Chapter 33 — Acquiring the Explosion Release Bloodline Limit
Gari's true body finally revealed itself, emerging from concealment with a sudden, oppressive presence that seemed to weigh on the air itself.
"Earth Release: Earth Clone!"
The ground beneath them trembled violently. Soil cracked and split apart as if something alive was forcing its way upward. In the next instant, more than a dozen mud clones surged out of the earth, their forms solid and lifelike, scattering in different directions with eerie precision.
Obuya didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat.
He didn't form hand seals—there was no need. His reaction speed had already surpassed that of ordinary shinobi. Lightning erupted from his fingertips, bursting forth in a jagged arc that tore through the air.
The bolt struck one clone—and then chained outward.
Crackling electricity leapt from one body to the next, tearing through the cluster in rapid succession. Sparks exploded across the forest floor as the clones disintegrated one after another, collapsing into lifeless mud.
When the lightning faded—
Only two figures remained standing.
One of them was Gari's real body.
The other… a final decoy.
But which was which?
The two figures immediately split apart, fleeing in opposite directions without the slightest hesitation.
"Split up. Chase them!" Obuya ordered, already moving.
Without waiting for a response, he shot forward, pursuing one of them deep into the forest.
Shisui paused for a fraction of a second, instinctively wary of Obuya's reckless decision. But there was no time to argue. The mission came first.
He turned and pursued the other target, his figure vanishing into the undergrowth.
Neither of them could tell which was real.
The clones carried fragments of Gari's chakra, enough to make them indistinguishable under normal perception. Even advanced vision techniques would struggle to differentiate them at a glance.
Obuya pressed forward without slowing.
Ahead of him, the fleeing figure maintained a steady distance—never too far to lose, yet never close enough to catch. It felt deliberate. Controlled.
Almost as if it were baiting him.
"This is a gamble…" Obuya muttered, eyes narrowing.
The final clone had clearly been left on purpose—to force a split and create an opening.
If he had chosen wrong, the real Gari would escape.
If he had chosen right… Then this would be the decisive moment.
At last, the figure ahead came to a halt.
They stood in a narrow clearing surrounded by towering trees, their branches intertwining high above and blocking out most of the light. The space felt enclosed, suffocating—like a cage prepared in advance.
Obuya slowed, stopping roughly a hundred meters away.
"Why stop running?" he called out, voice steady but probing.
The man turned.
A cold smile spread across his face.
"Run?" he scoffed. "Why would I run? You chased me all the way here, didn't you? This is exactly where I wanted you."
His gaze sharpened, killing intent surging outward.
"No matter which jōnin you brought with you… they won't reach you in time."
He moved.
In an instant, Gari closed the distance, his fists swinging down like warhammers.
Obuya's heart surged.
This was the real one.
The pressure radiating from him—this overwhelming killing intent—there was no doubt.
And yet, Obuya didn't retreat.
He didn't dodge.
Instead, he stood his ground.
Every ounce of lightning chakra in his body condensed into his right hand, compressing into a dense, violent mass. It took shape—forming the snarling head of a lightning beast, crackling with feral energy.
Gari's eyes widened briefly—then twisted into a grin.
"You know I have Explosion Release… and you still dare meet me head-on?"
"Then die!"
Boom!!
Their fists collided.
The impact was catastrophic.
The ground shattered beneath them as a violent explosion erupted, sending dirt and debris flying in all directions. The shockwave tore through the clearing, snapping branches and flattening everything within range.
Obuya was hurled backward like a broken projectile, crashing through a massive tree. The trunk splintered on impact, wooden shards tearing into his clothes and skin as he hit the ground hard.
"—!"
He coughed, blood rising in his throat.
Across from him, Gari staggered as well.
His arm trembled uncontrollably.
The lightning chakra had pierced through his explosion chakra, flooding his nerves with violent electrical currents. His entire arm went numb, completely unresponsive.
"You… you broke through my Explosion Release?" Gari's expression twisted, shock and anger mixing together. "This isn't ordinary Lightning Release… this is a bloodline limit!"
Obuya struggled to his feet, chest heaving.
Gari's eyes flickered with unease.
He glanced around instinctively.
Where was the other one?
Where was the Konoha jōnin?
Paranoia crept in.
He didn't dare drag this out.
Without hesitation, he surged forward again, fists aimed straight for Obuya's head.
One hit—
That was all it would take.
"Die!"
But just as he closed in—
"Lethal Injection!"
Obuya vanished.
Gari's pupils shrank. "Body Flicker—?!"
A chill ran down his spine.
Obuya reappeared at his flank, dropping low to avoid the incoming strike. In his hand, a chakra scalpel gleamed—thin, precise, and deadly.
He drove it forward straight into Gari's heart.
Lightning surged along the blade the instant it pierced flesh, flooding Gari's body and locking it in place. His muscles seized, his chakra flow disrupted entirely.
In that moment—
He couldn't move.
He couldn't resist.
Like a patient pinned to an operating table, his life was no longer his own.
Obuya's grip tightened, holding the blade firmly in place.
Gari's face twisted as blood spilled from his mouth.
"If I'm going down… you're coming with me!" he snarled. "Let me show you real Explosion Release!"
Obuya's gaze remained cold.
Self-destruction?
Too slow.
The moment the blade entered, everything had already been decided.
"You're already inside my field," Obuya thought calmly. "You're not detonating anything."
The barrier activated silently.
Then—
The procedure began.
"Explosion!!"
Gari roared.
Nothing happened.
His expression froze.
Then, terror.
He could feel it—his chakra, his very foundation—being forcibly extracted. The power of his Explosion Release was being stripped away, siphoned into the blade lodged in his chest.
His strength vanished.
His body went limp.
The force that had sustained him… was gone.
Obuya slowly withdrew the scalpel.
In his hand, a glowing green sphere pulsed with energy—the condensed essence of Gari's bloodline limit, completely extracted.
It wouldn't last long.
It had to be used immediately.
"Begin integration."
Without hesitation, Obuya pressed the sphere against his chest.
The energy surged inward.
Pain exploded through his body as foreign power merged with his own chakra network. His heart pounded violently, each beat forcing the energy deeper into his system.
One breath.
Two.
Three…
After more than ten breaths, the process stabilized.
The power settled.
[Eliminated Bloodline Limit user: Explosion Release. +1 Demon Point obtained.]
[Body Modification complete. Bloodline Limit acquired: Explosion Release.]
[Inheritance successful. All Explosion Release abilities integrated.]
The notifications echoed in his mind.
Obuya exhaled slowly, suppressing the surge of exhilaration threatening to overwhelm him.
He raised his hand.
Chakra gathered.
He threw a simple punch at a nearby tree.
Boom!!
The explosion detonated instantly.
The tree split apart with a deafening crack, its trunk shattered as fragments blasted outward in every direction.
Obuya stared at his fist, a low murmur escaping him.
"…So this is Explosion Release."