Because these three rogue ninja relied heavily on taijutsu, Kakashi was forced to reveal his Sharingan right from the start.
Six figures clashed in an instant. Thunderous impacts echoed nonstop as the surrounding buildings crumbled like paper under the shockwaves.
At the same time, the four chūnin—East, West, South, and North—charged toward Akira and Yūgao with vicious grins.
"A genin? Coming here to die? Fine—if you're in such a hurry, we'll grant your wish!"
East and West struck first. Strange seals on their bodies flared to life.
Their auras surged violently, rising from chūnin level straight into Special Jōnin territory.
Yūgao let out a sharp cry, her blade tracing a clean arc as she rushed forward to meet them.
Meanwhile, Akira calmly looked at the remaining two.
"Looks like you two are mine."
South and North hadn't spoken a word, but their cold eyes revealed a perfectly coordinated pair.
A red glint flashed in their pupils as their seals activated in unison.
Their chakra swelled rapidly, like air inflating a balloon.
Akira raised an eyebrow and commented casually,
"Oh? Instant jōnin-level chakra. Not bad control too—you didn't go insane from the seals."
South and North's expressions changed slightly.
How does this kid know about the side effects?
They stopped wasting time and drew their blades simultaneously.
"Quite the duo," Akira said lightly—
Before he could finish, both of them vanished.
Clang!
A crisp metallic sound rang out.
Akira blocked South's frontal strike—
But North's blade shot in like a venomous snake—
Stab!
It pierced straight through Akira's heart.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The sight made Yūgao, who was still fighting fiercely, go pale as death.
"Akira!!"
But the next second—
Poof!
The "Akira" that had been pierced exploded into white smoke.
A Shadow Clone.
Crackle—!
A harsh surge of electricity tore through the air.
Before North could even pull his blade free, Akira appeared behind him like a phantom.
A lightning-wrapped hand pierced straight through his chest.
Blood burst out like a fountain.
North's face twisted violently, eyes filled with terror.
"How… is this possible…?"
This kid was so fast there wasn't even an afterimage.
With the last of his fading consciousness, he turned toward his partner.
"Run… this kid… is a monster…"
Akira expressionlessly withdrew his hand, letting blood drip from his fingertips.
North collapsed at his feet like a lifeless heap.
Akira looked up at the stunned South and smiled like a reaper.
"You're next."
"In your next life… don't underestimate younger ninja."
The moment his words fell, South reacted like a cornered beast, rapidly forming hand seals.
"Limiter… release!"
Without hesitation, he chose to burn his chakra and go all out.
Anyone who could kill North instantly was far stronger than him.
Fighting normally would be suicide.
Only a desperate, all-or-nothing burst gave him a chance.
"ROAR—!"
With a beast-like howl, veins bulged across South's body as chakra erupted around him like a storm.
His eyes turned bloodshot red.
In this berserk state, he looked eerily similar to Might Guy when opening the Eight Gates.
In contrast, Akira remained completely calm.
"Chakra at elite jōnin level… decent burst too."
"You've probably got at least five thousand lives on your hands to reach this level, huh?"
From what Akira knew, this kind of power couldn't be built without massive slaughter.
South could no longer hear anything.
He stomped forward—
The ground shattered beneath his feet.
"DIE!"
His speed blurred into streaks as he appeared in front of Akira in an instant, throwing a punch packed with explosive force.
The air itself cracked from compression.
A sharp gleam flashed in Akira's eyes.
"A taijutsu clash? Perfect."
He threw a punch of his own—simple, direct, without any flourish.
BOOM!
Their fists collided.
A terrifying shockwave exploded outward.
RUMBLE—!
The ground beneath them collapsed, blasting open a crater over ten meters deep.
Debris from the ruins was swept into the air by the violent energy storm.
When the dust settled—
Akira stood unmoving, steady as a mountain. Not even his clothes were disturbed.
South, on the other hand, lay on the ground coughing blood, barely alive.
Both arms were completely shattered.
Akira looked down at him and shook his head in disappointment.
"Too weak."
"This level of power doesn't even tickle me."
He was simply stating a fact.
In terms of raw physical strength alone, he was already approaching Tsunade's monstrous level.
With a casual flick of his hand, a bolt of lightning shot out—
Piercing straight through South's chest, leaving behind a charred hole.
His heart was instantly vaporized by the heat.
---
In the blink of an eye, two enemies were eliminated.
East and West, who had been suppressing Yūgao, were terrified out of their minds.
They struck together to force Yūgao back, then turned and charged at Akira.
"Limiter—release!"
Mid-charge, both ignited their chakra.
There was no time to hesitate.
Akira's strength had pushed them into absolute despair.
All they could do was fight to the death.
Yūgao, now covered in injuries, tried to rush forward to help—
But she couldn't keep up with their speed.
East and West became streaks of light, closing in instantly.
Akira calmly raised two fingers.
"Lightning Spears."
Two dazzling spears of lightning formed out of thin air, radiating destructive power as they shot forward.
Their speed surpassed what the eye could track.
