Kairen moved in an instant — his speed left a red streak in the air — and the point he struck was Jōnin Maire.
"So fast!" Maire's eyes widened; a human body simply couldn't react to that kind of speed.
"Captain, dodge!" a Special Jōnin shoved Maire aside, and was immediately pierced through the heart by a sharp claw.
Maire shouted at the top of his lungs. They had come confident, believing that with their formation they could easily capture Kairen and take him back to the village.
But now three Special Jōnin were already dead.
Most importantly, they didn't even know if they could get back.
...
In the distant forest, the group fell silent.
Yūhi Kurenai's crimson eyes narrowed; the girl's mood shifted at a moment's notice — one moment clouded, the next like clear weather.
Shinku let out a small breath of relief. This kid really turned everyone's emotions into a roller coaster.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke's face twisted: "How can this be? How can this kid possess the Nine-Tails' chakra? Isn't the Nine-Tails sealed inside Kushina Uzumaki?"
Shimura Masao didn't bother with caution and began wildly speculating: "I heard that in Kumogakure, the Gold and Silver Brothers were swallowed by the Nine-Tails — they ate the Nine-Tails' flesh and obtained its chakra…"
"Which would suggest the Nine-Tails' chakra is highly infectious and can be inherited. The First Hokage's wife, Mito Uzumaki, was the first Nine-Tails jinchūriki. Moku Kairen is definitely of the Senju bloodline — he might even be a direct descendant of Mito Uzumaki."
Shimura Masao pinned everything on Kairen's Senju bloodline; any mystery in his head must be forced to fit that theory.
The Nara jōnin watching the red streak that was Moku Kairen felt a faint shock inside:
"The Senju's immense chakra, a Wood-release bloodline that renders physical attacks ineffective, endless advanced Fire Releases, and the Nine-Tails' chakra."
"Any one of these would make a person an elite jōnin easily. It's hard to imagine all of this concentrated in one child. This kid already has the same level of ninja aptitude as the First Hokage or Uchiha Madara!"
A Yamanaka jōnin was surprised: "You rate him that highly?"
The Nara jōnin shook his head. "It's not that I rate him highly or not — these are his unique talents."
He glanced at the grim-faced Sarutobi Shinnosuke and murmured low,
"If he doesn't die today, he'll surely grow to be someone who can dictate the village's fate — even the future of the entire Land of Fire."
"Caw—"
A ninja hawk in the sky cried out, then dove and released a huge wind blade as it neared Moku Kairen.
Kairen put both hands forward to block. The Nine-Tails' chakra granted him defensive and regenerative capabilities beyond imagination.
But—
Moku Kairen was torn apart agai,; that kind of defense still couldn't block the wind blade from an advanced summon.
"Ding!"
"You were killed by the high-level summon using a wind release. EXP +120!"
Kairen dissolved into a puff of white smoke, then slowly reformed into human shape.
Stones shifted. Daisuke, using Earth Release, heaved a large boulder with great effort and hurled it from afar at Kairen.
"Smack!"
With a slap, Moku Kairen was pinned into the dirt.
He gritted his teeth, opened three Gates at once, and mixed in the Nine-Tails' chakra. With a violent twist he flipped the boulder off his body.
Tobioto, the Wind Release user, rushed up and slapped a sealing tag onto Kairen's forehead.
Moku Kairen kicked him, sending Tobioto flying several meters.
Moku Kairen tore off the sealing tag.
"Do you think I'm a zombie? I already said it's useless. I have the Nine-Tails' chakra. Even if you seal my chakra, I still have chakra I can use!"
He gathered a cloak of tailed-beast chakra on his body, a tail slowly emerged from behind his buttocks.
He leapt like a specter and ripped forward with a claw.
Tobioto jumped back and formed hand signs with both hands.
A wind blade flew at Kairen, he simply opened his hands to take it.
"Ding!"
"You were killed by Jōnin Tobioto using a wind release. EXP +90!"
Watching Kairen dissolve again into white smoke and slowly reform, Tobioto spat angrily,
"Troublesome brat!"
He glanced at Maire, who was analyzing the situation in the distance, and shouted,
"Captain, my chakra is nearly gone — what do we do now?"
Ration pills can give a soldier the energy to fight three days and nights, but for a ninja using jutsu they're not an all-purpose chakra supplement.
Maire ground his teeth.
"Damn. I underestimated this brat's chakra reserve, and didn't expect him to be Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchūriki. That's enough for today — retreat!"
"All right! Captain!"
Maire finally realized the gravity: if they kept bleeding chakra like this, they'd run out and be killed one by one by Moku Kairen.
