First Erosion (Part 1)

First Erosion (Part 1)

Shuji stood steadily atop the rolling sea, chakra flowing beneath his feet as though he were anchored to invisible reefs.

Across from him, First Erosion stood on the water, his dark breastplate reflecting a cold, faint gleam beneath the bleak daylight.

With a flick of his wrist, Shuji caught the scroll Wasabi Jirocho had entrusted to him, containing evidence of the Tea Mountain Gang's crimes and a letter intended for the Feudal Lord. Meeting First Erosion's oppressive gaze, his voice pierced through the roar of the waves. "There are two copies. One is with the messenger, and the other is with me. If you choose to attack the ship, I'll leave at once for Naqi Island and personally go to the capital to meet the Feudal Lord. Or..."

"We settle this ourselves. I guarantee this ship won't leave until we have a result."

First Erosion narrowed his eyes further, letting out a hoarse, metallic sneer. "A Konoha ninja? Your target is me? Interesting..." He tilted his head slightly, and a series of teeth-grinding clicks came from his neck, like rusted gears being forced to turn.

"Fine. Saves me the trouble. As you wish."

The instant the last word fell, First Erosion moved. He did not charge straight ahead. Instead, he suddenly lunged forward, and a black shadow tore through the churning waves between them!

It was his right arm!

That arm bizarrely stretched several times its original length, its skin turning a bluish-gray. Its five fingers curled into hooked claws, their nails black and sharp, carrying a pungent, sickly-sweet stench as they ripped through the air toward Shuji's face!

It was so fast that it left only a warped afterimage in his vision.

Shuji's pupils contracted. Chakra burst beneath his feet, and he skimmed sharply across the water to the right. The sharp black claws grazed the fabric over his left shoulder. With a rip, his tough ninja vest was slashed open.

First Erosion showed no reaction when his attack missed. His extended arm, like a limp whip without support, abruptly halted in midair against all reason, then curled back from an even trickier angle, clawing straight for Shuji's back! At the same time, the body he had left behind glided across the water toward him like a ghost, propelled by the force of that swinging arm.

Shuji was in midair with nowhere to push off from. He drew a deep breath, forcefully twisted his body in the air with a sudden burst from his core, and darted his right hand into his ninja tool pouch. Three kunai were clamped between his fingers. With a flick of his wrist, three flashes of cold light flew not at First Erosion's body, but precisely at the joints of that bizarrely elongated arm reaching for his back!

The kunai struck the bluish-gray arm as though they had hit old vines soaked in grease. They left only a few shallow white marks before being easily deflected into the sea. The arm's advance was delayed for only an insignificant instant before it clawed at him again on a foul wind!

Pretty hard...

Shuji landed on the water, chakra gathering under his feet once more to steady his stance.

He immediately formed hand seals.

Water Release: Water Shockwave!

The vast stretch of seawater beneath him surged violently in response, as though stirred by an invisible giant hand. A murky wall of waves several meters high rose up, carrying tremendous force as it smashed toward the approaching First Erosion! The wave wall covered both First Erosion's body and his bizarrely elongated arm in an instant.

Boom—!

The waves exploded, spraying white foam everywhere. First Erosion's figure was swallowed by the raging wall of water.

One of the rules of ninja combat: if you did not see the enemy get hurt, assume they were not hurt and prepare to evade immediately. Never stand there and watch! And never greedily press an attack!

Shuji retreated at the same time.

"Grrrk..."

A scalp-crawling sound, as though squeezed from the depths of a throat, rose just above the tip of his nose. A black shadow, like a venomous python lurking amid the spray, burst through the still-falling curtain of water and struck down like lightning!

It was First Erosion's head!

His neck had stretched several meters long like his arm, turning his entire head into a meteor hammer detached from its torso. Carrying a nauseatingly foul wind, it smashed toward Shuji's face! The masked face was inches away, its only exposed eye gleaming with cruel, icy green light. Inside its wide-open mouth, two rows of pale, razor-sharp teeth were clearly visible, with faint green mucus seeping between them.

Shuji leaned back until his body was nearly parallel to the sea. At the critical moment, he slammed his left hand against the water, using the recoil to send himself gliding backward along the waves like a fish for several meters. At the same time, he slashed upward with the kunai in his right hand.

Slash!

The blade struck precisely into the side of First Erosion's lunging neck! Yet the sensation was extremely strange. It did not feel like cutting flesh, sinew, and bone, but like slicing into a mass of tough, slick rubber. It only penetrated about an inch before becoming firmly stuck, tremendous resistance surging through his hand.

First Erosion's head was knocked aside by the force of the strike, but those cold green eyes remained fixed on Shuji, while the stench from his mouth grew stronger.

"Hiss—!"

An inhuman shriek came from his throat. His neck, with the kunai embedded in it, twisted sharply. Opening his fanged mouth, he bit toward Shuji again from an unbelievable angle, green venom dripping from his jaws.

The kunai was tightly caught in the twisting neck. Shuji did not try to pull it free, simply abandoning it as he used the momentum to retreat again and cast a technique.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

The sea beneath his feet boiled violently. A massive, solid water dragon took shape with its head held high, roaring as it soared into the air. Its jaws opened wide, carrying a majestic force capable of crushing everything as it viciously bit toward First Erosion's detached head, which hung in midair snapping viciously, and the body behind it!

Boom—!!!

A deafening explosion echoed across sea and sky. A massive column of water shot upward, and countless shattered droplets blasted in every direction like torrential rain. The violent impact of the current carved a huge depression into the ocean's surface, white foam and muddy seawater churning frantically.

As the mist dispersed, First Erosion's figure appeared again. He still stood atop the sea, not having moved even half a step! His elongated arm and stretched head, like venomous snakes returning to their nest, slowly retracted segment by segment with a horrifying flexibility.

The torn flesh at his neck curled outward, an unnatural blue-purple, but not a drop of blood flowed. Only a little thick black liquid, like asphalt, wriggled around the wound's edges and slowly closed it at a visible rate.

His breastplate was covered in dense dents and white marks left by the high-speed battering of the water.

First Erosion raised a hand and casually wiped at the healing wound on his neck, coating his fingertips in the viscous black fluid. He looked down at it, then brought his fingers to his lips and licked them with a scarlet tongue, the gesture carrying an inhuman wickedness. When he looked back at Shuji, the cold mockery was gone from his eyes, replaced by a pure, cruel gleam, as though he were examining some novel prey.

"Konoha's ninjutsu is nothing special. What will your blood... taste like?" A trace of twisted excitement entered First Erosion's voice. He leaned forward slightly, arms hanging naturally at his sides, fingers spread wide. His sharp black nails reflected a dim, chilling gleam in the murky light. Every joint in his body seemed to be making silent, poised clicks.

This opponent's bizarre and resilient body far exceeded expectations. Conventional Water Release ninjutsu and taijutsu attacks had achieved negligible results. That bluish-gray skin and the altered muscles and bones beneath it were nearly immune to blunt impacts and cuts. Its only weakness might be...

Shuji's gaze swept once more across the dark breastplate on his opponent's chest, which had remained sturdy even beneath the Water Dragon's assault.