The wind howled through the shattered trees, the clearing transformed into an apocalyptic graveyard. The charred trunks smoked, their bark scorched by stray lightning.
The blood-soaked ground clung to soles, crimson puddles reflecting the moon fractured by the treetops.
Shreds of flesh and scorched grass littered the earth, the air thick with the scent of iron and ashes. The heavy mist danced like a specter among the trees, amplifying the aura of death.
Karui, her face twisted in pain, gritted her teeth, her sword humming with crackling Raiton chakra. Her left arm, slashed open, hung limp, each movement sending jolts of pain down her spine.
Blood dripped from her fingers, pooling at her feet. On the other side, Anko staggered, one hand pressed to the gaping wound in her side, where blood oozed steadily.
Her Cursed Mark pulsed, black veins crawling across her skin like a living infection. Her breath was ragged, but her violet eyes burned with reptilian cruelty.
"You're holding up well for a bitch," Anko growled, her voice hoarse, a twisted smile on her lips.
"And you... you're one hell of an unkillable freak," Karui replied, her words broken by pain.
Without another word, they lunged at each other, their bodies tearing through the air like starved beasts.
The impact was cataclysmic.
Karui swung her blade, an arc of lightning ready to cleave, but Anko, quicker, launched a shadow serpent, its glistening scales coiling around the blade.
With a sharp yank, she tore the weapon away, sending it flying into a tree with a heavy thud, the steel embedding to the hilt.
Karui cursed, spinning to drive her Raiton-charged elbow into Anko's jaw. The strike crackled, lightning bursting—but Anko, grimacing, blocked with her forearm, her nails clawing across Karui's face, drawing bloody lines.
The battle turned into a slaughterhouse, a whirlwind of raw savagery. Karui landed an electrified uppercut, her knuckles smashing into Anko's cheekbone with a sickening crack.
Anko countered, a shadow serpent sinking its fangs into Karui's calf. Blood sprayed as Karui roared, her lightning-charged knee slamming into Anko's chest.
The blow hurled her backward, her shoulder slamming into a boulder, blood splashing against the stone. Anko, swaying, rose again, her lips curled in an inhuman snarl.
"Raiton: Fangs of the Lightning Beast!" Karui roared, slamming her palm to the ground.
Living bolts of lightning burst forth like ravenous predators, shrieking across the battlefield. One struck Anko square in the chest, detonating in a crackling explosion.
She screamed, her body flung across the clearing, crashing into a tree that split from the impact. Her skin smoked, black burns marring her flesh—but she rolled and rose in a spasm, eyes reduced to narrow reptilian slits.
"Still... not dead?" Karui panted, her arm trembling.
Anko didn't answer. She formed a hand seal.
"Genjutsu: Skin Mirror!"
The forest warped, the air turning to liquid nightmare. Dozens of Anko clones emerged, their cruel smiles identical, their eyes empty pits. The trees seemed to close in, their branches clawing at the air, the ground rippling like a living swamp.
Karui, disoriented, growled, biting her lip until blood spilled, breaking the illusion. She discharged a pulse of Raiton chakra inside her body, shattering the genjutsu into smoky fragments.
But it was a trap.
The ground exploded beneath her, a gaping maw tearing through the earth. A colossal serpent erupted, its obsidian scales oozing acidic venom that scorched the grass.
Its sickly green eyes locked onto Karui, its tongue hissing like a blade. She stumbled back, her legs unsteady, but the monster lunged, maw wide to devour her.
Karui, screaming, poured all her chakra into her right arm, forming a blade of pure lightning.
"Raiton: Final Blade!" she bellowed, leaping to meet the beast head-on.
The impact was deafening, an explosion of thunder and flesh. The serpent's fangs shattered, its jaw split in two, blood and venom bursting in torrents.
The titanic body collapsed, shaking the clearing, dissolving into a poisonous vapor. Karui, out of breath, fell to one knee, her muscles screaming, her body trembling from the effort.
A fatal mistake.
A shadow slipped behind her, silent as death.
Anko's breath brushed her neck—and before Karui could react, fangs sank into her shoulder, ripping through flesh. The venom, burning like acid, spread instantly, tearing a primal scream from her throat.
Her nerves ignited, muscles convulsing in agony. Anko, her face drenched in sweat and blood, stepped back, a sadistic smile curling her lips.
"It's over," she whispered, her voice almost tender.
Karui tried to rise, her legs buckling, her sword out of reach. Her fingers dug into the dirt, nails cracking. The venom spread, a freezing wave paralyzing her limbs, her lungs struggling for each breath.
She collapsed to her knees, blood spilling from her mouth, her gaze still defiant.
"Then... kill me," she spat, her voice broken but hard.
Anko stood still, staring at her, reptilian eyes glinting. The forest held its breath, tree shadows frozen in oppressive silence.
Karui spat a bloody wad, her body trembling. Anko stepped forward, kunai sliding into her hand—but a distant rumble shattered the tension.
An explosion echoed in the distance, shaking the clearing—heralding the arrival of a new chaos.