Capítulo 157: Rasenshuriken
It was initiated through cooperation between Naruto and his clones. The formation required three elements: one to channel the chakra, another to hold it tight, and lastly, one more to enhance it with the wind element.
Upon completion, the Rasenshuriken transformed into a shuriken-like concentration of pure chakra, resembling a large shuriken.
It had four protruding points extending from the core. What made the technique all the more fearsome was the howling it emitted—spiraling wind that warned the surrounding environment of imminent doom.
It required a vast amount of chakra, and while Naruto wouldn't attain perfection of it for years, William was still refining his own understanding.
Arthur just stood there, allowing William and his clones to form the technique. He wasn't batting a single eye!
William's chakra reserves were not nearly as advanced as Naruto's—but the wrath of the competition seemed to be clouding his judgment.
That destructive technique was known to unleash a vortex of wind blades upon detonation, capable of slicing through rock and disrupting an opponent's chakra system entirely. The damage inflicted on the target was said to linger like poison—something that had even killed the Akatsuki member, Kakuzu.
As the Rasenshuriken's muddled winds whipped around Arthur, causing his hair to fly, he jeered, "You call yourself an Uzumaki? I remain unconvinced of your level of skill…"
Each deriding word felt like hot coals in William's soul. "Shut up!" he screamed in a raw voice.
Irritation molded inside of him. Yet despite how heated he was, he remained focused on forming the technique. His next move had to be decisive.
From the sidelines, Naruto and even Iruka shouted for William to remain composed. Jada was clearly thinking, 'Why would the officials allow such a powerful technique to be performed?'
"I hope that barrier holds up," she commented.
"By the looks of it," Neji added, "I'm more fearful that Hoshikage might not survive this."
"Look closer," she refuted. "He's not moving an inch."
Naruto couldn't help but focus on the match. He stared at the Rasenshuriken forming, noticing that William was far too upset to control it.
"Calm down! This isn't you!" he pleaded. Iruka matched his sentiments, but Arthur's words seemed to have pushed him to the edge.
The technique finally finished, and the clones dispersed.
What was there to substitute with? The blast radius would consume just about everything, including the arena floor. Yet why was Arthur so calm?
Refusing to acknowledge that something was afoot, William rushed at him with a primal scream. He launched the Rasenshuriken forward, causing the violent winds to surge out. It struck Arthur square in the chest, the force of the attack propelling him backward toward the barrier walls, where he slammed into it!
For a moment, it seemed as though the very earth trembled under the force of the technique, and the Rasenshuriken detonated in an explosion of air and energy that sent gusts flailing through the crowd despite the barrier in place.
The wind howled like a tempest, pulling at the spectators' clothing, even lifting some from their seats. The barrier team scrambled frantically to repair the damage still being done.
Many were stunned by the sheer power of the Rasenshuriken. The barrier team themselves were doing everything they could to keep the whole arena from collapsing.
How had their S-rank barrier—one designed to withstand powerful jutsu—been breached so easily? No, the real question was: why would the officials allow such a technique in the first place?!
Elsewhere.
In the Water Country, Arthur suddenly appeared in an empty grassland, a very safe distance from the scene. His shirt lay in tatters, and he bore several scratches upon his skin due to the amount of chakra that had just exploded around him.
Looking at his arm, he took a moment to center himself, inhaling deeply as he reflected on what had just transpired.
His escape was nothing short of miraculous. He had used the flying raijin just in the nick of time, teleporting away from the impact of the Rasenshuriken as it collided with his form.
Had he executed the technique any sooner, the spectators would have seen his escape. And if he delayed it any further, he would have been rendered to nothing but ripped-up flesh and bone.
It was safe to use the flying raijin due to the high chakra fluctuations of the Rasenshuriken drowning out any sensory perceptions in the arena. On top of that, he had enshrouded the entire arena with that genjutsu, ensuring that his movements would go unnoticed.
Even now, he had calculated every step and taken every measure to maintain his control.
As he regained composure, he focused his chakra to sense the area surrounding William, tracking the final remnants of the Rasenshuriken's glow. He could see the light fading slowly, the last vestiges of William's technique, before it dwindled to nothing.
Before the glow extinguished entirely, he teleported again, appearing in the center of the dying light. Emerging from its brilliance with clarity and purpose, he stepped forward, revealing himself to the bewildered onlookers.
Though he bore scratches, he was unharmed, presenting a façade that evoked pure astonishment.
The disbelief in everyone's voices was loud. Not a single one of them understood what sort of trick he had pulled to escape that devastating technique. And though he had seemingly tanked it, how could anyone withstand such an overwhelming technique with little more than superficial wounds?
"Is he even human?" someone asked in bewilderment.
The Mizukage herself was astonished. Not just by William's technique, but also by Arthur's resilience against it. Whatever he had done and whatever technique he had performed, he had far surpassed any expectations placed upon him.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer's voice boomed as he gathered himself post-explosion, barely hiding his awe. "I'm sure I got out of bed today!"
