Running felt like betrayal. Even if he died, he'd tear a pound of flesh first!
"Earth Style: Multiple Earth Flow!"
A guttural roar. Sekido's stone-wrapped fists hammered the ground.
CRACK!
Webs of fractures shot out meters in every direction. The shattered earth erupted, morphing into multiple, roaring dragons of rock and soil. They coiled and lunged, a crushing net aimed at the retreating Chiba.
"Hah. Last stand."
Chiba watched the earth-dragons descend. And he smiled.
"Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage."
To Sekido's horrified gaze, Chiba simply… melted. His feet liquefied the earth beneath him, and he sank into the ground, disappearing completely.
A C-rank technique he'd derived from the A-rank Swamp of the Underworld. Simple. Effective.
"No… NO! FIGHT ME, YOU COWARD!"
Sekido's rage curdled into despair. "FIGHT! FIGHT ME PROPERLY!"
"This isn't how it's supposed to be!"
In his mind, they were meant to have an epic, honorable clash. A death he could be proud of. Not… this. This was cheating. It was infuriating!
With its target gone, the earth-dragons crashed mindlessly into the ground, dissolving back into dirt.
"Hah… Hah…"
Sekido gasped, sweat pouring. That last jutsu had drained more than half his chakra. Exhaustion crept in, heavy and deep.
"Tired already? Soft."
Chiba's form rose from the earth like a specter. His smirk was a knife.
"You… you…!"
Sekido tried to point, to curse. His body had other ideas. It slumped forward, collapsing to the ground. He couldn't move a finger.
Tap. Tap.
Consciousness remained. He lay there, paralyzed, as Chiba's footsteps approached.
"Fool. You need to fight with your head."
Chiba, a firm believer in the principle that monologuing villains die, didn't hesitate. A precise chop to the neck. Done.
Then, as he began rifling through Sekido's pouches, he offered the explanation. "Poison. On my scalpel. When I cut you. You burned through your chakra so fast… you sped the toxin right through your system. You were dead the moment you lost your temper."
He sighed, almost to himself. "I really don't like killing, you know. You forced my hand."
Two Iwa ninja hunters. Both countered. Both killed.
"My bounty's definitely going up. Lucky for me, Kakuzu only takes big contracts. Small fry like me are beneath him."
He tucked the newly acquired Iwagakure scroll into his vest. Three different scrolls now.
"Alright. Next, I just need to kill… tch, I mean, acquire the Suna and Kumo scrolls to pass."
He stood, scanning the forest. "Old Man Kosuke… hope he's okay. Need to find him."
His gaze swept the horizon—and froze.
His pupils contracted to pins.
In the distance, painting the sky, was a phenomenon of staggering scale. A cataclysmic ninjutsu.
"And that would be… Wait." His blood ran cold. "Why the hell is it coming STRAIGHT FOR ME?!"
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