Thanks guys, we´ve reached 50 stones, so here´s the bonus chapter, next one is at 100 :)
With a deafening CRACK, the heavy oak table was smashed to splinters by a single, furious punch.
"Damn those Kirigakure cowards! Are they deliberately trying to start a war?!"
Ay—with his dark skin, light yellow hair, and an incredibly muscular build—withdrew his fist, his aura crackling with barely contained rage.
As the son of the Third Raikage and a terrifyingly formidable warrior in his own right, Ay was currently the supreme commander of the Cloud Ninja border patrol forces.
Just moments ago, he had received two pieces of catastrophic news in quick succession.
First, the primary Cloud Ninja outposts in the Land of the Moon had been completely wiped out in a coordinated overnight strike. Forensics suggested the enemy was highly trained Kirigakure Anbu.
Second, Kuriarare Kushimaru—one of the legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—had brazenly appeared at the border of the Land of Lightning, ambushing and butchering a Cloud patrol squad.
Putting these two reports together, Ay pointed a massive, accusing finger directly at the Hidden Mist.
A kneeling Cloud Ninja reported, "According to our intelligence, the rebel Kuroda Hiroki contacted Kirigakure some time ago. This must be the reinforcements he requested."
The logic formed a perfect, closed loop. The truth was glaringly obvious!
"Hmph! Dispatch all scout ninja immediately! Find these bastards for me!" Ay roared, his Chakra flaring violently. "This time, I'll handle it personally and crush all our problems in one go!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Soon, a swarm of Cloud Ninja poured into the Land of the Moon, conducting widespread, aggressive searches. They quickly discovered the real Kuriarare Kushimaru and Mishu, immediately tailing, blocking, and harassing them to buy time for Ay's main force to arrive.
"Damn it, these flies just won't stop!"
On a weed-choked wasteland near the coast, Kushimaru violently bisected a Cloud Ninja, his patience completely wearing thin.
Mishu wiped a splatter of blood from his mask, jumped onto a high rock, and looked into the distance. He could smell the salt in the air and see the emerald green sea stretching out before a small, hidden dock.
"We're almost at our extraction point!"
The two assassins sprinted toward the dock, leaped aboard a small ship they had prepared in advance, and began frantically raising the sails.
Suddenly, they heard the distinct, terrifying sound of thunder rolling in from a perfectly clear sky.
Their expressions changed instantly. They abandoned the rigging, jumped off the ship, and landed lightly on the surface of the water, weapons drawn.
BOOM! BOOM!
"Hell Stab!"
On the distant horizon, Ay, wreathed in blinding blue lightning, descended like a falling meteor with a furious roar. His right foot slammed directly into the deck of their ship.
SPLASH!
The ship violently detonated into thousands of splinters, sending jagged wood flying everywhere. The sea exploded outward, churning and surging into massive, overlapping waves.
Standing on the violently rocking water, Mishu was almost knocked over by the sheer concussive force. He was forced to retreat several steps before regaining his balance, his heart pounding with absolute shock.
Such monstrous, explosive power. Who the hell is this?!
Mishu looked up through the spray and saw the dark-skinned, powerfully built Ay rising from the wreckage, electricity arcing off his muscles. Mishu cursed inwardly.
That fat bastard Kiichiro never mentioned the future Fourth Raikage was stationed here! This is going to be the death of me!
At that exact moment, miles away, Kiichiro suddenly sneezed violently while running through the trees.
That must be Mishu cursing my name. I hope I'm in time! Hold on, Mishu!
Ninja armies possessed strict operational security. Ay hadn't been the commander of the patrol forces for long, so Kiichiro hadn't initially known this critical piece of intelligence. It was only when the Cloud forces mobilized en masse today that Kiichiro's curiosity led him to investigate, discovering that Ay himself was leading the hunt.
Upon learning this horrifying fact, Kiichiro had immediately abandoned his grain trading and was rushing to support his friend.
Back at the coast, Ay was relatively young and hadn't yet cemented his terrifying reputation across the Ninja World. So, even though Ay was surrounded by a blinding cloak of lightning and possessed a suffocating aura, Kushimaru wasn't intimidated. Instead, he mocked him.
"What an arrogant, foolish young man, coming alone to your death," Kushimaru sneered. "It seems you have absolutely no idea of the power of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"
Seeing Kushimaru not seizing the chance to flee, but instead deluding himself into thinking he could actually defeat Ay, Mishu was so angry he almost laughed out loud.
Even in his youth, Ay's raw strength and speed were absolutely anomalous.
