Chapter 12 — A Hard-Fought Victory
A kunai stabbed into Gekkō Ren's forehead. It sliced through skin and muscle, only to produce the grating screech of metal grinding against metal, as if it had struck solid steel. It could not advance even an inch, sparks of friction ringing sharply in the air.
The wind blade formed by the Beast Wave Palm cut through the flesh of Gekkō Ren's arm, but it could not sever the alloy skeleton of the T-800 machine within his body.
The metallic sensation beneath the blade made the two Suna jōnin widen their eyes in disbelief. The threat of death instantly enveloped them, chilling them to the bone. The black muzzles were already aimed at their chests. They wanted to flee—but it was too late.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two dull gunshots rang out.
The moment they attacked, Gekkō Ren had not remained idle. His arms bent unnaturally, both forearms transforming into SPAS-12 shotguns, their muzzles already aimed at the enemies' abdomens.
They did not even manage to scream before the overwhelming impact of the shotgun blasts sent the two Suna jōnin flying backward. Though their bodies were not completely torn through, the devastating power of the buckshot blasted fist-sized holes into their chests. The organs beneath were reduced to pulp.
After killing the two ambushing jōnin, Gekkō Ren let out a breath of relief. That had been dangerously close. If they had focused on restricting his movement instead of attacking him directly, he truly would have been finished.
"Damn it!"
"Bastard!"
"Idiot!"
"You bastard!"
Watching two more comrades die at the hands of the enemy, the remaining six Suna ninja gritted their teeth. The ninjutsu they had already prepared were unleashed immediately, without further hesitation.
"Wind Release: Wolf Fang!"
"Wind Release: Wind Sever!"
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!" ×2
"Lightning Release: Thunder Tiger!"
Wind, earth, and lightning techniques were unleashed simultaneously. At the same time, over a dozen kunai tied with explosive tags were thrown out. Even if the enemy was immune to Fire Release, explosions were not merely flames.
Sharp earthen spears burst up from the ground around Gekkō Ren, stabbing from all directions at his half-buried body, sealing off any route of escape.
A massive, barrel-thick wind lance descended from the sky, aimed straight at his head, cutting off any attempt to evade upward.
The crackling Thunder Tiger struck even faster, lunging at his chest. Even if it failed to kill him in one blow, it would paralyze him—leaving him helpless, waiting to be beheaded by the massive wind blade infused with immense chakra, sharp as a high-pressure gale.
Facing the onslaught, Gekkō Ren did not dodge—nor could he. He simply crossed his arms, palms shielding his head, forearms guarding his neck, and endured the impact.
Crack! Crack!
The Earth Spears pierced through his skin and muscle, but ultimately it was the spears themselves that shattered. Even so, they pinned and restricted his body.
The Thunder Tiger roared as it crashed into his chest, yet it vanished like a river returning to the embrace of the ocean—absorbed completely into his body. It caused no damage. Instead, it replenished over a hundred points of stored energy.
Finally, the Wind Release techniques arrived.
The drill-like wind lance spun violently as it bore down upon his raised arms, engulfing his entire body. The massive gale slashed against the arm protecting his neck. Countless tiny wind blades relentlessly shaved flesh from his face and body.
Then the explosive-tagged kunai struck.
A violent explosion erupted.
Smoke billowed into the air as sand and debris were whipped about by the raging winds.
The Suna ninja watched the smoke and sand stirred by the explosion and Wolf Fang technique. At last, they allowed themselves a breath of relief.
They had seen every technique hit its mark. They had seen the Earth Spears pierce into the enemy's body and restrict his movement. They had seen Thunder Tiger strike him directly, and the enemy had only raised his arms in defense. They had seen two A-rank Wind Release techniques land squarely upon him.
Under such an assault, no one could possibly survive.
There would not even be a complete corpse left.
"The mission is complete," Pakura said sorrowfully, without the slightest hint of joy.
None of the Suna ninja smiled at her declaration. Their hearts were heavy.
Over a hundred Suna ninja had died along this riverbank. If they had taken the intelligence from those three genin seriously earlier, so many comrades would not have perished here.
To kill a Konoha ninja whose name they did not even know, they had lost most of their forces. Their elite squad of fifteen was now reduced to seven, one of whom was gravely wounded. Of the four jōnin, three were dead.
"Collect the bodies of our fallen comrades. We'll bring them back for burial," Pakura ordered, her voice low as she walked toward the gravely injured sensory ninja lying behind the Earth Formation Wall.
The others suppressed their grief and began gathering the corpses scattered across the riverbank.
"Ratatatatat—!"
The sound of a light machine gun erupted from within the still-lingering smoke.
"Bang! Bang!"
The roar of the Barrett sniper rifle echoed through the forest once more.
Under the stunned and horrified gazes of the Suna ninja, a torrent of metal bullets shot out from the smoke. In the blink of an eye, two of them were riddled through, blood spurting in streams as their bodies collapsed.
On the other side, two more comrades were struck repeatedly. Long arcs of blood sprayed into the air as they were blasted several meters away, fist-sized holes punched clean through their bodies.
The enemy isn't dead?! How is that possible?!
At the first sound of gunfire, Pakura and another Suna ninja felt a wave of cold dread.
They could not believe it—but their bodies were already moving instinctively, darting rapidly to avoid staying in one place for even a heartbeat. Neither of them could use Earth Release. Within the smoke, they had no way to predict where Gekkō Ren's muzzle would aim. All they could do was keep moving and gamble on luck.
That was too close. Just a little more and I would've been finished.
Within the smoke, Gekkō Ren had emerged from the earth, his T-800 alloy endoskeleton fully exposed. Sweat dripped down his mind. Once the flames of the explosion dissipated, he activated his infrared electronic eyes. His hands transformed into light machine guns, his legs into Barrett sniper rifles. Sitting on the riverbank, he fired continuously.
Just moments ago, Wolf Fang had stripped away all of his skin and muscle, completely exposing the T-800 alloy machine beneath. Pakura's Wind Sever had nearly sliced off his alloy arms, and even his metal cervical spine had been cut halfway through. He had only just finished repairing the damage.
But Gekkō Ren had no intention of stepping out of the smoke.
He did not want anyone to see what he looked like now—not even those about to die. Moreover, within the smoke, he held the advantage. The Suna ninja had no Byakugan; they could not see his movements through the haze. This would be an effective tactic in the future as well.
"Earth Release: Earth Formation Wall!"
A wall of earth suddenly rose from the riverbank.
It was the severely injured sensory ninja. Forcing himself to his limit, he cast one final technique. The wall did not rise before him—it rose beside the constantly moving Pakura, shielding her.
He had exposed himself to cover her.
(Earth Formation Wall has a distance limitation depending on the ninja. Pakura had approached earlier to check his injuries, so she was within range. The Barrett could penetrate an ordinary Earth Formation Wall, but the protagonist chose not to do so—for now.)
"Wind Release: Hurricane Assault!"
The other Suna ninja, still dodging frantically, formed hand seals. A terrifying tornado whipped up the stones and sand from the riverbank, sweeping it toward the smoke that concealed the enemy, while also shielding the direction of the Earth Wall.
But in casting the technique, his movements became less agile. Even his speed slowed.
It's over.
Watching the ninja's movements grow sluggish, Gekkō Ren sighed inwardly. His right leg—transformed into a Barrett—locked onto him.
"Boom!"
The shot rang out.
The bullet struck the Suna ninja square in the chest, blasting a massive hole through his back. His body flew several meters before crashing to the ground.