Yecheng vs. Aburame Ryoma

By then, the sky had already grown dark.

Both sides were so tense that no one noticed the sky was darker than usual for this hour.

Shisui Uchiha looked grim.

Facing the surging tide of insects crawling across the ground like a black ocean, he had almost no way left to deal with them.

It looks like I'll have to use Susanoo again!

Just then, a piercing elephant's trumpet interrupted his thoughts.

"Pawoo!"

Boom!!!

Like a cascading waterfall, the torrent Max Elephant sprayed scattered the black tide of insects, leaving them unable to pose any threat.

The enormous volume of water almost gave Shisui Uchiha an illusion-

With this much water, are we beside a lake?

No.

They were in the mountains.

Aburame Ryoma's heart tightened at the sight as well.

To use Water Release on this scale without a water source nearby-the newcomer's strength definitely can't be underestimated!

"Who are you?"

His voice was low.

The newcomer's first move had been to attack his insects and save Shisui Uchiha. Clearly, this was an enemy, not a friend.

Aburame Ryoma discreetly surveyed his surroundings. His teammates were either dead or severely injured, leaving him the only one still barely capable of fighting.

Fortunately, Shisui Uchiha had consumed a great deal of chakra and had little stamina left. Otherwise, if the two joined forces, Ryoma would probably die here first.

"We are [Shadow]. We lurk in the shadows and hunt the shadows!"

Yecheng emerged from the darkness, his clothes fluttering.

"Hunt the shadows? Hmph, you think you're worthy?"

Thinking of Danzo's title as the Darkness of the Shinobi World, Aburame Ryoma's face grew thunderous.

"Boy, give me your name. I, Aburame Ryoma, don't kill nobodies!"

He was already secretly gathering chakra, waiting for his opponent to reveal an opening so he could deliver a lethal blow.

Yecheng ignored him, turning instead to Shisui Uchiha. "You leave first."

A ninja crow flew out of the shadow beneath his feet and landed on Shisui Uchiha's shoulder.

"I'll contact you later."

"Though I don't know who you are, I won't forget this kindness. I'll repay it."

Shisui Uchiha nodded, turned, and left.

Aburame Ryoma had barely stepped forward to stop him when Yecheng blocked his path.

"Your opponent is me."

He chuckled.

Aburame Ryoma said gravely, "Are you determined to make an enemy of Root?"

Root's missions involved executing rogue ninja throughout the Shinobi World, destroying ninja organizations that threatened Konoha, and hindering other nations' development. Its name was renowned throughout the Shinobi World.

Aburame Ryoma was trying to frighten Yecheng off with Root's fearsome reputation.

That way, he could avoid a fight and continue his pursuit of Shisui Uchiha.

If he fought this opponent here, pursuing Shisui Uchiha afterward would become almost impossible.

Besides, he had already been through a major battle and was nowhere near his peak. Fighting an enemy he knew nothing about could hardly be called wise.

However, his scheme would not work.

Naturally, Root's name would not scare Yecheng away. As Tsunade's personal disciple, his relationship with Danzo was already one of mortal enmity. They were sworn enemies to begin with; a little more hatred hardly mattered.

Rather, seizing this opportunity to eliminate some of Danzo's fighting forces would benefit Yecheng.

More importantly, Yecheng wanted a battle like this. He needed one.

Since becoming Tsunade's disciple, Yecheng's strength had made several tremendous leaps.

When he had been weak, he had acted cautiously, constrained at every turn, terrified that those mighty powers would casually crush him underfoot.

But now?

Yecheng licked his lips. His strength was already worlds apart from before, and now he needed a powerful opponent to test what he had gained.

With a weapon in hand, the urge to kill comes naturally. The old folks really knew what they were talking about.

"Enough of your endless babbling. Things have come this far-what else is there to say?!"

Yecheng laughed, formed hand seals, and chanted, summoning his next shikigami.

"Toad!"

"Ribbit!"

An enormous toad taller than a person emerged from the shadows and attacked the moment he appeared.

Whoosh!

A long tongue thicker than an adult's arm shot straight at Aburame Ryoma!

The tongue sliced through the air, wrapped around Aburame Ryoma, and tightened. But it had struck a clone, not his real body.

Ninja Art: Insect Clone!

As soon as the insect clone was destroyed, kikaichū latched onto Toad's tongue and began biting furiously.

Yecheng's mind stirred. Damage to Toad's tongue was secondary, but kikaichū primarily fed on chakra.

Even though the Six Eyes' precise chakra control reduced the chakra cost of using shikigami, he immediately felt his chakra consumption surge as the kikaichū devoured it in large quantities.

He immediately dismissed Toad, returning him to the shadows to stop the kikaichū's destruction.

This Aburame Ryoma is fast. He actually formed hand seals and used ninjutsu in such a short time.

As expected of an elite jonin in Danzo's inner circle.

Yecheng nodded inwardly.

Still, it would take a ninja like this to test his current strength!

