Chapter 28: Chapter 28 Tough battle! (1)
3,550 words btw 💯
The lightning group was a group of disenfranchised shinobi, most of whom possessed a kekkei genkai. The group was first formed by Fūshin and other former slaves of En Oyashirowho, despite never having done anything wrong, had been abused and taken advantage of their entire lives. Fūshin and the others wanted to help those on the fringes of society in ways that nobody had ever helped them. The Lightning Group attacked murderers, thieves, and other wrong-doers and took everything they had. They then dispersing the plunder to those in need, primarily small settlements like Bamboo Village that were often neglected by their countries.
And now, this group of shinobi were tasked with the simple mission of capturing a thief.
On the way to their destination, Chino, who appeared to be a sweet little girl but her words were certainly not so sweet. She spoke, "So we just have to kill some brat? Seriously?" She spoke, her face unchanging and remained that of a sweet innocent child.
Karyu turned around and looked at her, then spoke "Yup, sounds easy right? How boring." He sighed and they continued their way towards bamboo village.
However, on the way there, they saw a little girl that fit the description perfectly running with a black and white cat while holding a satchel that seemed to be full of food.
The group followed the girl and watched her climb into a treehouse? The supposed leader of the group looked at Chino, who was about to attack the treehouse and held his arm out, "Let's wait a bit, that card's chakra is quite erratic, like it's a clone of sorts."
And so the group waited about 20 minutes until Karyū got bored of waiting and used some hand seals before sending a bolt of molten rock from his mouth towards the treehouse.
However, as they were expecting the job to be done, a naked boy suddenly flew out from the treehouse holding the girl.
Fūshin looked at the newcomer in confusion, 'Wings? What on earth…' Fūshin thought to himself while trying to under the situation.
Without too much thought, Fūshin used the bird hand seal, and spoke, "Typhoon Release: Consecutive Bursting Strong Winds." Chino turned and looked at him in surprise, but Fūshin focused on his attack.
He sent a gigantic vortex of intense winds towards the newcomer, hoping to stop them from flying away.
And when the boy hit the ground, Fūshin looked at him curiously as he shot a ball of black and white fire far into the distance.
After this, Fūshin condensed the vortex into what seemed to be a lance made up of fierce winds.
With a flick of his wrist, the lance was shot directly through the boys head.
Their target, the little girl, was frozen in terror and shock, not only had her only friend turned out to be a human, but had just died infront of her.
The boy suddenly burst into a cloud of smoke, and the lightning group approached the girl who was sobbing uncontrollably.
Karyū grinned while looking at the sobbing girl, he was about to get paid so much from something so easy! As he raised his arm, coated in a molten rock, ready to put the girl down.
She looked up with tears in her eyes and thought to herself, 'Ah… so this was it, in all the nightmares I saw of me dying. This one was the one I had expected the least. Oh well, I hope my next life will be better. I'm sorry Kitty, Shion and Mommy.' She closed her eyes, embracing death.
However, right as the punch was about to be thrown, Karyū suddenly punched behind him, nearly hitting chino.
The group looked at him in confusion, and Chiyo, who was expecting death, opened her eyes to see the approaching man was turned around, attacking thin air.
Suddenly, three bolts of white lightning were flung out from the trees, flying around the group before striking Karyū in the chest, abdomen and back.
Karyū screamed in agony and a figure suddenly appeared in front of Chiyo, a young boy with long black and white hair pushed back into a ponytail, he was wearing black pants and no shirt.
…
Riku was training his lightning release genjutsu, when suddenly a monoflame fireball was sent flying in his direction.
Riku realised what this was implying, and instantly dismissed his shadow clones, not having time to clean up and get dressed, Riku ran in the forest barefoot and shirtless.
As he was flickering, Riku suddenly activated his White-Spark chakra mode and began moving even faster, his long hair flowing in the wind.
When Riku was about 100 meters away from where the fireball was thrown, he saw a man approaching the girl he saw in his memories with his fist raised in a punching position.
Riku, thinking fast, suddenly activated his work-in-progress Ryūgan Genjustu : Revese World.
Thankfully, it seemed to work as the man turned around and started to attack the empty space behind him instead of Chiyo.
Riku suddenly jumped up, clapped three times and summoned three White Spark lightning bolts, to which he set his target to the man under his genjutsu and hurled the bolts towards him.
Landing in front of Chiyo, Riku placed one hand on the hilt of his sword, and the other was held out in a protective gesture.
"What is your buisness here?" Riku asked, his aura cold and calculated.
