Slaying Him Without Mercy

"This guy!"

Seeing his attacks get easily blocked by Shōji time and again, and even the effects of Magnet Release's Attraction Force being effortlessly neutralized, the ease Toroi had shown when he first appeared had long since vanished. At first, he had thought that no matter how strong Shōji was, he was still just a boy. As long as Toroi perfectly avoided the Sharingan's genjutsu control—

He would surely win with ease.

He had even initially declared that he did not need his teammates' assistance.

Yet the course of events had far exceeded his expectations. Not only could Shōji easily suppress him, but he could also spare attention to support his teammates. Watching Shōji cover the retreat of those three or four Konoha Ninja right under his nose, then kill two of his own companions, Toroi instantly flew into a rage.

"Magnet Release: Magnetic Rain Technique!"

His palms slammed together.

An enormous amount of Chakra surged forth in that instant.

At this moment.

This Magnet Release Jōnin of Kumogakure had no intention of holding back any longer. With this move, right here, he would decide the victor. He would take down this hateful little brat of the Uchiha Clan and wash away his previous humiliation.

You'll pay for toying with me, you bastard!

An incomparably vicious glint appeared in Toroi's eyes. A powerful aura burst from his entire body, and in an instant, dense black needles gathered above his head, gleaming brightly with chilling sharpness.

"Ha!"

At his low cry.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

A rain of magnets shot toward him, blotting out the sky.

At the same time, from the angles on both sides, the other two Kumogakure Jōnin immediately formed hand seals and each unleashed Lightning Release and Water Release techniques. As they entered Shōji's sight, he snorted coldly, his face carrying a faint, icy expression. With a flip of his hand, he sheathed his Tachi and rapidly formed seals, the black tomoe in his eyes spinning at high speed.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness Technique!"

In an instant.

Lightning blazed.

"Rumble!"

His body flashed forward.

As he evaded the incoming attacks, Shōji charged ahead. The Lightning Release technique he forcefully unleashed exploded, directly blocking the Magnetic Rain head-on.

"Bang!"

"Boom!"

As collision blasts rang out one after another.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

A massive water dragon surged in from the right.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Gate Technique!"

And a huge gate of lightning descended from the sky.

"!!"

Shōji did not slow down, forcefully twisting his body aside.

"Earth Release: Fissure Collapse Technique!"

He formed seals at high speed once more, gathering a massive amount of Chakra. As the technique was completed, the ground beneath him directly caved in and split apart. The forcefully altered terrain heavily blocked the attacks, and in that second when his opponents lost sight of him—

"Watch out! Don't meet his eyes!"

As their vision vanished in an instant, Toroi's expression changed. He immediately shouted sternly at his two Jōnin companions. The two Kumogakure Jōnin were likewise alarmed, their nerves taut as they deliberately lowered their gazes.

They had to make sure they never met Shōji's eyes.

However!

"Clang!"

It was only for less than a second.

A crisp metallic clash rang out.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

More than ten cold flashes shot out from the inner side.

As they bloomed.

"Swish!"

At the precise moment.

Their bodies jerked.

They dodged the Shuriken and Kunai.

But at that very instant, a Shuriken streaked past, its brilliant cold glint reflecting another shadow beneath the blazing sun—the opposing Kunai high in the air.

This is!?

The moment it entered their sight.

A pair of black and crimson eyes was reflected within it.

"Not good!"

The pupils of the two Kumogakure Jōnin abruptly shrank. They instinctively tried to avert their eyes, but it was already too late.

"Genjutsu—Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"

As those whisper-like words fell, the black tomoe spun rapidly. Within the vision of the two Kumogakure Jōnin, the world instantly turned pitch-black, and they completely lost control of their bodies.

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

Massive iron pillars appeared out of thin air.

With extreme brutality, they forcibly nailed the two men to the ground. Piercing pain tore through them, while their bodies could not move in the slightest.

"AAAAAAAH!!"

As they let out one miserable scream after another.

In the real world.

"Whoosh!"

With a leap and a flash.

"Splurt!"

Shōji drew his Tachi. Its sharp, direct edge swept through them, easily slaying the two Kumogakure Jōnin. The long stretch of time in the Genjutsu World amounted to merely a few seconds in reality.

As the earth wall collapsed and the rising dust dispersed.

What entered Toroi's sight was Shōji's terrifying blood-smeared figure, along with the corpses of his two Jōnin companions lying in pools of blood to his left and right.

With just that one glance, a chill rose from Toroi's feet straight to the top of his head, and his entire body turned ice-cold. In Kumogakure, Toroi had always considered himself second only to Lord Raikage and the two Jinchuriki. Yet he knew very well that he was still far from the level of a Kage. The two Jōnin companions accompanying him this time were indeed slightly weaker than him, but defeating both of them would still take considerable effort, let alone killing them.

And now, his two companions had died miserably right before his eyes.

In merely two or three seconds.

His vision had been obscured for that instant.

He had not been able to see what had happened inside at all.

Though it sounded laughable even to Toroi himself, at this moment, a rare trace of fear truly rose in the depths of his heart. His Jōnin companions had died in battle, while their Chūnin subordinates had gone after those fleeing Konoha Ninja.

Only two people remained at the scene.

One against one.

He truly had no chance of winning.

But even so.

"I absolutely won't retreat here!"

A fierce glint appeared in Toroi's eyes.

"Boom!"

In the next instant.

A huge aura erupted from Toroi's body.

He could not retreat.

Nor was there any way for him to retreat.

This was his place of death!

Looking at the final madness on Toroi's face.

"Your courage is admirable. Then let me send you on your way with my strongest strike, Magnet Release Ninja—Toroi!"

Shōji smiled coldly.