Meanwhile, the sight of Toad had startled Aburame Ryoma as well.

As everyone knew, the Three Great Sage Lands were renowned among the Shinobi World's summoning beasts, and one of them belonged to the toads!

Aburame Ryoma almost thought he was facing a successor of Mount Myōboku!

Could Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, have taken another disciple outside the village?

Aburame Ryoma wavered. He was already considering retreating.

But with such a rare opportunity before him, Yecheng would not let him leave.

"This will work better against you."

Yecheng changed his hand seal and chanted, "I choose you, Rabbit Escape!"

A rabbit emerged from the shadow beneath Yecheng's feet. The next instant, one became two, two became four, and four became eight!

Within seconds, rabbits surrounded Yecheng, then charged at Aburame Ryoma under his control.

"There's more?"

Aburame Ryoma was startled. An elephant, a toad, rabbits-just how many summoning beasts had this fellow signed contracts with?

The toads of Mount Myōboku actually agreed to this?

He had no idea these were all shikigami from the same cursed technique.

With no time to think further, Aburame Ryoma immediately summoned another mass of kikaichū, which collided with the rabbits.

This time, however, the feedback from his attacking insects was worse than before!

Those rabbits were actually all duplicates, and devouring their chakra could not destroy them!

He did not know that [Rabbit Escape]'s shikigami trait was division. These divisions had physical bodies, however, and unlike shadow clones, every divided rabbit had as much health as the original. Without sufficient damage, they could not be destroyed.

This trait was both an advantage and a weakness.

Against a ninjutsu powerhouse-a monster with overwhelming stats like Madara Uchiha, for instance-a single Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame could clear the field.

But Aburame Ryoma was not among their ranks.

Moreover, while both relied on numbers to win, Rabbit Escape's mechanics clearly countered the kikaichū.

Aburame Ryoma realized this and immediately changed tactics.

First, he split off a large number of kikaichū to fight Rabbit Escape, locking both sides into a battle of attrition as they whittled down each other's numbers.

Then his hands rapidly formed seals, and he poured in a large amount of chakra to unleash a signature Earth Release ninjutsu.

Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!

This was quite an advanced Earth Release ninjutsu. In the original story, Jiraiya had used it repeatedly, achieving results every time.

This time was no exception.

The hard, rocky ground before them instantly turned into a swamp, swallowing and trapping large numbers of rabbits and insects together beneath its mud.

That was not all. The ground beneath Yecheng's feet turned into a swamp at the same time!

Yecheng immediately stepped on a Rabbit Escape duplicate and leaped high to evade it.

An opening!

Aburame Ryoma changed his hand seal, launching another ninjutsu while Yecheng was airborne.

Water Release: Wild Water Wave!

A powerful stream of high-pressure water shot toward Yecheng. Although this ninjutsu was only C-rank, its advantages were its quick activation and considerable power.

It's too late to rely on that elephant summon for support now!

Aburame Ryoma's combat experience was extensive. He had made numerous decisions in a short time, and now he had cornered his opponent!

Aburame Ryoma felt pleased with himself. He's young, after all. His techniques might be powerful, and he might have plenty of tricks, but his combat experience can't compare to mine.

Yet he had no idea that Yecheng was still nowhere near exhausting his many ways to respond!

The many Rabbit Escape figures vanished from the swamp as Yecheng canceled [Rabbit Escape]'s summoning.

Then, with a shrill cry, an enormous bird with a human-faced owl's appearance and a wingspan exceeding four meters appeared beneath Yecheng's feet, carrying him clear of Wild Water Wave.

It was Yecheng's only flying shikigami-

[Nue]!

At the same time, Max Elephant sprayed out a tremendous volume of water, nearly flooding the mountaintop as huge waves crashed toward Aburame Ryoma!

Aburame Ryoma's expression darkened. He immediately formed hand seals and used another Water Release ninjutsu.

Water Release: Water Formation Wall!

When facing attacks from basic elemental release techniques, one could counter with an advantageous element or neutralize them with the same element. Naturally, Aburame Ryoma understood this well.

The barrier created by Water Formation Wall blocked Max Elephant's waves, successfully protecting Aburame Ryoma.

Yet his expression remained grim.

The reason was simple: his opponent was a flying ninja capable of flight.

And he could not fly!

Fighting from above makes the guy below a sitting duck!

He had very little advantage in this battle!

Still, Aburame Ryoma had also gathered some information about his opponent.

He reasoned that his opponent was not using ordinary summoning beasts and was probably one of the rarer shikigami users!

Moreover, although he had many varieties of shikigami, he could not use more than two types simultaneously!

That made destroying his opponent's flying shikigami the more pressing priority!

And he would soon accomplish that.

Because just moments earlier, Aburame Ryoma had released extremely tiny kikaichū capable of flight!

This flying shikigami probably lacked the rabbit shikigami's earlier trait. Instead, like the toad shikigami summoned first, he could be destroyed by having his chakra devoured.