Fūshin stepped up and spoke, "We're here for the girl, don't get involved if you don't want to di-"
Fūshin was interrupted as his danger sense exploded, turning around, he noticed a bolt of white lightning flying directly towards him.
Using body flicker to dodge, he appeared 10 meters to the side and prepared to counterattack.
To his horror, the bolt of lightning suddenly turned and flew in his direction.
Riku then summoned two shadow clones, one to protect Chiyo and one to press the attack on Fūshin, then Riku shot into action, flickering towards with his sword-Daichi in his hand, he whispered, "Arden Swordsmanship : Page 4, Orbit." Riku was right infront of Chino, who's eyes suddenly glowed bright red sclera, dark red irises, and white pupils shaped as horizontal rectangles.
Riku was stunned for a second before he initiated his attack, Orbit.
Riku suddenly vanished from sight, appeared behind Chino and swung his sword down, to his shock, instead of slicing through flesh, the girl infront of him suddenly melted into a pool of blood red liquid.
Riku looked around and all he could see were the trees that were slowly melting into blood red puddles.
And then he realised, he was in a genjutsu.
In the outside world, Riku was seen kneeling infront of a girl who was giggling at the sight, "Such a weak and pathetic kid." She went to place her hand on his forehead to insert her chakra into his bloodstream, which would initiate her Exploding Human Technique.
However, right as she was about to touch him, the clone Riku had sent after Fūshin twisted his neck at an inhuman angle while holding off Fūshin, one of his eyes closed and the other glowing with an intense white light.
Chino suddenly turned around and placed her hand on nothing, giving Riku more time to get out of the genjutsu.
Riku was unable to get out of this genjutsu, even if he disrupted his chakra, it was futile.
And so, Kokuenryū forcefully took the wheel.
With a deep growl, steam began to flow from Riku's nose and his teeth began to sharpen.
His marking on his cheek shifted from a black colour to a glowing white colour as scales began to spread over Riku's body.
Kokuenryū got to his feet, black and white scales in the shape of plate armour were now equipped to Riku's body, giving him the look of a draconic knight.
Kokuenryū walked forwards, Riku's hands shifting and changing into beast like claws as two wings sprouted out from his back.
*That's more like it.* A deep, beast like voice came out from the young boy, in contrast to his appearance, his voice was terrifying.
Karyū regained his senses and looked at Chino who was about to get attacked by this weird guy.
Karyū hit chino over the head, snapping her out of the weak genjutsu.
*Let's make this quick,* Kokuenryū growled, his voice low rumbling, as black and white flames crackled ominously from his hands. The flames, his Monoflame, much more potent than what Riku could replicate swirled and danced in intricate patterns that split the air into smoldering streaks of light and shadow.
Chino's lips curled into a confident smirk as the crimson glow of her Ketsuryugan flashed in the dusk. She quickly raised her hand to flick her fingers gracefully. Instantly, streams of her own blood shot into the air, coalescing into sharp, jagged blades that hovered at her side like some kind of deadly constellation.
Beside her, Karyū grinned. His eyes seemed to wrinkle at the corners, shining like molten heat. His hands flexed, the earth around him starting to shudder as cracks raced across it like spider webs. The air shimmered with heat as, from the ground beneath him, a fountain of churning lava welled up, bathing the field in a sizzling, fiery mist.
Kokuenryū's gaze didn't waver. His stance shifted, and his claws extended in preparation to unleash his fury. The Monoflame in his palms intensified, flaring into a tempest of swirling black and white fire. He was a creation of destruction, built for chaos.
*Blood? What a weird way to fight,* snarled Kokuenryū, taking the first step forward.
Chino's eyes glinted dangerously. With a sudden, slashing gesture, the blood blades whirled at him in a blur of razor-sharp arcs. Kokuenryū sidestepped each attack with armored feet that barely made a sound, his monstrous claws slicing through the air with precision. But Chino was quick, her blood weapons following him with unnatural agility and slicing toward his exposed side.
The Monoflame flared. A huge column of black and white flames exploded from Kokuenryū's hands, devouring the blood blades before they could strike. But Chino wasn't done. She smirked, and the blood on the ground surged, forming into a massive wall that swarmed toward him, closing the gap at an alarming speed.
In the same instant, Karyū charged. His body engulfed in flaming lava, he soared upward and brought his right hand down against Kokuenryū with the force of a surging volcano; behind it came a flow of lava that cascaded downward, descending upon his foe like an avalanche of fire.
"Watch out!" Chino shouted, her eyes scanning the battlefield. The blood wall she'd summoned split into two, converging from both sides to trap Kokuenryū in a deadly pincer.