He made a tactical decision at once — withdraw. At least this mission wasn't entirely fruitless; Sunagakure had learned the whereabouts of Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
Figures jumped up into the sky, slowly perching atop two ninja hawks.
Kairen let a cold smile show at the corner of his mouth. In an instant he opened three Gates and released the chest-bound Nine-Tails chakra.
"Want to leave? Dream on!"
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Boom boom boom boom boom…"
White smoke rose continuously, and white figures spilled out from it.
How many shadow clones had the combination of the Eight Gates (three gates open) plus one tail of the Nine-Tails' chakra created?
As far as the eye could see there were countless clones, filling the clearing — roughly thousands.
The moonless night was as black as ink, yet here everything was white.
Maire's pupils dilated to their maximum.
"So many shadow clones… his… his chakra… how is this possible? He's so young — how could he possibly control the Nine-Tails' chakra?!"
Moku Kairen, like a general commanding the battlefield, ordered his shadow clone army:
"Shadow Clone Army, listen up — artillery… prepare!"
"Ura—"
"Ura—"
"Ura—"
In an instant the whole forest was filled with cries of "Ura," as if a thousand soldiers and horses had gathered.
Each of Kairen's clones had red eyes. They formed hand signs in unison, faces tilted to the sky.
"Fire!"
A few clones raised horns and shouted, "Shadow Clone Formation: Multiple Fire Bombs!"
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh…"
One after another, crimson fire-bombs shot out, endless, blanketing the sky. To the onlookers far away it looked like an endless festival of fireworks.
"Run!"
"Captain!"
"Yukino!"
"Rumble rumble rumble rumble…"
Explosions rang without end; the whole sky was deafening with noise. Sunagakure's squad had nowhere to hide from the boundless Fire Release detonations.
After the blasts, a few charred silhouettes fell from the sky. One giant ninja hawk was caught in the barrage and exploded on the spot, too late to return to the summoning world.
Luckily one hawk returned and relayed the intelligence back to Sunagakure.
"Byakugan—open!"
Kairen activated his Byakugan and dashed toward the falling figures.
Five hundred meters ahead in the forest, only two shadows remained beside Maire.
One was Daisuke, strong in Earth Release and very defensive, the other was Tobioto.
Maire took the last three ration pills from his tool pouch.
"Eat them. Maybe we should fight like there's no tomorrow!"
The two nodded and swallowed the rations with grim determination.
Ration pills are rich in protein, easily absorbed, and quickly restore lost stamina. They also invigorate the spirit so one can fight for three days and nights, but they put a heavy strain on the body.
Having taken two consecutively, their bodies felt like taut strings.
The three swallowed the pills, and a crimson figure appeared in an instant.
Kairen took two steps forward, surveying the somewhat quiet layout around them.
"This environment is nice — it'll make a good grave for you."
Maire, too tired to argue, stood and filled with resolve: "Brat, I admit your talent is the highest I've seen, but don't think Sunagakure will kneel to you. Let me show you the desert will of our people!"
He erupted with dense blue chakra.
The other two ninja did the same, faces set with determination, not a hint of retreat.
Moku Kairen's smile grew fanatical. "Then let me take on the desert will of you Sand ninja!"
"First Gate — Open!"
"Second Gate — Rest — Open!"
"Third Gate — Life — Open!"
"Nine-Tails chakra — one-tail form — Open!"
In an instant, a red chakra blaze exploded from Kairen, outshining the chakra concentration on Maire and the other two, bursting forth about ten meters above his head.
The difference was obvious even to the naked eye.
Maire gave Daisuke a bitter look. "Looks like the three of us will die here today."
Daisuke gave a bold laugh and wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
"So be it. After all, we fall on the battlefield for the village. I hope the village later finds a way to subdue this brat!"
"A ninja's fate is the battlefield. From the day I became a ninja I accepted that!" Tobioto's eyes were firm as he used a body flicker to charge at Kairen…
What is sand? A heart unchanged despite a thousand years of wind!
Two minutes later, Kairen slowly drew his claw from Maire's chest. That hand had just ripped through his ribcage and gripped a blood-red heart.
The light in Maire's eyes slowly faded. His lips trembled with difficulty.
"Su—Sunagakure… will not forgive you…"
"Bang!"
Kairen crushed Maire's heart instantly, letting the blood smear his face as an insolent smile tugged at his mouth.
"So what?"
"As long as I feel like it, that desert village can be destroyed at any time!"
Moku Kairen turned, and Maire slowly collapsed, his cold body made companion with the earth.