As the sword Ryu had just acquired from the enemy broke under the force of Kaminari's attack, Ryu had only one word in his mind. "Shit." He was bloodied and wounded, his current state dire, and he did not have any ace that he could deploy right now to counter Kaminari's power.
Kaminari watched the sword shatter, rage and disbelief fuelling his next actions. "I cannot believe an academy brat managed to kill most of my team," he thought, his eyes burning with fury. "I need to kill this brat before he gets too powerful." He was done holding back, done with the mission to capture alive.
Kaminari used a downward hammering punch, channelling the full might of his lightning-enhanced body into a single strike, much like the Fourth Raikage's signature move. Ryu, his defences compromised, attempted to block the attack by crossing his arms upwards in a desperate, last-ditch guard. The impact was immense, sending shockwaves through the air and shattering the ground beneath Ryu's feet.
##Boom##
The force of the blow was devastating. Ryu cried out as Kaminari's punch connected. This was the moment Ryu really needed the full protection of his [ReflexGuard] barrier, but the seal on his body was already destroyed from the previous impacts. He needed a few more seconds to channel chakra and fully form new seals on his body, time that Kaminari did not give him.
The punch drove Ryu down onto his knees by the sheer force. There was no denying the fact that the Ryu had now more broken bones. His right forearm took the brunt of the impact and was broken, bent at a grotesque, sickening angle in the middle from the sheer force of Kaminari's downward punch.
When Ryu was on the ground, broken and reeling, Kaminari used another move he copied from the Fourth Raikage. The Liger Bomb, a move used by the Fourth Raikage against Sasuke Uchiha at the Five Kage Summit.
Kaminari jumped, carrying Ryu all the way up many stories high, a brutal vertical ascent, and Ryu knew instantly he was in deep shit now. The ground plummeted away below them.
As they ascended, Ryu's mind worked at an impossible speed. His abilities kicked in, attempting to process the dire situation and calculate a survival strategy.
- [Temporary Enhance] running on [Fast Thinking] and [Parallel Thinking]
- [Overclocking] enabled
He thought of all the possible scenarios for survival in a split second, cycling through potential options and immediately cancelling all of them that were impossible in the current situation.
- Use Lightning-Discharge: Enemy also uses Lightning and counters him. Too risky.
- Use Carbon Cards: [Magno-Telekinesis Seal] damaged: No cards readily available or deployable in freefall.
- Use his hidden skills of [Chakra Fusion]: No time for fuinjutsu seal preparation or chakra fusion, and not a defensive measure against this impact.
- Use [ReflexGuard] seal using blood: Old seal damaged; Needed a few more seconds to draw new seal and activate.
- Use defensive ninjutsu: Only defensive options available: [Earth Style: Iron Skin Jutsu] and… [Lightning Skin Armour].
Ryu had closely observed Kaminari's lightning abilities during their fight and gained an understanding of his techniques through direct experience. It was all skin augmentation through the chakra of lightning, enhancing durability and power.
Ryu's subconscious mind, powered by [Fast Thinking] and [Overclocking], quickly calculated the odds of surviving the impact at super speed as Ryu watched the ground rapidly approaching in his upside-down view of the world in the clutches of Kaminari.
- Probability of surviving when using [ReflexGuard] seal (in its current state): 25%
- Probability of surviving when using [Earth Style: Iron Skin Jutsu]: 25%
- Probability of surviving when using Lightning Skin Armour (difficult to form with a broken arm/low chakra): 20%
"25 is too low," Ryu thought, assessing the bleak numbers. "If I add [ReflexGuard] to it, then the percentage will be high enough for sure survival." He knew the combination of a physical defence [Earth Style: Iron Skin Jutsu] and the [ReflexGuard] seal's protection would be exponentially more effective.
- Time remaining for impact: 500 milliseconds
- Time remaining for [ReflexGuard] activation: 300 milliseconds
- Probability of surviving when using [ReflexGuard] seal and [Earth Style: Iron Skin Jutsu]: 65%
"It's greater than the sum of their individual probabilities," Ryu thought, the calculation confirming his best chance.
Then an idea formed in Ryu's head. "What about combining Lightning Armour with [Iron Skin Jutsu] and the seal?"
- Difficult and not stable to combine chakra inside the body
"If not on the inside," Ryu replied internally, the thought firm despite his pain, "then I will use it outside... not on my body."
