[Author Note: Extra Chapter for 200 power stones previous week. Today's chapter would be uploaded in a couple hours]
The entire area was now covered with smoke from the smoke bombs.
Shota couldn't see his own hands let alone the Iwa jonin.
'Damn, that's a lot of smoke bombs,' he thought. He pressed his sleeve over his eyes. The smoke stung. If he blinked too much, tears would blur everything. And in a fight, one blink could be death especially when not blinking was his thing.
But he was ready for this. Smoke bombs, hidden Mist jutsu or even sandstorms back in Suna. All of them blocked sight. All of them made his dōjutsu useless.
So he trained for it and had a backup plan for such situations
He started hand signs— Tiger → Ram →
*WHOOSH!*
His instinct screamed and he immediately stopped his handsigns and dropped flat on the ground.
A kunai sliced through the air right where his neck had been.
An explosion tag fluttered on the handle.
*BOOM!*
The blast hit his back. He felt heat and pain
Another kunai came flying from the left with a paper bomb glowing on it.
Shota pushed chakra into his arms and legs.
*BOING!*
He jumped high like a frog on springs, ten meters up.
'He can still sense me despite the smoke,' Shota realized.
'Earth sensing. Every good Iwa ninja learns it. Vibrations in the ground. He doesn't need eyes.'
But now Shota was in the air. That meant no ground and thus no vibrations. It was perfect situation for him to use the jutsu that he was trying to use earlier..
Hands flew:
Bird → Boar → Dog →
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A massive gust roared from his mouth.
The wind slammed into the smoke.
It pushed, rolled, and blew it all away.
In seconds, the hill was clear again.
Ash and dust swirled in the distance.
The Iwa jōnin, Goro, stood twenty meters away. He had raised an earth wall just in time to protect himself from the wind.
It crumbled as he stepped out.
Shota landed light on his fight and
His eyes locked on Goro. With the smoke cleared away, Goro lost his access to chakra. Shota smirked. He had elarned wind release great breakthrough jutsu as his first jutsu just because of these situations where his vision was being deliberately hindered.
Goro's chakra vanished again.
He felt it, like cold water poured inside his veins. But he didn't panic. He was getting used to it now.
He charged with just his fists, feet, and years of muscle memory.
Shota backed up fast.
He threw three kunai.
*Shink! Shink! Shink!*
Goro twisted, dodged, slapped one aside with the flat of his sword easily.
Shota tried to keep distance since it was a smart move since he had access to chakra and Goro did not.
But Goro was fast. Even without chakra strength, his body moved like a machine.
Every step perfect. Every punch sharp. It was expected from a seasoned Jonin with years of experience and training.
Shota blocked a kick—
*THUD!*His arm went numb. and then a knee to the gut—
*OOMPH!*
Air exploded from Shota's lungs.
He flew back, skidding on his heels.
Blood filled his mouth.
He coughed, wiped his lip with the back of his hand.
"Your dōjutsu gives you power," Goro said, walking forward. "You can jump higher. Punch harder. Run faster. But you're still a kid. No skill. No technique. No experience Just tricks."
Shota spat blood. 'Tell me something I don't know.'
He knew that Taijutsu was his weak point. He was just average at Taijutsu and his small size made him physically weaker too.
"You surprised Riku. That's your only win. In real taijutsu? He'd mop the floor with you."
Shota didn't answer him and he body-flickered to maintain some distance now.
*WHOOSH!*
He vanished, reappeared fifteen meters left.
Goro smirked.
Shota didn't see it as he was busy using another jutsu.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A roaring ball of flame shot from his mouth—hot, bright, fast.
Goro tried to dodge. With no chakra. He could only dodge with normal speed. He managed to twist around the fireball but the fire caught his left side.
*WHOOSH!*
His sleeve burned and his skin blistered.
He hissed in pain but kept moving.
And he was still smirking.
"And your power made you cocky, kid." Goro said making Shota frown.
Then he felt it.
Something on his sandal. Something small was sticking on it.
He looked down.
A clay spider was attached to his sandal.
'When—?!' He thought
It clicked.
The smoke wasn't to blind Shota.
It was to plant bombs. And he then used the Taijutsu fight to take him closer to the clay bomb.
Goro knew Shota would blow the smoke away. He knew he'd body-flicker. He knew the spider would stick when Shota moved. That is what an experience shinobi fuctioned.
Shota ripped his sandal off—
Threw it. But it was too late.
*KABOOM!*
The spider exploded mid-air and very close to Shota.
Shota felt the fire and the pain. His left side took the full blast and now his skin burned.
He hit the ground hard, rolling, screaming through clenched teeth.
Third-degree burns.
He smelled his own cooking meat.
Goro walked forward with his sword raised.
Left arm hanging, burned and useless.
But his eyes were cold.
"Farewell, kid. You fought well."
He raised the sword to stab down—
And froze.
His chest had a kunai sticking right through his heart.
He looked down, confused.
The kunai had been on the ground earlier. It was dropped during the fight. A thin chakra string, nearly invisible connected it to Shota's finger.
Shota coughed, blood bubbling on his lips.
"And you should never underestimate a Suna nin."
He twitched his finger.
The string pulled.
The kunai twisted in Goro's heart.
Goro's eyes went wide. He dropped to his knees. Then face-first into the dirt. Dead.
Shota lay on his back, breathing hard. He felt immense pain. But he smiled through the blood.
"Chakra strings aren't just for puppeteers," he whispered.
"They teach them to every academy kid in Suna for a reason."
His smile turned into a grimace as the pain hit again.
-------Author Notes---------
For every 250 power stones. I would be posting an additional chapter. So gimme those power stones!!!
Y'all can now read the next 15 chapters of the fanfic on my pat*reon. Thankyou for your support!
https://pat*reon.com/Charizard6
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