—Not again...— Tetsumaru thought reluctantly, feeling an uninterrupted series of waves that agitated his sand and destabilized the platform he was flying on.
His feet sank into the sand, the magnetic energy holding it together "flickering" and unbalancing the harmony between that physical aspect and the mystical one that was the chakra itself.
Tetsumaru fell, refusing to waste more chakra in an uphill struggle for dominance over his most useful weapon. It wasn't as if it were the only one in any case.
A winged Nomu lunged at the shinobi, bone and metal claws protruding from its feet and ready to rip open his belly.
The shinobi forced chakra out of his Tenketsu points in his torso and legs, maintaining a kind of dense layer of energy adhered to his skin and clothes.
In a display of agility and mobility that he shouldn't have, Tetsumaru maneuvered in the air and avoided the Nomu's claws, stamping his hand on its face, a hand that had formed a rotating sphere of pure chakra.
The face, supports, brain, and everything from the neck up of the Nomu exploded into a bloody mess, unable to resist the onslaught of a full-capacity Rasengan. This Tetsumaru was not exhausted from two days of fighting with Dark Shadow like the one at the camp.
More Nomu lunged at him, but Tetsumaru evaded the ones that had jumped in the air and kicked, punched, and drove Rasengan into the ones that could fly.
The shinobi landed softly on a rooftop, mobilizing more chakra to his legs to dodge the charge of the other monstrosities, with no desire to stay still in the same place for more than a second.
A massive punch cracked the rooftop, shaking the surroundings and slightly unbalancing Tetsumaru.
Another creature took the opportunity and lunged with a frontal charge, tilting its head to pierce the shinobi with its metallic extensions adhered to its shoulders. An otherwise strange design.
Tetsumaru jumped slightly and grabbed the shoulder "spears" with his own hands, avoiding cuts thanks to the special gloves Hatsume Mei made for him.
He applied force and raised his lower body, delivering a barrage of powerful kicks to the glass protecting the Nomu's brain, shattering it and scattering pieces of gray matter everywhere.
The creature lost coordination, stumbling and falling flat on its face. Tetsumaru scooped up a large portion of brain with his hands and threw it at another Nomu's feet, causing it to slip.
He preferred to get dirty than to allow the thing to get up, as he had no way of knowing which one had regeneration and which one did not.
But the situation wasn't looking good.
More Nomu were jumping from other places, while the winged ones threw blades from their forearms or descended in dives, trying to rip off his head.
There were some bulky ones whose strength far surpassed the shinobi's, and combined with the numbers, they forced the black-haired boy to stay on the defensive, always evading, always moving, utilizing his superior speed and agility.
From his sleeves emerged two particular tools, one dense and hard, crackling with electrical energy, the other thinner, pointed. Weapons that Hatsume also added to his new gear.
As a shinobi, the handling of various weapons was something basic in Tetsumaru's instincts. He wouldn't call himself a specialist, but the Kage he embodied wasn't born with crazy abilities. He had to learn to use many tools and that capacity was inherited by him.
The sharp blade flickered and pierced eyeballs, blinding the monsters. The baton swung and pierced the glass, delivering a good shock to the Nomu's half-dead brains.
Amidst the chaos of bodies and evasions, the shinobi diligently searched for the damned monsters that were interfering with his Magnet Release, but he couldn't locate them.
—Of course they wouldn't send them to the front— he muttered with a sigh. The Villains learned from the last lesson.
If he concentrated enough, he could feel the place the strange waves were coming from, as they were not only assaulting him, but also the pile of sand he had brought with the intention of tracking the blonde and the lizard, which now lay scattered between the street and the rooftops.
But the two dozen enemies surrounding him didn't give him the time or space to concentrate. Luckily, these Nomu were pathetic or he would already be more than dead.
Unfortunately, a real heavyweight appeared.
Jumping and running at a speed no less than his own, a slender and athletic Nomu intercepted the shinobi in mid-air, crashing violently into him, knocking the wind out of his lungs and causing him to drop the electric baton.
