Torrential Rain

Just as the god-tier move meant to interrupt the enemy's combo was unleashed, Yamada Soji wore a smile as if he had anticipated this all along.

He gathered chakra at the soles of his feet, steadying his stance on a thick tree branch. At the same time, he formed the "Ram" hand seal again, extending both hands toward the lingering smoke.

"Gotcha~"

As the playful words left his lips, the effect of the Accio spell took hold.

A secret technique that, due to spell intensity and energy neutralization, should have been nearly impossible to cast directly on an enemy, had found its opening thanks to the masked man's classic "Substitution-into-Transformation" maneuver.

--By dual-casting "Masked Man Accio" and "Akimichi Todo Accio," Soshi had forcibly fused the spinning Meat Tank with an unremarkable dead branch!

Using this opportunistic method, he had achieved a dream synergy between the Shadow Possession Jutsu and the Multi-Size Jutsu!

The masked man, who had intended to counter-attack using his Substitution and Transformation, found his own cleverness turned against him, taking the full brunt of the Akimichi secret technique.

"How is this possible!?"

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

The massive, spike-covered meat ball ravaged his body, leaving behind mottled bloodstains and gruesome wounds.

It was only when Todo reached his limit for maintaining the technique and bounced backward, round and plump, that the masked man—now wedged into a hollow in the tree roots—finally had a chance to see the light of day again...

Compared to his fully armed appearance moments ago, the clothes on the front of the Sand Ninja's body were reduced to tattered rags, and his bronze skin was completely covered in fresh, crimson dye.

His left arm, which had taken the brunt of the impact, was twisted and deformed; at a glance, there were at least four open fractures!

Yet, whether due to an instinctive will to survive or his nature as a defensive ninja specializing in Earth Release, the masked man's durability far exceeded anyone's imagination...

Even after suffering such severe trauma, the guy actually struggled to rise from the tree hollow, stubbornly showing the two Konoha recruits his skill at one-handed hand seals!

Given Soshi's store of knowledge, he truly couldn't imagine what kind of ninjutsu the masked man could release in this state to turn the tide.

But fortunately, thanks to the preparations made before the battle began, the young man didn't need to worry about such problems...

--Just as the masked man formed his seals, countless glass fibers, barely visible to the naked eye, began to vibrate slightly in the areas where he had made contact with Todo.

Unlike the "Sudden Rain" technique that had previously killed without a trace and wiped out an entire Waterfall Ninja squad in one go.

This time, the quantity of glass fibers attached to the target's body surface was significantly larger, to the point where several distinct silver-white streaks were clearly visible!

Countless tiny needles no longer snuck into the target's body like stowaways; instead, they pierced straight into the exposed skin and wounds, looking from a distance like a pool of silver liquid stirred by the wind.

Of course...

The whole process sounds complex, but in reality, from the moment the glass fibers began to converge to the moment Soshi was ready, it had taken no more than half a second.

The entire process was far faster than the "Sudden Rain" technique's method of invading the body to destroy organs!

The masked man, fully convinced that his opponent was using a variant of Magnet Release, had absolutely no defense against this.

By the time he noticed the anomaly and tried to counter it, Yamada-kun had already completed the entire process of external chakra transformation. With power even more terrifying than when he controlled shuriken, he concentrated these "fine needles" into several vital points, easily piercing through the target's body...

--Ninja Art: Rain Woman's Heart: Torrential Rain

As one of the two improved techniques successfully mastered with the help of the Superman Drug, if "Sudden Rain" primarily expanded the range of the technique through a new chakra transformation method—allowing Soshi to perform precise operations on auxiliary ninja tools from a greater distance—then the "Torrential Rain" technique focused more on the pursuit of explosive power!

The shift in the focal point reconstructed the form of the Rain Woman's Heart—using powerful impact to instantly force a massive quantity of glass fibers into the target's body, bypassing the process of weaving through and destroying internal structures, forming damage in a more direct manner and completely changing the originally slow-paced combat style!

Although, from Soshi's own perspective, both of these modified techniques still had flaws and were typical products of a transitional period.

But then again, there is no such thing as a perfect ninjutsu in the ninja world.

Even heavy-hitters as powerful as Susanoo or Sage Arts had their own limitations. As an ordinary ninja with limited talent, Soshi never had the lazy mentality of relying on a single trick to win everything.

Because of this, he had long been prepared to keep pace with the times and upgrade his arsenal at any moment, so he didn't have the obsessive-compulsive need for perfection.

"The superior man is not different by nature, but he is good at making use of things."

As long as he could defeat the enemy, he didn't mind changing tactics on the fly, and he was more than happy to accept help from his teammates...

"How was it? Did the tactical execution go smoothly?"

As the dust settled, the little fatty leaped over to Soshi's side. While brushing the dust off his body, he confirmed the results with a voice that was tinged with a hint of excitement beneath his nervousness: "He took two heavy hits; he definitely can't get up now, right?"

"As long as he's still human, he should be dead."

Soshi responded with a straight face, not mocking Todo, who was overly hyped and nearly losing control of his facial expressions.

Considering his own state during his first combat mission supporting Motochika-sensei, it was truly impressive for the little fatty to perform like this in his second encounter.

"Whew... so that means we won?" Todo took a deep breath, his voice rising another two octaves: "For real? We just won like that?"

""Just like that"?"

Soshi patted the little fatty on the shoulder.

"Strictly speaking, this operation began planning half a month ago when the Hokage issued the order. Excluding the doctors at Konoha Hospital, the number of active-duty ninjas involved from start to finish is conservatively estimated at over 50 people...

Therefore, from any angle, I don't think today's victory can be summarized by the words 'just like that'."

"Alright... you're always right."

The sense of accomplishment from winning a small-scale battle far exceeded being a tool for throwing shuriken while hiding in a large formation.

Especially for a second-generation ninja from a prestigious family like Akimichi Todo, he couldn't help but project the heroic stories he had heard since childhood onto himself!

Fortunately, Soshi poured a bucket of cold water on him in time, allowing the little fatty to face reality and tuck his tail back in.

He scratched the side of his face sheepishly, his entire demeanor returning to his usual state: "What do we do now? Should we go and regroup with the other teammates?"

Soji shook his head at the suggestion: "First, take the identification markers from the enemies, then mark the location of the corpses so the interrogation unit can recover them easily.

After all, we are operating within our own borders, and the teams responsible for the outer perimeter should have already begun closing the net. Rather than acting blindly and causing trouble for our allies, it is better to focus on cleaning up the battlefield."

"Ah, this... so we're just going to stand here and wait?"

Actually, that wouldn't be so bad.

Soji pursed his lips, ultimately deciding not to voice his desire to slack off.

He adjusted his phrasing internally, eventually choosing a more tactful approach.

"We are both still Genin, and our chakra reserves are quite limited. Unless we receive an emergency distress signal, it is better to focus on our assigned duties as..."

"Whoosh... Pop!"

Before Soji could finish his prepared excuse, a bright firework suddenly detonated not far to the southwest of the two boys!

The dazzling red glow pierced through the night, illuminating them and casting light upon Yamada-kun's cold, expressionless face...