Chapter 18 – Faster Than Sight
(The morning mist clings to the mountain's edge. Training dummies line the field. Iroh stands, arms crossed, his eyes sharp. Ashura stretches, katana at his side, sweat already dripping from the warm-up.)
Iroh: (serious tone) Ashura. Today, we strip away the blade. No distractions. No shortcuts. Only speed.
Ashura: (cracking his knuckles) Hmph. Finally. I've been waiting for this.
Temari: (leaning against a tree, skeptical) Just don't trip over your own feet.
Ashura: (grins) Heh. Watch and learn.
(Ashura breathes in, the Shingan Ketto glowing faintly on his arm. His muscles tighten, veins rising as the artifact pours energy into him. He crouches into a stance. Suddenly—BOOM! He vanishes in a blur, the ground shattering beneath his feet as he launches forward. Dust explodes everywhere.)
(When the dust clears, the dummies are shredded—slashes, punches, and kicks landing in an instant. Ashura reappears, panting, his shirt ripped at the shoulder from the strain.)
Shoto: (eyes wide, cheering) Whoa! Big brother, you disappeared!
Temari: (stunned) I—I couldn't even follow his movement…
Iroh: (silent, eyes narrowing) …Again.
(Ashura grits his teeth, wipes sweat from his brow, then focuses. He draws deeper from the seal. His left eye glows brighter, and the tattoo burns faintly. This time when he moves, he truly vanishes. The sound of wind ripping apart echoes as trees nearby snap and tumble from the pressure. He reappears behind Iroh, sword unsheathed halfway—just grazing Iroh's sleeve without cutting it.)
Iroh: (eyes widening slightly, inner monologue) That speed…! Even my reflexes almost missed it. This boy… he's already brushing the realm of monsters.
(Ashura drops to one knee, exhausted, coughing. His arm trembles violently from the overwhelming force of the multiplier. The seal flickers and dies down, smoke rising from his skin as if burnt.)
Temari: (running up) Idiot! You're tearing your body apart again!
Ashura: (grinning through the pain) …Worth it. Did you see that? I was flying.
Iroh: (kneeling down, placing a hand on Ashura's shoulder) You have speed, Ashura. But speed without control is a blade with no handle—it will cut the wielder before the enemy.
(He looks Ashura dead in the eyes, his voice calm but carrying weight.)
Iroh: Remember this: "True speed isn't in how fast you move… it's in how fast you decide."
(Ashura blinks, surprised by the words. His grin fades into a thoughtful expression.)
(The scene shifts: that night, Ashura sits on a cliff's edge overlooking the moonlit valley, Temari beside him. His hands are bandaged. The sound of the wind echoes around them.)
Temari: (quietly) You're going to kill yourself if you keep pushing like this.
Ashura: (smirks faintly) Then I'll just have to get strong enough that my body keeps up. I can't stop here. Not when Danzi and his lot are out there.
(Temari looks at him, a mix of frustration and admiration in her eyes. She doesn't reply, but shifts closer, sitting shoulder to shoulder. Ashura glances at her, then back at the moon, both silent as the wind howls.)
(Final panel shows Danzi once more, this time standing atop a skyscraper far away, coat fluttering. His single glowing eye scans the city below. He smirks coldly.)
Danzi: (muttering) The vessel grows… but so does his recklessness. That seal will consume him before I even lift a hand.
Narration Box: "Faster than sight, faster than thought—Ashura pushes the limits. But each step closer to strength…
drags him nearer to destruction."
(Scene fades to black.)