Chapter 390: Chapter 390: Pointless Attacks, Futile Attempts (Bonus)
Chapter 390: Chapter 390: Pointless Attacks, Futile Attempts (Bonus)
Pakura was uncertain about Scorpion's true strength. He was a private person, someone who kept to himself and was completely absorbed in his interest for puppets. It was difficult to even get a glimpse of him on most days.
And Takuya? She hadn't even met him in person until the day she got captured.
Scorpion's reputation in Sunagakure was pretty good, while Takuya's name had already echoed across the entire shinobi world.
But could they really stand up to the Third Kazekage?
That was a big question mark.
In Pakura's eyes, Takuya and Scorpion were clearly biting off more than they could chew, playing with fire, daring to provoke someone of the Kazekage's caliber.
"Scorpion, can I at least know why?" The Third Kazekage asked with a tight smile, his anger evident despite his forced calm.
He wanted to lash out at Scorpion, but he restrained himself, holding back his fury.
Scorpion glanced at the Kazekage briefly before his gaze returned to Takuya. He didn't bother offering any kind of explanation to the Kazekage.
"Simple," Takuya smirked, "Watch over Pakura. Just make sure she doesn't get caught up in the fight. I don't want my future little follower to end up dead here. Leave the rest to me." Although they were supposed to be working together, Takuya wasn't counting on Scorpion to help him kill the Third Kazekage-he planned to do it himself.
Scorpion's role was just to keep Pakura safe and be the one to take the fall after it all.
"Alright," Scorpion replied without much interest. He didn't know where Takuya got his confidence, but since he wasn't being asked to fight, he wouldn't argue.
Controlling two of his puppets, he led the powerless Pakura into the cave, shielding her from the inevitable clash to come.
With her chakra sealed, even a stray shockwave could be fatal for her.
"If that's the case, then just go to hell!" The Third Kazekage roared, rage boiling over as betrayal gnawed at him.
What infuriated him the most was Scorpion's complete disregard for his question, his refusal to even acknowledge him.
Fueled by his fury, the Kazekage made his move.
Countless iron sand particles lifted into the air, transforming into a storm of sharp needles that rained down on Takuya, covering him from every angle.
The dark iron needles blended into the pitch-black night, shrouding the entire area around Takuya, while Scorpion and Pakura watched from a distant treetop.
What a pointless attack.
Transforming iron sand into a mass of needles for an area-wide attack seemed unnecessarily complicated to Takuya.
It wasn't that the power of the attack was lacking, but the shape the transformation into needles-felt redundant.
In Takuya's opinion, both Rasa and Gaara were much more efficient than the Third Kazekage.
Unlike the Kazekage, who enjoyed turning iron sand into peculiar shapes for his attacks, Rasa and Gaara preferred a straightforward, wide-range approach-something much more suited to their sand-manipulating powers.
"Zzzz..."
A brilliant blue light erupted into the darkness. Wielding his Kusanagi blade enveloped in crackling lightning chakra, Takuya didn't bother dodging.
Flashes of lightning destroyed each of the incoming iron needles. Moving swiftly, Takuya closed the gap, slashing towards the Kazekage.
The attack style left much to be desired-wide-ranged attacks held little threat to Takuya. He wasn't Hatake Sakumo, but when not using other abilities or the Sharingan, Takuya's combat style did share similarities with Sakumo.
The main difference lay in the level of agility-Sakumo's speed and flexibility were superior, whereas Takuya had raw power and favored a head-on assault.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Pillar!"
Seeing Takuya charging at him, the Kazekage, with his head lowered, calmly controlled the iron sand around him.
After falling for Takuya's tricks once before, the Kazekage had learned his lesson-whether Takuya activated his Sharingan or not, there was no way he would meet his gaze directly. He couldn't risk being caught in another genjutsu.
A massive iron pillar, over two meters thick, formed in front of the Kazekage, shielding him from Takuya's attack.
"Zzzz..."
Sparks flew as Takuya's Kusanagi blade, charged with the piercing power of lightning chakra, struck the iron pillar, leaving a deep gouge but failing to break through to the Kazekage
behind it.
"You brat, that kind of attack won't work on me. Your agility falls far short of Hatake Sakumo's," the Kazekage sneered.
Unless Takuya could break through his iron sand constructs, there was nothing more he could do-the Kazekage figured he could just wear Takuya down.
"Come on, brat. I know you activated the Mangekyo Sharingan. Show me what the Uchiha's so-called legendary power is made of," the Kazekage taunted.
Word of Takuya's Mangekyo Sharingan and his slaughter of the Kaguya clan had spread across the shinobi world-Kirigakure had ensured that Sunagakure received all the information, free
of charge.
Out of all of Takuya's techniques, the one that truly concerned the Kazekage was hisNôv(el)B\\jnn
Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand!"
Trying to provoke Takuya, the Kazekage altered his approach.
A torrent of iron sand began to swirl around him, resembling a dark sea surging towards Takuya.
The title of "Strongest Kazekage" wasn't given to him for nothing. As Rasa's teacher, he could use the same combat style, though he seldom did-the chakra consumption was too
high.
"Magnet Release: Desert Coffin!"
The dark sea of iron sand surged, swallowing Takuya. The Kazekage raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist, commanding the dark tide to crush Takuya like a giant iron hand.
"What an annoying nickname," Takuya muttered.
The Kazekage kept calling him "brat." Despite Takuya's young age, he wasn't the only one who'd earned that nickname. However, as his power and reputation had grown, almost no one in Konoha referred to him that way anymore.
"Shhhhh..."
A sharp noise pierced the night as brilliant blue light split open the dark tide. Takuya broke free from the iron sand, jumping out of its grasp.
"Envelop him!"
The Kazekage wasn't naive enough to think he could easily defeat Takuya. Raising his hand again, the black waves of iron sand moved to envelop Takuya once more.
"Lightning Release: Piercing Thrust!"
Enveloped in lightning chakra, Takuya's entire body became like a blade, charging at the
Kazekage.
Such explosive speed!
The Kazekage's eyes widened in surprise-he had underestimated Takuya's raw power. Lightning chakra had impressive piercing abilities, but against him, it just wasn't enough. The iron sand surrounding the Kazekage moved quickly, forming a thick wall in front of him. A heavy, impenetrable iron barrier stood between him and Takuya's attack. Takuya's strike was stopped in its tracks by the Kazekage's iron defense. He retreated quickly, distancing himself, his eyes narrowing.
The Kazekage's grin widened. "You can't break through my defense, Takuya. Let's see how long you last against the strongest Kazekage!"
The standoff resumed, each preparing for the next clash. Takuya glanced over towards where Scorpion and Pakura were watching.
"Scorpion, don't interfere no matter what," Takuya ordered without looking back.
"I already said I wouldn't," Scorpion replied from his perch. He kept his eyes on the battle, calculating his next moves. If Takuya truly could pull this off, it would change everything. Pakura watched in stunned silence, her heart pounding. She couldn't comprehend what she was seeing a rogue puppet master and a shinobi from an enemy village working together to take down her Kazekage. She had no idea what to think or do, so she watched, her hands balled
into fists.
The Kazekage scoffed, his focus unwavering. He had no intention of losing. He had faced countless foes, and this boy would be no different-no matter what tricks he had up his
sleeve.
Takuya stood there, his eyes locked onto the Kazekage. His smirk widened as he activated his Sharingan, the crimson eyes spinning and locking onto his target. The next phase of the battle was about to begin, and he would show them just why the Uchiha name inspired fear.
Next Bonus: 1400->1900 power stone
(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 450+ at Patreon com/ Emiko1.