Taking the most optimistic view, even if Kushimaru and Mishu teamed up and barely managed to hold their own against Ay... what good would it do? Cloud Ninja reinforcements were swarming the area, ready to arrive at any second. If they got bogged down in a fight here, escape would become physically impossible.
Therefore, Mishu made a cold, calculated decision. If things turned hopeless, he would decisively abandon Kushimaru and save his own skin.
"Die!"
Ay cast a brief, dismissive glance at Mishu, deemed the Chunin entirely unworthy of his immediate attention, and charged directly at Kushimaru like a localized thunderstorm.
"Lightning Release: Lariat!"
Ay concentrated a massive surge of Lightning Release Chakra into his right arm. He raised it high and brought it down with devastating, blinding force toward Kushimaru's neck, intending to decapitate the swordsman with the sheer power of thunder.
Ay's attack was impossibly fast, completely catching Kushimaru off guard. Kushimaru scrambled backward to dodge, but showed no real fear, instead letting out a cold, sharp snort.
"Hmph! Longsword Ninja Art: Earth Spider Stitch!"
From beneath the churning sea, dozens of razor-sharp steel wires shot upward, instantly entangling Ay's thick legs.
"Heheh, got you!"
Kushimaru violently yanked on Nuibari. The steel wires tightened abruptly, designed to cleanly slice Ay's legs into pieces of bloody flesh.
Ay completely ignored the lethal wires wrapping around his calves and continued his devastating charge toward Kushimaru.
Simultaneously, the Lightning Chakra Armor surged violently around Ay's legs. The legendary steel wires merely cut through the outermost layer of his skin, leaving shallow red marks, completely unable to penetrate his dense, Chakra-enhanced muscles.
"Damn it!"
Seeing that his ultimate trap couldn't even cripple his enemy, Kushimaru cursed and tried to retreat.
Unexpectedly, Ay violently planted his right foot. The immense physical force yanked on the steel wires, pulling Kushimaru completely off balance and dragging the swordsman right into his striking range. At the same time, Ay raised his massive right elbow, preparing to deliver a brutal, point-blank execution.
"Liger Bomb!"
Bad! In Kushimaru's wide eyes, the crackling elbow grew closer and closer, about to shatter his skull, but he had absolutely no time to react.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
At that critical millisecond, Mishu activated his Ninjutsu. A ferocious, high-pressure water dragon surged from the sea, crashing directly into Ay's flank.
Ay frowned, deeply annoyed that his execution was interrupted. He didn't bother dodging; instead, he threw a casual backhand punch, shattering the water dragon into harmless rain.
Although Mishu's attack failed to injure Ay, it successfully delayed the monster for a fraction of a second—buying Kushimaru the briefest window to survive.
Kushimaru immediately severed his own wires, scrambled backward, and finally turned to flee.
"Retreat!" Kushimaru barked.
Clearly, the arrogant swordsman now understood that Ay was a terrifying freak of nature he couldn't defeat. With Cloud reinforcements imminent, he faced cold reality and chose a strategic withdrawal.
Without a word, Mishu also turned and sprinted across the water.
"You won't escape from me! Lightning Clone Jutsu!"
Ay glanced between the two fleeing targets. He instantly generated a crackling Lightning Clone to pursue Mishu, while he personally blasted off like a rocket to capture Kushimaru.
As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Kushimaru was a famous, high-value target. Capturing him and seizing the legendary longsword Nuibari would bring immense military prestige to both Ay personally and the Hidden Cloud.
"Body Flicker Jutsu!"
Ay's Lightning Clone instantly materialized directly behind Mishu and delivered a heavy, bone-crushing punch to his spine. However, Mishu's body simply dissipated into water, causing the Lightning Clone to frown.
A Water Clone Jutsu?!
Back when Ay had first attacked Kushimaru, the incredibly cautious Mishu had already swapped places with a clone. It was the clone that had performed the Water Dragon Bullet to save the swordsman.
By now, the real Mishu had already swum back underwater and quietly reached the forested shoreline.
Without a ship, I can't return to the Hidden Mist, Mishu realized grimly. I'll have to hide deep in the Land of the Moon and wait this out!
However, his luck was terrible. After only a few minutes of fleeing through the woods, he was intercepted by a squad of Cloud Ninja.
"A Kirigakure rat! Judging by your flak jacket, you're probably just a Chunin," the squad leader sneered, drawing his blade. "I'm a Cloud Jonin. You have zero chance of escape. Surrender now, or I'll butcher you!"
The Cloud Jonin was incredibly confident. After all, their squad of four—one Jonin and three Chunin—surely couldn't fail to handle a single, exhausted Mist Chunin.
Mishu remained entirely silent. He simply drew his short sword, his eyes cold and ready for blood.