- Shield modified: Microshields for body-tight skin armour with Lightning augmentation.
- Time remaining for [ReflexGuard] activation: 350 milliseconds
- Time remaining for impact: 400 milliseconds
Ryu went with the [ReflexGuard] + [Earth Style: Iron Skin Jutsu] plan. As they plummeted, Ryu was seeing the ground getting close in slow motion, the intricate patterns of the new [ReflexGuard Seal] forming on his body in slow motion. The microshields, designed for body-tight protection, activated with lightning augmentation as he channelled the chakra.
Ryu channelled all the remaining chakra he had, a desperate, last-ditch effort. He reinforced himself using [Earth Style: Iron Skin Jutsu], hardening his skin to its limit. Simultaneously, he activated the [ReflexGuard Seal] again, but the seal was different this time. It formed a micro version of the hexagonal shields, densely packed and covering his body and body alone, like a thin, layered armour, covering his back, head, and stomach – the most vulnerable areas for the impending impact. This shield was designed to automatically augment itself with Lightning chakra armour upon activation, a concept Ryu had refined after observing Kaminari and remembering his fight with Itachi.
Now Ryu understood Kaminari's [Lightning Release Chakra Mode]. Instead of flowing chakra through the entire body like the Fourth Raikage's version – a technique requiring immense endurance and full-body compatibility – Kaminari just used his outer skin.
It enhances his defences and power with minimum drawbacks, making it easy to deploy, but it was an inferior version compared to the Raikage's speed-focused form. But at the moment, physical defence was what Ryu was looking for.
Ryu used the same concept but applied it to his external shields. As Ryu knew, full-body Lightning Armour also hurts the user, the intense chakra flow damaging the body. Ryu cannot use it on himself without hurting himself significantly or without activating his [Super Healing], which he will desperately need after the impact. He will have only one chance in his current condition to survive. By applying the lightning to the shields instead of his body, he augmented the defence without frying himself.
##Boom##
An enormous amount of force was applied to Ryu's back as it was slammed into the ground. The lightning chakras of Kaminari and Ryu, which had been fighting to protect them against each other, caused an explosion to occur at the point of impact. This explosion was caused not only by the collision itself but also by the conflicting lightning chakra. A shockwave was generated, radiating outwards, accompanied by strong, turbulent winds that swept through the area.
The barriers around the secretary and Kohinata were suddenly undone, causing them to feel the winds and setback of the shockwave. The cloud of dust on and around the site of impact was itself covered in lightning, sparking and crackling.
Kohinata and the secretary, seeing the dust from the massive impact where Ryu had fallen with Kaminari, immediately started running towards him, worry etched on their faces, heading towards the lingering cloud of smoke and debris. As they ran, a voice, weak but clear, called out from within the dust.
"Shit," Ryu said. "That almost killed me."
Kohinata and the secretary stopped abruptly, relief and renewed worry washing over them as they heard Ryu confirm his survival, albeit in a rough state.
The dust cleared slowly. Ryu was shown in a very bad shape, much worse than before. He lay on the ground, his forearms bent at unnatural angles, broken. Many bones of his feet and shoulders were clearly out of place, dislocated or fractured. Ryu was bleeding profusely, the ground around him beginning to stain red. Ryu was in too much pain right now but did not shout or show it.
Ryu, despite the searing pain, assessed his condition with clinical detachment. "More broken bones and more bleeding," he thought. "And [ReflexGuard Seal] is again damaged, and my chakra was completely depleted now."
Ryu noticed Kohinata and Kaori gazing at him. "Good, they are healed now. They can hold him until backup arrives."
Kaori's body tensed, her eyes wide. She sensed something distinct and familiar, rapidly approaching. "Backup," Kaori said, her voice tight with urgency. "It's our ANBU unit. They are here. We need to hold for some time."
Kohinata nodded in immediate understanding. His gaze hardened as he looked towards the still-settling dust where Kaminari was beginning to stir. "Take Ryu," he said to Kaori. "Run towards their direction. I'll handle him."
Kaori started running towards Ryu as quickly as her recovered but still exhausted body allowed her to go, while Kohinata immediately ran towards Kaminari, ready to engage him in combat.
##PoWeR StOnEs##
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