If a meteor were to fall in front of Cloud Village jōnin, they would tell you this:
If you have Reverse Summoning, use it immediately.
If you don't, then desperately spam Body Flicker and get as far away from the impact zone as possible.
There's still a chance you'll survive.
But what if that area is sealed off?
Then you can only wait for death.
"Th–this guy… he's on par with a Kage!!"
The eighteen Cloud jōnin looked up at the fireball falling from the sky, like a colossal meteor crashing down.
An attack on this scale—only a Kage should be capable of it.
Yet they weren't completely hopeless.
The meteor's diameter was only about a hundred meters—perhaps not even that much.
What truly doomed them was the restricted battlefield. The meteor's coverage perfectly enveloped the entire area they were trapped in.
Since dodging was impossible—
"Destroy it!!" one Cloud ninja roared, his hands flying through seals.
Even a Kage wasn't invincible!
"Use the Lightning Dragon Technique!!"
At that instant, everyone began forming hand seals.
The fireball's descent wasn't especially fast—there was simply nowhere to run.
That gave them just enough time.
"Lightning Release · Lightning Dragon Technique!!"
Amid furious shouts, massive lightning gathered above them.
With thunderous roars, a Lightning Dragon took shape and surged straight toward the descending fireball.
A Lightning Dragon formed by eighteen jōnin wasn't much smaller than the meteor itself.
Fireball and Lightning Dragon collided—
BOOM!!
Lightning and flames intertwined, and the shockwave exploded outward with a howling gale.
Every Cloud ninja who had gone all out was blown flat by the storm of lightning and fire.
Under their combined effort, the meteor was finally shattered.
"We… we won!"
A Cloud ninja's face lit up with joy—
Then froze.
The shattered fire meteor split apart, revealing nine colossal fire dragons, each one larger than the Nine-Headed Dragon Arin had summoned before.
Each fire dragon was smaller than the Lightning Dragon—but there were nine of them.
All nine coiled around the Lightning Dragon, flames and lightning clashing violently.
Yet the lightning's brilliance rapidly dimmed, while the flames burned ever more fiercely.
"How is this possible?!"
The Cloud ninja stared at the sky in disbelief.
This was the strongest technique they could muster together—and yet it had still… lost.
"ROAR!!"
With thunderous dragon cries, the Lightning Dragon was torn apart by the nine fire dragons, reduced to scattered arcs of lightning that flickered a few times before vanishing.
The nine fire dragons fixed their gazes on the Cloud ninja below.
Some swore they could see mockery in those burning eyes.
Was this really something a ninjutsu could create?
It looked completely alive.
"We… can't win…"
One Cloud ninja finally gave up resistance.
As the nine fire dragons charged toward them, despair filled his face.
Scorching heat swept over them first.
The intense flames didn't just burn their clothes—it incinerated their bodies.
"That kid… already…"
"…has the qualifications to become a Kage!!!"
BOOM!!
Flames and heat waves erupted outward.
18457 / 18617 / 17298 / 16875 …
Ten experience notifications flashed before Arin's eyes, granting him a total of 178,746 experience points.
Eight remained.
The fire dragons incinerated the ten Cloud ninja into ash, then soared upward, circling in the sky.
Arin slowly descended, landing atop a fire dragon's head.
His armor was more than capable of withstanding the searing heat.
Below, the ocean had transformed into a sea of magma.
The extreme temperature boiled the water into thick fog, obscuring all vision.
"Trying to hide with steam?" Arin said flatly.
"Don't forget—I'm a Hyuga."
Through his Byakugan, the silhouettes of eight people were clearly visible.
At the most critical moment, the Cloud ninja's terrifying mobility had allowed eight of them to escape the fire dragons' kill zone.
"I don't need eight right now."
Arin vanished.
He reappeared in the center of the group, his voice carrying a faint echo.
The instant they saw him, all eight tried to scatter.
Blue flames raged along the Darkness Battle Blade.
"Eight Trigrams · Fireburst Rotation!!"
The dark blade extended his attack range, while Unquenchable Fire amplified the power of Rotation.
A blazing blue fire sphere erupted outward, blasting all eight away—
and it would have been even better if the blue flames weren't burning their bodies as well.
One Cloud jōnin went flying, large sections of his body charred black.
He let out a muffled grunt.
As a jōnin, the pain was—
still excruciating.
But he could endure it, and his combat ability wasn't significantly impaired.
Then—
He heard the sound of wind behind him.
Lightning crackled around his body as he spun instantly, kunai raised to block the incoming strike—
There was no one there.
Arin appeared at his back.
The blade in Arin's hand completed its swing in one smooth motion.
The Cloud jōnin's body split in two midair, blue flames consuming both halves and reducing them to ash.
[Experience +19,877]
In an instant, Arin appeared beside every Cloud ninja who had been blown away.
Their mobility was among the fastest of the Five Great Villages—
But it was still slower than Arin, who was constantly using Substitution.
And within this Awakening Skill, the entire space was saturated with Arin's chakra.
His substitutions didn't even require a medium.
One by one, the Cloud ninja fell to his blade.
They tried to fight back, but every attack struck only empty air.
Even if they barely avoided a few strikes—
Their accumulating injuries made it impossible to keep up with Arin's ghostlike movements.
Their lives ended beneath Arin's blade, one after another.
19687 / 19874 / 1932 …
Death was accompanied by bodies burning into ash.
Seven Cloud ninja—
not even corpses remained.
When only one was left, the flames around Arin finally faded.
With the Darkness Battle Blade, he severed the man's limbs.
"I… won't say… anything!!"
The limbless Cloud ninja shouted hoarsely.
He would never betray Kumogakure.
If Arin thought he could keep him alive for interrogation—he was dreaming.
Arin looked at him silently, then slashed across his mouth, cutting out his tongue.
After confirming there was no longer any threat, he began treating the man, preventing him from bleeding to death.
[Healing Experience +1000]
Arin's eyes lit up.
It had been a long time since he'd gained experience from his secondary profession.
The amount was higher than he'd expected.
The Cloud ninja stared at Arin in disbelief.
This wasn't how he'd imagined it at all.
This guy didn't seem interested in extracting information—
then why heal him?!
Had he run into some kind of sadistic monster…?
Even as a jōnin, his heart trembled violently.
Once Arin confirmed there were no remaining threats, Nawaki and Aburame Mushihime finally stepped out of the safe zone and ran over.
"Big bro, why not just kill him?"
Arin glanced at the Cloud ninja and replied calmly,
"He's still useful."
So that's it—
he really plans to torture me.
The Cloud ninja's eyes filled with despair.
Sometimes,
living is more painful than dying.
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