Candy

"Cough, cough!"

Hozuki Mangetsu staggered back two steps before regaining his footing. He wiped away the blood he had coughed up from the intense clash, a startling light shining in his purple eyes.

"That's it! What my life has been missing is a sword duel this thrilling!"

A trace of sadness flashed through Dōmeki's eyes. Hozuki Mangetsu truly was a worthy opponent, but a severe blood disease had taken its toll on his body, preventing him from wielding all seven Ninja Blades at full strength.

Watching the white-haired boy across from him straighten his hunched body in excitement, Dōmeki realized this was likely the final battle of the prodigy beloved by the seven Ninja Blades.

He was drawing on every last bit of his body's strength and energy. Win or lose, his end was certain.

Dōmeki stood gazing at his opponent and spoke softly.

"Senior Mangetsu, do you have any wishes?"

Hozuki Mangetsu froze for a moment. His foolish little brother, who hated losing and liked to pester him for matches, flashed through his mind, and he laughed freely.

"If my foolish little brother ever really joins your organization, please look after him!"

The white-haired boy let go of Nuibari, and the moment the blunt blade appeared in his hand, the excitement in Hozuki Mangetsu's eyes was almost impossible to suppress.

"Now, delight me even more fiercely!"

"As you wish! Don't lose too easily!"

Dōmeki's expression turned solemn, though a carefree smile crept onto his lips.

"Crackle!!!"

Even fiercer arcs of electricity whirled around Dōmeki's body, and he rose completely off the ground, truly suspended in the air.

The pitch-black short blade spun once at high speed in his right hand, drawing a brilliant arc of light as the scorched smell of high voltage piercing the air spread.

"Super Electromagnetic Mode Form One: Spiral Force!"

Beneath the cold moonlight, beside the lake, the fighting had cleared the thick mist from an area dozens of meters across, and now the fog slowly rolled back in.

The two stood facing each other. The moment their invisible auras built to their peak, they surged forth, and then...

As though a hurricane had passed through, a straight path was cleaved through the sea of mist. Hozuki Mangetsu held his axe before him, two deep furrows gouged beneath his feet at some point. Only then did a sound like the air shattering like glass sweep outward with the hurricane.

Light and shadow crossed countless times in an instant. A towering sword force swept in every direction, and everything, from the invisible mist to the rubble-strewn earth, was crushed by the raging storm.

Even Kimimaro, who had always been called a monster by the Kaguya clan, backed away repeatedly to avoid being caught up in the turbulent battle.

But in a sudden moment of confusion, he found he no longer quite understood what a "monster" was.

"Whoosh!"

Dōmeki's expression was calm, with only a smile curling at his lips.

Yet the short blade he held in one hand pressed Hozuki Mangetsu's blunt blade firmly down. The force coming through their crossed blades made the veins bulge on Hozuki Mangetsu's arm.

"What terrifying speed and strength!" Mangetsu panted, coughing up a great deal of blood as he spoke.

And yet, a wild, delighted smile blossomed across his bloodstained face.

"But don't think this is all I can do!!!"

The cord of Kabutowari in Hozuki Mangetsu's hand suddenly tightened, and the hammer attached to the other end of the blade leaped into his hand.

"Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique!"

As the Chakra throughout his body surged into his right arm, the well-proportioned limb immediately swelled, its knotted muscles bulging as though some monster had awakened.

Brilliant light shone on the hammer. Mangetsu raised it high with his left hand and smashed it down with unstoppable force.

The instant Kabutowari's hammer struck its axe, the two weapons that formed one answered each other.

The slash seemed capable of tearing space itself apart. In an instant, Dōmeki's black iron short blade began to crack.

Then the short blade snapped, and the savage blade light struck the red-haired boy squarely in the chest with irresistible force.

"Boom!"

The red-haired boy's body flew backward as though struck by a cannonball, until he was slammed hard into the earth amid a cloud of dust.

The slash continued down into the ground, its violent force spreading like a cascading waterfall. The earth for more than ten meters around was reduced to dust, stopping at the feet of a stunned Kimimaro.

The dazed Kaguya boy looked back in fear at Mangetsu, who was still coughing up blood. Only after a moment's hesitation did he run toward the deep crater.

Looking at Dōmeki lying on the ground, he slowly reached out, supported by some unknown thought, wanting to pull out the guy who had made jokes he didn't understand.

But just then...

"Cough, cough, cough! That hurts!"

The red-haired boy's body suddenly moved, and the seemingly complaining voice made Kimimaro freeze.

Dōmeki rubbed his still-aching chest, regretting that his Giant God Soldier Technique, which had blocked Kabutowari, was still so fragile that it had shattered under that force. It was a far cry from the legendary Susanoo.

As these thoughts ran through his head, the somewhat disheveled Dōmeki met Kimimaro's eyes. Feeling that his attempt to show off had failed, the boy instinctively scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. "Haha, fancy meeting you here, kid!"

"Cough, cough! You..."

Barely able to stand, Hozuki Mangetsu stared in astonishment at Dōmeki climbing out of the crater, the blood flowing from his mouth no longer stopping.

"You're not dead?"

"Unfortunately, Mr. Mangetsu," Dōmeki said, touching his broken ribs as they healed, "you were just a little short!"

"Heh, cough..."

Hozuki Mangetsu's face was full of regret. Even with all his strength, that was all he could manage!

Feeling his battered body, riddled with damage and utterly spent, Mangetsu threw Kabutowari aside. His favorite weapon, the twin blades Hiramekarei, returned to his hands.

"Release, Hirame Hiramekarei!"

He caressed his beloved blade, then charged at Dōmeki in one final attack, laughing wildly.

The clouds parted and the mist dispersed. Cold moonlight fell on Hozuki Mangetsu as he lay on the ground.

Kimimaro came to the side of the red-haired boy standing motionless before his opponent, and both remained silent for a long time.

Then Dōmeki was the first to speak.

"Miss, why didn't you come save Mr. Mangetsu?"

Tap, tap, tap!

Amid the sound of unhurried footsteps, Ringo Ameyuri emerged from the shadows, dragging Kaguya Tsuhito's dead body.

The red-haired girl with the strange braids gazed pensively at her colleague, Hozuki Mangetsu, as though seeing her own future.

"As his junior, how could I stop Senior Mangetsu from fulfilling his wish to die at the hands of a worthy opponent?"

"Though I don't really agree with him," Ringo Ameyuri continued. "Why not use that time to eat more delicious food?"

Then she put away her sorrow. Miss Ameyuri was not the sentimental sort. She pointed the lightning blades in her hands at the unfamiliar boy who had invaded Kirigakure.

"Miss Ringo, how about pretending you never saw me?"

Dōmeki tilted his head and thought for a moment before suddenly speaking.

Ringo Ameyuri froze for a moment, then glared coldly at the killer who had just slain her senior.

But with a whoosh, something wrapped tightly in a paper bag came flying from the boy.

Quick-eyed and quick-handed, Ameyuri caught it. Seeing that the enemy made no further move, she tore open the paper bag with a look of disdain. Inside was a candy apple!

"Are you insulting me?" Ringo Ameyuri's whole body was trembling.

"No, it's a deal!" Dōmeki's eyes shone.

"Deal!"