105 Chapter 105
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Pakura, loyal and diligent to the Hidden Sand Village, tragically died by the hands of her own village. This was her sorrow, yet it did not serve as a reason for Kyomu to sympathize.
They were enemies at this juncture.
No quarter could be given. Should she manage to flee, Kyomu might not chase; his goal was to massively eliminate those Sand shinobi harboring enmity towards him, leveraging his passive skills to swiftly enhance his prowess.
To forsake the larger prey for the multitude of smaller ones in the pond was a sacrifice Kyomu was not ready to make.
He was casting a wide net.
The scorching heat brought about by the soaring Scorch Release chakra forced the surrounding Sand shinobi to shield themselves and unanimously step back.
Kyomu's possession of Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai was no longer a secret among the Sand, and Chiyo-baasama had informed the Special Jonin and above on how to counter him.
But to no avail.
At least, not at the moment.
Was Kyomu unaware of his own weaknesses? Perhaps he had overlooked them, but since his clash with Karura and the minor cuts inflicted by her sand, he recognized and seriously considered his vulnerabilities.
Therefore, when he charged into enemy ranks alone, he disregarded his chakra consumption to unleash a Raiton with a wide area of effect.
His aim was to halt, for a brief moment, those Sand shinobi proficient in Earth Release, be they Special Jonin or Jonin, from hindering him.
Though the Raiton chakra would eventually dissipate, it afforded Kyomu a brief window to slaughter the Sand's Chunin and Genin as one would poultry.
Boom! The fiery explosion birthed an orange mushroom cloud, the shockwave ploughing a deep furrow in the ground.
As the high-temperature crystallized mud and stones rained down like fiery hail, Kyomu seized the moment, charging into the enemy ranks back-first.
Yet, the Sand shinobi were no fools. Aware of Kyomu's singular combat prowess and his signature "Instant Shadow Phantom Blade Formation," they kept their distance.
With Aoda warily eyeing from the side, the Sand shinobi naturally refrained from clustering, lest they fall en masse to either Kyomu or Aoda. (T/N: I didn't like to use green snake, and I think this should be the snake's name, chinese names are sometime a pain to translate)
They dispersed, attacking in pairs or trios, attempting to harass or ambush Kyomu, thereby buying time for stronger combatants to strike.
"You think yourselves clever, but it's futile!" Kyomu scoffed, "My Aoda is no mere decoration."
"Time to work!" Following his roar, Aoda sprang into action.
Kyomu, turning abruptly, unleashed a narrow beam of sword energy. Aoda, with its head lowered, swiftly caught up, aligning next to Kyomu.
Aoda's massive body acted as a shield for Kyomu from the left, creating a relatively stable combat environment.
Meanwhile, the various jutsu unleashed by the Sand shinobi continuously bombarded Aoda's scales.
The weaker attacks were easily shrugged off by Aoda, but those cast by the Special Jonin and above managed to inflict damage.
Particularly, the following Pakura, with her Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai, dealt significant harm to Aoda, melting or shattering its scales with every fireball that struck.
Aoda, in pain, became even more ferocious.
Taking advantage of Kyomu's leap, it violently swept its body around the battlefield, claiming the lives of many unfortunate souls.
However, the dispersed Sand shinobi, sparingly grouped, did not present many opportunities for widespread carnage.
Kyomu understood that he could not afford to linger in battle against the Sand.
Mounting Aoda, Kyomu, with his bloodied blade pointed forward, commanded, "Continue the charge!"
"You dare!" Her eyes splitting with fury, Pakura, along with other Sand shinobi, could scarcely believe Kyomu's intent.
While the swarm tactic was effective against formidable individuals, the Sand's primary objective was not to besiege Kyomu but to protect the field hospital.
As Kyomu and Aoda neared the field hospital, the Sand shinobi could no longer afford to disperse and attack in phases; they had to block Kyomu's path at all costs.
Failing that, the patients within the field hospital would fall prey to Kyomu's slaughter.
The chase continued, with Pakura and others impeded by Aoda's brethren, summoned by Kyomu in a desperate bid to reach the field hospital and wreak havoc, fully aware of the frenzied response this would provoke from the Sand.
The raspy sound of sand and the swift movements marked the relentless advance of Aoda and Kyomu, with Kyomu occasionally exploiting openings to launch his blade, each strike claiming the lives of Sand shinobi with rare misses.
Kyomu reveled in the battle, but the pain evident in Aoda's eyes grew increasingly intense.
Like a serpent beset by ants in the wilderness, capable of crushing many but ultimately overwhelmed by the incessant bites, Aoda felt the agony of death by a multitude of insignificant foes.
"Hold on, we're almost there." Though Kyomu empathized with Aoda's suffering, he decided to push Aoda a bit further.
"Kyomu-sama, I can do this." As Aoda continued its swift advance, it reassured him, "I will surely deliver you to your destination and escort you out of the encirclement."
The voice was faint yet resolute. Kyomu, unable to resist, gently patted Aoda's head, their bond beyond words.
Regretting his past decision to lend Aoda to Orochimaru, Kyomu vowed such mistakes would not recur. As chakra surged within him, he bit his finger, leaping from Aoda to the ground and slamming his hands down.
Summoning Jutsu: Great Serpent Array! The summoning formula spread across the ground, consuming Kyomu's chakra like a torrent.
This act was not without purpose; when smoke from ten directions erupted, serpents slightly smaller than Aoda but still massive were summoned. Sharing Aoda's appearance, these were his kin, with Aoda as their king. Kyomu, therefore, had the right to summon them, albeit at a great chakra cost.
