Land of Fire, near the border with the Land of Waves
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Shiba spat a massive fireball from his mouth. It rapidly expanded to a diameter of seven meters before crashing into its target.
BOOM!!
Shiba leapt backward, distancing himself from the aftermath of the explosion caused by his technique. His crimson-red eyes, within which three tomoe slowly rotated, stared forward intensely.
"You think that's enough to kill me!?"
An angry voice came from within the explosion. A pale-skinned young man emerged, his clothes torn not because of the blast, but due to the grotesque bones protruding from his body.
"Tsk! The Kaguya clan really are monsters…" commented a middle-aged man standing behind Shiba. Both of them wore red armor bearing the symbol of one of the strongest clans, if not the strongest, the Uchiha clan.
"Indeed… their Bloodline Limit may be bizarre, but the defense it provides is solid!"
"But…"
"It seems members of this clan suffer from a serious problem here…" Shiba tapped his finger against his temple.
"Hmm…"
The other Uchiha dodged small bullet-like bones flying toward him.
He sighed in frustration.
"Hopeless…"
He turned to Shiba and ordered while stepping back:
"Shiba, finish him!"
BOOM!!
Shiba suddenly stopped moving and raised his head toward the sky. The other Uchiha and the Kaguya youth did the same.
"What is that… a meteor!?"
The three stared at the blazing object, burning as it entered the atmosphere, falling rapidly toward the ground.
The three black tomoe spun in the Uchiha's eyes.
He turned to Shiba and asked suspiciously
"Shiba… is it just me, or is that meteor heading straight for us?"
Shiba's eyes widened, the tomoe spinning rapidly within his crimson pupils. The meteor had already closed a huge distance. His Sharingan clearly showed its trajectory…
"Damn it! Fu, move! Get away from here, now!"
He shouted a warning before immediately using the Body Flicker Technique to escape. Fu did the same.
"Cowards!!"
The Kaguya youth shouted, thinking they were fleeing from him. But as the light from the falling meteor illuminated his face, something clicked in his mind.
He immediately realized the truth.
Without hesitation, he retracted the bones protruding from his body and ran in the opposite direction. No matter how proud he was of his defense, he wasn't foolish enough to believe he could survive a meteor impact.
Only seconds later
BOOOOM!!
The meteor struck the ground.
The earth trembled for miles due to the sheer force of the impact. A terrifying shockwave erupted from the point of collision, expanding outward and destroying everything in its path.
"Damn it!!"
Shiba cursed as he nearly lost his footing from the violent quake. He quickly formed hand seals at lightning speed and slammed his palms onto the ground.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
A massive wall of earth rose before him. It lasted only a fraction of a second before shattering.
The shockwave struck him and sent him flying.
BOOM!!
He slammed into the ground, rolling several times before stopping himself by driving a kunai into the earth.
Blood spilled from his mouth as he collapsed onto his back, groaning in pain while clutching his chest.
He could feel several broken ribs. Fortunately, the Earth Wall had absorbed part of the impact, otherwise his injuries would've been far worse.
"Damn… that was close…"
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to stand.
Holding his chest, he looked at the devastated surroundings. What had once been a small forest was now nothing but cracked, barren land stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Fu…"
He called out loudly, but it triggered a violent coughing fit. Blood poured from his mouth, staining the ground beneath him.
"The injury is worse than I thought…"
He frowned, realizing one of his broken ribs had pierced his right lung, causing blood to flood into it.
Not far away, the ground cracked open
CRACK
A blood-covered hand burst out.
"Damn it… how did such a simple mission turn into a disaster that almost killed me!?"
Fu cursed as he pulled himself out of the ground.
Fortunately, he wasn't seriously injured, only a few cuts on his arms. He silently thanked himself for his proficiency in Earth Release.
He slowly approached Shiba, who was tending to his wounds. When he got closer, he saw the large amount of blood Shiba had lost.
"Are you alright?" he asked, frowning.
"I'll live," Shiba replied coldly, then pointed toward the massive crater formed by the meteor.
"Go check what fell there."
Fu nodded. He had been thinking the same thing. Meteors often contained rare and valuable metals, perfect for crafting powerful weapons.
He descended carefully into the crater, waving his hand to clear the dust. His Sharingan remained active, ready for any sudden attack. Their opponent was likely still alive as well.
"Hmm… a human?"
Fu's eyes shrank in shock when he finally saw the figure lying at the center of the crater.
At first, he thought it was debris.
But no…
What had fallen wasn't a meteor.
It was a human.
And the terrifying part was… he was completely intact.
"How can a human survive something like that…?"
Fu muttered in disbelief as he stared at the young man wearing a strange white outfit, slightly torn from the fall.
Gripping his kunai tightly, he approached cautiously and nudged the body with his foot.
"A normal human… not a single trace of chakra…"
With the Sharingan, Fu could clearly see it, this person had no chakra whatsoever.
Encouraged, he crouched down and placed a finger on the man's neck to check for a pulse.
"Dead."
But that was the worst decision he could have made.
And unfortunately… regret has no cure.
The "corpse" suddenly opened its eyes.
Before Fu's mind could even process what happened, the young man grabbed his throat. Even the Sharingan couldn't track the movement of his arm.
"Ghk....!"
Fu let out a strangled sound as his throat was crushed. He desperately tried to stab the man, but only managed to tear his clothes.
CRACK!!
The sound of his neck snapping echoed.
Fu died with wide eyes, unable to believe his end.
"Tch… pathetic creature."
The young man spat blood onto Fu's still-warm corpse.
"Blood…"
Dorv muttered darkly, staring at the blood he had just spat out.
Images flashed through his mind, his comrades collapsing aboard the ship.
"Someone dared to poison us…we the Viltrumites…"