Melee Thunder

"'Shape Transformation' is a method of strengthening ninjutsu that stands alongside 'Nature Transformation.' It involves shaping chakra into the 'form' of a technique, allowing control over the technique's power and range of attack. Compared to 'Nature Transformation,' this makes techniques more unique."

"When combined with 'Nature Transformation,' it can make techniques even stronger."

"However, most of the system and training methods for techniques come from personal research and inspiration. Many existing techniques are the crystallized efforts of our predecessors." After great effort, Tenzo finally managed to explain the nature of chakra to everyone, and by then, Haku and the others had already walked far ahead.

After cleaning up the campfire and wooden shelter, they followed in their footsteps. As for the Ronin in the wooden cage, they left him to fend for himself.

"Don't slack off along the way. Start the first stage of training now—just inject chakra into the leaves." This task was clearly suited for someone like Zi Xu, who had vast reserves of chakra. With his endless energy, he could complete the training through sheer persistence.

The group practiced chakra training while traveling. As their pace quickened, they drew closer to their final destination. The trees visibly thinned, the sky darkened, and a faint mist began to gather around them, signaling that they were nearing Kirigakure's territory.

Zi Xu had some guesses about the strange phenomenon he'd observed when testing his chakra nature earlier. Kaido had originally been able to wield elements like lightning, fire, and wind, so with the Kaido Template, there was no reason he shouldn't possess the potential to use these energies.

Although he hadn't unlocked his Devil Fruit Ability yet, it was only "unlocked"—he had always possessed Kaido's latent potential.

"Does that mean I can use Thunderclap Furry and Roaring Thunder Furry ahead of time?" Just as Zi Xu was thinking this, his brow suddenly furrowed tightly as he stared gravely ahead.

He sensed chaotic energy fluctuations there. Tenzo and the Black-Clad Samurai also stopped, weapons in hand.

"According to the agreement, our commission ends here. We've reached the mission site." Though he said this, Tenzo could also sense trouble brewing.

"No problem. The commission ends here. But after this, you should consider whether you can leave. Those guys don't care where you're from..." The Black-Clad Samurai tossed the remaining reward to Tenzo and the others while warning them.

Chino had already activated her Byakugan to its fullest. The thick mist was as if it didn't exist in her eyes, and she easily made out the figures on the other side.

"Ronin, and... Kirigakure ninja?" Seeing the attire of those dozens of people, Chino was puzzled. Ronin weren't as hostile to ninja as samurai, but their relationship wasn't exactly friendly either. For both sides to appear together was quite jarring.

"Kirigakure ninja, we mean no harm..." Unfortunately, Tenzo's goodwill was met with several flying shuriken. The negotiation ended before it began.

"No choice. Prepare for battle." Tenzo pulled out a few shuriken. Their path back was blocked by the Ronin and Amegakure ninja. To escape, they'd have to cut through.

"We'll handle the ninja. You try to fight the Ronin and find a chance to flee. Don't worry about us." Tenzo created a circle of wooden shields around them, blocking the first wave of shuriken. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, forced to join forces with the Black-Clad Samurai again.

"Zabuza, you dare come back?"

"The people are yours. We only want the sword."

"Let's deal with them first. Don't let those brats escape either."

The clamor of Ronin and ninja reached Zi Xu and the others, mixed with crude remarks about gouging out Chino's eyes.

"Ice Break Slash." A cold voice cut through the irritating noise. Seven or eight intersecting sword flashes streaked through the air. Haku sheathed his blade as countless slashes appeared in the space around him. Shards of ice and frost kicked off the opening of this melee.

The Black-Clad Samurai—Zabuza—untied the bindings on his sword. He no longer bothered to disguise himself. A bloody mist mixed with a sky-piercing killing intent erupted, forcing the ninja around him back several steps before they could steady themselves.

The sword on his back was large and broad, with an inward crescent blade near the hilt. Each swing felled at least one person nearby, and blood seemed drawn to the eerie blade, gathering on it.

