บท 287: 286-What was That Jutsu?
The darkness pressed down, amplifying the tension in the air until every breath felt thick with foreboding. While Renjiro was not aware of A's current combat power, he knew that the future Raikage was already an opponent he would want to meet in the battle, at least until Renjiro was more powerful.
Back when Renjiro was still a genin and he first encountered the ninja databook, the first people he looked up were Minato, Fugaku, A and so on, figures he was sure they would be important in the shinobi world's future.
And back then, A was at the cusp of Kage level so now almost eight years after, Renjiro was sure that the future Raikage was already Kage level.
Renjiro swallowed hard, feeling his heart hammer against his ribs. Beside him, Kakashi's gaze was steely, but Renjiro could sense the same wariness coursing through his friend.
A's sharp gaze swept over them, and a shadow of disdain flickered across his face. His lips curled into a cold, humourless smile.
"So… you two were the ones who escaped?" His voice was low, each word dripping with restrained menace. He narrowed his eyes.
"Though it seems you're missing one person. I let you escape, and yet you came back?"
Before Renjiro could reply, A surged forward, his massive frame blurring with astonishing speed. Renjiro barely had time to react before A was upon them, his hand slicing through the air with terrifying precision. Heart pounding, Renjiro instinctively dove to the side, shoving Kakashi out of harm's way.
A's powerful hand slammed into the ground where they'd just stood, splitting it with a resounding crack, sending fragments of earth scattering like shrapnel.
The shock of the impact rippled through the ground, and Renjiro felt the tremors in his legs as he scrambled backward, pulse racing.
He could barely process A's ferocity, the raw, unfiltered power in each of his movements. Renjiro's mind spun, grappling with the sheer gulf in their abilities.
He summoned a shadow clone just as A lunged at him again. The clone intercepted A's thrust, taking the full force of the blow and dispersing in a puff of smoke.
Renjiro backflipped a few meters, landing just barely on his feet, each heartbeat a drum against his ribcage.
The future Raikage's speed was overwhelming. Even with the Sharingan, Renjiro struggled to track his movements, barely able to catch fleeting glimpses of A's strikes.
He clenched his fists, frustration mounting as he realized how outmatched he was. "He's… too fast," he muttered under his breath, voice tinged with a trace of disbelief.
'He is more dangerous than the other one'
A thought as he showed no mercy, his form a constant blur as he pressed forward with relentless attacks. Renjiro's muscles screamed as he deflected blow after blow, each one powerful enough to leave the ground trembling beneath him.
As A bore down on him, Kakashi saw an opportunity. His hand flicked to his pouch, retrieving a shuriken, and in a swift, fluid motion, he hurled it directly at A's back.
"Slice!"
The shuriken whistled through the air, gleaming with deadly intent. But A's instincts were razor-sharp; he sidestepped with barely a glance, evading it effortlessly. Undeterred, Kakashi's fingers flew through a sequence of seals, a spark of determination igniting in his eyes.
The single shuriken multiplied in an instant, becoming hundreds, each one glinting with lethal intent as they filled the air around A. Kakashi's mouth set in a grim line as he activated the explosive tags on each shuriken. The silence that followed was thick and taut.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The ground shook violently, the force of the explosions splitting trees and sending shockwaves through the air. Renjiro shielded his eyes from the debris as dust and smoke billowed out, thick and dark, shrouding everything in murky shadows.
Kakashi squinted through the smoke, trying to catch a glimpse of their enemy. His heart pounded with a mixture of hope and caution. But as the smoke began to clear, Kakashi'd stomach twisted in dread. Emerging from the devastation, A's figure loomed, his body encased in his shimmering lightning armour, completely unscathed.
The faint crackle of electricity danced around him, illuminating his form in an ethereal blue hue. His expression was unreadable, but the glint in his eyes was one of cold determination.
Kakashi's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of disbelief crossing his face. "How… durable is this guy?" he murmured, the gravity of their situation sinking in as he clenched his kunai tighter.
