A shrill screech split through the crash of the waves as Shoshi's arms and neck snapped outward, writhing with unnatural flexibility and power—like a boa constrictor striking from every angle at once.
His gray-blue limbs sliced through the air with a piercing whistle, fingertips glowing faintly as they wove together into a deadly net, cutting off every avenue of Roshi's escape.
Roshi's body spun and twisted atop the rolling waves like a top on the verge of collapse. Every shift of the tide carried him just enough to slip past the onslaught, his evasions honed to the very edge of possibility.
Rip—rip—rip!
Claws grazed his forehead, shoulders, ribs—each swipe missing by a hair, the air itself tearing with every strike. The rancid wind they carried stung his skin, and fresh rips split open across his vest. Fibers hissed as they blackened and curled, poisoned at the edges.
Even so, Roshi's form traced a phantom's path across the water, his movements unpredictable and fluid.
But Shoshi only grew more frenzied. His limbs lashed like wild whips, battering the sea and sending curtains of spray into the sky. A guttural roar bubbled in his throat—feral and delighted, as though savoring the kill before the blood was spilled.
"Water Release: Water Thousand Needles!"
The spray and droplets suspended in the air crystallized into gleaming senbon, hundreds upon hundreds.
Shoshi barked out a manic laugh. "Pointless! Absolutely pointless, boy!"
But Roshi's eyes didn't flicker. His hands sealed again, his voice calm and cutting through the storm:
"Wind Release: Raging Current!"
Two techniques fused as his chakra surged.
Compound Ninjutsu—Stormy Rain Thousand Needles!
Water as bone. Wind as blade.
He inhaled deep, his chest swelling like a bellows—then exhaled with ferocious force.
Whooosh—!!!
A hurricane tore free, so dense it seemed almost solid. Countless needles, hair-thin yet honed to killing points, spun with savage speed within its gale. Propelled by the storm, they became a torrent of destruction, blue and white rain that howled toward Shoshi like the wheel of a Shinigami.
The maelstrom swallowed him whole. Every limb, every grotesque extension of his body vanished into the shredding storm of needles.
Shoshi's wild grin faltered. His instincts screamed warning.
With a sharp cry, he wrenched his limbs back like serpents recoiling to the nest, curling inward. Arms crossed over his head, legs bent low, his entire frame hunched to shield the chestplate beneath. A dense glow of gray-blue chakra flared across his exposed skin, hardening it against the storm.
Puff-puff-puff!
The sound was relentless, like monsoon rain battering giant leaves. Needles slammed into his arms, shredding gray-blue skin into pale gouges before breaking apart in sprays of mist. His defense held, but only barely—viscous black liquid oozed from new scratches, revealing sinewy purple-blue muscle beneath.
And still the storm raged.
No matter how tightly he curled, there were gaps. The torrent sought them out, slipping through, burrowing in. Needles hissed into the chestplate with metallic fury—
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Each strike sparked violently across the dark armor, scattering light like fireworks over midnight steel. The relentless barrage sent high-frequency tremors shuddering through the plates, drilling vibration deep into Shoshi's body.
His frame convulsed beneath the storm, battered as though an invisible giant pounded him with hammer-blows. The armor rang with shrieking protest. Pockmarks cratered its surface. Edges bent and warped under the unceasing rain.
Then—
Crack!
A fingernail-sized plate, worn down by dozens of consecutive impacts, split apart with a screech of metal. The fragment tore free, tumbling into the foaming sea below.
The moment the broken plate clattered into the sea, Shoshi froze mid-defense.
Through the gap in his crossed arms, his cold green eyes locked on Roshi—and constricted with raw, instinctive fear. It wasn't strategy. It wasn't pride. It was something deeper, primal, a terror that cut through his nerves like lightning.
His hand shot to his chest, clutching the exposed gap in his armor with frantic speed. The movement was so desperate, so undignified, it reeked of panic.
'So that's it.'
A sharp glint lit Roshi's eyes. This strange ninja's sleeveless body was hardened everywhere by his cursed flesh… except where he guarded with armor. The chestplate wasn't decoration—it was protection. A weakness.
"You dare…!" Shoshi's roar shook with fury and shame, his voice fraying into something inhuman.
He tore his arms from his guard, his mask twisting in rage. His pupils narrowed into bestial slits, the sickly gray-blue sheen of his skin intensifying. Black fluid bubbled from the wounds on his arms and neck, boiling over the surface, sealing the flesh while spreading a putrid, sweet stench.
He had abandoned all defense.
His arms elongated violently, whipping forward like colossal, barbed hammers. They tore through the air, aiming to crush Roshi head-on. His assault was pure frenzy, an exchange of wounds—death for death.
But behind that violence, his heart churned worse than the waves.
The water needles were still pouring down in endless torrents, wind-fed and merciless. Such a technique should drain oceans of chakra. Yet the Konoha ninja before him showed no sign of strain—calm, controlled, inexhaustible.
If this drags on… I'll be crushed before he even bleeds.
For the first time, a serpent of doubt coiled in his chest. Beneath his rage, retreat hissed its tempting whisper. And in that instant of hesitation, the slightest pause betrayed him.
Roshi moved.
One step forward. One breath. One seal.
"Water Release: Reverse Vortex Coffin."
The sea roared in answer.
Tens of meters ahead, the water convulsed as though cupped by an invisible giant hand. Four towering whirlpools erupted upward, thick water walls spinning with thunderous force. Each wall churned like a grinding millstone, encircling Shoshi in an instant.
His claws slammed against them.
Thump! Thump!
Spray burst outward, the walls trembling under the blow—but they held. Worse, the spinning current recoiled his strength back into his own body, driving him stumbling. Pain lanced through his arms, making his blood boil.
Shoshi's eyes widened. The rotating prison sealed every path, the sucking current dragging even his massive frame toward its walls. Every strike he threw was swallowed, redirected, and hurled back at him with multiplied force.
Outside, Roshi stood like stone against the gale, one hand outstretched, fingers spread, holding the cage steady with effortless control. His hair lifted in the sea wind, his gaze fixed, cold and merciless—like a judge passing sentence.
Inside, Shoshi was reduced to a grotesque insect caught in amber. Dim light filtered through the spinning walls, broken into flickers. The deafening roar of churning water filled his ears, smothering thought. His elongated limbs lashed and lashed again, but every blow was neutralized, his body buckling under the recoil.
Black ichor poured from the gashes in his skin, struggling to seal his wounds. But the high-speed currents ripped the healing away, shredding it faster than it could mend. His chestplate, battered and cracked, gleamed under the dim light. And through that small, fatal gap—
Shhhhkt!
A single jet of water pierced through.
It slipped past the flailing limbs, through the armor's wound, and drove clean through his body.
Blood gushed.
Shoshi's struggles faltered. His limbs sagged, then collapsed, his monstrous form dragged down by the torrent.
The ninja, who moments ago raged like a beast, fell silent at last.
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