Raiya and his two subordinates stood at the edge of a massive crater, the aftermath of their own explosion.
The blast had torn a hole tens of meters wide into the earth — smoking, scorched, and utterly lifeless.
But at the very center of that crater…
Three spheres of golden-lit water floated, shimmering faintly in the haze.
"What… are those?" one of the Mist-nin muttered, eyes narrowing.
Raiya didn't answer. His expression darkened. A chill crawled up his spine.
"Stay alert," he ordered quietly. "That brat isn't someone we can take lightly."
His instincts screamed danger.
"Come on, that's impossible," one of the subordinates said, half-laughing to mask his fear.
"That explosion could've killed even a Kage! There's no way he's still alive!"
They weren't exaggerating.
They had wired thousands of explosive tags around the area.
Even a Kage-level shinobi caught in that would be reduced to ash.
Raiya unsheathed his twin Thunder Blades: Kiba, electricity crackling along the edges.
He didn't bother answering them. His gaze stayed locked on those golden spheres.
For a long moment, nothing happened.
The orbs just hovered, motionless — silent.
Finally, Raiya lost patience.
"Let's see you block this."
He raised his swords, chakra surging through his arms.
"Lightning Release — Thunder Strike!"
Crack!
Brilliant blue arcs leapt from his blades, the air sizzling with ozone.
Two thick bolts of lightning tore across the crater and smashed into the golden spheres.
But instead of bursting apart, the water spheres absorbed the lightning completely —
like bottomless pits swallowing light.
Not a spark escaped.
The energy simply vanished.
The Mist-nin stared, stunned.
"Wh-what the hell was that?"
"That's… that's not human. That's a monster!"
"Even Raiya-san's lightning got eaten—how's that possible!?"
Raiya's jaw tightened.
He finally understood.
"So that's your trick, huh, kid?" he growled.
His voice echoed across the empty wasteland.
"Come out. I know you're still alive."
No response.
Just the faint hiss of cooling earth.
The silence pressed down on him like a weight.
He hated it — the feeling of being watched.
He was usually the hunter.
Now, he was the prey.
"Damn brat…" Raiya spat, scanning the tree line. "You survived that? What kind of monster are you?"
His subordinates exchanged uneasy looks.
"Raiya-san, you don't really think he's still alive, do you? That's— that's impossible!"
But their words didn't comfort him.
He could feel it.
The air itself was… wrong.
"If you won't show yourself," he snarled, "I'll drag you out myself."
He slammed both swords together.
"Lightning Release — Thunder Fang!"
The sky exploded in blue.
Hundreds of arcs of lightning coiled and lashed downward, tearing through the forest, the soil, everything.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Thunder roared endlessly as the entire area lit up like a second sun.
The two Mist-nin shouted over the noise, barely able to stand.
"Incredible! This is the power of the Thunder Blades! Hahaha!"
"Even if that brat somehow survived before, there's no way he's alive now!"
The storm raged for nearly a minute before Raiya finally lowered his weapons.
Sparks crackled around him as the air slowly settled.
But even now — no sign of Arata.
Instead, something else caught his attention.
The golden water spheres at the center of the crater were beginning to… crack.
Crkkk—!
The sound was like glass shattering.
Raiya's eyes snapped toward them just as the surface of the first orb peeled away, revealing what was inside.
He froze.
"That… that face…"
It was Sakura.
Perfectly unharmed.
Her body was whole. No burns. No blood. Not even a scratch.
Raiya's mind went blank.
"That's impossible," he whispered.
"She's supposed to be dead. I saw those tags on her — twenty of them!"
"No one could survive that. No one!"
His voice cracked with disbelief.
"This must be genjutsu. It has to be! Some illusion—some trick that brat cast before dying!"
But even as he shouted, his hands trembled.
The logic didn't hold.
The explosions had been real — he could feel the heat still rising from the earth.
He could not accept it.
"No," he muttered. "It's impossible. She was right in the middle of it. He couldn't have pulled the tags off that fast!"
His thoughts spiraled.
Then —
Crack!
The second and third orbs began to break apart, flaking away into steam.
Sakura stumbled forward, dazed and disoriented.
For a moment, she thought she was dreaming.
"Am… am I dead?" she whispered.
Her hands shook. She pinched herself — pain shot up her arm.
"Ow… no, I'm alive."
Tears welled in her eyes.
"I'm really alive…? But how? With all those paper bombs—how?"
Then it hit her.
"Arata!"
Her eyes darted around the ruined clearing.
"Where's Arata? What happened to him!?"
Her voice cracked, the echo fading into the smoky air.
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