Chapter 64: The Blaze God's Wrath
Akatsurugi remained on the central wagon roof, but his posture was no longer casual. He sat upright, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings. The Cloud ninja were going to make their move, and it would be soon.
And those ninja still trailing them were also a problem. Should I deal with them now? he thought.
After all, they had been following the caravan for so long; it was obvious they weren't just passing by. They clearly had designs on this shipment, which made them enemies.
Just as Akatsurugi was weighing whether to eliminate the pursuers, a beam of light shot toward him from the distance. It was unmistakably Storm Release.
A fist wreathed in flames instantly formed on Akatsurugi's hand and launched forward to meet the attack.
"Fire Fist!"
The colossal, world-ending flaming fist, carrying the force of a volcanic eruption, collided head-on with the Storm Release beam. The impact of flame and light created a deafening explosion that shook the very earth. The resulting shockwave rippled outwards, rattling the supply wagons and shaking the nearby trees.
Akatsurugi stood firm on the wagon roof, steady as a mountain, his eyes coldly fixed on the distance. He was secretly surprised; for his opponent to wield Storm Release of that caliber meant their strength was nothing to scoff at.
At that moment, a fierce wind kicked up, whipping dust into the air. A sharp whistling sound could be heard within the gust, as if countless projectiles were slicing through the sky.
Akatsurugi effortlessly dodged the volley of shuriken and kunai. Looking up, he could now clearly see the Cloud ninja in the distance.
And it was a familiar face. The one he had punched away before—yes, the Storm Release user from the Kujō clan, Kujō Satoru.
However, Akatsurugi didn't rush over immediately. He closed his eyes. In an instant, dark eye-shadow appeared around his eyes and a black circle materialized on his forehead. Sage Mode.
He needed to sense his surroundings.
As his perception expanded, he confirmed it all: the eight excited ninja at the rear, the two elite ninja hiding in a pre-dug pit underground, and Kujō Satoru's group ahead.
It was obvious what they were planning. Akatsurugi's hands flew through a series of hand seals. He took a deep breath.
"Sage Art: Flame Release: Fire Phoenix Technique!"
Dozens of fireballs burning with intense blue flame shot from his mouth, raining down upon the two hidden elite ninja.
Dan and Yi'er were horrified. Dan's hands crackled with lightning, weaving a defensive net to block the blue flames. But this was no ordinary fire; it was infused with natural energy. The lightning was utterly useless, burned away in an instant.
The two screamed as they scrambled back, their arms scorched. If they hadn't reacted so quickly, it would have been far worse.
Akatsurugi didn't even glance at them. Instead, he clenched his fist, and a black-red flame ignited around it—the result of perfectly merging his Devil Fruit power with chakra nature transformation.
"Great Fire Fist!"
The fist of flame expanded, flying toward the rear of the caravan and smashing into the ground where the Iwa ninja were hiding. The earth trembled violently as a massive crater appeared, as if a meteor had struck. Ninety-nine percent of the hidden Rock ninja were vaporized instantly. The sole survivor was crushed by the shifting earth, his breaths shallow and final.
Sensing the threat was neutralized, Akatsurugi turned his attention forward and flew toward Kujō Satoru.
On the ground, Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, and Tsunade immediately charged toward the injured Dan and Yi'er. With the area behind them turned into a smoldering ruin, these two exposed Cloud ninja were now their targets.
Kujō Satoru's eyes widened in despair. He had accounted for the third party lying in ambush, but he never imagined Akatsurugi would dispatch them so effortlessly. Seeing Akatsurugi flying toward him and his key operatives already wounded, he knew his plan had been thoroughly unraveled.
"Fall back! I'll hold him off!" Kujō Satoru roared the order. His original plan to delay Akatsurugi with his whole team was now meaningless. His shout was for the ninja beside him and for Dan and Yi'er. The mission had failed; preserving their strength was the only priority.
The surrounding ninja hesitated, but Akatsurugi was almost upon them. "GO!" Kujō Satoru screamed.
He formed a hand seal. "Storm Release: Luminous Darts!"
Beams of light erupted from his hands, converging on Akatsurugi from all directions. Akatsurugi watched them come, his body shifting into his elemental logia state. The beams passed harmlessly through him, scattering only a few sparks.
Kujō Satoru knew this wouldn't work. He was buying seconds for his comrades to flee. His hands moved again, gathering every ounce of chakra he possessed.
A thick mist began to coalesce around him, rapidly swelling into a massive, swirling vortex in the air. Akatsurugi looked up at the gathering thunderclouds and frowned.
"Storm Release: Storm Ghost Dragon!" Kujō Satoru grunted, his face now deathly pale, his body trembling so violently he could barely stand. He looked up at Akatsurugi. "This is the ultimate secret of my Storm Release! Can your fiery body withstand this?!"
As he spoke, he half-collapsed to his knees, completely drained.
Akatsurugi observed the gigantic vortex and the lightning snakes writhing within. "It's a powerful forbidden technique," he acknowledged. "Anyone else, even your Third Raikage, might not survive it. It's just... useless against me."
He clenched his fist. Instantly, layers of flame erupted around him, spreading outwards in concentric rings of incandescent light. Akatsurugi stood at the center of this inferno, hovering in the air.
"In this domain, I am immortal."
"Flame Domain: Enkai."
This was an ability he had developed over the past two years, similar to a Great Flame Ring but uniquely enhanced with his chakra. The area around him became a sea of sovereign flame. As long as this domain persisted, untouched and unconquered, he, its master, was untouchable. The raging storm above meant nothing here, at the heart of the sun.