Thud! Thud!
Both bodies were pierced instantly.
The force carried them forward, their corpses sliding toward Akira.
Just as they were about to touch him—
A dense storm of violent lightning erupted around his body.
BOOM!
The moment their bodies hit the lightning barrier—
They were reduced to ash.
Akira stood at the center of the storm like a god of thunder.
Within a radius of over ten meters, it had become a forbidden zone of death.
Yūgao stared at the scene, goosebumps rising across her skin.
It wasn't fear of the enemy—
It was instinctive awe of overwhelming power.
East, West, South, North—
Two reduced to ash.
Two pierced through the heart.
Total annihilation.
And the entire process had taken less than two minutes.
Akira dispersed the lightning around him and walked over to Yūgao, who was barely supporting herself with her blade.
A warm smile appeared on his face.
"Yūgao-nee… your revenge is done."
Tears streamed down her face as she nodded, voice trembling.
"Akira… you're… this strong…?"
This wasn't just jōnin level—
It felt like kage-level pressure.
Three pseudo-jōnin in their enhanced state had been crushed as easily as ants.
Akira crouched down and looked at her wounds.
"Don't move. I'll treat you."
Yūgao quickly shook her head.
"I'm fine. Go help Kakashi and the others—their situation doesn't look good."
Akira glanced toward the distant battlefield.
The fight was intense, but it wasn't collapsing anytime soon.
"Relax. This won't take long."
A soft green glow appeared in his hands as he began healing her.
While doing so, he spoke calmly:
"You shouldn't have come on a mission like this."
Yūgao lowered her head in shame.
"I held everyone back… I couldn't even handle two chūnin…"
She had wanted to avenge her fallen comrades—
But the gap in strength was undeniable.
Akira reassured her gently:
"They're using twisted methods."
"If it were a fair fight, your Konoha-style kenjutsu would completely overwhelm them."
"This is basically cheating—it doesn't count."
It was meant as comfort—
But in the ninja world, there was no such thing as "cheating."
A loss meant death.
Yūgao gave a bitter smile.
"Don't try to comfort me… weak is weak."
"When we get back, I'll train until I drop."
In less than a minute—
her wounds were completely healed.
Meanwhile, the battle on Kakashi's side had reached a stalemate.
Kakashi's chakra reserves had always been his weak point, and now they were nearly depleted. Although he held the upper hand in skill against A, he couldn't outlast him—the opponent simply had far more stamina.
Yamato steadily suppressed C with his Wood Style, but C's durability was absurdly high. Finishing him off quickly wasn't an option.
On Guy's side, it was a one-sided beating against B—yet B clung to life like a cockroach, hesitating whether to go all-out and burn himself.
A sent Kakashi flying with a punch, then glanced over at Akira's side—
His heart sank.
East, West, South, North… all gone?
That kid had been hiding his strength the entire time.
Wiping out four enhanced chūnin that quickly wasn't something an ordinary jōnin could do.
A's mind raced as cold sweat slid down his forehead.
B and C were tied up.
He himself couldn't finish Kakashi.
If this dragged on, it would be total annihilation.
Do I really have to go that far… and burn my life away?
But he didn't want to die.
Kakashi also noticed what had happened and felt a surge of relief.
"I knew Akira could handle it," he said with a faint smile. "Too bad I didn't see how he did it."
Even though his chakra had dropped to what he considered his "escape threshold," Kakashi had already decided—
He was fighting this battle to the end.
---
A's eyes flickered. He suddenly turned toward C, who was being overwhelmed by Yamato, and roared:
"C! Detonate! Take them all down with you!"
The shout was filled with desperation.
C's body trembled as he instantly understood—
He was being sacrificed to buy time for the others to escape.
Even though he resisted with every fiber of his being, the curse mark on his body was controlled by A.
He had no choice.
If he was going to die anyway—
He might as well drag someone down with him.
"Limiter… release!!"
With a shrill scream, C's chakra erupted out of control like a volcanic explosion.
In an instant, it surpassed jōnin level—
Approaching kage-level power, even exceeding it in raw destructive force.
BOOM!
The ground shattered around him, and the shockwave pulverized nearby boulders into dust.
The surge of power intoxicated him, even as his body began collapsing.
If only this power could be mine forever…
With that desperate thought, C—glowing with blue chakra—locked onto Yamato.
"Enjoyed beating me earlier?"
"My turn."
Yamato's expression hardened. He clapped his hands together, his arms transforming instantly.
"Wood Style: Gaint Forest Jutsu!"
Countless thick wooden vines shot out like giant serpents, attempting to crush C.
But C's speed had already surpassed reason.
Just before the wood reached him—
He vanished.
In a blink, he appeared in front of Yamato.
A single punch—
Yamato was sent flying like a broken kite, smashing through over a dozen buildings before finally stopping.
He crashed into the ground, creating a deep crater, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The blow had damaged his internal organs.
Kakashi and Guy's expressions changed instantly.
This explosive state was terrifying.
Guy frowned deeply.