Kokuenryū's eyes narrowed. He roared, summoning the full might of his Monoflame. The black and white flames expanded outward in a devastating burst of heat and power, incinerating the blood constructs as they drew near. In the same instant, he swung his claws toward the falling lava.
The claws cut with a crunch against the burning mass, sending shockwaves through the ground. The lava shot out in every direction but nothing fazed Kokuenryū. The Monoflame flared again in his hands, immediately turning into a huge serpentine flame that wrapped itself around his body like armor.
*WEAK!* he roared, his voice carrying across the battlefield as he launched himself forward in a surge of motion. The serpentine flames lashed out towards Karyū, who barely dodged in time but not without the edges of his cloak catching fire.
Chino moved again, her Ketsuryugan glowing ominously. She focused, channeling her chakra into the blood beneath her feet. It began to pool and writhe, forming into a massive blood construct—a towering, monstrous figure that resembled a twisted demon of bone and sinew. The construct lurched forward, its claws stretching toward Kokuenryū, intent on impaling him.
But Kokuenryū was a step ahead. He clapped his claws together, and the Monoflame roared to life as he charged. The flames were hotter than ever, and in one swipe, he cleaved through the blood construct like it was made of paper. It began to crumple, dissolving into a cloud of crimson mist as its body crumbled.
Karyū saw the opportunity and gathered a clump of molten lava into his hand. He threw it at Kokuenryū with pinpoint accuracy; this sphere of fire hurtled towards the armoured figure like a meteor.
Kokuenryū grinned feral, his fangs bared. Releasing a sudden jet of chakra, he sprang forwards with the Monoflame racing at breathtaking speeds. The lava ball exploded on contact with the ground, sending waves of molten rock cascading through the air.
But by then, Kokuenryū had already closed the distance.
He roared in a savage tone as his claws flashed through the air, sending a tidal wave of Monoflame crashing down on Karyū. The flames seared the molten lava into steam, and Karyū was forced to jump back as his face contorted in anger and in surprise.
In that moment of distraction, Kokuenryū swung his claws at Chino, the force of the blow sending a shockwave through the air. Chino barely managed to block with her blood construct, but the impact sent her sliding backward, blood trickling from her mouth as her Ketsuryugan flickered.
Kokuenryū chuckled, his claws dripping with the remnants of the blood construct. He raised his arms, and the Monoflame roared to life again, burning brighter, hotter.
Karyū and Chino, both visibly injured, stood side by side, their backs to each other. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and in that instant, an unspoken understanding passed between them.
The blood in Chino's veins hummed with power as she concentrated on Kokuenryū and Karyū summoned the ground beneath him, ready to attack finally.
"Now!" Chino ordered.
Karyū plunged his hands into the ground, and the earth, beneath them, rattled as a huge wave of lava burst from beneath; it cascaded towards Kokuenryū. Meanwhile, Chino's hands twisted and the blood constructs she controlled surged forward, aiming to hold him down.
Kokuenryū smiled, his eyes shining with madness. He roared and lifted both hands high in the air, releasing his full power into the Monoflame. In a sudden explosion of bright, hot flame, the fire raged across the battlefield, clashing in a tremendous explosion of heat against lava and blood constructs.
Chino wiped the blood from her mouth as her crimson eyes started to glow brighter with every passing second. She lifted her hand, and in that moment, her chakra burst forth as she began to weave hand seals.
"Blood Dragon Ascension." Her voice was low but full of power.
In an instant, the ground beneath them shook and quivered violently. Blood and water started oozing out of Chino's body; the blood raced around her as she incanted the spell, and it went up in the air in a gigantic spiral. The sky darkened, with some kind of monstrous shape forming.
From the swirling mass of blood, an enormous, multi-headed dragon began to emerge. Each head was an amalgamation of pure blood, water and chakra, with dark red scales and eyes that gleamed with malevolent intelligence. It had eight heads, each one different, each one vicious. The beast coiled and writhed like some ancient mythological creature, its massive, sinuous body a perfect imitation of the "Yamata no Orochi," its necks twisting and snapping as they formed.
The roar of the blood dragon rumbled like a peal of thunder, shaking the air. Every one of the dragon's heads snapped and hissed, and there was no mistaking the sound of steam hissing from their mouths. The air around each head began to shimmer as they started spewing bursts of scalding steam, promising to burn everything in their way.
"Face this…," Chino said in a cold voice, her chakra flaring as the dragon's heads now faced Kokuenryū.
Still recovering from Kokuenryū's earlier assault, Karyū was now back to back with Chino. He watched with great interest. The atmosphere grew tense.