Once the tiny kikaichū attached themselves to that shikigami and consumed his chakra, they would soon destroy him!

I can win this battle!

Aburame Ryoma lived up to his reputation as Root's elite jonin most skilled in infiltration warfare. In just a few exchanges, he had already deduced so much information.

Unfortunately, however, his opponent was Yecheng.

Yecheng, who possessed both the [Six Eyes] and the [Ten Shadows Technique]!

Crackle!

Under Aburame Ryoma's astonished gaze, the dozen or so flying kikaichū he had pinned his hopes on were all scorched to charcoal by the lightning [Nue] released and fell.

That thing can use Lightning Release Ninjutsu too?!

Flight and Lightning Release Ninjutsu-whether ninja beasts, summoning beasts, or shikigami, he had never even heard of anything like it!

For the first time, Aburame Ryoma felt that he might die in battle here.

Yet his expression grew calm instead.

What came next would be a fight to the death.

Aburame Ryoma summoned another large swarm of kikaichū. Most had been bred in haste, and all possessed the ability to fly.

He released them all at once, filling the sky. Their wings vibrated in unison, producing an irritating, piercing buzz.

Secret Technique: Insect Evil People Tool Technique!

This technique used insects to greatly disrupt an enemy's perception of the user, and it could also serve as a control skill.

The moment it was unleashed, Yecheng felt agitated and distracted, irritation surging within him.

Yecheng instantly realized something was wrong and immediately suppressed his agitation.

He immediately tried to have Nue release lightning again and scorch all these insects to charcoal.

But the next instant, over a dozen shuriken shot through the swarm toward Yecheng, the wind whistling around them.

Nue was a strong flier, but his wings were also his weakness. Once damaged, he could easily crash.

Yecheng had no desire to cosplay Kobe. He immediately threw shuriken of his own to deflect the attack. With the Six Eyes' perception and the Uchiha Clan's Manipulated Shurikenjutsu he had learned, he could do so easily.

However, Aburame Ryoma's real killing move came next!

Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!

A mass of flames shaped like a dragon's head hurtled toward him. There was no time to unleash another ninjutsu, so Yecheng immediately commanded Nue to push himself to the limit and dodge the attack.

What he had not expected, however, was for Aburame Ryoma to detonate the Great Dragon Fire Technique right inside the swarm!

"Not good!"

Yecheng instantly realized something was wrong and ordered Nue to fold his wings around him for protection.

The insects filled the space around Yecheng, beating their wings nonstop. They were not merely disrupting his perception; as Aburame Ryoma unleashed his Fire Release Ninjutsu, they simultaneously released vast quantities of fine dust!

The explosion of the Great Dragon Fire Technique not only set countless Kikaichū alight, but also triggered a dust deflagration!

Since they were not in an enclosed space, this combination ninjutsu was not particularly lethal, but its range was enormous!

Nue was engulfed in the blast, much of his plumage scorched. He immediately lost his balance, tipped sideways, and plunged toward the ground!

Man! What can I say!

Who would have thought he would end up cosplaying Kobe after all?

Feeling somewhat helpless, Yecheng could only dismiss Nue and summon Rabbit Escape again to cushion his fall, lest he actually die in the crash.

That would be far too ridiculous.

Aburame Ryoma would not let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away. He had already fought a major battle with Shisui Uchiha and unleashed several high-output ninjutsu, consuming far too much chakra!

I have to end this quickly!

He drew a kunai from the ninja tool pouch at the small of his back and rushed straight up to Yecheng.

He's a Shikigami User, skilled at mid- to long-range combat through his shikigami's various techniques. He must be lacking in taijutsu!

Now that his footing is unsteady, this is the perfect time for an all-out attack!

Aburame Ryoma's analysis was not wrong. Against another ninja from the Shinobi World, his thinking would have been entirely sound.

After all, age was a factor. Judging by the appearance of Megumi Fushiguro, whom Yecheng had transformed into, he was seventeen at most. How much time could he have spent training?

Having even one combat system he could hold his own with would already have been remarkable!

Unfortunately, Yecheng did not fall into that category.

"You actually want to fight me up close?!"

Yecheng's expression turned grim, as though he was deeply afraid of getting tangled up in a close-range contest of taijutsu.

At the sight, Aburame Ryoma felt even more assured. In the end, I'm the one who won this fight to the death!

Then, in a momentary daze, he saw the world turn upside down, while the lower half of his own body went flying backward?

Yecheng pulled Playful Cloud from the Shadow Space and activated his incomplete Yang Release Chakra Mode to strengthen his entire body. Holding an end section of the three-section staff in each hand, he blocked his opponent's attack with one and swung the other with all his might!

Boom!

Crack!

With Monster Strength empowering Playful Cloud, the end of the staff tore through the air with a piercing shriek. That single blow actually smashed Aburame Ryoma clean in half at the waist!

He died a gruesome death on the spot!