"Boom!"
The explosive tag detonated, sending a blast of sand into the air. Saitama's silhouette vanished in the cloud of dust.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful gust dispersed the sandstorm instantly.
"Where is he?"
Sagaki scanned the area after casting the jutsu. Saitama had disappeared into the swirling sand.
Without losing composure, Sagaki remained alert. He knew the explosion wouldn't be enough to kill someone like Saitama. The boy had to be hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
He retrieved several kunai from his pouch and gripped them tightly. His gaze swept the surroundings.
The sand beneath his feet shifted.
"Sand?" he muttered. The terrain was moving. The sand wall behind him had been subtly disturbed.
With a smirk, Sagaki crouched low. Chakra surged to his feet, launching him backward in a high-speed Body Flicker to another patch of sand.
"Whoosh!"
A sharp sound from above made his scalp tingle. Saitama had leapt atop the collapsing sand wall, descending rapidly with a blade infused with Lightning Release!
The attack was too fast to dodge mid-air.
Sagaki raised his kunai in a desperate block—
Clang!
—but the blade sliced through it like paper, its lightning chakra overpowering the defense.
"What?!"
Sagaki's eyes widened in disbelief as the crackling blade continued its arc. He twisted mid-air, sacrificing his left shoulder to avoid a fatal blow.
Shnk!
The sword dug into his shoulder. Blood sprayed.
Saitama narrowed his eyes and prepared a second strike—
—but the sand wall above collapsed. Sagaki had replaced himself with a sand clone!
"What the—?!"
Saitama sensed danger—
Thud!
A figure erupted from below, stabbing upward with a kunai—
Thunk!
The blade pierced Saitama's chest—only for the body to vanish in a puff of white smoke.
"A shadow clone?!"
Sagaki's body stiffened in alarm.
Zzt!
The sand beneath him crackled with lightning. Saitama erupted upward, cloaked in an arc of electricity.
Slash!
A devastating blow tore across Sagaki's abdomen. Blood splattered across the dunes.
Clang!
Sagaki, a seasoned jōnin, managed to counter with a defensive kunai, barely avoiding a fatal follow-up strike.
But Saitama pressed the advantage. His Sharingan spun, tracking every twitch of his enemy's movements. Chakra surged within him, his entire body vibrating with the force of Lightning Release.
Sagaki staggered, overwhelmed.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Saitama formed the seals quickly. Chakra gathered in his throat—
Whoosh!
A massive fireball exploded toward the battlefield, scorching the sand black.
As the smoke cleared, another Sand jōnin appeared beside the injured Sagaki.
Saitama frowned. "Reinforcements?"
Moonlight Masano landed beside him, blade drawn.
"Sorry, Saitama. I couldn't stop him. We were evenly matched."
Saitama remained silent. His Sharingan had already seen through Sagaki's trap earlier—the sand clone substitution during the explosion, the hand sign hidden behind his smirk.
He had countered it with his own clone, hiding underground while the clone drew attention.
Now, with all enemies visible, Saitama prepared to strike again.
Clang!
A kunai blocked his sword—this time from the second Sand jōnin: Matthew.
Saitama increased the lightning output through the blade. Sparks leapt toward Matthew's arm, but the man didn't flinch.
Crackle!
Smoke curled from his armor, but Matthew responded with a sudden kick.
Boom!
Saitama grunted, forced back by the impact.
Masano stepped in defensively. "Careful. That one's a defensive type. High durability, strong counterattacks. But he's slower."
"Got it." Saitama readied his blade, analyzing Matthew's strange gauntlets—black and yellow plating hardened like rock. Earth Release armor.
"Prepare yourself. I'll deal with the Earth-type. Take down Sagaki," Masano instructed.
"I'll try." Saitama's tone was calm but focused.
They charged. Mid-sprint, they switched directions to throw off enemy perception.
Matthew scoffed. "Melee fighters again? Tch. Pointless."
Saitama lunged, blade crackling.
Sagaki had seen this before. He evaded instead of blocking, keeping Saitama's blade at bay. But Saitama adapted—at waist level, he pivoted, slashing again with precision.
Shnk!
A shallow cut opened on Sagaki's side. He gritted his teeth.
Masano clashed with Matthew in a fierce duel nearby. Their blades sparked against each other in rapid succession.
Sagaki hissed, "I won't fall here! You brats underestimate me!"
"You're just filler," Saitama mocked coldly, never pausing his assault.
Truthfully, Sagaki's promotion to jōnin had likely come during the war due to a shortage of high-level shinobi. His skills weren't truly elite.
Saitama couldn't afford a prolonged fight. Reinforcements could be on their way. Time to finish it.
He sheathed his sword.
"Huh?"
Sagaki blinked in confusion, only to see Saitama forming hand seals.
"No…!"
"Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion – False Surroundings Technique!"
Sagaki's body froze mid-charge.
"What… what is this?"
His limbs stiffened. The chakra in his body scattered. His vision blurred.
Saitama's Sharingan glinted ominously.
"It's over."
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