"Yamato should survive with Wood Style protecting him… but this guy is a problem now."
"This pressure… it's close to my Seventh Gate."
At present, Guy could only reliably handle the Sixth Gate.
Against this version of C, the outcome was uncertain.
In the chaos, A and B exchanged a glance.
Without hesitation—
they turned and ran.
As long as C could stall the others, they could escape.
But the moment they turned—
a young figure appeared in their path like a ghost.
Akira stood there with his short blade, smiling faintly.
"And where do you two think you're going?"
A and B instantly flared with rage.
"A genin dares block us?"
"Get lost!"
They didn't know how Akira had killed the others—
but they were confident that two jōnin working together could crush anything in their way.
Both gripped their kunai in reverse and charged forward, killing intent surging.
Akira's gaze turned cold.
"None of you are leaving today."
Clang!
Sparks flew.
With one hand on his blade, Akira blocked the combined strike of two jōnin head-on.
Pure taijutsu.
And not only was he holding his ground—
there was even a hint of… boredom in his expression.
Kakashi and Guy moved to support him—
but C's towering figure crashed down in front of them, completely cutting off their path.
Back on Akira's side—
After just a few minutes of exchanges, A and B felt a suffocating pressure envelop them.
The fight had become completely one-sided.
They looked at each other, disbelief and shock written all over their faces.
"This isn't a kid… this is a monster wearing human skin."
"He's suppressing both of us alone!"
"If normal methods won't work, then don't blame us for going all out!"
"Even if we die—we're taking someone with us!"
With a roar, the strange markings on their bodies flared crimson.
Their chakra surged like molten lava, boiling violently.
The air grew heavy with scorching pressure.
Even Akira felt a slight increase in weight—
yet his movements remained smooth and effortless.
---
Elsewhere, the battlefield was brutal.
Kakashi was sent flying like a ragdoll.
Against a fully berserk C, he was struggling.
Guy roared as he opened the Sixth Gate, the Gate of View. Green energy erupted around him as he engaged C in close combat, unable to spare attention for anything else.
Y5ugao, standing at a distance, gripped her blade so tightly her knuckles turned white.
She realized with despair—
this level of battle was beyond her reach.
---
Akira's short blade was now wrapped in dense chakra.
Without it, the weapon would have shattered long ago.
Even against the two enhanced opponents, he stood firm like an immovable rock, completely suppressing A and B.
Realizing close combat wouldn't work, the two suddenly retreated.
They opened their mouths and unleashed a torrent of water toward him—
But Akira had already completed his hand seals.
"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"
The ground roared as a massive wall rose up, reinforced with chakra until it was as hard as steel.
The water slammed into it, splashing outward and forming a murky pool around them.
In the next instant, Akira leapt onto the five-meter-high wall, lightning flickering at his fingertips.
"Lightning Style: Earth Flash!"
Seeing this, A and B's pupils shrank.
"Damn it… it's a trap!"
For just a split second, they hesitated—
And that hesitation cost them.
Lightning surged through the water instantly, spreading like a net.
The violent current invaded their bodies, numbing and paralyzing them.
They barely managed to leap onto a nearby rock, gasping for breath.
Looking up at Akira, their expressions turned grave.
"This is impossible… no genin should have this kind of power!"
"If we want to break through him… we'll have to risk everything."
Even now, they hesitated.
Burning their lives for power wasn't something anyone wanted unless absolutely necessary.
Standing atop the wall, Akira's gaze was cold.
His left hand lowered—
A sharp, piercing chirp suddenly filled the air.
"Chidori."
At the same time, lightning exploded beneath his feet.
His body was pushed to its absolute limit—
Lightning Flash Movement.
With both techniques combined, the twenty-meter distance seemed to collapse.
Akira became a streak of lightning tearing across the battlefield.
A and B strained their senses to the limit.
"Track it… we have to see it!"
"Damn it! That's Kakashi's signature jutsu—how can a genin use it this perfectly?!"
They cursed inwardly.
Konoha was shameless—
Sending someone stronger than Kakashi disguised as a genin was practically a trap.
Rip—!
The sound of flesh tearing rang out.
B's famed reaction speed meant nothing before absolute speed.
Too fast.
So fast that Akira's afterimage still lingered—
while his lightning-wreathed hand had already pierced through B's chest.
The blood instantly vaporized under the heat, leaving behind a burnt smell.
Akira looked at him calmly, as if staring at a corpse.
"You're too slow."
"So slow I'm not even sure you'd have time to burn your chakra before dying."
With that, he pulled his arm back—
bringing a spray of blood with it.
B collapsed to the ground like a lifeless heap, faint arcs of electricity still crackling across his body.
Akira didn't spare him another glance.
He turned—
and fixed his gaze on A, who stood dozens of meters away, trembling in fear.
A stared at him, his voice dry with tension.
"To maintain this level of precision with Chidori at that speed…"
"You've already surpassed the Copy Ninja."
"Who… are you?"
Deep down, A knew—
If he couldn't overcome the mountain before him—
this would be the place where he died.
***************************
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