Melee-Thunderclap

"Shape Transformation is another way to strengthen ninjutsu, on a par with Nature Transformation. It involves shaping Chakra into the form of a technique, allowing you to control its power and range. Compared to Nature Transformation, this can make a technique more distinctive."

"Combined with Nature Transformation, it can make a technique even stronger."

"However, most techniques and methods of training come from personal research and inspiration. Many of the techniques we have today are the fruits of our predecessors' efforts." After a great deal of effort, Tenzo finally managed to explain Chakra natures to everyone. By then, Bai and the others had already gone a long way ahead.

After cleaning up the campfire and wooden shelter, they caught up with the others. As for the ronin in the wooden cage, they left him to fend for himself.

"Don't just sit around as we travel. Start the first stage of training now. Just infuse a leaf with Chakra." This kind of training was clearly well suited to someone like Zi Xu, who had a vast amount of Chakra. With his seemingly endless supply, he could complete the training through sheer persistence.

The group trained their Chakra as they traveled. As they picked up the pace, they drew closer to their final destination. The trees around them were visibly thinning, and dusk was settling in. A light fog gradually rose around them, signaling that they were nearing Kirigakure's territory.

Zi Xu had a few theories about the strange phenomenon that had appeared when he'd tested his Chakra natures. Kaido had already been able to wield the forces of elements like lightning, fire, and wind. So there was no reason that he, with Kaido's Template, shouldn't have the potential to use those energies as well.

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

Does that mean I'll be able to use Thunderclap Bagua and Thunderclap Bagua: Roaring Thunder ahead of time? Just as Zi Xu was thinking this, his brows suddenly knitted together, and he stared gravely ahead.

He sensed chaotic energy fluctuations there. Tenzo and the Black-Clad Samurai stopped as well, taking up their weapons.

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

"No problem. The commission ends here. But you should consider whether you'll be able to leave afterward. Those guys don't care where you're from..." The Black-Clad Samurai tossed the remaining payment to Tenzo and the others as he warned them.

Chino had activated her Byakugan to its limit. To her, the fog seemed not to exist at all, and she easily made out the people on the other side.

"Ronin, and... Kirigakure Ninja?" Chino was puzzled by the dozens of figures' attire. Ronin didn't have the same antagonistic relationship with Ninja as samurai did, but that didn't mean the two groups got along well. Seeing them together like this was certainly strange.

"Kirigakure Ninja, we mean no harm..." Unfortunately, Tenzo's friendly declaration was met with several Shuriken flying toward them. The negotiations ended before they even began.

"We have no choice. Prepare to fight." Tenzo pulled out several Shuriken. The ronin and Amegakure Ninja had blocked the way they'd come, so their only way out was to fight through them.

"We'll handle the Ninja. Do your best to fight the ronin. If you get a chance to escape, take it. Don't worry about us." Tenzo created a ring of wooden shields around them, blocking the first volley of Shuriken. He clicked his tongue and had no choice but to keep fighting alongside the Black-Clad Samurai.

"Zabuza, you dare come back?"

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

"We'll deal with them first. Don't let those kids get away, either."

The racket from the ronin and Ninja reached Zi Xu and the others, mixed with vulgar insults and threats to gouge out Chino's eyes.

"Ice Break Slash." The cold voice cut through the irritating din. Seven or eight intersecting flashes of blade swept by. Bai sheathed his sword, and countless slashes appeared in the space around him. The scattering shards and ice dust heralded the start of the melee.

The Black-Clad Samurai—Zabuza—untied the bandages around his sword. He had no intention of keeping up his disguise now. Blood-red mist mingled with his terrifying killing intent and surged into the sky, forcing the Ninja around him to stagger back several steps before regaining their footing.

The blade on his back was broad and massive, with an inward-facing crescent notch near the hilt. Every time he swung it, at least one person fell. Blood seemed drawn to the sinister sword, streaming toward it.