A turned his piercing gaze on Kakashi, and in a blur, he was upon him. Kakashi leapt to the side, flickering away with his incredible speed, but A matched him step for step, lightning fast.
Just as A's hand crackled with electricity, poised to strike Kakashi, Renjiro's hands moved, forming a series of seals in a desperate attempt to buy time.
With a thunderous rumble, the ground beneath them cracked, and a towering Rashomon gate burst forth, slamming down between Kakashi and A.
The gate's heavy meta; seemed to groan under the strain, its surface scarred and ancient. A stopped short, his outstretched hand just inches from the gate's surface.
He tensed, sensing something off. The chakra around his hand felt disrupted, a strange resistance pushing back. His brows furrowed, and he jumped back flexing his fingers, studying the gate warily.
"It's… just a Rashomon gate," he murmured, voice tinged with suspicion.
"But why does it feel like it's affecting my chakra?"
Renjiro observed A's momentary distraction, seizing the opportunity to centre himself. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, his mind steadying even as adrenaline surged through his veins. This was his chance.
Inhaling deeply, he pushed past his limits, unleashing a surge of chakra as he opened the first three of the Eight Gates.
Energy coursed through him, a searing heat flooding his body, and his pulse roared in his ears. Renjiro's muscles tensed, every fibre in his being igniting with renewed strength.
"Now's my chance," he murmured to himself, his voice firm. With a focused breath, he created thirty shadow clones, each brimming with his chakra, their forms solid and determined.
The clones moved swiftly, fanning out in a calculated formation, their footsteps silent against the forest floor. A's head snapped around, noticing the gathering of masked Renjiros. His eyes narrowed, his body tensing as he took in the mass of clones surrounding him.
"What rich chakra," he muttered, his tone almost admiring. "Konoha cannot be allowed to let a shinobi like this grow up."
While Renjiro was too tall for his age, he could be easily mistaken for a short shinobi, but something about him told A that this was a child, that both he and Kakashi were still children.
Before he could react, six of Renjiro's clones closed in, each wielding adamantine chains that gleamed. The chains shot forward, wrapping around A's limbs and torso, binding him in place. A struggled, his muscles rippling as he attempted to break free, but the chains held firm, sapping his strength in subtle, insidious ways. The chains were built to deal with a tailed beast, so dealing with a human was particularly easy.
"What… is this?" A muttered, his voice laced with frustration as he felt his chakra waning.
The chains seemed to pulse, drawing from his chakra reserves, a sensation he was unaccustomed to. He grit his teeth, fighting against the restraints, but the clones only tightened their hold.
High above, the remaining Renjiros gathered, each one holding a Rasengan. The chakra spheres glowed, casting an eerie light over the clearing, a promise of devastating power.
A's eyes widened, his instincts screaming in alarm as he realized the impending threat. He struggled, calling on every ounce of strength, but the chains held fast, refusing to yield.
"Rasengan Barrage!" one of the clones shouted, and all twenty-four shadow clones descended, each Rasengan poised to strike. The chakra orbs collided with A's lightning armour, their force overwhelming his defences.
The armour crackled, fractures appearing as the Rasengans dug deeper, piercing through layer after layer of chakra until, with a final resounding crack, the armour shattered.
A grunted, his body absorbing the full brunt of the barrage as each Rasengan drove him deeper into the ground. The earth buckled, and the impact of the attacks sent shockwaves rippling outward. Dust and debris filled the air, the once-quiet clearing now transformed into a cratered landscape of destruction.
After a few moments, as the dust settled, A's figure shifted, his chest rising and falling with laboured breaths. He propped himself up, his gaze scanning the empty clearing.
Blood trickled down his side, his hand pressing against a deep wound in his abdomen. Each breath was shallow, the sharp pain in his ribs confirming at least one fracture. He let out a low, grudging chuckle, his eyes narrowing in contemplation.
"Just… what was that jutsu?"
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