The sword-bearing Elder's expression darkened as he stared at the mysterious man's smile. He didn't know exactly what this brat was up to, but a creeping sense of dread gnawed at his heart. It was vague, hard to describe, yet enough to make him uneasy.
"Enough of your tricks! Die!" the Elder bellowed, surging forward with his blade.
Hidan, however, looked almost bored. He didn't even bother holding his Bloodstained Crescent Scythe anymore, tossing it aside and closing his eyes as if basking in warm sunlight after the chaos of battle.
"There's something off…" The long-bearded Elder had been observing closely. Although the fight had been fierce, the mysterious man had clearly been at a disadvantage, forced back by the sword-bearing Elder. Yet this supposed "Ryuun" kept unleashing bizarre techniques, slipping out of deadly strikes at the last moment. This time felt no different another strange move was surely coming.
Hearing this, the scarred Elder's face tightened. Memories of earlier exchanges surged back, his irritation rising.
Fighting someone like this was maddening. Even when you knew you were stronger, no matter how many techniques you used, you couldn't land a clean hit. Infuriating didn't even begin to describe it.
"Brat, die! Let's see how you dodge this one!" The sword-bearing Elder's eyes glinted coldly. He already knew how the mysterious man had evaded his enhanced Three Thousand Six Hundred Death God Tornado before. If he kept relying on ranged attacks, that trick might work again. Better to go blade-to-blade, spear-to-spear maybe then he could uncover this man's weakness.
Hidan knew he'd gotten cocky. The Five Elders really were absurdly powerful. Still, backing down wasn't in his nature. Why would he? He was immortal, under the protection of Lord Jashin.
A wet sound split the air.
"Mm…"
The hiss of blade through flesh was unmistakable. Someone had been struck.
"Ah, your sword's so sharp. Hurts so much. I'm dying, I'm dying someone save me…" Hidan clutched the spot where the cursed blade had pierced him, his expression almost theatrical.
Yet it was the Elder who knelt, clutching his chest. If not for his blade holding him up, he might already have collapsed face-first into the dirt.
"This… how is this possible?" The Elder's eyes bulged. Ignoring the blood trickling from his lips, he stared at the mysterious man in disbelief. He hadn't even seen him move.
"What's going on? Why are you on the ground?" The long-bearded Elder's voice trembled.
"Did anyone see him attack just now?" another asked sharply.
Their shock was palpable. Another bizarre ability? How had the sword-bearing Elder been injured when Hidan hadn't lifted a finger?
"Kyahaha!" Hidan's laughter rang out, and he let go of the wound entirely. "Looks like I'm fine. Old man, what happened? Heart attack? Need me to call you a doctor?" His tone dripped with mocking concern.
"You… what did you do?" The Elder forced himself upright, though his face was pale. Somehow, the bleeding had already stopped likely thanks to his own powers but the damage from that unseen strike had been real.
"Oh, why would I tell you? Who do you think you are? Only Lord Jashin knows. Want me to send you to him so you can ask yourself?" Hidan sneered. Did he really think I'd spill my secrets just because he asked?
"Brat, you're too arrogant!" The Elder's jaw clenched. He still believed he'd been ambushed somehow that this boy had used some hidden technique to strike him while he wasn't looking.
"Life's about arrogance. Otherwise you're just a salted fish. And even when a salted fish flips over, it's still a salted fish…" Hidan rambled on, voice full of smugness. His endless chatter was almost worse than his attacks.
"Cursed Blade Thirty-Six Soaring Dragon!"
The Elder blurred with Soru, leaping back to create distance. His cursed blade carved the air with several quick strikes. In an instant, a massive golden dragon coalesced above him, its body seemingly wreathed in roaring flames.
"Soaring Dragon, attack!" the Elder roared, pointing his blade at Hidan.
With a screech, the golden dragon bolted forward like an arrow, leaving only a streak of blazing light in its wake. Everything along its path was annihilated. Even the ground crystallized, glass-like fragments scattering underfoot.
A slash carrying elemental heat so intense it turned earth into glass that meant thousands of degrees at least.
"Wow, old man, your move is gorgeous. You'd make a killing launching fireworks at festivals. Take my advice, no problem."
Hidan stood unmoved as the roaring dragon bore down on him, still teasing his opponent. The Elder almost coughed blood.
Fireworks? I'll show you fireworks.
The dragon opened its mouth wide. Compared to it, Hidan looked like an ant.
"Roar!"
A storm of razor-sharp sword auras spewed from the dragon's maw like rain, tearing craters into the ground as if meteors had struck. When it finished disgorging blade-energy, the dragon itself condensed into a blazing shockwave and barreled straight for Hidan.
A scream tore through the battlefield.
Everyone's eyes snapped to the Elder. His cursed blade clattered to the ground. Clinging to its hilt was an arm fresh, red, and severed.
An arm? On the ground?
In an instant, every gaze swung to the sword-bearing Elder. He was clutching the stump where his arm had been, screaming in agony, the sound enough to chill blood.
"What… what's happening?" the scarred Elder muttered, stunned. All of them were masters of Observation Haki. Not one had sensed the mysterious man move a single muscle.
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