Clearly sensing the bonds Katsuto and Yui felt toward him, Kōki was a little moved.
When he had first joined the squad, the other two had simply been teammates. He had only needed to get along with them normally and had not wanted to develop deep bonds like the protagonists in the original story.
But now, he truly felt the trust between teammates.
"Yui, Katsuto, let's try again. I'll be careful this time." This time, Kōki was mentally prepared. He would make Kira pay.
Across from them, Kira wore an arrogant expression, looking certain of victory. He still intended to toy with them as he waited for Kōki and the others to attack.
Ready once more, the three charged at Kira again. Only this time, things were a little different.
Kōki gathered the chakra in his body into his fist and slammed it straight into the ground before him. The tremendous power of the Superhuman Strength Technique shattered the ground, and he controlled the resulting rubble, sending it hurtling toward Kira in an orderly barrage. "Superhuman Strength: Crushed Stone Barrage!"
The flying stones spread into a fan, completely blocking Kira's path forward. On Kōki's left, Katsuto formed hand seals, turning the ground beneath Kira into a swamp that restricted his movements. On his right, Yui used genjutsu to interfere with Kira's senses.
Their seamless teamwork successfully made Kira feel the brats' retaliation. Stones cut his face and struck his body. The intense pain only made him angrier.
"Brats, playtime is over. Now it's time for the adults."
Kira released a sudden burst of chakra beneath his feet, breaking free of the Earth Release restraints. He quickly leaped to an open patch of ground and rapidly formed hand seals. Two pale blades of wind, formed from wind-nature chakra, appeared before him. With a gesture of his hands, the Wind Blades flew toward the three, whistling through the air.
Knowing how dangerous this Wind Release Ninjutsu was, Kōki and the others dared not take it head-on and could only scatter, leaping aside.
Kira, who had been waiting for this, did not let the opportunity slip by. First, he used the Body Flicker Technique to close in on Katsuto. In no hurry to kill him, he merely landed a heavy kick on his body.
The sudden kick sent Katsuto flying backward, a trickle of blood escaping his mouth. After dealing with Katsuto, Kira immediately moved to Yui's side, again simply knocking her down with a punch.
In the blink of an eye, both of Kōki's companions had been severely injured and lay on the ground, unable to fight any longer.
Only now could Kira truly be said to have displayed a jonin's terrifying strength. Just a few simple moves had severely injured Katsuto and Yui, who possessed chunin-level strength.
"Brat, you're the only one left." Kira had long found the brat before him irritating: that youthful face, that composed expression, as though nothing could move him.
Without hesitation, Kira charged at Kōki, who met his attack. The two immediately became locked in close combat. Both moved with tremendous speed, their gazes focused as they searched for openings between each other's attacks and defenses.
However, Kira moved cautiously. He mostly dodged Kōki's attacks, not daring to block them.
He had already recognized traces of Konoha's Princess Tsunade's Superhuman Strength in Kōki's movements during their earlier combined attack. Those in Sunagakure loathed Tsunade and naturally knew her specialties inside out. Kōki's technique therefore did not escape Kira's notice.
Although he was at something of a disadvantage in their taijutsu exchange, he still had other means of attack.
"Brat, if you don't finish me off soon, your two teammates will be dead before long."
"You probably don't know this, but although that punch and kick looked simple, my kick broke four of your male teammate's ribs."
"My punch wasn't that hard either. It only broke one of your female teammate's ribs. But I deliberately controlled the force and direction so that the broken rib pierced her internal organs. I reckon she's bleeding heavily inside by now."
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I actually know quite a bit about the human body. I'm very precise when I strike."
Kira's tone was very gentle, as though what he had done had been perfectly simple.
Yet what he said was utterly cruel. He loved tormenting opponents this way. Of the two Anbu from earlier, the one called Mei had suffered severe injuries and heavy bleeding at his hands.
Although he was the weakest of the four Sand ninja, his methods were the cruelest.
Although Kōki's expression remained calm, his increasingly rapid attacks showed that he was not so composed inside. Kira's words had still affected him.
Kira was an experienced ninja, too, and the changes in Kōki's movements did not escape his eyes. Sensing the anger in those movements, he could not help laughing inwardly.
Brat, faster. Go faster. Let your rage break through your reason.
Still feeling that Kōki was not angry enough, Kira continued to provoke him. "Brat, you don't know this, do you? Among the Anbu you came to meet, the one who was badly wounded and covered in blood was injured by me."
"Oh, and your Konoha Anbu squad originally had four members. What a pity. We killed two of them as they fled to the Land of Fire's border. They could have escaped, but one of them was a burden."
Hearing this, Kōki formed a guess. Kira likewise caught the change in his expression with precision.
"That's right. Just as you're thinking. It was the Anbu I beat until he was badly wounded and covered in blood."
"I landed a sneak attack on him right at the start, then attacked him several more times while they were fleeing. But I just wouldn't kill him. And every time his teammates tried to save him, we all attacked them together."
"Only after two Anbu died did your people finally catch on. That led to the scene afterward, where he gave up on himself and let the less injured one escape."
"I have to say, your Will of Fire really is touching. But it's precisely those foolish bonds that make you weak and let others so easily exploit your openings."
As Kira spoke, he suddenly stepped back several paces, then spread his hand and snapped it forcefully. Four shuriken flew from between his fingers toward Yui Fujiwara, who lay on the ground. Left with no choice, Kōki could only move in front of her to shield her.
But that was exactly what Kira wanted to see.
He suddenly released a burst of chakra beneath his feet, rapidly closing in on Kōki.
In an instant, he was before Kōki. Before Kōki could react, he slashed the kunai in his hand across his neck. Blood gushed from Kōki's throat.
"Brat, this is Konoha's weakness!" Kira shouted excitedly.
"Sunagakure's weakness is that you talk too much."
"What?"
Kōki's sudden appearance startled Kira. A fist packed with an enormous amount of chakra appeared before him and connected with his soft abdomen.
A tremendous force surged through his body, slamming him straight into the ground. The already uneven ground split into larger cracks, scattering rubble.
Kira could not help coughing up a mouthful of blood, mixed with tiny fragments of internal organs.
Kōki's Superhuman Strength punch had shattered Kira's chest and pulverized his internal organs.
Before he died, Kira saw the Kōki whose throat he had slashed with his kunai turn into a block of wood with a poof.
"So it was the Body Replacement Technique." In the end, Kira closed his eyes, unreconciled.