"Wood Release: Violent Spear Technique!" Several wooden vines sprouted from Tenzo's body. Their branches instantly grew into trees and swallowed the enemies before him. He also 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. All kinds of ninjutsu battered the earth Tenzo had raised, scattering Zi Xu and the other two across the battlefield. He had no time to worry about them now—the next wave of ninjutsu was already coming.

Chino spread the Eight Trigrams beneath her feet and struggled to infuse the Water-nature Chakra into her Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Several Ninja surrounding her were caught off guard and knocked down, but their injuries were minor. They quickly got back up, their mouths seeming to fill with something as their chests swelled.

"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!" The Ninja spewed a huge amount of water from their mouths. Several powerful blue streams shot toward Chino like spears.

Chino had already seen their attack coming and dodged most of the water with a sidestep. But one of the thicker streams still grazed her shoulder. Though it was water, the impact could be devastating. Blood mixed with water gushed from Chino's shoulder, staining her entire arm crimson.

"Kan: River Flow." Chino wasn't the type to silently endure a loss. The Eight Trigrams beneath her feet spun as she used Mystic Gate to draw several Ninja across from her into the range of her technique. Several water needles appeared around them. The surrounding fog helped them block some of the incoming needles, but the rest pierced their bodies.

"Y-you little... Hyuga Clan brat!" The Kirigakure Ninja wore cruel, savage expressions. Their tense facial muscles contorted in pain as they glared at her as if they wanted to devour her.

The water needles weren't so simple. They didn't inflict much damage at first, nor could they kill their targets right away after piercing them. But as they traveled through the blood, they would continue to damage the body, like a needle lodged inside a person. Unfortunately, Chino couldn't control them well once they entered someone's body. Otherwise, this technique would have been even more powerful.

Though the Ninja across from her were enraged, they all showed their combat experience. As Kirigakure Ninja, they knew a great deal about Water Release. After a few minutes of panic, they gathered Chakra within their bodies and forced out the water needles, spitting up blood in the process. That was reality. Few Ninja were fools. Everyone had their own way of surviving, and no one would just sit there and wait to die.

With her Byakugan, Chino could clearly see the Chakra gathering within them. She knew she couldn't let them keep charging up. Only an idiot would let their enemies power up without interrupting them.

"Eight Trigrams Vac... uum Palm!" Chino brought her hands together, trying to use Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. It was one of the few long-range techniques she had, but her left shoulder had been injured by their Water Release earlier, making her aim inaccurate.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Three sharp sounds cut through the air ahead of Chino. Three powerful, high-density Chakra blasts, glowing blue-green, shot toward the Kirigakure Ninja like meteors falling from the sky. Unfortunately, her injured shoulder had still affected her considerably. Only one of the three Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palms hit, and the Kirigakure Ninja gritted their teeth and endured it.

The man leading them gave a gloomy smile and spat out a mouthful of blood. "Done? Our turn."

The moment he finished speaking, a huge water dragon appeared in the fog. Its entire body was made of flowing water, and its eyes glowed a blood-red hue. With unstoppable momentum, it swept away the surrounding mist and lunged at Chino like a predator pouncing on its prey.

Chino felt so small before the water dragon. Though she knew she couldn't withstand its attack, she had no habit of giving up. After dismissing the little panda hiding in a nearby tree, she gave a smile tinged with relief and regret, then slowly moved her arm.

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

A few minutes earlier, Hatsumi had landed in a terrible spot. She was surrounded by ronin and Ninja. After a brief moment of surprise, the ronin raised their swords and slashed at her. They didn't care if their enemy was a child. They only had to kill her.

"Tch. Foolish ronin, using such an inefficient method." Several Ninja looked down on the ronin for attacking with their swords, but they were working together for now, so they said nothing. Their agreement was that the ronin would get the sword, so they could return and complete their mission, while the Ninja would take the people. But what if those Konoha Ninja were "formidable," fought desperately, and killed all the ronin? Then Kirigakure would be "forced" to take both the sword and the people. They couldn't help it, could they?

"Earth Release: Earth Pillar Burst!" Several Ninja slapped their hands to the ground and formed hand seals. The earth beneath them instantly softened, and then the ground beneath Hatsumi erupted in a row of bursts like bamboo shoots pushing through the soil, even catching the ronin around her in the blast.

