Chapter 62: The Power of Copied Cursed Technique and Black Flash
Rin was covered in wounds and had only one eye left, yet his combat power hadn't diminished in the slightest.
That last dodge was incredibly bizarre; despite being in a blind spot, he reacted as if he could predict the attack, and his observational skills seemed even sharper than when both eyes were intact.
"Can't wait any longer!"
Aoi Todo growled, and Mei Mei immediately understood, raising her hand to summon more crows. The black flock of crows surged towards Rin like a tide again, their flapping wings almost drowning out all other sounds.
This time, Rin didn't passively defend. He stared at the charging flock of crows, and Cursed Energy erupted from his fingertips once more:
"Rifle!"
The dense Cursed Energy bullets no longer targeted the two, but instead shot towards the flock of crows in the sky.
The Sharingan acted like an automatic aiming scope, hitting the slower crows with perfect accuracy. Black and red Cursed Energy bullets exploded, and the flock of crows was instantly blasted into blood mist, leaving only scattered feathers and severed limbs falling.
But even so, a crisp clap sounded as expected.
"Clap!"
Aoi Todo actually used a falling crow feather as a medium to instantly appear behind Rin!
"This guy... can even use severed limbs as replacement mediums?" Rin cursed inwardly as Aoi Todo's fist, imbued with Cursed Energy, slammed towards his back.
But just as the fist was about to connect, Rin once again sidestepped, his movements so fluid it was as if he had anticipated it.
Aoi Todo was stunned. The first time, he could attack Rin's blind spot, but why did it suddenly fail now?
Before he could figure it out, Rin suddenly reached out, gripping Aoi Todo's wrist like an iron clamp and refusing to let go.
The two instantly fell into close-quarters combat, without any specific moves or techniques, only fist-to-flesh collisions. Rin slammed his injured shoulder into Aoi Todo's chest, while Aoi Todo kneed his wound. Cursed Energy furiously rubbed at their points of contact, making sizzling sounds.
Rin knew clearly that as long as he restrained one of Aoi Todo's hands, he wouldn't be able to activate Boogie Woogie.
This was the only way to break the opponent's Cursed Technique right now.
Even though he was severely injured, ample Cursed Energy supported him in attacking like a mad dog. Every collision was with full force, which gradually put Aoi Todo, whose Cursed Energy was showing signs of depletion, at a disadvantage.
Aoi Todo stared at Rin in front of him, his pupils burning with excitement. Rin was covered in wounds, large areas of his skin were bloody and mangled, blood flowed from his left eye socket, and his only remaining right eye was crimson like a ghost fire. He looked like a demon crawled back from hell.
But it was this disheveled appearance that exuded an undying fighting passion, instantly igniting Aoi Todo's competitive spirit.
"Rin! You truly are a worthy opponent!"
Aoi Todo roared, and all his Cursed Energy surged wildly into his fist. The pale blue aura almost solidified, striking towards Rin's chest with a force that cut through the wind.
Rin didn't respond, only tilting his head slightly, and using Aoi Todo's forward momentum, he headbutted with all his might.
"Bang!"
The dull thud of their collision was deafening. Aoi Todo instantly saw stars, nosebleed gushing down his bridge, and he stumbled back two steps.
Mei Mei, who had already circled to the side, saw this as the best opportunity!
She gripped her long axe and swung it fiercely from behind Rin towards the arm he was holding Aoi Todo with. The axe blade gleamed with cold light, determined to sever their entanglement.
But Rin seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. The instant the axe blade was about to touch his skin, he suddenly released Aoi Todo's wrist, twisted his body sharply backward, and lashed out his right leg like a steel whip, slamming it with Cursed Energy into Mei Mei's waist.
"Pfft!" Mei Mei was already heavily injured, and this blow sent her flying, spitting out a mouthful of blood in mid-air. Her long axe clanged to the ground.
Rin succeeded with one strike but didn't pursue. He turned and met Aoi Todo's attack again.
He barely parried Aoi Todo's fist with his arm, but no sooner had he blocked this blow than Aoi Todo's other hand suddenly erupted with Cursed Energy, striking with even wilder force towards his only open right eye. This was Aoi Todo's pre-planned follow-up!
Rin's pupils contracted. It was too late to dodge; he could only watch as the fist slammed into him.
"Bang!" Intense pain instantly swept through his right eye, as if his eyeball was about to explode, and his vision plunged completely into darkness.
But something more terrifying followed. Aoi Todo's fist suddenly erupted with black lightning, tearing through the air with sizzling sounds.
"Black Flash!"
Aoi Todo's face was covered in blood, but his eyes were incredibly firm.
"Rin, my respected opponent, feel my respect!" This Black Flash accurately hit Rin's right eye, completely shattering his defense.
Before Rin could land, Aoi Todo's continuous attacks followed, one fist slamming into his abdomen.
"Wah!" Rin spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a kite with a broken string.
But Mei Mei and Aoi Todo didn't pause. The two, one above and one below, chased after him like predatory beasts. Aoi Todo swooped down from above, his fist condensing Cursed Energy, while Mei Mei leaped up from below, picking up her long axe and aiming it at Rin's chest, determined to deliver the final blow.
"He can't see! This time, we'll definitely finish him!"
Mei Mei shouted in her heart, but she didn't notice an unusual crow standing on a distant eaves.
It wasn't controlled by Mei Mei like the other crows, but stood there fixedly, its pupils actually embedded with a blood-red Sharingan, staring intently at the battlefield.
Not long after the battle began, Rin had already copied Mei Mei's Black Bird Manipulation, but he hadn't had a chance to use it.
From the moment his left eye was struck, Rin had quietly activated his Cursed Technique to summon this crow, transferring the Sharingan's vision to it.
With this "aerial eye," he could clearly see the attack trajectories of the two, which allowed him to repeatedly dodge blind spot sneak attacks, and even successfully copy Aoi Todo's Boogie Woogie.
"Next, it's my turn." Rin's lips curled into a cold smile. The instant the two were about to hit him, he suddenly clapped his hands together in the air.
"Clap!"
The crisp clapping sound exploded in Mei Mei and Aoi Todo's ears, like a clap of thunder.
Rin and Aoi Todo's positions instantly swapped.
He successfully activated Boogie Woogie.
The next second, Aoi Todo's fist missed, but Mei Mei's long axe solidly struck Aoi Todo's right arm.
"Crack!"
The sound of bone breaking was piercing, and Aoi Todo's right arm was once again severed, blood gushing out.
The two also collided due to inertia, instantly losing their balance.
Though blind, Rin in mid-air precisely locked onto the two using the crow's vision. His right fist gathered all his Cursed Energy, and a black and red Cursed Energy vortex instantly condensed.
"Tank!"
The pitch-black Cursed Energy bullet shot towards the colliding pair like a missile, the air compressed into a dull roar, as if it would overturn the entire ruins.
In the chaos, the roar of the Cursed Energy missile grew closer.
Aoi Todo looked at Mei Mei in front of him and, without hesitation, fiercely shielded Mei Mei behind him, while he himself turned to face the terrifyingly powerful "Tank."