Like a sharp-eyed hawk, Chen Xing demonstrated the results of his four years of training. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance to his target. When only a few meters separated him from Yamada Kazekaze, lightning erupted in Chen Xing's right hand—Chidori—and he thrust forward, aiming directly for his opponent's heart.
"Boom!"
The crackling thousand chirps struck, piercing not only through Yamada's chest but exploding into the ground behind him, sending shards of rock spraying in all directions.
"…Huh?"
Before Chen Xing could follow through, a faint sense of danger rippled through him. Instinctively, he planted his feet and leapt high into the air. His hands blurred through seals, and a pair of violet chakra wings unfolded from his back, lifting him into midair in an instant.
"—!!"
A forest of sharpened earth spears—each over a meter tall—erupted from the ground below, fanning out across a radius of twenty to thirty meters.
(Perfect Peacock Technique…)
In less than ten seconds, the killing intent was so intense that birds and small animals scattered from the area.
"Damn…" Chen Xing's pupils contracted as he saw the dense carpet of earthen spikes. His first assassination attempt had failed. Though it didn't break his confidence, it did leave him irritated.
The "Yamada Kazekaze" he had struck earlier crumbled into dirt—an Earth Clone. The real Kazekaze emerged from the ground a short distance away, tall and thin, eyes cold.
"You can fly?" Yamada muttered, gaze narrowing on the chakra wings at Chen Xing's back. That kind of aerial mobility wasn't something an ordinary shinobi could pull off. Even among the elite, precise chakra control like that was rare.
What's worse, not all shinobi could lighten their bodies like the Third Tsuchikage. For most, an opponent who could fly and maneuver so freely was a nightmare—capable of dragging out a fight until they wore you down. Many had perished underestimating such foes.
"…So young," Yamada thought, his expression dark. "A prodigy… and a dangerous one."
"Your life," Chen Xing said calmly from above, "is mine to take."
"Confident, aren't you?" Yamada's tone turned icy. "But you'll find killing me is not so simple."
Chen Xing's stance shifted, violet chakra flaring around him.
"Peacock Form!"
The chakra wings expanded, unfurling into an immense construct—nine meters tall—with the translucent crown feathers and blazing red eyes of a predatory bird. A twenty-meter wingspan shimmered in violet light, talons glinting like steel. Though it wasn't a real peacock, its presence was more awe-inspiring than any living creature.
For a moment, Yamada thought it might be a true summoning beast. But seeing Chen Xing standing within the construct's abdomen, he realized it was chakra-made—an advanced chakra avatar technique.
"Are you a jinchūriki?" Yamada asked sharply. The sheer volume and density of chakra reminded him of a tailed beast's host.
"That's not important," Chen Xing replied, eyes locked on him. "What matters is… do you still think you can escape me?"
With a piercing cry, the violet peacock dived. Its massive wings stirred a hurricane that tore through the clearing. A whip-like strike from its neck slammed into the earth where Yamada had been standing, leaving a deep scar in the ground.
Yamada barely evaded, sweat beading on his brow. A single direct hit would have torn him apart.
But the attacks didn't stop.
"—Tch!"
The Peacock Form's speed was relentless. Each swing of its wings and lunge of its beak came faster, sharper, forcing Yamada to focus solely on dodging. There was no time to weave hand seals.
A sudden rake of chakra talons tore three deep gashes across his chest, shredding his flak jacket. Another wing strike carved through the boulder beside him as though it were paper.
In the next heartbeat, the peacock's beak shot forward—only for Yamada's body to crumble into dirt again. He had used Substitution at the last possible moment, reappearing several meters away, chest heaving. Blood streamed from his wounds, his expression twisted in pain and humiliation.
(Hunting complete…) Chen Xing thought. In truth, he was using Yamada as a test dummy, refining the Peacock Form's attack patterns.
Yamada glanced at the bleeding gash across his abdomen, teeth gritted. "Bastard…" His crimson-tinged eyes glared at Chen Xing, filled with rage—but also wariness. If he didn't treat the wound soon, blood loss would kill him.
A sharp cry rang out. The Peacock Form's left wing condensed into a blade of violet chakra, sweeping toward him in a ten-meter arc.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
Desperation lent Yamada speed. His hands blurred through seals, raising a thick wall of packed earth between them. In the same motion, he leapt back, vanishing into the forest.
"Boom!"
The chakra blade sheared through the earth wall like tofu, spraying stone fragments into the air.
Through the dust, Chen Xing spotted Yamada retreating at full speed between the trees and chuckled.
"You think the forest can slow me down?"
His hands formed a seal, shrinking the Peacock Form into a more compact, five-meter version better suited for tight spaces. Then, in a blur of violet light, he gave chase—shattering trees in his wake as the hunt resumed.
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