As the dust slowly settled, Asuka's tall figure still stood calmly in the clearing. Seeing him completely unharmed, the surrounding Kumogakure ninja were so shocked that none of them dared to step forward for a moment.
Darui, however, seemed to have expected this outcome.
After releasing his Storm Release, he immediately picked up the broadsword he had planted in the ground and rushed straight toward Asuka.
Lightning chakra surged along the blade as he swung it toward Asuka's neck.
It turned out the previous Storm Release had only been a feint. Darui knew that with Asuka's terrifying recovery ability, the Storm Release lasers alone would not be able to deal a fatal blow. However, the electric paralysis caused by the attack might restrain him for a brief moment.
That split second was all Darui needed.
His plan was to decapitate Asuka in a single strike. No matter how strong his recovery was, he didn't believe anyone could regenerate after losing their head.
Just as the broadsword was about to cut through Asuka's neck, Asuka—his body still crackling with electricity—suddenly stepped back and tilted his head slightly.
The blade passed by his neck with barely a hair's breadth to spare.
The moment he dodged the attack, Asuka raised his hand and fired a bone bullet, forcing some distance between them.
Darui raised his sword to block the incoming bone projectile. At the same time, the surrounding Kumogakure ninja snapped out of their shock and rushed forward again, shouting as they moved to surround Asuka once more.
Kumogakure truly deserved its reputation as the second strongest hidden village after Konoha. Even though many of them now felt fear, their combat coordination remained extremely precise.
Three ninja moved in to surround Asuka, attacking him simultaneously with their swords. Several others remained nearby, ready to provide support or replace fallen teammates at any moment.
The three attackers worked seamlessly together. Two pressed him from the front, while the third constantly searched for opportunities to strike from behind.
Asuka sidestepped a sneak attack from his rear.
The two ninja in front immediately followed with alternating slashes from their blades.
This time, however, Asuka did not dodge.
He allowed both swords to strike his shoulders while simultaneously manipulating his bones to clamp down on the blades, trapping them in place.
Before the two Cloud ninja could react, sharp bone spikes shot out from Asuka's palms and pierced straight through their bodies.
The ninja behind him swung his sword in a horizontal arc aimed at Asuka's neck.
Asuka suddenly crouched, letting the blade sweep harmlessly above him. Supporting himself with both hands on the ground, he then kicked upward with his right leg, shattering the attacker's jaw.
The moment Asuka rose to his feet again, the surrounding Kumogakure ninja rushed forward once more.
This time, Darui personally led the charge.
Darui's broadsword moved in a relentless flurry, keeping constant pressure on Asuka, while the other ninja attacked from every angle. Under their tight coordination, the number of wounds on Asuka's body gradually increased.
Although Wolverine's regenerative ability healed the injuries almost instantly, the lightning chakra crackling along the blades still caused his muscles to stiffen slightly with paralysis.
Realizing the fight could not continue like this, Asuka suddenly gathered chakra in his left hand.
Empowered by the mutant ability Warpath, he slammed his fist into the ground.
Boom!
The earth exploded with a thunderous sound as a massive crater formed beneath them.
Asuka stood at the center of the crater while the surrounding Kumogakure ninja were thrown violently into the pit. The shockwave from the impact had inflicted serious internal injuries on many of them.
Darui leaned heavily on his broadsword and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Is this guy's strength as monstrous as his regeneration?" he muttered.
Seeing Asuka extend bone spikes to finish off the fallen ninja, the Kumogakure shinobi outside the crater immediately panicked and unleashed several ninjutsu to stop him.
"Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Pillar!"
Multiple techniques roared toward Asuka at once, forcing him to slow down.
By the time he broke free from the barrage of attacks, most of the injured ninja inside the crater had already been dragged out by their comrades.
At this point, the Kumogakure squad had suffered heavy casualties. Several ninja had already been killed by Asuka, while the survivors were covered in injuries of varying severity. Even Darui, their leader, had suffered serious internal damage from the earlier shockwave.
The surviving ninja retreated with their wounded companions to a safe distance from the crater. Only a handful of those still capable of fighting remained on the battlefield.
Even so, none of them chose to retreat.
The pride of Kumogakure would not allow them to back down in the face of an enemy who had invaded their land. Even if it cost them their lives, they would fight to stop him.
When Asuka jumped out of the crater, the remaining ninja gripped their swords tightly, though their hands trembled with fear.
Leaning against his sword, Darui spoke in a low voice.
"Your strength far exceeds our expectations. What exactly is the Mizukage trying to accomplish by sending you here?"
Asuka stopped walking.
Ignoring Darui's attempt to stall for time, he slowly raised his finger and gathered chakra.
"Ninja Art: Spirit Gun."
A hollow bone bullet packed with massive chakra shot toward Darui at terrifying speed.
Although Darui sensed the danger and attempted to dodge sideways, the projectile still struck his left arm.
The sheer force caused his arm to explode instantly. The bone bullet continued forward, piercing straight through another Kumogakure ninja behind him before finally losing momentum.
"Master Darui!"
The nearby Cloud ninja rushed to his side in panic. Those skilled in medical treatment immediately began trying to stop the bleeding.
Asuka formed hand seals and launched another attack.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
A massive torrent of water surged forward, sweeping through the battlefield. Several Kumogakure ninja were instantly crushed by the force of the impact.
Looking at the remaining ninja who could barely fight, Asuka slowly walked toward them, preparing to finish them off one by one.
Suddenly—
A pillar of lightning slammed down from the sky.
Asuka used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge just in time.
When he looked up again, a large group of Kumogakure reinforcements had already arrived on the battlefield.
It turned out that before the battle even began, Darui had already realized how dangerous Asuka was. To prevent their interception from failing, he had secretly ordered one of his subordinates to request reinforcements.
Now that the reinforcements had finally arrived, the heavily wounded Darui let out a relieved breath before losing consciousness.
Looking at the large number of Kumogakure ninja surrounding him, Asuka immediately understood what had happened.
"As expected of the future Fifth Raikage," he thought. "Even at such a young age, his battle instincts are impressive."
A tall and robust man stepped forward from the ranks of the arriving shinobi.
Looking at Asuka, he spoke solemnly.
"Your strength is remarkable. To cause such heavy losses alone… I am Aoto, vice captain of the Kumogakure border unit. Would you be willing to surrender?"
Asuka glanced at Aoto and then at the restless ninja surrounding him.
With a faint smile, he said, "It seems Vice Captain Aoto is quite confident that I'm already trapped."
Aoto chuckled lightly.
"It seems you still haven't realized your situation. Do you really think you can escape now?"
"Then let's find out."
Aoto stared into Asuka's eyes for a moment before raising his hand.
Receiving the order, the surrounding Kumogakure ninja roared and charged forward.
Although Asuka wasn't afraid of fighting them, wasting too much time here was clearly not wise.
As he watched the charging army of shinobi, Asuka slowly began spinning his body.
A faint wind appeared on the battlefield.
Then the wind grew stronger.
Within seconds, it formed into a massive tornado that stretched from the ground to the sky.
It was the mutant ability of Riptide.
As Asuka continuously poured chakra into the technique, the tornado grew larger and more violent. The roaring storm swept countless Kumogakure ninja into the air, hurling them in all directions.
---------------Author---------------
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