The bridge shook as the Corrupted Drones ran forward. There were six of them. They moved fast, like a mix between a machine and a wild animal. Their arms looked like rusted scythes dripping with oil and red sap.
The lead drone jumped, covering the whole distance in one leap. Its joints hissed as it swung a heavy blade at Arthev's neck.
Arthev didn't pull out a weapon. He didn't use his Soul Rings or even move to block. He just closed his eyes for a second.
"Activate"
When he opened his eyes, they had changed. They were pale with ripples and three black dots spinning inside. This was his Mangekyou Shinragan.
To Arthev, everything slowed down. The drone looked like it was moving through water. His eyes let him see through its metal skin, showing the circuits and red roots tangled inside the gears. He could see exactly where the blade was going to hit.
The blade reached his throat, but Arthev didn't dodge. He used his left eye.
Left Eye: Kamui (Intangibility).
Swish.
The massive metal blade passed right through his neck. There was no blood and no resistance. It was like Arthev wasn't even solid.
The drone stumbled forward, its weight carrying it through Arthev's body. Its sensors couldn't understand what was happening.
ERROR: SOLIDITY NEGATED.
As it passed through him, Arthev turned solid again. He spun around and slammed his palm into the drone's back. His hand coated with magnetic soul power.
Crunch.
The drone hit the railing hard, and sparks flew everywhere.
"One," Arthev said.
Three more drones rushed him at the same time from the front and sides. They timed their attack perfectly so he had nowhere to run.
Arthev stayed still. He used his right eye.
Sukunahikona
Instantly, Arthev vanished from their sensors. He hadn't teleported, he had just shrunk himself to the size of a dust particle.
Clang.
The three drones crashed into each other. Their heavy metal bodies smashed together right where Arthev had been standing.
As they pulled back, Arthev grew back to his normal size. He was standing right on the middle drone's shoulder.
"Volume is irrelevant," he said quietly.
A drone on the left swung a large metal claw at him. Arthev looked at it with his right eye.
Sukunahikona.
The ability to shrink any inanimate object.
In an instant, the heavy claw shrank until it was no bigger than a sewing needle. The drone lost its balance and tipped over.
Arthev stepped past the falling machine.
Another drone fired missiles at him. He looked at them shrink, and they shrank into tiny pellets. They hit his chest like bits of gravel and bounced off his clothes.
"Two. Three," he counted.
The remaining drones stopped. Their mechanical minds couldn't figure out why their attacks were failing.
"The one behind you is about to blast you," Matatabi warned.
Arthev didn't turn around. He used his left eye.
Left Eye: Kamui (Warp).
Te air around him began to swirl. With a quiet sound, Arthev was sucked into a small hole in space and vanished.
The drone fired its blast, but it hit nothing.
A second later, a swirl appeared in the air directly above that drone. Arthev dropped out of it.
But he wasn't falling empty-handed.
As he fell, he held out his hand. A small black cube appeared between his fingers.
He let it go. As it fell, the cube grew instantly into a massive stone block.
It weighed 100 tons.
Booooom.
The block crushed the drone flat against the bridge. Arthev landed lightly on top of the stone. Metal groaned as the drone underneath was turned into a pancake of gears and red moss.
"Four," Arthev said.
The last two drones shrieked. They tangled their roots together and charged him like a wall of spikes. They didn't seem to care about their own safety anymore.
Arthev looked bored. "You're in the way," he said.
He held out his right hand.
He didn't aim at the drones. Instead, he looked at the floor beneath them.
The wide metal bridge suddenly shrank into a tiny strip of metal. The drones had nothing left to stand on.
ERROR: GROUND LOST.
They fell into the dark pit below, their claws scratching at the air until they disappeared.
Arthev thought for a moment, and the bridge snapped back to its normal size with a loud clang.
The area went silent. Arthev blinked, and his eyes returned to their normal black color.
"Good job," Matatabi said. "You didn't waste any soul power on flashy attacks."
"I liked the crushing part," Shukaku grunted. "But shrinking the floor? That feels like cheating."
"It's just how things work," Arthev replied.
"I just changed how much space they took up."
He waved his hand, and the massive obsidian block vanished back into his timeless dimension. He looked down the bridge. The path to the center was finally clear.
"The guards are gone," Arthev whispered. "Now for the master."
He walked forward. A deep thumping sound came from the darkness ahead. It got louder with every step.
Thump. Thump.
It sounded like a heartbeat. He kept walking.
To be continued....