As the applause erupted, William remained at a standstill. That was one of his strongest techniques. Could he truly match the prowess of Arthur?
The battlefield wound and the knowledge of his limitations left a somber feeling in his heart. William's chakra levels were still high, but his pride and earlier bravado had completely been extinguished.
Although flabbergasted, he was not ready to concede. This fight was a reflection of his journey—a journey that had brought him this far into the finals.
He pushed away any lingering despair that might have otherwise threatened his resolve. With a sudden movement, he crossed his legs and sat on the ground, channeling his chakra as he tried to delve deep into his Toad Sage Mode.
It came as no surprise to anyone that he had a Sage Mode. After all, he had been trained by the best Sannin, Jiraiya. The real question was whether William had perfected it or not.
The world around him began to fade away as he tried to coalesce the natural energy around and within himself.
Arthur, however, was never going to let this go. Like a predator, he raced toward William's vulnerable form. Two clones burst into existence, appearing in a desperate bid to hinder Arthur's advance.
The audience held their breath, but Arthur, without even batting an eye, easily evaded both clones and continued sprinting toward the real threat.
In an instant, he closed the distance, and his fist rocketed back.
Bang!
The punch connected, sending William crashing into the barrier's walls. He felt the sharp impact—a painful reminder of the reality he was in.
Bouncing off the barrier like a ragdoll, he barely had time to recover before Arthur spun around and unleashed a kick that sent him smashing back into it.
"Get up, boy…" Arthur demanded, seizing William by the hair and lifting him off the ground. "I thought you were better than this."
Their gazes met, yet William's face looked pathetic. The sight of his bloodied expression and shattered glasses elicited a moment of cruel glee.
As he hung there, broken and helpless, Arthur released him, letting him slowly crumple back to the floor. Like a lion toying with its prey, he immediately followed up with a roundhouse kick that once again sent William spiraling toward the barrier!
The impactful sound echoed in the arena as William flopped onto the ground. But even in defeat, he remained alive.
"Didn't I warn you to back out while you still could…?" Arthur reminded him.
He noted this with a lack of care; he hadn't come here to kill the boy. It was against his principles as a Christian. If he were any other ninja, this man would have died by now.
"Get up, Will!" Naruto yelled from among the spectators. "Please, don't give up!"
Because of Naruto's desire not to see his cousin yield, it ignited a form of hope within the crowd. They began to rally behind the fallen fighter, slowly chanting his name: "William! William! William!"
With each repetition, their voices filled his ear. Summoning what strength he had left, he managed to rise to his knees with a small, defiant smile on his face. Despite the pain writ large on his features, he wasn't showing any signs of giving up.
But his moment of uplift was starkly interrupted when Arthur blurred forward, seemingly disappearing from sight. The crowd gasped, their eyes widening in simultaneous dread and awe as he reappeared above William to deliver a mean stomp like no other!
The ground shook beneath William as Arthur's foot descended, driving him back into the dirt.
A rush of pain ran from his back and chest downwards. But Arthur wasn't finished.
"Water style: surface slice…"
With a flick of his wrist, he sent multiple sharp waves of water down on his opponent. William screamed as wounds lacerated his hands, blood flowing as he struggled valiantly against the agony that splintered through his senses.
The crowd's cheers faltered into gasps of shock as they understood what this meant—without the use of his hands, the boy couldn't perform any techniques. More importantly, he couldn't escape from Arthur's clutches.
Whatever proverbial expectations that William thought he had vanished right there.
He should have considered his tactics better. Toad Sage Mode was an incredible transformation. Had he prepared shadow clones in advance at Mt. Myōboku like Naruto had done in his fight against Pain, he could have entered Sage Mode much faster.
"Foolish boy," Arthur sneered as he stood atop the broken shinobi. "Did you think only your feeble spirit could win this battle?"
The biting truth of Arthur's words was heavy. William might have had insurmountable power, but he lacked the cunningness that had defined many of the heroes that came before him.
In the shadows of his thoughts, the nagging comparison to Naruto tormented him.
Naruto, the embodiment of this world, a character known for finding a way, however bleak his situation seemed. How could William compare to him?
This wasn't a story in which plot devices or character development could initiate a heroic rescue; this was real life, a place in which only the truth could set someone free.
William had dreamed of rising to such heights, yet here he was, sprawled on the ground, at the mercy of a man who epitomized everything he desired to surpass.
"Think me cruel?" Arthur declared. "I gave you a chance to back down, but you made your choice… Wallow in the remorse of the fate you couldn't change…"
Each word struck William like a physical blow to the already-broken remnants of his dignity.
Not just his glasses were shattered and his face mangled, but so were his dreams. Not even Naruto could dignify a response to save his supposed cousin.
William, like all others who had tried to oppose Arthur, had lost.
Upon seeing William try to muster a finger, Arthur shot his foot down once more on the man. The pain intensified, and with a tumultuous roar, William was knocked unconscious into the ground.
The announcer's voice boomed: "That's it, that's it! Ladies and gents, we have our undeniable winner—the shinobi who surpassed them all! Give it up for Hoshikage!"
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