At the center of the floor, Yuri faced the colossal skeleton in front of him with a serene yet intense expression. His eyes, slightly narrowed, scrutinized every detail of the monster as one contemplates a chess piece already defeated.
With a nonchalant motion, he rotated his wrist, making the joint crack, then tilted his neck to the side, producing another dry pop. It was as if he were merely warming up for just any fight, not a battle against a level 6 Monster Rex.
His heart was racing, but not out of fear—there was no room for that. What throbbed within him was pure excitement, a restrained eagerness simmering beneath his skin.
On the other side, Udaeus let out a grotesque, guttural, and harsh roar that reverberated violently through the walls of the floor, making the air itself vibrate. The giant skeleton leaned forward, its bones creaking and cracking like dry branches breaking, while its jaws opened with a terrible sound, as if mocking Yuri's audacity.
The young man took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air, before adopting a flawless drawing stance. At the corner of his lips appeared a discreet, almost provocative smile, as if responding to the silent challenge.
"Very well..." he muttered, his voice filled with determination, but also with a strange lightness.
"Let's begin..."
With a subtle movement, Yuri flexed his legs and, in an explosive burst, launched himself into the attack.
"Thunder Breathing: First Form — Flashing Thunderclap!" he whispered, his voice dissolving into the air the very instant his body vanished from ordinary sight.
The ground beneath his feet could not withstand it; a web of cracks spread like stone lightning bolts, accompanying the blue trail that sliced through the space. In an instant, Yuri became a shimmering blur, dashing like a living lightning bolt toward the colossal skeleton.
"RRRRRAAAAAARRGHHHH!!!"
Udaeus instinctively seized his black sword, as opaque and dark as the very bones that composed him. With tremendous force, he unleashed a horizontal slash, aiming at the tiny streak of blue light mercilessly advancing.
But Yuri did not stop. On the contrary, he accelerated even more.
"Thunder Breathing: First Form — Godspeed!" he shouted, as his body broke through the barrier of his own reflexes.
The technique, an extreme enhancement of Zenitsu's already devastating Thunderclap and Flash, made the air warp around him. His speed became absurd, impossible to be followed even by a monster's eyes.
At the last second, as if predicting Udaeus's movement before it even happened, Yuri tilted his body, dodging by mere centimeters. The black steel of the sword passed so close that the displacement of air almost sent him flying.
Without hesitation, he twisted in mid-air with an almost artistic elegance, using the momentum of the dodge and, still airborne, readjusted his stance, returning to the attack line with lethal precision.
He raised his sword and, in a fluid motion, slashed directly at the monster's chest, aiming for the magic stone hidden between the massive ribs.
"Hinokami Kagura: First Form — Dancing Flash!"
The strike was precise, imbued not only with his physical strength but with the spiritual flame burning within him.
CLANG!
The impact resounded like the toll of a giant bell, echoing in metallic waves throughout the floor.
But to his surprise, the black ribs held firm, not even showing a visible crack. Udaeus's bony armor was more resistant than he had calculated.
"Tsk!" Yuri quickly leapt back, landing softly on the ground, only to spin in mid-air and reposition himself again. His eyes maintained the same calm, but now they shone with a curious glint.
"So that's how it's going to be..."
With a swift movement, he raised his sword in front of his body.
"Kekkijutsu — Barren Hanging Garden..."
From his blade, a frenzied sequence of ten slashes was unleashed, leaving only icy trails in the air. Shards of ice began to materialize, then were hurled at the giant.
(Just as I thought...) Yuri pondered, seeing the fragments merely collide against Udaeus and shatter without even scratching his structure.
Before he could formulate another attack, Udaeus advanced, surprisingly agile for his size, once again brandishing the monstrous ebony sword toward the young swordsman.
With natural reflexes, Yuri leapt backward, spinning his body lightly, and, in mid-air, executed another slash, this time infused with the serenity of another of his techniques.
"Kekkijutsu — Compass Needle!"
Beneath his feet, a light blue compass, ethereal and intricate like a snowflake, manifested, slowly rotating with numbers from one to twelve, as if indicating not only direction but destiny itself.
Then, in the middle of the movement, Yuri stopped. He literally froze in mid-air, his gaze wavering for a brief second.
"Now that I think about it..." he murmured, slightly furrowing his brow as he gently landed on the ground, still facing the monster, which waited for the next move like a patient predator. "Why exactly... am I still holding back?"
He looked at his own sword, as if only at that moment realizing that his strikes, no matter how strong and fast, had not yet expressed even half of his current capability.
"I wasn't even... really trying..." he murmured, surprised, as if that realization was more absurd than the very monster in front of him.
Unknowingly, Yuri had been restraining himself the entire time—a subconscious barrier limiting his strength not out of fear, but perhaps out of habit, an instinctive resistance to unleashing his full potential, like someone accustomed to keeping others alive around him.
He raised the sword again, this time with a different conviction, his eyes locked onto Udaeus with raw, almost cold determination.
"I think it's time to stop with that..."
In the blink of an eye, without any hesitation, Yuri smoothly lowered himself once more, assuming the drawing stance.
But now, there was a difference.
It wasn't just another technique.
It was no longer just for fun.
It was the pure and conscious manifestation of his true strength.
"It wasn't long ago… but it feels like ages since I truly used this..." His eyes immediately turned crimson as his Mangekyou Sharingan manifested.
"Amaterasu..." Black flames instantly ignited on Udaeus's bones as blood streamed from Yuri's eyes.
"Ultimate technique — Judgment Cut: End."
Yuri once again disappeared from his position and swiftly reappeared, his back turned to the enormous black skeleton as he sheathed his sword.
CLING!
Soon after, fissures began appearing across the skeleton's bones, while the black flames continued to burn it relentlessly.
The skeleton let out another thunderous roar that echoed through the floor.
"Now that your core is exposed... Let's finish this..."
"Thunder Breathing: Seventh Form — Flaming Thunder God..."
Yuri charged at an even more absurd speed than usual, accompanied by a yellow Japanese dragon shaped like lightning, and unleashed a singular slash forward in a low stance.
CRACK!
CLING!
Two sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
It was the clear sound of Yuri sheathing his sword again, followed by the sound of the crystal at the center of Udaeus's chest shattering.
"That was... disappointing..." Yuri stood up as he watched the giant skeleton turn to ashes, looking on with dismay.
Initially, the fight had been thrilling, but upon realizing he had been unconsciously holding back, he understood that he was stronger than he had imagined, and the battle ended before he even realized it.
(End of the chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."