Armor

Armor

At the edge of his vision, Shizune was kneeling beside Itachi, the green glow of her Mystical Palm Technique flickering urgently. The boy's slender body trembled uncontrollably, while Anko rushed toward the continuous explosions and flames in the backyard.

If he had arrived any later, would Shizune have died? Would Itachi have died? What about Anko?

Would Tsunade have made it in time to act?

When he had awakened in this body and lived on as Shuji, he had thought he was mentally prepared.

When it came time to take a life, he did not hesitate.

When making battle plans, he had prepared himself as well. Yet when he truly saw people who should have lived long lives seemingly about to die during one of his missions, Shuji suddenly felt dazed again.

That was right. The original story could only serve as a reference. The course of the future would ultimately be decided by those living in this world.

The brat before him seemed distracted, yet he still evaded attacks as if taking a leisurely stroll. That sight stoked the Black Erosion Corps leader's fury.

"Don't act like I don't exist, brat!" Beast Soldier Guard's roar made his eardrums buzz as his blade, carrying towering rage, came cleaving down once more!

The dark blue flames around him seemed to have been doused in oil, explosively swelling and rising. Each step he took made the ground groan.

The blade's howl as it tore through the air grew shriller with every swing.

Shuji's gaze sharpened. He forcibly suppressed his turbulent emotions and slammed both palms against the ground.

Earth Release: Mire Abyss

Chakra surged wildly! The hard ground seemed to be swallowed by an invisible maw, softening and collapsing in an instant!

Murky mud churned with foul-smelling bubbles, forming a viscous, lethal swamp of death precisely along Beast Soldier Guard's charge path.

The tremendous momentum from his high-speed advance made Beast Soldier Guard plunge headfirst into the mire like an out-of-control chariot!

The slick, sticky mud instantly swallowed him up to the roots of his thighs. Its powerful suction was like countless dead men's hands, dragging his body relentlessly downward!

"Urgh—!"

Beast Soldier Guard let out a beastlike growl. The dark blue flames around him surged madly as he tried to break free through brute force.

The mud was violently churned by his savage strength, splattering everywhere, yet it clung to him like a disease in the bones, binding him tighter and tighter!

Rat—Tiger—Dragon—Goat—Rooster—Dog

Lightning Release: Firefly Electric Net!

Countless blue-white arcs, as thin as hair yet dazzlingly bright, burst from Shuji's fingertips like a dense swarm of startled fireflies!

The dancing lightning greedily coursed through the wet mud, carrying berserk energy that would destroy all life as it rushed toward the trapped beast at the heart of the swamp!

"AAAH!!!"

At the brink of life and death, Beast Soldier Guard's roar nearly tore apart his throat! Every muscle in his body bulged like rock, and the dark blue flames exploded outward like a volcanic eruption!

BOOM!!!

A visible ring-shaped shockwave violently spread outward from him!

The viscous mud, dancing arcs, and even the billowing smoke were violently forced back and scattered by that pure, savage eruption of energy!

The mire was instantly blasted into a deep pit, with muddy droplets spraying everywhere like torrential rain!

The price was that the already tattered garment covering his upper body was completely reduced to ash.

As the smoke thinned, it revealed his scar-riddled body.

There was scarcely an inch of unblemished flesh on his bronze skin.

Crisscrossing scars, like countless grotesque Centipedes, crawled over every knot of muscle.

The most striking were the scars across his heart and lower abdomen—vital areas. Those scars were especially massive, twisted, and deep enough to expose bone, as though he had been repeatedly pierced through with blades before being forcibly healed.

One old wound, slashing diagonally from his right shoulder to his left ribs, looked as if it had once nearly split his entire body apart.

This man should have died long ago, yet he was still alive.

His movements remained as swift as ever, and his strength remained as great as ever.

"Ha... hahaha!" Beast Soldier Guard panted heavily, each breath producing a searing white mist. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Shuji. "See that, Konoha brat? I got used to this level of 'greeting' a long time ago!"

Used to it? No.

Beast Soldier Guard's words, half boasting and half threatening, did not disrupt Shuji's train of thought. Instead, they made him realize that this man was trying to hide something.

It did not matter what injuries that body had suffered. The true key was the Black Erosion Corps leader's current condition—the core secret that allowed him to ignore pain and deadly poison and move as though nothing had happened.

"This technique, those wounds."

"What is your life stored inside?"

Beast Soldier Guard's pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints! The savage grin on his face froze at once, like a clumsy mask.

Shuji suddenly rushed forward, hooking a Kunai from his ninja tool pouch with his right hand and thrusting it straight at Beast Soldier Guard's right shoulder joint!

Beast Soldier Guard's reaction was astonishingly fast. His burning body twisted sharply, barely evading the strike.

The next instant, Shuji's sweeping kick lashed out like a steel whip at the wound on his left thigh—the spot where Shizune's Poison Senbon had struck him.

Bang!

A dull impact rang out.

Beast Soldier Guard's left leg merely swayed slightly before steadying itself. A mocking, savage grin even appeared on his face, as if to say, "Is that all?"

Just as expected!

Shuji's offensive suddenly accelerated. Fists, elbows, knees, and kicks poured forth like a raging storm! His targets were no longer limited to vital points, but included the joints, ligaments, and muscle attachment points across Beast Soldier Guard's entire body!

He forced Beast Soldier Guard to make his most instinctive reactions.

His right fist, wrapped in a fierce gust, blasted straight toward the inner side of the elbow joint on his intact right arm!

The muscles around Beast Soldier Guard's shoulder blade instantly tensed like steel cables. His entire right arm contracted and twisted sharply inward at a tiny yet rapid angle. He would rather let the fist scrape across the outside of his arm and leave a bloody gash than allow his elbow joint to take the blow head-on!

A low kick, whistling through the air, swept toward his right ankle, the point supporting his body!

At the critical moment, Beast Soldier Guard used his left foot as a pivot and forcibly lifted his heavy right foot several inches off the ground!

The powerful kick ultimately struck only his solid calf muscle with a dull thud, failing to touch the vulnerable ankle!

Those were it! Those tiny movements, still crystal clear amid the savage assault, movements he desperately protected!

He did not fear poison corroding his internal organs. He did not fear his muscles being torn apart or pierced through. He might even disregard damage to some of his organs.

The only thing he desperately avoided, the only thing that even triggered instinctive protective movements, was structural damage—his limbs being severed entirely or his joints being completely destroyed!

This scar-ridden, inhumanly powerful body was, in essence, a weapon being exquisitely controlled—living armor! So long as the armor's primary structure was not destroyed, its operator could continue controlling it in battle!

Then how was it being controlled? Not chakra threads.

If it was not controlled by chakra threads from outside, then the cockpit could only be inside the body.

Recalling his earlier probing, an answer gradually surfaced in Shuji's mind. It could probably only be in that location.

In that case, you should die.

(End of chapter)