Judging by the way Tera looked, there was no way he was going to let Akira go so easily.
And Akira had no intention of slinking back to Konoha in disgrace.
He counted the remaining explosive tags on his body—just over thirty.
"That's more than enough."
He glanced around the cave. There were no signs of recent habitation; it looked like Nagato hadn't been here in a long time.
Akira stepped out of the cave, found a suitable area nearby, and began setting traps.
A jōnin was still human.
Just because he couldn't win head-on didn't mean victory was impossible.
In the real world, a single kunai could take a jōnin's life.
Let alone explosive tags.
Akira sat cross-legged on a tree branch, looking up at the sky.
For once, the rain in the Land of Rain had stopped. Thick clouds still pressed low, casting a gloomy pall over the land.
The air was damp and heavy—an unpleasant place to live.
After a long while—
"He's here."
"Byakugan!"
Veins bulged around Akira's eyes as his pale irises shifted into a stark black-and-white world.
Chakra gathered in his eyes.
Focus.
A perfected Focus didn't just turn the Byakugan into a camera—it also granted powerful dynamic vision, enough to rival the Sharingan.
A figure came rushing in from afar, landing on a nearby tree.
Tera frowned as he looked at Akira, scanning the surroundings.
Seeing Akira waiting for him, it was obvious—no need to think—that traps had already been laid.
Did he really think a Rain Village jōnin had risen through the ranks for nothing?
Even if jōnin from small nations were weaker than those from the great villages, they still climbed their way up through blood and fire.
Trying to kill him with traps alone was pure fantasy.
"You came," Akira said calmly.
"And you're prepared as well," Tera sneered.
With just a quick glance, he spotted no fewer than five traps.
Akira stood up and pulled out a massive fan-shaped blade with a hole in the center, large enough to fit his hand through.
He slid his hand into the opening, and the blade unfolded—
A Fūma Shuriken.
Akira grinned.
"Boss fight start."
He hurled the Fūma Shuriken at Tera.
Tera leapt from his spot, dodging it cleanly.
Suddenly, Akira yanked both hands outward, pulling on steel wires.
The Fūma Shuriken reversed direction, chasing after Tera.
Tera formed seals at high speed.
"Water Release: Condensed Water Blade!"
Water rapidly gathered in his hand, forming a blade. He slashed downward, forcibly blocking the Fūma Shuriken.
Akira's lips curled.
From the shadow of the Fūma Shuriken, another one burst forth.
"Shadow Shuriken Technique!"
This time, Tera couldn't defend in time—his head was cleanly severed.
"Poof!"
Tera's body turned into a puddle of water.
Akira instantly dropped the wire and jumped to another branch.
From above, Tera descended, water blade slashing downward.
"Slash!"
The branch was cut clean through. Explosive tags floated in the air, already burning.
"Boom!"
The explosion engulfed Tera.
"I saw you coming a long time ago," Akira said, the Byakugan reflecting Tera as he used the Water Body Flicker to evade the blast.
"Water Release: Rain Tiger at Will Technique!"
Rain poured down heavily from the sky.
Below, Tera looked up coldly at Akira standing on the tree.
"How many explosive tags did you lay?"
"Care to guess?" Akira grinned. "They're all waterproof."
Tera rapidly formed seals.
"Water Release: Rain Manipulation Technique!"
Rainwater gathered and swirled around him. Holding the Ram hand seal with one hand, he charged straight at Akira.
"Using water flow to buffer the explosions?"
Akira understood his intent—but by then, his own seals were complete.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
A blazing fire dragon roared forth toward Tera.
Midair, Tera slashed repeatedly with his blade, sending arcs of water slicing into the flames. Steam exploded everywhere.
The fire dragon dissipated.
Tera landed in a half-crouch on a tree branch, eyes scanning the thick mist.
"A jōnin, and that's all you've got—"
Akira's mocking voice echoed from within the fog.
The mist blocked Tera's vision—but not the Byakugan.
Tera suddenly tilted his head, dodging a kunai flying out of the fog. He spotted the explosive tag attached to it.
"Boom!"
Another explosion erupted.
This time, Tera didn't use the Water Body Flicker. The water swirling around him absorbed most of the blast—but the force still sent him flying.
His body crashed into steel wires strung in midair.
The wires wrapped around him, activating shuriken at both ends that began spinning around him. As the wires tightened, the blades drew closer and closer.
But this was enough time.
With a completed seal, the bound Tera turned into water.
His real body reappeared on the ground, and the moment he landed, his blade slashed to the left.
"I see you too."
Akira burst out of the fog, wielding two blades—only for one of his arms to be severed instantly.
"Fog may block my vision," Tera said coldly, "but it can't block Rain Tiger at Will. That's a sensory technique."
Enduring the agony of his missing arm, Akira released his weapons and lunged forward, locking both arms around Tera's leg.
Blood sprayed from his left shoulder as he looked up, grinning wildly.
"So what?"
He tore open his clothing, revealing burning explosive tags strapped to his body.
Tera's pupils shrank.
"You lunatic!!"
"BOOM!!!"
The explosion detonated.
Akira reinforced himself with chakra to survive the blast. Tera, protected by water, also endured—but both were heavily shaken.
At the same time, the ground collapsed beneath them.
They plunged downward.
In the underground chamber Akira had prepared—
Both men staggered to their feet.
They were battered and disheveled.
But Akira looked far worse—one arm gone, his body soaked in blood.
"You think you can take me down with you?" Tera sneered. "You can't."
He never expected Akira to be insane enough to try dragging him into death together.
Akira ignored him and glanced upward.
The hole they fell through was already sealed by collapsed earth.
The underground space had become a sealed chamber.
"Can't I?" Akira grinned. "Then take a look at your feet."
He pulled out a Greater Mana Potion and drank it, restoring the chakra he'd burned to survive the blast.
Tera looked down—
And froze.
Explosive tags.
Under his feet.
"…These are all my explosive tags!!" Akira burst into manic laughter, detonating them without hesitation.
"BOOOOOOM!!!"
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