Kokuenryū growled, his eyes never leaving Chino and the grotesque creature she had summoned. He clenched his clawed hands, his monstrous limbs flexing beneath the weight of his armor. The Monoflame within him burned hotter, his aura radiating with growing intensity.
*Impressive.* Kokuenryū spat, a twisted grin forming on his face. *But this? This is no dragon. I will give you the honour of seeing a TRUE DRAGON!*
With a feral scream, Kokuenryū called forth every ounce of chakra within him, and the Monoflame exploded. But it was not a flame this time; it changed. The very air around his person began to burn as he funneled all of what was left of his strength into a singular creation. A huge, phantom dragon of black and white fire appeared before him. It was an immense serpentine creature, its body rippling with flame as it twisted and coiled around him protectively. Its eyes burned with an inner fire that matched his own ferocity.
*Ancient dragon of Black and White flame, Kokuenryū!* Kokuenryū roared, his voice booming.
The black-and-white dragon roared in a deafening voice, its body afire with power, causing the earth to shake beneath their feet. He charged forward with massive force as his tail snapped and coiled with fire, ready to confront Chino's monster.
The attack came first from the blood dragon in all its terror: its eight heads struck, each with an intent to kill. The heads of the creature were swift in their movements-too swift for any ordinary adversary. The first head, a serpentine monstrosity with red scales glistening, opened its mouth wide as it lunged toward Kokuenryū.
But Kokuenryū had already anticipated this. The Monoflame Dragon darted forward, its form becoming a blur of black-and-white fire. The massive dragon collided with the first head, and a violent explosion of flame erupted as the two forces clashed. The blood dragon's head was engulfed in a burst of black and white flame, but it quickly regenerated, its watery flesh knitting together before Kokuenryū's eyes.
The other head of the dragon appeared on the side, teeth as sharp as knives. It snapped down with terrifying speed, aiming for Kokuenryū's armored body. The Monoflame Dragon twisted mid-air, swinging its tail full of flame and crashing it against the second head, knocking it away in a hiss of steam.
It smiled, knowing the dragon's weakness. He raised his claws. His arms gleamed in intense flame as he channeled chakra into the Monoflame and amplified the flames even further. The Monoflame Dragon responded in kind, its body erupting brighter and hotter, its flames roaring wild like an unleashed beast.
*BARE WITNESS, THE WRATH OF A TRUE DRAGON.* Kokuenryū howled.
The huge flaming dragon construct plunged straight into the action, its body crashing onto that of the blood dragon. In a second, the flames of Kokuenryū's dragon set fire to the surrounding blood, turning it to steam. The blood dragon pulled itself back because of the heat, but it didn't stop-it was relentless. One of the heads lunged forward, biting the tail of Kokuenryū's dragon, sending a jet of steam into the air.
But the Monoflame Dragon counterattacked, opening his giant maw and pouring a stream of black and white fire straight into the head of the nearest blood dragon. Steam exploded in a violent detonation, and the dragon recoiled again, steaming, but not defeated.
Kokuenryū gritted his teeth as the Blood Dragon's powers of regeneration brought it back for more, one head after another reforming with terrifying rapidity.
Kokuenryū breathed heavily, dripping with sweat from the struggle of keeping him under control. For the most part, his dragon construct was getting tired, but he wasn't done yet.
He raised his hands and, with a feral growl, forced even more the chakra he had left into his Monoflame. Again, the dragon roared louder than before, its flames surging brighter, and in an instant it exploded into a huge ball of black-and-white fire. Kokuenryū hurled it straight at the blood dragon.
Monoflame's explosion enveloped the blood dragon, completely shrouding it. The steam that burst from that impact filled the air like a searing fog, blinding anyone that got in its path. A massive heatwave radiated outwards, sending shockwaves through the earth.
A short time later, there was only silence.
And from these smoke and haze, the blood dragon finally appeared, his regeneration still ongoing but visibly strained. Chino's eyes were wide, beads of sweat lining her forehead as her chakra reserves rapidly depleted from trying to keep the enormous beast under control.
Kokuenryū growled, his eyes glowing with unrelenting fury. He raised his claws one final time, his Monoflame Dragon surging with a final, overwhelming blast of flame. The very earth beneath them trembled as the black-and-white dragon barreled forward, its fiery form crashing into the weakened blood dragon.
The final roar of Kokuenryū's dragon shattered the air, and in that instant, the blood dragon shrieked with agony as its regenerating failed. One by one, its heads burst into steam-the creature finally being overcome by the overwhelming might of Kokuenryū's relentless flame.
While the dragons fought, Kokuenryū suddenly appeared behind Chino, his eyes burning bright with fury.