"Wood Release: Violent Spear Technique!" Tenzo extended multiple wooden vines from his body. The branches instantly grew into trees, engulfing the enemies before him. At the same time, he used Earth Release to alter the terrain, trying to push Zi Xu and the others out of the battlefield.

But the ninja were no pushovers. Various ninjutsu slammed into the earthen blocks Tenzo created. Zi Xu and the other two were scattered across the battlefield, but he had no time to worry about them—the next wave of ninjutsu was already coming.

Chino opened her Eight Trigrams wide beneath her feet, struggling to infuse water-nature chakra into the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm she launched. Several ninja surrounding her were caught off guard and knocked down, but these were minor injuries. They quickly got back up, their chests heaving as if gathering something in their mouths.

"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!" Massive amounts of water spewed from the ninja's mouths. Several powerful blue water jets shot toward Chino like javelins.

Chino had already seen the attack coming. She sidestepped to dodge most of the water, but one thicker jet grazed her shoulder. Though it was water, its impact was no joke—blood mixed with water gushed from her shoulder, staining her entire arm crimson.

"Kan: River Flow." Chino wasn't one to take a hit lying down. The Eight Trigrams spun beneath her feet as she used Mystic Gate to trap the opposing ninja within her technique's range. Several water needles materialized around them. Due to the misty environment, they only managed to block some of the needles; the rest pierced their bodies.

"D-Damn it! Hyuga brat!" The Kirigakure ninja's faces twisted with savage fury, their taut muscles twitching in pain as if they wanted to devour her.

The water needles weren't that simple. Though their immediate lethality was low and they couldn't kill instantly after entering the body, they would keep damaging the target's body as they circulated through the bloodstream—like having a needle mixed into one's blood. Unfortunately, Chino couldn't control them well once inside, or the technique would have been even deadlier.

Though enraged, the opponents showed their combat experience. As Kirigakure ninja, they knew Water Release well. After a few minutes of panic, they mobilized their chakra to force the water needles out of their bodies, spitting out blood. This was reality—few ninja were fools. Everyone had their own way of survival, and no one just sat around waiting to die.

Chino's Byakugan clearly saw the chakra gathering in the group. She knew she couldn't let them keep charging up. Letting enemies build power without interrupting would be stupid.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum... Palm!" Chino brought her hands together, trying to use Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm—one of her few long-range techniques. But her left shoulder, injured by their Water Release earlier, made the palm's accuracy poor.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~" Three piercing sounds rang out ahead of Chino. High-density chakra blocks glowing with blue light shot forward like three meteors, crashing toward the Kirigakure ninja. Unfortunately, her injured shoulder affected her aim—only one of the three palms hit, and the ninja gritted their teeth and endured it.

The leader flashed a grim smile, blood trickling from his mouth. "Done? Our turn."

As his words fell, a massive water dragon emerged from the mist. Its body was entirely composed of flowing water, and its eyes glowed with a bloody red light. With an unstoppable momentum, it swept aside the surrounding mist and lunged at Chino like a predator hunting its prey.

Chino felt utterly insignificant before the water dragon. Though she knew she couldn't withstand this attack, she wasn't one to give up. She dismissed the Panda she had summoned from the tree, revealing a smile tinged with relief and a hint of regret, and slowly moved her arm.

"...Eight Trigrams... Vacuum Palm..."

A few moments earlier, Hatsumi had landed in a terrible spot—right in the encirclement of Ronin and ninja. The Ronin hesitated for a moment before raising their swords and slashing at Hatsumi. They didn't care if their enemy was a child; killing was all that mattered.

"Tch. Foolish Ronin, inefficient methods." Several ninja sneered at the Ronin's sword attacks, but since they were cooperating, they said nothing. The agreement said the swords went to the Ronin for their mission, while they only wanted the people. But if those Konoha ninja were "strong enough" to kill the Ronin, and Kirigakure was "forced" to take both the swords and the people, that couldn't be helped, could it?

"Earth Release: Earth Column Burst!" Several ninja clapped their hands together to form seals. The ground beneath them softened instantly, and then the earth under Hatsumi's feet exploded upward like bamboo shoots, even catching some nearby Ronin in the blast.

