Chapter 29: The Lightning and the Flame
The three Kumo Chūnin acted with practiced coordination. One, likely the sensor, immediately cast an illusion, attempting to disorient Akatsurugi. The other two launched a combined assault—one unleashing a torrent of water, the other channeling lightning into it, creating a crackling, electrified wave.
The Jōnin, meanwhile, was the true threat. A cloak of light blue lightning flickered around his body—the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. He was a coiled spring, waiting for an opening to deliver a fatal blow.
Akatsurugi calmly pushed up his forehead protector. A scarlet eye with three swirling tomoe was revealed. The female Chūnin gasped, her face paling. Her illusion had not only failed; it had been reflected back at her.
As the electrified water surged towards him, Akatsurugi didn't retreat. Instead, he drove a fist wreathed in flame into the ground. The earth sizzled and blackened, a charred crater forming instantly. The water poured harmlessly into the pit.
In that moment, the Jōnin vanished. He reappeared beside Akatsurugi, his lightning-clad fist aimed squarely at Akatsurugi's chest. Akatsurugi's Sharingan tracked the movement perfectly—he saw it coming. But seeing and reacting were two different things. His body couldn't keep pace with his eye.
The Jōnin's fist punched clean through Akatsurugi's torso.
"A clone?" the Jōnin muttered, confused.
"Captain, behind you!" the female Chūnin screamed.
Akatsurugi, now standing behind the Jōnin, brought Ryūjin Jakka down in a fiery arc. Warned just in time, the Kumo Jōnin twisted his body, avoiding a killing blow. The flaming sword still bit into his shoulder, but the layer of lightning armor deflected the worst of it. He leaped back, putting distance between them.
"The Lightning Release Chakra Mode," Akatsurugi remarked coolly. "A signature technique of Kumo's elite. Your status must not be insignificant."
The Kumo Jōnin's expression was grim. He had felt his fist pass through the man's chest. How was he unharmed? And that eye… the Sharingan. But he'd never heard of an Uchiha with such an intangibility technique.
"Captain, his entire body turned to flame, like the Hōzuki clan's Hydrification! But it's fire! He has the three-tomoe Sharingan and powerful Fire Release!" the female Chūnin reported rapidly.
"Troublesome," the Jōnin grunted. The Hōzuki were easy prey for Lightning Release users, but a fire-based equivalent? His lightning was ineffective. They needed Water Release to counter it, and the only Water user in his team was far too weak.
Having assessed the threat, the Jōnin made a decision. "You three, fall back! I'll rendezvous later!"
Akatsurugi watched them casually discuss their retreat. A cold smirk touched his lips. He shaped his fingers into a pistol. "Fire Gun: Scatter Shot!"
A barrage of concentrated flame bullets shot from his fingertips. The Kumo Jōnin flashed in front of his subordinates, his lightning-clad body becoming a shield. The bullets peppered him, sizzling against his armor but failing to penetrate.
"Go! Now!" he roared.
The three Chūnin needed no further urging. They knew they were outmatched.
Akatsurugi ceased fire. Against the Lightning Chakra Mode, the damage was too negligible.
"Flame Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
His hands flew through seals. This wasn't standard Fire Release. Infused with the Flame-Flame Fruit's essence, the fireballs that erupted from his mouth were a menacing black-red. Dozens of them homed in on the Jōnin.
Sensing the heightened danger, the Jōnin—Yoshino Kaze—opted to dodge. But many of the fireballs curved past him, streaking toward his fleeing team.
"Look out!" Kaze bellowed.
The team's Water Style user spun, hands forming seals. "Water Style: Water Wall!" A barrier of water rose to intercept the projectiles.
But Akatsurugi's "Flame Release" was no ordinary fire. The black-red fireballs punched straight through the water wall as if it were paper. One struck the Water user square in the chest, burning a clean, cauterized hole through him before he could even scream. He was dead before he hit the ground.
"BASTARD!" Kaze roared in fury. He vanished in a flicker of lightning, reappearing behind Akatsurugi, his fist crackling with intense blue arcs. He wouldn't believe this man could remain intangible forever.
Akatsurugi didn't bother to turn. He took a deep breath, his hands a blur. "Flame Release: Flame Dragon Projectile!"
An enhanced Fire Dragon, supercharged with nature transformation and the fruit's power, erupted from him. It didn't charge forward immediately. Instead, it coiled around Akatsurugi, a blazing serpent of protection.
Kaze was forced to abort his attack and retreat. Akatsurugi willed the Flame Dragon to lunge at the Jōnin, keeping him occupied.
Akatsurugi himself shot forward, his focus now entirely on the two remaining Chūnin.
Kaze tried to intercept, but the relentless Flame Dragon forced him on the defensive. He had to dodge and weave; he couldn't risk testing his Lightning Armor against that unnatural fire.
By the time he could spare a glance, Akatsurugi had closed the distance with his subordinates. Rage and helplessness warred within Kaze. This Konoha shinobi was ignoring him, systematically eliminating his team, and he was powerless to stop it.
"Die!" Akatsurugi's Sharingan pulsed. He cast an illusion, enveloping both Chūnin. Breaking one person's genjutsu was difficult enough; breaking free while a comrade was also trapped was nearly impossible under the three-tomoe's power.
The two Chūnin froze, their eyes glazing over. Akatsurugi didn't hesitate. Ryūjin Jakka flashed twice, a clean, efficient motion.
Two more translucent wisps were drawn into the sealed blade.
Akatsurugi turned, his single Sharingan now fixed solely on Yoshino Kaze. The Flame Dragon dissolved into embers behind him. The valley was silent save for the crackle of fading lightning and the scent of ozone and ash.