Chapter 34: A Signal in the Smoke
Even after escaping the sea of fire, Ito was finished as a shinobi. His body was charred black, seared by severe, full-body burns.
In a flash, Akatsurugi was at his side, his flowing blade descending in a sharp arc. Ito barely managed to lift his head, his eyes burning with pure hatred, but that emotion was useless against the cold steel in Akatsurugi's hand.
The blade passed through Ito's neck. A wisp of a white spiritual ribbon, thicker than those from the chunin, flowed into Ryūjin Jakka. Akatsurugi knew Ito was dead. Now, the only one left was Kujōgawa, fleeing into the distance.
After escaping the inferno, Kujōgawa was running for his life. He had to get back to camp. He had to deliver the intelligence on this Konoha ninja—the one who had been systematically slaughtering their patrols.
Akatsurugi had no intention of letting him escape. Flames erupted from his feet, propelling him forward with explosive speed. In just a few breaths, he had closed the distance.
"Storm Release: Luring Pursuit!" Kujōgawa didn't look back. While running, his hands formed seals, and he launched the technique over his shoulder. The beam of Storm energy curved through the air, homing in on Akatsurugi.
Akatsurugi sidestepped the initial strike, but as expected, the guided light swerved and shot straight for his head.
"Too naive. Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Ignoring the homing beam, Akatsurugi spat a massive black-red fireball straight at Kujōgawa's back.
Feeling the blistering heat, Kujōgawa was forced to break his stride and dive to the side. The Storm Release beam passed through Akatsurugi's head, dissipating a significant portion of his fiery form and costing him a large chunk of chakra to regenerate.
But it was a price he was willing to pay to finish this.
"Is there really no other way?!" Kujōgawa's face was a mask of frustration. He had gathered plenty of intel. The key was clearly Water Style. Storm Release was a fusion of Lightning and Water chakra; if he knew the Kekkei Genkai, he certainly knew the component parts.
But Storm Release was far more powerful than simple Water Style, which was why he always defaulted to it. Now, he had to switch tactics. His hands formed a different set of seals. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A roaring dragon of water shot from his mouth, arcing toward Akatsurugi.
A jet of flame from his feet launched Akatsurugi into the air, easily evading the water dragon. Seeing his enemy hovering out of reach, Kujōgawa felt a wave of despair. He can fly? This changed everything. Seizing the moment of distraction, he turned and poured all his speed into fleeing toward the Cloud camp.
"You think you can run?" Akatsurugi sneered, swooping down from the sky like a bird of prey. A massive, swirling sphere of blue chakra—the Great Ball Rasengan—materialized in his hand, aimed directly at the fleeing jonin's back.
Sensing the immense danger, Kujōgawa spun around, taking the deep breath he had prepared. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!" He had predicted a pursuit and pre-formed the seals while running. A powerful torrent of water erupted from his mouth, meeting Akatsurugi's descent head-on.
He had predicted the attack, but he had underestimated its power. The Great Ball Rasengan tore through the water jet as if it weren't there, shattering it into a fine mist before slamming squarely into Kujōgawa's chest.
Crack!
The spiraling force was devastating. Even his defensive lightning shroud was shredded. Without the true Lightning Chakra Mode, his body couldn't withstand the impact. He was sent flying in a violent spiral, crashing back-first into a thick tree trunk with a sickening crunch.
"Cough! Cough!" He slumped to the ground, blood spraying from his lips. A massive, concave wound dominated his chest, the bones within visibly shattered.
Akatsurugi landed and didn't approach. Instead, his hands formed a familiar seal. He took a deep breath, intent on ending this from a distance. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The black-red sphere of death flew toward the immobilized Kujōgawa.
A look of bitter resignation crossed Kujōgawa's face. His body was broken. He was going to die here.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!" A sudden, powerful jet of water erupted from the treeline, forming a solid wall in front of Kujōgawa, trying to intercept the fireball.
But this was no ordinary fireball. It punched straight through the water wall as if it were paper, its power barely diminished. It struck Kujōgawa directly, the flames consuming him utterly.
Another thick, white spiritual ribbon—the thickest yet—flowed into the sealed zanpakutō. Akatsurugi let out a slow breath. With Kujōgawa dead, his secrets were safe.
The rescue team, three jonin, burst into the clearing. Their faces paled when they saw Kujōgawa's charred remains.
"It went straight through my Water Wall... Such powerful Fire Style," muttered the water-style user who had tried to intervene. Then his eyes locked onto Akatsurugi's face. "The Sharingan! It's an Uchiha! That explains it!"
"Konoha scum! So you're the one hunting our teams. To kill Captain Kujō... you're not to be underestimated. Send the signal! Now!" the lead jonin barked.
The third ninja didn't hesitate, launching a flare into the sky. It exploded in a burst of red smoke that hung ominously in the air.
Akatsurugi took stock. His chakra reserves were significantly drained. He couldn't afford to get bogged down in another fight; if the main Cloud force arrived, he'd be overwhelmed.
His mission was complete. Kujōgawa was dead. It was time to go.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" This time, he used a standard, non-elementally-amplified Fire Release. A vast sea of orange flames, still formidable but less chakra-intensive, spewed from his mouth, washing toward the three jonin.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!" the Cloud water-user countered, meeting fire with a massive wave.
As steam billowed out, blanketing the area in a thick, white fog, Akatsurugi formed a single hand sign. A shadow clone, identical to himself, stepped out of the mist to face the enemy.
His real body turned and fled, moving swiftly through the trees. After putting some distance between himself and the battle, flames erupted from his feet once more, launching him silently into the sky and away from the danger zone.