c160 — The Flying Thunder God Reappears
Ding, ding, ding...
After all, they were veterans who had long been on the front lines; they were not people to be easily slain. All the targeted ninjas swung their weapons to block or to bat away the flying kunai.
Those who tried to block were injured themselves; those who knocked the kunai away endangered their companions.
The next instant, Uchiha Gen's figure vanished from his perch and reappeared in front of ten Kirigakure shinobi. The continuous flicker of his presence condensed into a black flash sharp, sudden, and deadly.
After a sequence of instantaneous appearances, Uchiha Gen returned to the same stone as if he had never left.
"Ah ah ah!"
Ten screams cut through the air in rapid succession. Under the razor edge of the lightning-blessed Kusanagi, each arm snapped like wet tofu; scarlet blood arced outward, blooming like ten gruesome flowers.
Originally, Uchiha Gen could have silenced those ten with lethal strikes and taken their life-force immediately, but killing them outright would prevent him from harvesting souls and lifespan in full. Instead he targeted limbs non-lethal wounds that would cripple their combat effectiveness. Without hands they could not form seals, and with the agony and shock their usefulness in battle collapsed.
The sudden turn stunned the other Kirigakure ninjas who had not been hit.
"Flying Thunder God Technique yellow flash! It's the Flying Thunder God Technique!" someone shouted.
"Everyone, get away from those kunai now!"
The nearby Kirigakure shinobi snapped into retreat, eyes wide with horror as though faced with a specter.
The Third Shinobi World War had not long passed; the Flying Thunder God technique and the legends around it were still fresh in every soldier's mind.
"Withdraw at once. If the enemy wields space–time jutsu, we lose the initiative. This operation can't succeed!" one officer barked.
To block a time–space technique you must prepare a sealing barrier in advance. Barriers capable of sealing space are among the most advanced and arcane arts in the ninja world Kirigakure did not possess such resources here.
Still, Gui Deng Crescent Moon ordered an immediate evacuation. Seeing his resolve, the other jōnin and the seven surviving chūnin broke off and fled.
As for the eight chūnin whose arms had been shattered, they were left behind as the rear-guard sacrifices to buy time.
Uchiha Gen did not immediately pursue. Whether they fled together or scattered, escape was impossible once he set his mind to it.
"It's a pity the demonstration was cut short," he murmured. "My Flying Thunder God kunai are far more than the standard second- or fourth-generation models haven't revealed half of their functions yet."
"Where's your fighting spirit?" he added to himself. "How will you know you can't beat me unless you try?"
With those words, Uchiha Gen flashed to the center of the eight scattered kunai and commanded, "Return."
"Yes, Master."
Eight almost identical, slightly childish voices answered in unison. The sound layered together, strangely dissonant.
The kunai rose from the ground of their own accord. Two small feet sprouted at the base of each blade and they scuttled forward like trained animals. One by one they leapt into the opened ninja bag in perfect order.
The eight abandoned chūnin watched that sight in blank stupor, barely registering the pain in their ruined arms.
Fear is born of the unknown. That incomprehensible display robbed the eight of their will; clutching the reality of imminent death, their souls seemed to recoil from their bodies.
Uchiha Gen took full advantage of their terror he extracted their souls and lifespans so that, when death came, they would not suffer prolonged agony.
He then disposed of the bodies in a way to conceal any abnormality from the frontline corpse-recovery teams.
The earlier ten didn't require such measures; they had been killed instantly their consciousness annihilated before death, so no final scenes lingered in their minds.
Having finished those grim tasks, Gen formed hand seals and used the Spirit Separation Technique. Half of his soul lifted free into the air.
With that soul-projection he surveyed the battlefield and found the Kirigakure column had not scattered completely: twelve remained together, attempting escape.
They were crafty; rather than flee eastward away from Kirigakure's forward camp—they looped west in a wide circle.
Gui Deng Crescent Moon's maneuvers showed thought. Previously he might have panicked and ordered an immediate evacuation; this time he gambled and confused Uchiha Gen's methods of perception.
To mislead Gen's insight, Gui Deng had ordered clones sent east: those who could use shadow clones created shadow duplicates; those who could not used water clones.
But neither shadow nor water clones could split off half a soul. They were illusions without the one thing Gen sought; they were like winks at a blind man—no concealment at all.
When Uchiha Gen's soul fragment returned to his body, he used the Flying Thunder God technique to teleport a fair distance to the west, then mounted Zhu Rong and pursued at top speed.
Two minutes later he closed on the escaping Kirigakure group.
Sakata Junichi, who ran in the western column, suddenly changed expression and shouted, "They're catching up watch the sky behind us!"
The group craned their necks and saw a figure riding atop a dragon's head bearing down fast; a hush of dread passed through them.
"Damn it. I did two feints and still failed to fool him. His perception is uncanny," Gui Deng Crescent Moon said, scowling.
Ordinary perception techniques read chakra simple, trained senses. Gui Deng had hoped to exploit that simplicity.
"Captain—what do we do now?" Shui Wuyuetang asked.
"We can't outrun him. The enemy outpaces us."
"With that summoned beast bearing him, he wastes no chakra or stamina—if we run we weaken ourselves." Gui Deng's face hardened. "We must stand and fight."
Oni Tou Senken and Oni Tou Yusan had already fallen to Konoha shinobi. With escape cut off, the survivors chose vengeance.
Oni Tou Yuzo had died at Gen Uchiha's hand; Oni Tou Sengen had perished to Matt Dai. He had been one of the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen and leader of the Sword faction unlucky, and not among the trio of auspicious treasures.
"I agree. What about you?" Shui Wuyuetang asked, scanning the others.
Kaguya Gang, Teru Miyang, and Hagoromo Masayuki met each other's eyes and answered together, "We'll fight!"
"I didn't want to flee. I've only heard of the Flying Thunder God technique before—I never expected to experience it in person." Kaguya Gang grinned fiercely. "If death comes, so be it. We of the Kaguya clan do not fear dying in battle!"
"Captain, the weaker ones are of little use here. They might slow us down. Better to send them back with information." Minami Yuetang suggested, glancing at the chūnin behind him.
The chūnin showed empty faces, but many secretly felt relief. The sight of eight comrades having their arms shattered had left indelible fear.
"If we're wiped out entirely, it'll be a catastrophe," someone muttered.
"Scatter and run bring back word of this encounter at all costs."
Gui Deng and the other leaders halted their own retreat.
"Those who can, flee and carry the report back. The rest of us will stay and delay him."
The Kirigakure chūnin turned, bowed their heads as if making a vow, and then dispersed to run for home with grim determination.
High above, Uchiha Gen watched and smiled faintly.
How could they flee from him?
He formed seals with measured calm…
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