Chapter 22: The Price of Partnership
"That's right! We're not dead weight! Don't you dare try to be the hero all by yourself!" Kiba grinned, his expression fierce but determined. "We're a team!"
"Really... Well then... partners, let's do this together!"
"Kiba, you hold off the one on the left! I'll take the one on the right! Hinata, use your Byakugan to cover us and watch for openings!"
"Let's go!"
Ryouma gripped his kunai, activated the Instant Eye, and vanished. He reappeared behind the Kusa-nin on the left, his blade aimed for the neck. Any ninja chosen by Orochimaru to accompany him was far from ordinary. This one reacted with blinding speed, fluidly drawing a short sword to parry Ryouma's attack.
Clang!
Three...
"An opening!" The Kusa-nin's eyes gleamed. Pressing down on Ryouma's kunai with his short sword, he launched a powerful kick aimed at Ryouma's stomach.
Two...
As the foot was about to connect, the three-second cooldown of the Instant Eye ended. Ryouma vanished again, reappearing behind the Kusa-nin. The ninja, having put too much force into his kick, found no purchase and stumbled forward, off-balance.
"My turn!" Ryouma thought, thrusting his kunai downward with all his strength.
Thud!
Just as the blade was about to sink into the Kusa-nin's back, the other Kusa-nin—Kusa-nin #2—sent the kunai flying with a well-aimed kick. He didn't stop, charging at Ryouma like a whirlwind.
"Damn it! The gap between Kiba's strength and that Kusa-nin's is too big. The other one is just toying with him." Ryouma watched in frustration as Kusa-nin #1 regained his footing and smirked at him.
"You can activate that teleportation so quickly... No wonder you were able to injure Lord Orochimaru himself."
"Hmph!" Ryouma prepared to teleport and attack again, but Hinata's warning cry stopped him. "Behind you! Look out!"
"What?" Ryouma spun around. The Kusa-nin with the short sword was leaping through the air, his blade arcing down toward Ryouma's head.
"A Shadow Clone? When?!" Ryouma instantly switched targets, throwing his remaining kunai at the airborne attacker.
The Kusa-nin in the air, unable to dodge, braced for impact. But just before the kunai hit, a figure rushed in front of him, taking the blade with its own body.
Poof...!
A puff of white smoke. It had been a Shadow Clone after all.
Was the one in the air the real one? Or... is that still a clone? Was the resistance just a feint? Is the real body still hiding?
"Hinata!" Ryouma called out softly.
Hinata, understanding, scanned the area with her Byakugan. "There's no one else nearby! That one is the real body!"
Ryouma nodded grimly. "In that case..."
Great Ball Rasengan!
HUM...!
A massive, golden sphere of swirling energy materialized in Ryouma's hands.
"Go to hell!"
He activated the Instant Eye, teleporting right next to the identified Kusa-nin, and slammed the Rasengan toward him!
At this range, there was no escape!
"Lightning Style: Lightning Cutter!"
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
The Kusa-nin who had been sparring with Kiba saw Ryouma using that jutsu again and was shocked. He quickly formed his Lightning Cutter, attempting to slice through the Rasengan to save his comrade.
Simultaneously, the target Kusa-nin hastily erected an earthen wall, trying to block Ryouma's assault.
But the Great Ball Rasengan was an A-Rank, high-level ninjutsu. How could a hastily constructed Earth Style wall hope to stop it?
The Rasengan tore through the earth wall as if it were paper, instantly shattering it and striking the Kusa-nin's body.
"No... Impossible!" The Kusa-nin's eyes widened in horror before he was completely engulfed and annihilated by the Rasengan's violent rotation.
"In that case...!" The remaining Kusa-nin, his Lightning Cutter still active, showed no grief for his partner. His eyes burned with ferocity as he pivoted, his electrified hand now aimed at Ryouma's heart!
"Ugh... AAGH!!!" Ryouma's right arm hung limp and useless, the flesh a bloody, mangled mess from the recoil. He clutched it with his left hand, a scream of pure agony tearing from his throat. The pain was excruciating, clouding his mind, threatening to make it explode.
"Ryouma-nii!" Hinata cried out, not just from Ryouma's pain, but because the Kusa-nin's Lightning Cutter was about to pierce his back!
Thud!
The Lightning Cutter sank deep into flesh. Blood sprayed, painting Ryouma's vision red. But the blood wasn't his.
"HAH!!!" Kiba, summoning every last ounce of his strength, twisted his body and raked his kunai across the Kusa-nin's throat.
Sizzle... Crackle...
The Lightning Cutter still crackled with electricity, burning the flesh it was buried in. A thin wisp of smoke rose from the wound.
"K-Kiba..." Ryouma stared, dumbfounded, at the arm impaling his friend. "Why... why would you...?"
"Because..." Kiba spat a mouthful of blood, weakly dropping his kunai. He glanced at the dead Kusa-nin, then thought about his own instinct to block the attack for Ryouma. He managed a weak, bloody smile. "Because... we're partners."
"Kiba-kun!" Hinata rushed over, dropping to her knees beside him. She covered her mouth, sobs wracking her body.
"Whine..." Akamaru let out a pitiful groan, nuzzling his head against Kiba's.
"Akamaru... Hinata..." Kiba's gaze grew heavy, his eyelids drooping. "I'm... so sleepy..." His eyes began to close. I'll miss you all... I still wanted to be with you...
"The system...!" A sudden, desperate thought cut through Ryouma's grief. He screamed internally, "System! Exchange for a Life Restoration Pill! Now!"
"Ding~! 20 Almighty Points consumed. Life Restoration Pill exchanged."
A small, glowing pill appeared in Ryouma's hand. Without a word, he shoved it into the mouth of the dying Kiba.
The pill dissolved instantly. A wave of potent life force flooded through Kiba's body, rapidly mending his catastrophic injuries.
Ryouma carefully pulled the lifeless arm out of Kiba's torso, watching in awe as the gaping hole in his stomach closed up at a visible rate.
"Wha... what's going on?" Kiba's vitality returned. He found himself very much alive, his injuries completely healed. He stared in shock.
Hearing Kiba's strong voice, Hinata looked up in tearful amazement, her face streaked with tears.
"Heh," Ryouma let out a shaky breath, a genuine smile finally breaking through. "Since we're partners, I wasn't about to let you die that easily."
As he spoke, an image of Fei'er's smiling face flashed in his heart.