"Damn ninja, trying to kill us too?"

"Sorry, thought you could dodge."

Though caught off guard at first, Hatsumi managed some defensive measures.

"Green Silk Worm! Moonlight Worm! First Turn Killing Move, Green Moon Chaotic Hair!" This was a combo move Zi Xu had mentioned to her before. She had been studying it but hadn't made much progress—only a few ideas. Now, with no time to think, she unleashed it directly.

Hatsumi's hair suddenly grew wildly, spreading from shoulder-length to covering her entire body. Her jet-black locks formed an external armor, wrapping her completely into a large cocoon.

Stone pillars and sword strikes slammed into the hair cocoon, breaking through layer after layer, but they couldn't reach Hatsumi at the core. Then, the silent cocoon began to glow with a silvery-white light under the moonlight. The light reflected off the surrounding mist, dazzling everyone nearby.

Her hair burst outward like an exploding chestnut, carrying Moon Blades and sharp strands that drove back the surrounding Ronin and ninja. After this outburst, her hair slowly retracted, but only to her waist, the tips still dripping with warm red blood.

"...So this... is killing..." Hatsumi touched the warmth on her own face, her body trembling slightly, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously curled upward. After tasting the flavor of slaughter, she was like a cat that had stolen a fish—though her heart vehemently denied it, deep down she knew the truth: she really seemed to be a bad girl.

The surrounding ninjas had clearly seen life and death before. After the initial shock of the sudden attack, they immediately formed hand seals.

"Earth Release Barrier: Rock Pillar Prison!" Several ninjas joined hands in their seals, and Hatsumi distinctly felt the ground beneath her feet tremble. She quickly urged the bugs inside her to move.

"Clear Wind Worm!" A cyan whirlwind formed beneath Hatsumi's feet, and her figure leaped high into the mist, rising a dozen meters into the air, leaving a trail of blood-red afterimage behind.

Meanwhile, the ground where Hatsumi had stood rumbled as dozens of stone pillars erupted from below, forming a stone cage of earthen columns meant to trap the enemy.

Hatsumi was now flying toward the still-unclosed exit of the cage, her fingers nearly brushing the rising stone pillars.

"Those ronin!"

"Shut up. We know."

The few ronin who still had breath struggled to their feet, aimed at Hatsumi in midair, and hurled their chakra-infused blades at her. With no place to dodge in the air, Hatsumi could only twist her body to evade with difficulty. But she failed to notice that mixed in with those blades were dozens of Explosive Tags laced with earth-natured chakra.

"Is this the end? Seriously, I just barely..." Even so, Hatsumi still wore a smile. Green Moon Chaotic Hair was countered by fire and unusable, and she had no good way to resolve this.

Tenzo noticed their predicament but had no hands to spare. Kirigakure had actually sent two jonin to pin him down this time, and he was already in a very dangerous state—one slip and he'd lose his life. At this moment, he could only fire off a few Wood Release techniques toward the two women, trying to protect them, but the opposing ninjas weren't pushovers either; they sent several water pillars straight at Tenzo to disrupt his jutsu.

Just as Chino was about to be swallowed by the torrent of the Water Dragon Bullet, and Hatsumi was about to be engulfed by the flames of the Explosive Tags before her, a bolt of lightning flashed across the battlefield. The roar of thunder was like the bellow of a primordial beast that threatened to devour everyone present, rattling their eardrums.

That lightning spanned the entire battlefield, "coincidentally" passing through the area where Hatsumi and Chino fought. Hatsumi and Chino would never forget that single lightning blade that split the clouds.

In an instant, the Water Dragon shattered into countless droplets, the Explosive Tags and stone pillars crumbled into innumerable fragments, and within the black-blue lightning, a human silhouette could faintly be made out. But the flash was too dazzling; even with her Byakugan wide open, Chino couldn't make out the figure's specific features—only that it seemed somehow familiar.

Thunder roared, and the entire battlefield fell into dead silence.