Kurogiri's mind was racing faster than his explosions. He still couldn't believe it, but the proof was all around him.
His men were the best. Elite. Hand-picked by both him and the Tsuchikage. They had blown up Konoha supply lines, collapsed bridges, turned forests into craters. They have killed dozens of shinobi each. They should have wiped the Suna squad in minutes.
But they were losing.
Badly.
Two chūnin dead. One jōnin burned half to death. This was excluding the first 3 people who died.
And Kurogiri himself had felt it, his chakra just gone. Like someone pulled a plug inside his body.
'So the rumors were true.'
He had thought that these rumours were by Suna of a boy who had a Kekkei Genkai that stopped people from doing chakra. They had found out that Suna had spent money on spreading these stories for months.
"Beware the boy who kills chakra with a look."
Iwa had laughed. They called it desert fairy tales. It was believed to be propaganda to scare Iwa shinobi and lower their morale.
But now Kurogiri knew. It wasn't a story. It was real. The rumours were true but Suna had tried to make them less relevant by exaggerating these rumours to make it sound like propoganda. Thus, making other villages believe that it was just a war tactic.
'There really is someone in Suna who can cancel chakra. It's an ability that is more ridiculous than the Tsuchikage's Particle Style. Lord Tsuchikage has to know about this as soon as possible.'
He scanned the battlefield.
His eyes locked on the boy behind Sōshi—small, calm, just watching. Every time Shota's gaze shifted, another Iwa jutsu failed.
'That kid. He's the reason we're dying. My men are dying against these weak suna nin.'
Kurogiri's lips pulled back in a snarl.
'He won't live to see sunset.'
He moved.
Like a bomb himself, he leaped high, boots kicking off a chunk of broken earth.
He landed in the middle of a fight, his second-in-command, Jōnin Goro, trading blows with a Suna jōnin.
The Suna-nin's wind fan screamed. Goro's clay birds exploded mid-air.
Sōshi tried to intercept Kurogiri and stop him from interfering in that fight.
The giant snake puppet whipped around, tail rising like a falling tower.
Kurogiri didn't even look.
He slammed both palms to the ground.
*BOOM!*
The earth shattered.
A ring of fire and stone blasted outward.
The snake's tail got caught in the blast, not destroyed, but buried.
Chunks of rock and dirt collapsed on it, pinning the puppet under tons of rubble.
The wood that was used to make the puppet was strong. So Kurogiri did not bother destroying it as it would take lot of effort and chakra. He suspected that the puppet was made from Hashirama wood release trees.
Sōshi cursed. It would take five, maybe ten seconds to dig the puppet free. That was all Kurogiri needed.
He was already moving.
He appeared behind the suna jonin with the windfan in a blink. He put his right hand forward as sparks danced on his fingers, ready to explode.
But nothing happened. The sparks died.
Kurogiri glanced past Sõshi's shoulder.
Shota was looking right at him.
He had confirmed this theory and now it was time to act.
Kurogiri's left hand was already moving.
A hard, fast punch straight into the Suna jonin's chest.
*THUD!*
The Suna jonin flew back, coughing blood.
He ripped off his jōnin vest mid-air and hurled it away.
*BOOM!*
The vest exploded in mid-air.
Paper bomb tags, slipped inside during the punch detonated in a fireball. The Suna jonin rolled. He was burned but alive.
Kurogiri smirked,'Papar tags does not need chakra to be used.'
"Commander!" Goro shouted.
Kurogiri didn't waste words.
"Free up a chūnin. You see that kid behind Sōshi? Kill him along with the Chunin."
Goro hesitated. "That means you fight two jōnin alone, sir."
Kurogiri growled, voice low and deadly.
"If not for that brat, I'd have Sōshi's head on a stick already. He's why we're losing. He can stop people from using chakra. All of it."
Goro's eyes went wide.
"Stops… chakra?"
"One at a time from what I have figured out," Kurogiri said, grinning like a wolf. "That's why I need two of you. He also needs you in his sight to stop you from chakra. Kill the kid and this battle's over. I'll handle three jōnin if I have to."
Goro nodded sharp. "Yes, sir."
He spun, kicked a Suna chūnin in the gut, and blasted him back with a clay owl.
"Riku! With me!"
A nearby Iwa chūnin broke off from his fight and followed Goro.
The two took a wide arc, moving fast, circling behind the burning battlefield.
They stayed low, using smoke and craters for cover. They went straight towards Shota from a different direction.
Sōshi saw it. He tried to turn but Kurogiri was already in his face.
"You're fighting me, Sōshi." Kurogiri said with both hands forward—
*KA-BOOOOOM!*
A massive explosion roared from his palms.
Fire and stone shards screamed toward Sōshi.
Sōshi slammed his hands together— 'Earth Style: Multiple Walls!'
Five thick stone walls rose in a row—
*CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!*
Each one shattered under the blast, but they slowed it.
The final wall held.
Sōshi stood behind it, hair singed, eyes burning.
Kurogiri laughed.
He charged again—
But the giant snake was back.
It burst from the ground, mouth wide, fangs dripping poison.
Kurogiri tried to blast it—
Shota's eyes were on him.
No chakra.
No boom.
*SMACK!*
The snake's head knocked him sideways.
He rolled, came up bleeding from the ear.
Sōshi didn't follow.
He turned, shouted over the chaos:
"Shota! Get out of here! Stay alive, kid!"
Shota didn't argue.
He nodded once. Then Body Flickered away.
Goro and Riku were already running behind him.
The hunt was on.
Shota flickered again, faster, deeper into the burning forest. Behind him, two Iwa killers followed.
-------Author Notes---------
For every 250 power stones. I would be posting and additional chapter. So gimme those power stones!!!
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