Stinking jaws opened before Tetsumaru with the intention of ripping off his face, but the shinobi struggled as best he could and managed to move away a little, receiving the bite on his left shoulder.
The flesh was slightly penetrated and blood splattered, but there was also a screeching metallic noise and the Nomu's malformed teeth stopped.
—Hnngh, you son of a— Tetsumaru growled, driving a half-formed Rasengan into the slender Nomu's stomach.
The thing let go of him, but the shinobi noticed that the damage was not as devastating as he had expected.
Before a mountain of Nomu could crush him, his chakra flared up again, this time in a specific pattern.
Tetsumaru vanished from the spot in a blur of movement, leaping a great distance to the building across the wide street.
Or so he intended.
Just before landing, another slender and fast Nomu appeared at the spot, swinging its long, clawed arm toward Tetsumaru.
More chakra was quickly drawn out, enveloping the shinobi's body and allowing him to deviate slightly, slamming a double kick into the creature's face, burying its head in the concrete and breaking several of its teeth.
Taking advantage of the posture, Tetsumaru leaped backward and allowed himself to fall to the street. He hadn't wanted to do it, but by this point people were already evacuating the area and the danger was significantly lower for civilians.
As he expected, the monsters leaped mercilessly from the rooftop, but that gave the shinobi an opportunity to intercept them on their landing and dispose of another batch.
But as soon as he tried to move, something in his perception felt wrong, uncomfortable, alien.
His limbs seemed to lose temperature and moving forward became difficult. A tingling sensation descended through his chest and he instinctively made a sudden movement with his chakra, interrupting its flow.
But the sensation did not leave him.
—You have to get out of here!— an unknown voice reached him from behind, but he didn't have time to turn around to verify the individual's identity.
A shadow loomed over him and a bulky Nomu descended onto his position with its fist aimed at his head.
Then the feeling of coldness and heaviness disappeared and the shinobi was able to jump to the side, narrowly avoiding being turned into paste.
The Nomu landed heavily, kicking up a cloud of dust and asphalt fragments. Its monstrous frame pushed the dust away as it charged at the black-haired boy at full speed.
Then a mysterious red light bathed the Nomu from the side and Tetsumaru noticed a slight, almost imperceptible, reduction in its movement. That was more than enough for him.
His legs tensed again, but this time he didn't charge with the Shunshin. He hadn't had enough time to practice that technique, and magically appearing next to the Nomu was beyond his capabilities for the moment.
However, a small group of diverse individuals intervened before he could act, getting in his way.
A guy in a peculiar suit with metallic, robust arms that looked like hydraulic machinery stepped between the shinobi and the Nomu, raising both arms as the "pistons" audibly retracted.
—Piston Smash!— he exclaimed unnecessarily, pulverizing the Nomu with his powerful punches.
To the subject's credit, the Nomu's flesh sunk and its forearms bent horribly, unable to withstand the unknown Hero's power.
Shrugging, Tetsumaru left the matter to the local Heroes and focused on the other Nomu already running towards him, while keeping an eye on the flying ones lurking in the air.
—Hey you, listen to what they're telling you, damn it!— a woman shouted loudly, startling Tetsumaru. He hadn't felt her presence until she spoke almost into his ear.
He found himself facing a slender masked woman, wearing a tight white suit with little other detail. For some reason, her frown was visibly marked on the fabric covering her face.
—It's hard when I have those monsters glued to my ass— he pointed an accusing finger at the Nomu, unfazed by the Heroine's anger.
—Whatever, get out of here now, kid!— she hissed, trying to grab Tetsumaru by the arm, but he fluidly evaded her and prepared to receive the charge of another Nomu.
—Listen to the lady, young man. We know your mission is to locate the hostages, so go and do your job!— added another Hero, jumping into the action alongside a group of individuals Tetsumaru assumed were the Heroes deployed in this area.
But they weren't enough to contain the bio-engineered monsters, even if they were low-grade. And in any case, until he found the Nomu interfering with his Magnet Release, Tetsumaru was as useless as any other Hero.