Chapter 30: The Scorched Earth
At that moment, Yoshino Kaze froze, as if time itself had conspired to stop. His eyes, once reflecting deep weariness, now burned with fury—a hatred sharpened by the loss of his subordinates. Three of his team had fallen, extinguished before his eyes. War-hardened though he was, the sight struck a deep, gnawing pain, entwined with self-recrimination.
But Kaze did not allow emotion to govern him. A seasoned shinobi knows that anger clouds judgment, and to lose control now would be fatal. He took a sharp, controlled breath, centering himself.
A strange Fire Release user with a unique Kekkei Genkai in Konoha… This intelligence must reach the village.
Decision made, he would retreat. While he could not defeat this foe, escape remained within his grasp. He would not give this Konoha shinobi another opening.
"The Lightning Chakra Mode isn't a technique just anyone can master," Akatsurugi's voice cut through the tension, calm and probing. "What is your relation to the Third Raikage?"
Kaze met Akatsurugi's gaze for a moment, his own unreadable. Then, with a sudden surge of blue lightning, he darted toward the distant tree line, a blur of pure speed.
Akatsurugi's lips curved in a short, humorless laugh. Trying to run? After finally hooking such a formidable prey, he wasn't about to let it slip away.
He gave chase, but Kaze's raw speed was undeniable. Every cell in the man's body seemed electrified; his velocity was astonishing. Yet Akatsurugi wasn't limited to the ground. Flames erupted from his feet, propelling him into the air. His speed multiplied instantly, closing the gap within seconds.
"Flame Release: Great Fireball Technique!" he roared, forming seals mid-air. A massive orb of black-red fire shot from the sky like a meteor, its velocity unnaturally high.
Sensing the heat, Kaze's lightning flared, crackling violently over his body. At the last instant, he twisted, the fireball scorching the earth where he'd just been. He looked up in shock—this enemy could fly. Shinobi with flight were nightmares on the battlefield.
"Illusion: Darkness Technique!" Akatsurugi's hands moved with lightning speed. The world plunged into utter blackness. Kaze's vision was stolen.
Kaze immediately disrupted his chakra flow, fighting the genjutsu. But Akatsurugi descended, Ryūjin Jakka sheathed in black-red flame, slicing downward toward his back.
CRACKLE-BOOM!
Blue sparks erupted, the Lightning Armor flaring. The force threw Akatsurugi back, forcing a landing some distance away.
By the time he regained his footing, Kaze had shattered the Darkness genjutsu. Hair on end, body crackling with lightning, a smoking gash ran across his chest.
"Impressive power," Kaze growled. "But my Lightning Armor is stronger. If that's all you have, you won't keep me here."
Akatsurugi's gaze remained steady. "The Lightning Armor of Kumo is renowned. But how long can you maintain it?"
Kaze sneered and bolted again, a streak of blue lightning. He had no intention of fighting—his goal was escape with the critical intelligence.
Frustration prickled Akatsurugi. His mastery of the Flame-Flame Fruit and chakra nature transformation should have made him untouchable. Yet here he was, unable to finish off a supremely fast, durable opponent. His techniques were lethal, but landing a decisive strike against a speedster was proving nearly impossible.
He took to the air again, closing in from above.
Kaze's senses were honed, every muscle tuned to anticipate attack. Akatsurugi leveled his fingers. "Fire Gun: Barrage!" A hail of standard flame bullets rained down.
Kaze barely reacted, letting the weaker flames hit and fizzle harmlessly against his armor. The distance still grew.
Akatsurugi made his choice. He flew lower, forming seals for his largest-scale technique. This was a final gambit, draining his reserves but leaving him unstoppable if executed correctly.
"Flame Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" He exhaled a tidal wave of black-red flame, a tsunami of incineration.
Kaze initially assumed another Great Fireball. He pushed his lightning to the maximum, tripling his speed to avoid the impact zone.
But the firewave didn't explode—it expanded, a living sea of black-red flame consuming the forest floor.
Kaze, believing himself safe, found himself trapped. Flames dozens of times hotter than normal clung to him, bypassing armor and burning from within.
Akatsurugi descended, walking across the inferno as if it were solid ground. His elementalized body rendered him immune. Ryūjin Jakka raised high, he pinned Kaze within the blaze.
Kaze's skin blistered and blackened, his face a grotesque mask of agony. The smell of roasting flesh filled the air. The relentless inferno enveloped him, a final, inescapable embrace.