Chapter 43: Dance of Lightning and Venom
Kagenori faced the two Kumo-nin, his breathing steady despite the adrenaline and pain coursing through him. This was his first real battle against shinobi of this caliber—a seasoned jounin and a special jounin. The one he'd beheaded initially had likely been of a similar level. He analyzed the situation coldly, his Sharingan recording every minute detail.
Oyuro, the jounin, had managed to block three of his five slashes from the Rice Spirit form, only succumbing to the fourth due to its sheer speed. His combat experience was significant, allowing him to react where a lesser ninja would have died. He was slower than Kagenori, but he used his experience to compensate.
Oyuro shot a glance at his remaining comrade, Atsui. Years of fighting side-by-side forged a wordless understanding between them.
"Cloud Style: Flash Slash!"
Oyuro's hands flew through seals, and a cage of crackling lightning erupted around him. The ambient electricity was instantly drawn to the lightning chakra still flickering around Kagenori's body, arcing toward him in a shocking assault. Simultaneously, Oyuro charged, his ninja sword held in a two-handed grip, aiming a powerful slash at Kagenori.
Kagenori gritted his teeth, redirecting and dispersing the incoming lightning even as he brought his own sword up to block.
CLANG!
The force behind Oyuro's blow was immense, enhanced by his lightning-charged muscles. Three consecutive, heavy slashes hammered against Kagenori's blade, driving him back several steps, his boots digging furrows in the forest soil.
As Kagenori was forced into retreat, Atsui used the Body Flicker Technique to materialize behind him, his own sword swinging in a silent, deadly arc aimed at Kagenori's back.
The sword connected—but instead of flesh, it sank into mud. Kagenori's form dissolved into a dark, wet slurry that splattered onto the ground.
Earth Clone! When did he make the substitution?! Atsui's eyes widened in shock.
"ATSUI, MOVE!" Oyuro roared.
But it was too late.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Kagenori emerged from the shadows to Atsui's right, several pale snakes shooting from his sleeves. They wrapped around Atsui's limbs and torso with startling speed, their fangs sinking deep into his flesh, injecting a potent, fast-acting venom.
Kagenori's sword followed, a silver flash aimed cleanly at Atsui's exposed neck.
"Damn it! Lightning Release: Shadow Lightning Thrust!" Oyuro's body flared with a new surge of lightning, his speed spiking as he became a blur. He crossed the distance in an instant, his sword severing the constricting snakes and shoving Atsui hard to the ground. The two rolled just as Kagenori's blade descended, its tip only managing to graze Atsui's shoulder.
Kagenori's eyes narrowed. So, he uses lightning to enhance his strength primarily, not his speed. The jounin's raw power was formidable, but his mobility was still within manageable limits.
Oyuro helped a dazed Atsui to his feet, his voice a low, urgent growl. "Don't underestimate him! He's dangerous!"
His gaze was locked on Kagenori, a new level of respect and fear in his eyes. He had recognized the technique. That was a signature move of Orochimaru of the Sannin.
Kagenori didn't give them time to recover. His hands formed another sequence of seals, and he took a deep, chest-expanding breath.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A tidal wave of fire, vast and roaring like an infernal ocean, erupted from his mouth, sweeping toward the two Kumo-nin, intent on turning the entire area to ash.
"Evade!" Oyuro barked.
They split, diving to either side. Oyuro, bypassing the edge of the flames, charged Kagenori once more.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
He condensed his chakra onto his ninja sword, the blade glowing with intense, focused lightning. With a thrust, a powerful bolt of lightning, sharp as a spear, lanced toward Kagenori.
A grim smile touched Kagenori's lips. "Oh? A move similar to mine. Let's see whose lightning is stronger!"
He raised his own sword, the tip aimed directly at the incoming attack.
"Thunder Breathing, Fifth Form: Heat Lightning!"
A searing, blade-like arc of superheated lightning shot from his sword, meeting Oyuro's False Darkness head-on.
The collision was blinding. Two torrents of raw lightning energy clashed in the center of the clearing, crackling and roaring, neither giving ground. The entire forest was illuminated in stark, white flashes.
Oyuro felt a cold dread. How does this kid have so much chakra? And his control over lightning... it's superior to mine!
He had fought in the Second Great Shinobi War. He had seen geniuses—children younger than this boy who could trade blows with battle-hardened jounin. They always made him feel painfully mediocre. Now, at twenty-seven, having only recently made jounin, that feeling returned with a vengeance. The killing intent in his heart solidified. They couldn't take this Sharingan-wielding prodigy alive. He had to die here, today, before he could become an unstoppable threat to Kumogakure.
Abandoning the stalemate, Oyuro rolled aside, letting Kagenori's Heat Lightning slash past him to scorch the trees behind. He used the Body Flicker again, closing the distance in an instant.
"Cloud Style: Soaring Blade!"
His lightning-wreathed sword swung in a horizontal arc aimed at Kagenori's torso.
Kagenori met aggression with aggression, his own lightning-clad sword swinging up to block.
CLANG!
The force of the impact was tremendous, but this time, Kagenori held his ground. To Oyuro's shock, it was he who was forced back a step by the counter-force.
But Oyuro's technique had a follow-up. As he was pushed back, a blade of pure lightning detached from his sword and shot toward Kagenori at point-blank range.
The lightning blade struck Kagenori's sword and exploded, engulfing him in a crackling web of electricity that should have paralyzed his muscles.
"NOW, ATSUI!" Oyuro yelled, expecting his partner to deliver the finishing blow.
But no attack came.
Oyuro glanced over, his blood running cold.
Atsui was on the ground, half his body horribly burned, his limbs twitching spasmodically.
"What happened?!" he cried out. Atsui should have easily dodged the Great Fire Annihilation. How was he hit?
"He's having a seizure, it looks like," Kagenori's voice was calm, cold.
In a flicker of movement, Kagenori appeared next to the convulsing Atsui, grabbing a handful of his hair and yanking his head up. He stared directly at Oyuro, his Sharingan spinning slowly, mockingly.
"Why did you think your lightning could paralyze me?" Kagenori asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Do you think the lightning on my body is just for show?"
Oyuro's eyes darted to the fang marks on Atsui's neck and arms, the skin around them turning a sickly black. His face paled. "The snakes... it was the venom."
The snakes from the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands hadn't just been for restraint. They were venomous. The poison had been working through Atsui's system, slowing his reflexes, making him sluggish. He hadn't been fast enough to completely avoid the wall of fire.
Kagenori pressed the tip of his sword against Atsui's throat, his smile a cruel slash. "Don't worry. You're next."
With a single, brutal thrust, he drove the blade through Atsui's neck. The special jounin jerked violently for a moment before falling still, his lifeless eyes staring into nothingness.
Oyuro stared, his own eyes wide with horror and rage, the veins in his neck bulging.
Kagenori chuckled, a dry, hollow sound. "Why are you looking at me like that? The moment you laid a hand on Kushina, this became a fight to the death. Did you expect mercy?"