Chapter 25: The Flash of the Blade
Swish!
Sword in hand, Ryouma descended onto the battlefield in a swirl of dust.
"What? Reinforcements?!" Sakon's heart lurched at the sight of another combatant. Seeing Ryouma's relatively mature features, a chill ran down his spine.
At that age... he must be strong. What do we do...?
Panic began to gnaw at Sakon. Chakra surged wildly within him, and the Shadow Imitation Technique binding him began to loosen under his frantic struggle!
Shikamaru felt the technique's grip weakening. A bead of cold sweat trickled down his temple. He glanced at the newcomer and was taken aback.
Ryouma? What's he doing here? But...
His eyes darted back to Sakon. Adding him won't be enough to tip the scales! If our opponent truly fights with everything he has, my technique will shatter!
"Huh? Ryouma?" Ino, still possessing Jirobo's body, saw the new arrival. Her initial surprise turned to hope, then faded into resignation. "He's handsome, sure... but what good is he now...?"
"Cross-Cutting Blade - Flash," Ryouma murmured, a light smile on his lips, ignoring the others for a moment as he examined the long sword in his hand. "Let's see if you're better than a kunai."
The blade seemed to possess a spirit of its own, humming and vibrating softly as if offended.
"For its first blood... let's use their captain, Sakon." Ryouma's smile turned enigmatic. He drew the blade, holding the scabbard in his other hand. A silvery glint flashed in his pupils.
"He's gone?!" Sakon's eyes widened in shock. A sudden, primal dread seized him.
"Looking for me?" Ryouma's voice was a soft whisper right behind Sakon, but to the Oto-nin, it sounded like the final note of a death knell.
"Grah... AAGH!" Consumed by terror, Sakon erupted with a massive wave of chakra. The force of it sent dust and debris flying in all directions.
"Ryouma! Hurry! I can't hold him much longer!" Shikamaru felt the Shadow Imitation Technique straining to its breaking point under the onslaught of chakra. He knew it could fail at any second.
Ryouma's expression remained one of utter confidence. His wrist moved with minimal effort, the long sword slicing through the air. It left behind lingering arcs of sword light, each segment seeming to hang in the space it had passed through. Suddenly, these pure white arcs ignited, blossoming like a stunning, ethereal flower of pure light—beautiful and lethal.
Swish!
Like a meteor's fleeting trail, Sakon slumped powerlessly to the ground.
Sakon, eliminated.
"What?!" Kidomaru, the one possessed by Ino, couldn't contain his shock. He stared in disbelief at Ryouma, who now stood calmly behind Sakon's body. "H-how did he do that?"
"Huh? Sakon?" Jirobo, still grappling with Choji, shot a glance over. What he saw made his blood run cold. "Sakon was taken down?!"
His eyes darted to Kidomaru, seeing him controlled, and a wave of desperation washed over him.
The mission's a failure. If we return to Lord Orochimaru like this...
The thought of Orochimaru's wrath sent a deeper chill through him. Gritting his teeth, he assessed the distance between himself and the unconscious Sasuke. His expression hardened. With a series of desperate evasions, he broke away from Choji and lunged toward Sasuke!
"Oh no!" Sakura cried out, trying to push herself up to intercept him, but her body gave out immediately, collapsing back to the earth. She had no strength left.
Tears of frustration welling in her eyes, Sakura gritted her teeth. She took a deep, shuddering breath and pushed against the ground with her hands.
"Sasuke! Naruto!" she screamed, her voice a raw mix of fear and determination. Miraculously, her body obeyed, and she staggered to her feet. But what good was standing?
"Sasuke..." Despair filled her heart as she watched Jirobo's hand reach for the defenseless Sasuke. But then, a flash of light—both literal and metaphorical—pierced through her despair.
Ryouma... Yes, Ryouma! He was so fast before. He can save Sasuke...
Seeing Jirobo's actions, Ryouma felt a wave of contempt.
Trying to break the net now that the fish is dead? Pathetic.
He was about to move when he caught Sakura's desperate, pleading gaze. He couldn't help but shake his head. "Lucky for you."
Swish!
Jirobo was almost upon Sasuke. Though he was about to complete his grim task, he felt no satisfaction. Whether he killed Sasuke or failed, his fate was sealed. He was a dead man walking.
"Tch..." The thought made him sigh, and a fraction of hesitation crept into his movement.
"Sighing? Lamenting your fate?" A figure materialized directly in front of Jirobo, looking at him with a faint, almost bored smile.
"What?!" Jirobo recoiled in shock, instinctively halting his charge and leaping backward to create distance. He stared at the person who had appeared out of nowhere.
"How did this brat... get here?" He took a closer look and recognized the genin who had killed Sakon. "You! Who are you? Why are you interfering?!"
Jirobo's temper, already frayed, snapped. If not for Ryouma's sudden appearance, they would have easily handled the other reinforcements and completed their mission. Ryouma had single-handedly snatched victory from their grasp.
"Hey, can't you see the headband?" Ryouma pointed amusedly at the Konoha insignia on his forehead. "You're an idiot. Exchanging another word with you would be an insult to my intelligence. You can just die."
"We'll see who dies!" Jirobo roared, charging forward. But suddenly, a searing pain erupted in his back. He looked down to see the tip of a silver-white long sword protruding from his chest.
He coughed, bright red blood spraying from his lips. His face contorted in a grotesque mask of pain and rage. "Who... the hell... are you?!"
"The one who killed you."
"..."
Having resolved the crisis for Naruto and Shikamaru's teams, Ryouma teleported back into their midst. He looked at their stunned faces and flashed a grin. "I helped you take care of them. Any reward?"
"Uh..." Shikamaru and the others were still reeling from the shock, struggling to process how Ryouma could be so powerful.
After a moment, the ever-pragmatic Shikamaru was the first to recover. He pulled out Sakon's scroll without even looking at it and tossed it to Ryouma. "Here. And... thanks."
Ryouma glanced at it. It was the Heaven Scroll, the perfect counterpart to the Earth Scroll his team possessed. With both, they could proceed to the central tower and qualify for the third exam.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Ryouma took the scroll. He glanced at the others, who were still staring in a daze, shrugged, and gave a casual wave. "I'm off. See you at the tower."
Swish!
The Instant Eye activated. Ryouma vanished from the spot as if he'd never been there, leaving only the two Oto-nin bodies as proof of his intervention.
"What a drag." Shikamaru watched the space where Ryouma had disappeared, then scratched his head in his characteristic manner. "But... Ryouma's gotten seriously strong. I never noticed before."
The "dead-last" of the academy had quietly begun rewriting his place in Konoha's history.