Thanks to the chakra storage ring, Kyomu's depleted chakra was swiftly replenished, ensuring his combat readiness.
Though Aoda's kin possessed intelligence, they lacked the ability to speak as humans and their strength paled in comparison to Aoda's.
However, their numbers were their advantage. Spanning across the battlefield like a mountain range, they effectively cut off the pursuing Sand shinobi's advance.
Despite the Sand shinobi's ability to swiftly defeat them, still took time. With the serpents' speed, they could cover another kilometer or two, carrying Kyomu further into the fray.
Pakura, halted by the ten serpents, her eyes flickered with urgency and rage.
Prepared to confront Kyomu head-on, she found herself ignored, her efforts to engage him futile.
From the beginning, Kyomu's objective was the patients and medical ninjas of the Sand's field hospital, aiming to strike at the heart of their defenses and provoke enmity.
Pakura and other Sand shinobi, obstructed by the serpents, could only watch as Kyomu, carried by Aoda, vanished from sight.
The Sand's field hospital faced imminent danger. In less than a minute, the bustling and chaotic evacuation scene at the field hospital came sharply into Kyomu's view.
Meanwhile, Ren and others, taking advantage of the distraction provided by Kyomu and Aoda, precisely identified and exploited the gaps in the Sand's defenses, swiftly infiltrating.
Though unable to match the speed of Aoda and Kyomu, they remained within reach, ensuring they did not fall behind.
Unleashing the Iai: Crimson Moon Slash, the fiery blade cut through most of the Sand shinobi's defensive jutsus, though a few managed to slip through.
Aoda, unhesitatingly raising its body, took the brunt of several combined jutsus with its flesh, its scales shattered and flesh torn, bearing significant injuries.
Kyomu, deeply moved, turned back and shouted, "Prepare for combined jutsu!"
Genma, Ebisu, and others responded promptly, deploying a Wind-Fire combo jutsu as per Kyomu's strategy.
The wind fueled the fire's fury, with the strength of at least sixty people rivaling the might of Uchiha Madara's majestic fire techniques.
Yet, the technique deployed by Kyomu's team wasn't aimed forward but soared skyward, for Kyomu intended to add his own flame to the inferno.
Leaping into the air, he faced the oncoming jutsu, channeling his chakra through Yoei, the ring replenishing his chakra for the third time.
Fully committed, Kyomu, with Yoei as a conduit and the inferno before him as a source, used his chakra to coalesce the flames into a massive blue sword beam, rising to the heavens.
In that moment, the clouds above disintegrated, the rising steam quickly forming rain clouds amid the thunderous echoes.
Yet, Kyomu paid no heed to this phenomenon, for the Raiton: Kirin was beyond his grasp at this time.
"Aoda!" With a shout, Aoda understood, its tail flicking Kyomu higher into the air.
Soaring with a 500-meter-long blue flame trailing behind, Kyomu presented a spectacle of awe and terror.
"What is... this?" Pakura, arriving late to the scene, gazed at the tiny figure in the sky, trailing a long flame, and murmured in disbelief.
"From the rumors of purple flames to now blue...," she glanced at her hands, pondering the extents and variations of Scorch Release.
But her shock was brief. Within a second, her expression drastically changed, horror and outrage filling her eyes.
"Aragami Kyomu, how dare you!"
Her scream echoed far, but Kyomu, high above, remained unaffected, his determination as firm as ever, despite the blood he tasted.
Bearing the colossal pressure of a blade hundreds of meters long with a stature less than 1.6 meters, the strain on Kyomu was unimaginable.
Yet, as the last line of defense for the Sand's field hospital braced for impact, they too felt the "divine punishment" bearing down upon them.
With a collective scream, the Sand shinobi bolstered their spirits, facing the impending doom with cries of defiance.
As their shouts filled the air, Kyomu, too, let out a roar.
"The slash that descends from the heavens, catch it if you can!"
His arms bulged, his clothes tearing apart, revealing blood vessels swollen to their limits, the high-speed blood flow causing them to rupture and drench his arms in blood.
With a herculean effort, he lifted the Shadow Blade and the colossal blue flame above his head.
A tear in his muscles, audible only to him, signaled his body's limit as he plunged, directing the immense blade towards the Sand's field hospital below.
The world seemed to halt.
"No!" Pakura's desperate scream was futile; the impact was imminent.
A thunderous roar followed by a violent tremor marked the moment of impact, as the ground shook beneath them, unleashing a semi-spherical wave of flame that soared into the sky, culminating in a rising mushroom cloud.
Whoosh! The shockwave threw Pakura, who was running forward, and other Sand shinobi behind her, into the air like dolls caught in a tempest.
Ssshhh... The aftermath brought a rain of debris mixed with dried blood, blackened bandages, tent fragments, and charred human remains.
Silence, a deathly quiet followed the explosion's roar, inducing temporary deafness, as if one were trapped in a vacuum, blurring vision with intense pain and forcing eyes shut against the glaring brightness.
The second wave of heat, brought on by the blast, ignited everything flammable in its vicinity, painting the sky with a false dawn.
Thud. Kyomu plummeted, caught by the grievously wounded Aoda, which had, despite its injuries, shielded Ren and the rest under its massive body, absorbing the full brunt of the attack.
"Aragami-sama." Aoda's voice was weak but determined. "I will take you away from here."
Ignoring the scorching ground beneath, Aoda, carrying Kyomu and his comrades, quickly retreated from the battlefield, leaving behind the devastated field hospital, ensuring no survivors.
This act foretold the raging storm of retaliation that the Sand shinobi would unleash in response to their unfathomable loss.
(End of Chapter)
