Chōza Akimichi swung his massive iron staff in a wide arc. He hit something but the impact didn't feel like flesh and bone.
Substitution technique?
He narrowed his eyes, retreating quickly. But the enemy was even faster. A streak of blue light flashed through the haze, and before Chōza could react, a sharp pain tore through his chest. Hot blood spilled down his armor, staining the sand beneath him.
He stumbled back just in time. The cut wasn't deep only his thick layer of muscle had been sliced but even so, the blow had been far too close.
Chōza barely had a moment to breathe before his opponent was already closing the distance again.
The storm of sand howled around him, blinding his vision. His body ached from the wound, his movement dulled, and his fingers still damaged from before refused to form seals. Trapped in pain and dust, Chōza could only swing his staff wildly, defending his vital points as best as he could. But with each movement, new slashes opened on his arms and sides, blood seeping through his uniform.
Across from him, the Sand shinobi pressed the advantage. Standing with his back to the wind, he could see clearly through the swirling dust. Behind Chōza, the Leaf reinforcements were racing closer by the second. The gap was shrinking fast.
He clenched his jaw. I can't let them regroup. I have to end this now!
Hands moved rapidly, forming seals in perfect rhythm.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A violent gust erupted from his mouth, slamming into Chōza's chest and knocking him off balance. The giant warrior staggered, his rhythm broken, leaving him open for the follow-up attack.
The Sand ninja vanished in a flicker of movement, reappearing right in front of him, fingers already forming another seal.
"Wind Style: Blade of the Gale!"
The wind around his arm condensed, spiraling tightly until it formed a transparent blade. The sharp edge howled like an invisible sword, its pressure alone slicing thin lines through the sand around them.
He lunged, aiming straight for Chōza's heart.
But before the strike landed, something in his instincts screamed danger. He stopped cold, pushing off the ground and leaping backward.
A moment later, a spear of lightning pierced the air where he had just stood. It grazed Chōza's side, tearing through his armor before stopping exactly where the Sand ninja had been.
The blast crackled violently, its electric glow stretching nearly twenty meters long.
If he hadn't jumped when he did, both he and Chōza would have been impaled together.
The Sand ninja turned his gaze, following the path of the lightning spear. There, standing among the dunes, was a figure with crimson eyes and a calm, deadly expression.
Uchiha Fugaku.
That cold, focused stare the kind that could paralyze even a hardened warrior met his own.
The Sand ninja gritted his teeth. "You think that's enough to stop me?"
He dispelled the wind jutsu from his hand and reached into his pouch, pulling out several kunai. As he flicked his wrist, bright blue chakra wrapped around them, forming glowing blades of energy.
"Chakra nature transformation? You're not the only one who can do that!"
With a snap of his arm, he hurled the kunai. They sliced through the air like streaks of light, humming with deadly precision.
Chōza saw them coming but couldn't move.
The lightning spear had only grazed him, but the residual current was enough to send paralysis through his body. His limbs felt heavy, his muscles twitching uncontrollably. He couldn't dodge, couldn't even step aside.
His heart dropped. Of course… lightning paralysis.
The Sand ninja smirked. "Got you."
The kunai whistled through the air, aiming for his chest. Chōza stared helplessly.
He wanted to scream. This is ridiculous!
One moment, Fugaku's lightning saved him, the next, it left him frozen in place, waiting to die. Life truly had a sick sense of humor.
Just as the first kunai was about to strike, a dark shape spread across the sand Chōza's shadow twisted unnaturally, moving without his control.
Before he could comprehend it, his body jerked aside, moving on its own. The kunai flew past, grazing harmlessly by.
This feeling…
"Shikaku's Shadow Possession Technique!"
Chōza's expression went blank as his limbs obeyed another's will, dodging each projectile with uncanny precision. Deep down, his thoughts were a storm of relief and exasperation.
I swear, the ups and downs of this battle are killing me.
He almost laughed out loud. One minute he was about to die, the next he was moving like a puppet under Shikaku's control. Life's highs and lows were coming way too fast.
If the world were to end in the next second and he somehow turned into the hero who saved it, he doubted he'd even be surprised anymore.
"Damn it!" the Sand ninja roared, unwilling to let his target escape. He charged forward again, his wind blade shimmering in the stormlight.
That fat one's hanging by a thread no way I'm letting him live!
But the shadow beneath Chōza rippled again. Lines of darkness split from it, slithering across the ground like living serpents.
They whipped forward, weaving and twisting, surrounding the Sand ninja.
"Secret Technique, Shadow Sewing Jutsu!"
The dark tendrils shot up, forming a web of black spikes aimed directly at his chest.
The Sand shinobi's pupils shrank. He had no choice but to leap back, narrowly dodging the shadow spears that pierced into the sand where he had stood.
He clenched his jaw. He knew exactly what that jutsu could do. If even one of those shadows caught him, it wouldn't matter how strong he was he'd lose control of his own body and die seconds later.
The fight was far from over, but the tide had turned.
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