Shing!
Umegawa Jōsuke swung his blade up to meet the strike—but the instant steel met steel, his face twitched. A thin line of blood traced his cheek.
"Lion Barrage!"
Natsume Yō, barely half his opponent's height, snapped his right arm with explosive force, launching himself upward. His leg whipped around like a hammer toward Jōsuke's skull.
Boom!
Jōsuke never imagined the kid's power would hit like this. He barely got his left arm up to shield his head before Yō's kick sent him flying.
"Wind Release — Wind Cutter!"
No pause, no mercy. Yō's blade hissed out a crescent of compressed air, ripping the atmosphere as it screamed toward Jōsuke. The bearded man's hairs stood on end; his pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Instinct overrode thought. Jōsuke threw his long sword up to block.
Shing!
Too late. The wind blade smashed through his weapon like rotten wood, blasting him back as blood spattered his lips. He slammed into a tree trunk with a wet crack.
"B-rank rogue ninja, and that's all you've got?" Yō frowned slightly. "Did Anbu overrate you?"
"You little brat… you've pissed me off!"
The words came with a surge of power. Jōsuke staggered up, aura flaring like a bonfire, blasting past chūnin-level strength in an instant. Yō's eyes narrowed.
So that's why this was classified as a B-rank assignment.
No more time for thinking. The man lunged like a cannonball, speed and killing intent crushing the space between them.
Shing!
Twin fists hammered down on Yō's short blade. The impact rang through his arms; he grunted, forced two steps back.
"You dare wound me? Die!"
Jōsuke's right arm rose, air trembling with the pressure before he swung for Yō's head.
Bam!
The oppressive force smothered Yō's jutsu. Even a basic Substitution wouldn't form. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he was hurled away.
"Ugh—!"
He hit the ground hard, tried to push himself up—another wave of copper flooded his throat.
"Die!"
Jōsuke wasn't about to waste the chance.
Boom!
Yō dodged by a hair's breadth, but before he could even draw breath, a fist the size of a bowl filled his vision. Too fast to escape.
Crack!
Pain like a sledgehammer crushed his chest. He heard something inside him break, blood gushing past his lips. Jōsuke's hand clamped his throat, lifting him off the ground like a chick caught by the neck.
"Damn… can't… breathe…!"
Pressure built in Yō's skull. His vision blurred; veins bulged in his eyes, spreading like crimson lightning across the whites.
"Die, kid!"
Jōsuke's face twisted into a snarl, fingers tightening.
If Natsume Yō didn't pull some hidden trick now, his story would end here—in the hands of a drunken, furious rogue ninja.