Three steps, one kill. The heart stopped, but the hand did not.
There wasn't the slightest trace of chakra. In the Kirigakure Ninjas' eyes, Rasa simply raised his sword and cut, raised his sword and cut, raised his sword and cut—without blinking once!
Then three of them were gone.
"Three left."
Rasa glanced over. Only three were still standing: Kaguya Taiga, some nobody, and a girl who looked vaguely familiar. Ringo Ameyuri, perhaps.
Oh, interesting. The second generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen hadn't grown up yet?
The three were so terrified their guts nearly split, their legs trembling. Since when had Chunin become so worthless?
In the major ninja villages, Chunin weren't pillars of strength, but they were still the backbone. It usually took years to work one's way up to that level.
In the blink of an eye—not even half a minute—six Captain-level ninjas had been taken out just like that.
Kaguya Taiga thought of a Kage-level powerhouse who had passed away: Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of the Leaf. He was the man whose strength even enemy villages acknowledged, the man whose foes wouldn't be punished for retreating when they encountered him.
He killed Chunin like pigs, without the slightest change in expression.
Perhaps the man standing before him was as strong as the White Fang of the Leaf.
Kaguya Taiga instinctively took a step back. His will to survive overcame his fighting spirit, overcame the pride of the Kaguya Clan.
There was no way he could win.
Rasa took a step forward. His long blade flashed, and another head hit the ground.
"Ringo Ameyuri, I order you to hold him off!" Kaguya Taiga barked, retreating another step.
"Yes!"
Ringo Ameyuri hesitated, but gritted her teeth and accepted. She tossed her red hair and charged Rasa, short blade in hand, ready to meet her death.
She didn't use a ninjutsu. Against a master swordsman like this, there were only two choices: flee or fight with Taijutsu. There'd be no chance to form Hand Seals.
Once, her dream had been to become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Now, her dream was to reach this man's level of swordsmanship someday.
If one learned the Way in the morning, one could die content in the evening. To experience this man's skill firsthand, even if it meant dying, would be worth it.
The long blade flashed.
The short blade in Ringo Ameyuri's hand shattered. The fragments burst into her body, wreaking havoc on her internal organs. She spat out a mouthful of blood.
A total defeat.
A look of relief seemed to pass through Ringo Ameyuri's eyes. So this was the pinnacle of swordsmanship. She had no regrets, even in death.
Wait, why am I not dead?
Rasa slapped Ringo Ameyuri aside, then walked toward Kaguya Taiga with his sword in hand. In the original story, Kimimaro was the only Shikotsumyaku user. If Rasa missed this chance, he might never get another.
His son Gaara had taken one out. Wasn't Rasa supposed to take one out too?
The clatter of wooden sandals sounded like it was trampling Kaguya Taiga's heart. He nearly shouted, "Don't come any closer!"
Run? He couldn't escape. The swordsman before him was fast, and turning his back on an enemy would only make things more dangerous.
Then there was only one choice: fight!
"Dance of the Seedling Fern!"
At the brink of life and death, Kaguya Taiga unleashed all his chakra, driving it into the earth and transforming it into a forest of white bones. Sharp and deadly, the bones tore through the ground and grew wildly outward from around him!
In the original story, Kimimaro had needed Curse Mark Stage Two to use this technique. If not for his bloodline disease, he'd nearly have killed Gaara.
Bone spikes shot into the sky and thrust toward Rasa, spreading to his feet in an instant.
Kaguya Taiga had already given himself over to the prospect of death. Even if I die today, I won't let you get away with it!
The desperate struggle of an elite Jonin at the peak of his strength was not something even a Kage-level powerhouse could afford to take lightly.
Unfortunately, Rasa was no ordinary Kage-level powerhouse when it came to slaughtering weaklings.
"Your struggle is futile.
If Heaven had not birthed me, Saint Roronoa Himura Kenshin Dracule Mihawk Ashina Isshin Shanks Sakata Gintoki Reinhard van Astrea Zoro, the Way of the Sword would have been dark for eternity.
Now, witness the ultimate swordsmanship."
Rasa infused his long blade with Electromagnetic Force and murmured, "One Sword Style: 360 Pound Phoenix."
Then he swung his sword!
The Electromagnetic Force surged to its limit. Ions gathered in the air, forming a blue, phoenix-shaped bolt of lightning that beat its wings amid flashes of electricity.
With a cry like a phoenix, it flew toward Kaguya Taiga, smashing through every bone spike in its path before striking him. Lightning raged!
Electromagnetic Force could be understood simply as electricity plus magnetism, since electricity was always accompanied by magnetism.
At Lv1 precision, Electromagnetic Force was better suited to manipulating magnetism. It could use metal to punch above its weight, while electricity relied on sheer output.
That didn't mean Rasa could only use its magnetic properties. If he increased his output, its electrical power could be devastating too. It just consumed a lot.
Unlike Lightning Release formed from chakra, the electricity Rasa produced was no different from natural lightning. All he had to do to raise the voltage was increase his output.
Kaguya Taiga hit the ground.
Ringo Ameyuri and Baki, who was slowly regaining consciousness, watched the scene in utter shock.
Without a trace of chakra, he could summon lightning and thunder with nothing but pure swordsmanship. This man's skill had surely reached a level without precedent!
If anyone had told them before that swordsmanship alone could achieve this, they would've slapped them and told them to stop talking nonsense without chakra.
That wasn't ninja-like at all. But they'd seen it with their own eyes. How could it be fake?
Her heart raced, her hands trembled. Ringo Ameyuri felt as if her soul had been elevated. She knew she might die at any moment, but she had no regrets.
[Points: 288]
Rasa visualized the Starry Sky Vortex in his mind, then brought his sword down and cut off Kaguya Taiga's head.
What the hell? Half a minute ago, he'd had 240 points. After killing all these people, he'd only gained 44. What a pile of nonrecyclable trash.
He'd wasted forty percent of his stamina for nothing!
As expected, simple killing—or killing nobodies—didn't earn many points. He'd have to find a way to stir up the Shinobi World and change the plot.
Once he understood that, Rasa turned and walked straight toward Baki, his back to Ringo Ameyuri. The unexpected move left her stunned.
"W-why aren't you killing me?"
Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, Ringo Ameyuri asked. She'd been ready to die bravely. Had all that emotional buildup been for nothing?
"You use a sword, don't you?"
Rasa turned his head slightly and glanced at Ringo Ameyuri from the corner of his eye, leaving her with a profile she would never forget.
"You've never stood at the pinnacle of the Way of the Sword, so you wouldn't understand my loneliness. I want an opponent—someone who can defeat me in swordsmanship.
"I can tell you have a real talent for swordsmanship. I hope you accomplish something in the future, then come challenge me."
What he really wanted was for Ringo Ameyuri to serve as a lever, carrying information about his alias back to Kirigakure and stirring things up. The ensuing chain reaction would earn him more points.
A true veteran of the points grind.
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