The battlefield stretched beneath a sky filled with yellow sand. Howling winds swept through, kicking up dust that blotted out the sun and seemed ready to swallow the entire world. The air reeked of acrid smoke and blood, their mingled stench enough to make anyone sick.
Hiruko's face was as dark as the night before a storm, as if a single drop of water would unleash a torrential downpour. He had spent so long carefully planning his operation and thought it foolproof, but he hadn't expected these Iwa Ninja to appear out of nowhere and completely ruin everything, shattering his carefully woven dream without mercy.
Standing before him, Kari was tall and imposing, like an immovable mountain, radiating an oppressive aura that chilled the heart. Every attack Kari launched carried the force of a landslide, like a raging tsunami that left his opponent nearly breathless.
Hiruko roared in fury and frustration, swinging his Kunai wildly like leaves caught in a gale. Though he fought desperately, he could barely fend off Kari's fierce, storm-like assault. Every clash of metal rang out with a piercing screech, as if it could slice through the air. The shrill noise made his eardrums ache, while the impact left his grip numb, the sensation spreading steadily up his arm.
Kari's attacks were precise and deadly. Every punch and kick seemed calculated countless times, without a single wasted motion. He was like a finely tuned war machine, cold and efficient. By contrast, under Kari's relentless assault, Hiruko's moves grew increasingly disordered and haphazard. His breathing grew heavier, his ragged gasps standing out amid the chaos of the battlefield.
At last, after another violent clash, Hiruko's body could take no more. He staggered, his legs unsteady. Kari seized the opening and drove a powerful kick into him, sending him flying. Hiruko's body arced through the air like a kite with its string cut, then slammed into the earthen wall behind him with a deep, heavy thud, like a cannonball hitting its target.
Hiruko collapsed to the ground, curled into a ball. He struggled to rise, but a sharp pain seized his chest, as though thousands of steel needles were stabbing into him at once. His vision darkened, and stars flashed before his eyes. His consciousness began to blur, but resentment burned fiercely within him like a roaring flame.
Kari stood over Hiruko, his eyes full of contempt, as if he were looking at a worthless ant. Then, like a hungry beast locking onto its next prey, he turned his gaze to Haotian, trapped inside the earthen walls.
Haotian bit down hard on his lower lip, his teeth clenching with a grinding sound. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He knew very well that if he didn't step forward and do something now, everyone here might die today, buried on this blood-soaked battlefield.
He slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. In an instant, the Chakra within him stirred like a beast awakening, surging through his channels. His hands moved swiftly, forming Hand Seals in a fluid, effortless sequence.
"Nuclear Style: Vibration Wave!" Haotian snapped his eyes open and shouted, his voice low and powerful.
A powerful vibration wave burst from him, spreading rapidly in all directions like ripples. The force sent stones and dust flying high into the air, scattering them like flower petals. The surrounding air seemed to twist and warp beneath an invisible hand, bending and distorting as light refracted within it, making everything appear unreal.
Yet this seemingly powerful attack was no more than an egg striking a stone against Kari, utterly insignificant.
"Hmph. You think an attack like that can stop me? Keep dreaming!" Kari sneered, his voice full of scorn. A strange sheen instantly spread across his skin, as if his body had been plated in steel.
"Steel Style: Steelification!" Kari said in a low voice. As he spoke, thick, hard steel armor rapidly covered his body, gleaming with a cold metallic light like an impregnable barrier. Haotian's vibration wave struck him with a series of dull thuds, but it couldn't move him in the slightest, like blows landing against an immensely thick iron wall.
Kari charged into the vibration wave like a speeding, unstoppable tank, breaking straight through its barrier. With steady, powerful strides, he continued advancing on Haotian, each step leaving a deep footprint in the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
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