"Damn Ninja! Are you trying to kill us, too?"

"Sorry. I thought you could dodge."

Hatsumi was momentarily stunned, but she still managed to put up some defenses.

"Green Silk Worm! Moonlight Worm! One-turn killing move, Green Moon Chaotic Hair!" This was a combination of killing moves Zi Xu had once told her about. She'd been researching it ever since, but had made little progress, with only the beginnings of an idea. Now she had no time to think, so she simply used it.

Hatsumi's hair grew wildly in an instant, spreading from her shoulders to cover her entire body. Her long, dark locks formed an outer suit of armor, wrapping her up tightly in a cocoon.

Stone spikes and swords struck the cocoon, breaking through layer after layer, but fortunately, they didn't reach Hatsumi at the center. Then the silent cocoon gradually began to glow silver-white under the moonlight. The fog around it reflected the light, dazzling everyone nearby.

Her hair burst outward like an exploding chestnut, sending Moon Blades and razor-sharp strands lashing in every direction and driving back the surrounding ronin and Ninja. After that burst, her hair slowly drew back, stopping only at her waist. The tips were still stained with warm, red blood.

"...So this is... killing..." Hatsumi touched the warmth on her face. Her body trembled slightly, but the corners of her mouth lifted without her meaning to. Having tasted what it was like to kill, she was like a little cat that had stolen a bite of fish. Though she fiercely denied it inside, deep down she knew that she might... really be a bad girl.

The Ninja around her had clearly seen their share of life and death. After the initial shock, they immediately formed hand seals.

"Earth Release Barrier: Rock Pillar Prison!" Several Ninja joined hands to form the seals. Hatsumi clearly felt the ground beneath her feet tremble, and hurriedly urged the worms inside her to move.

"Clear Wind Worm!" A green whirlwind formed beneath Hatsumi's feet, and her figure leaped more than ten meters into the fog, leaving a blood-red streak in the air.

The ground where Hatsumi had been standing rumbled as dozens of stone pillars burst up from beneath it, forming a cage of earthen pillars to imprison its target.

Hatsumi was now leaping toward the exit of the still-closing prison. Her fingers were almost touching the rising stone pillars.

"Those ronin!"

"Shut up. We know."

The ronin who still had some life in them struggled to their feet. They aimed their Chakra-coated blades at Hatsumi in the air and hurled them at her. With nowhere to dodge, she could only twist her body and try to avoid them. But she didn't notice the dozens of Explosive Tags mixed with Earth-nature Chakra flying alongside the blades.

"Am I done for? Good grief, I'd only just..." Even now, Hatsumi was still smiling. Green Moon Chaotic Hair was vulnerable to fire, so she couldn't use it, and she had no good way to deal with this.

Tenzo had noticed their predicament but couldn't spare a hand. Kirigakure had actually sent two Jonin to keep him occupied. He was in grave danger himself; one wrong move could cost him his life. All he could do was send a few Wood Release techniques toward the girls, hoping to protect them. But the Ninja across from him weren't pushovers. A few streams of water were enough to pin down Tenzo as he tried to use ninjutsu.

Just as Chino was about to be swallowed by the water dragon's torrent, and Hatsumi by the flames of the Explosive Tags, a bolt of lightning streaked across the battlefield. The roar of thunder was like the howl of some primordial beast, ready to swallow everyone there. It made their eardrums ring.

The lightning tore across the entire battlefield, "happening" to pass through Hatsumi and Chino's fights. Neither of them would ever forget that flash of lightning cleaving through the clouds and mist.

In an instant, the water dragon shattered into a downpour of droplets. The Explosive Tags and stone pillars were obliterated into countless fragments. Amid the black-and-blue lightning, a figure was faintly visible, but the light was so brilliant that even Chino, eyes wide with her Byakugan, couldn't make out its features. She only had the vague feeling that the figure looked familiar.

Thunder roared, and the entire battlefield fell silent.