'Beastify both legs, overlay wind element manipulation. Push my speed to the limit, '
Sora roared in his heart, pushing the power he could control at this moment to its peak.
Boom.
His figure seemed to truly turn into a flash of azure lightning. His speed actually surged yet another notch on top of having opened the Gate of Pain.
Only a faint afterimage and a circle of stirred-up dust remained where he stood. His true self had already instantly broken through the defenses Dandelion had hastily set up, appearing right in front of him.
"What."
The always expressionless Dandelion finally showed a look of horror for the first time. This speed completely exceeded his expectations and understanding.
Even the tanuki-masked ninja observing from the rear suddenly straightened his body, a flicker of shock and doubt bursting in his eyes.
Squelch.
The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out.
Sora's five fingers were curled and spread. His right hand had already transformed into a dragon claw during the charge. It now ruthlessly stabbed into Dandelion's chest cavity, accurately gripping the still violently beating heart.
A warm, elastic sensation transmitted through the scales of the dragon claw. The thing was frantically pulsating in Sora's palm.
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump.
Sora was just an ordinary office worker in his previous life who hadn't even killed a chicken. In the previous few missions, although he could finish slitting throats cleanly and efficiently, holding a beating heart directly now didn't bring the expected nausea and fear. Instead, there was only a cold, almost numb calmness.
'Is this the rule of this world, ' a thought flashed through Sora's mind. 'Either kill, or be killed. The orphanage experience was the prelude, but here... is the real beginning.'
As if some latent instinct was activated, or perhaps the aura of this cruel ninja world had long since subtly reshaped Sora.
He could even calmly feel the pulsation in his palm growing weaker.
This all happened too fast. From Sora's burst to the close-quarters assassination, it was almost completed in the blink of an eye.
By the time Leopard and Wildcat masks reacted, roaring as they charged forward, Sora's eyes turned cold. The dragon claw clenched with force.
Pop.
A muffled sound. The heart, still beating futilely, completely exploded in his palm.
Sora violently pulled out his right hand, which had reverted from its draconic form. It was covered in warm blood and fragments, with a sticky sensation.
Without even looking at the corpse that instantly lost all vitality and slumped down, Sora decisively retreated, putting distance between himself and the remaining three again.
Dandelion looked down in disbelief at the bloody hole in his chest, then looked up at the cold-eyed Sora not far away. His mouth opened, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately he just fell down powerlessly. His body twitched twice, then fell completely silent.
Only the wailing of the wind through the valley remained, along with the heavy, angry breathing of Leopard and Wildcat.
Tanuki slowly walked forward, stepping over Dandelion's corpse. Those eyes peering through the mask holes fixed on Sora like a poisonous snake. Chilling killing intent spread without concealment.
Their "Lord Danzo" had issued a capture alive order. As for why capture alive, the reason was all too obvious.
Sora could open the Fourth Gate of the Eight Gates at age seven. At this rate, opening the Seventh Gate probably wouldn't take much longer. Once Sora could open seven gates, his assistance to Danzo would be incalculable.
Danzo even entertained the thought of having Sora open the Eighth Gate to take out Sarutobi Hiruzen, so he himself could ascend to the Hokage seat.
But the current Sora was vastly different from the intelligence report of high chunin level, bursting to special jonin level.
However, Root ninja were imprinted from birth with absolute obedience.
Danzo had not considered the scenario of a jonin being instantly killed by Sora. So for their squad, from beginning to end, there was only the "capture alive" path. Even if it cost two more lives, they absolutely could not disobey the order.
Sora breathed slightly heavily, feeling the slightly agitated power within his body from the instant burst. His gaze beneath the Green Snake mask was equally cold.
'First one...'
The air in the valley seemed to solidify.
Dandelion's corpse lay on the ground, blood flowing everywhere.
The remaining three Root ninja surrounded Sora in a triangular formation. Killing intent spread like a tangible substance.
'One jonin, dealt with just like that, ' Sora himself was somewhat surprised. 'The speed boosted by the Azure Dragon Fruit is actually this fast, '
But he quickly calmed down. That previous strike was a surprise attack, exploiting the enemy's underestimation.
Moreover, even a jonin cannot change the iron rule of the ninja world, "high attack, low defense." A slight misstep leads to being hit.
The remaining three would definitely not give him another chance like that.
Sure enough, Leopard and Wildcat exchanged a glance and launched their attacks simultaneously.
"Earth Release, Earth Style Wall."
Wildcat slammed his hands on the ground. An earth wall abruptly rose behind Sora, blocking his retreat.
Almost simultaneously, Leopard's figure appeared like a ghost to Sora's left. Twin blades carrying a sharp whistling sound slashed towards his legs.
"Wind Release, Vacuum Blade."
The blades were covered with sharp wind attribute chakra. Extremely fast.
And Tanuki, who had been standing still, finally moved. His hands rapidly formed seals, then slammed them on the ground.
"Earth Release, Earth Dragon Bullet."
The ground churned. A dragon head composed of earth and rock suddenly drilled out, opening its maw. A string of hard mud bullets shot towards Sora like machine gun fire.
'Three-pronged attack, ' Sora's heart tightened. 'Root's methods are indeed ruthless.'
Facing the dense assault, Sora's body erupted with green energy steam. His legs exerted force violently, and his entire person shot skyward like a cannonball, narrowly avoiding Leopard's slash and the dense Earth Dragon Bullets.
Bang.
The ground where Sora originally stood was pitted by the Earth Dragon Bullets and the heavy punch Wildcat subsequently swung. Debris flew.
'Their power is immense. Absolutely cannot take it head on, ' Sora adjusted his posture mid-air, his gaze quickly sweeping over the three below. 'Must eliminate one first.'
His sight finally locked onto Leopard.
'This guy is the fastest, the biggest threat. If he tangles me up, the other two can attack opportunistically. I'll be in danger.'
More importantly, when Sora burst his speed to instantly kill Dandelion, Leopard was the first to react and give chase.
That kind of reaction speed and agility, if he lives to report back, my concealment of the fruit's abilities is ruined.
'Must prioritize eliminating him. Even if it costs something.'
Decision made, Sora forcibly twisted his body mid-air. Wind elements swirled around his legs as he plummeted towards Leopard like a meteor.
"Here he comes." Leopard seemed to have anticipated it. His twin blades crossed, wind attribute chakra fluctuating violently.
"Wind Release, Vacuum Great Sphere."
A highly compressed sphere of wind shot from where his blades crossed, whistling shrilly as it flew at Sora.
At the same time, Wildcat also roared as he charged over. His huge fist, glowing with yellowish-brown chakra, slammed towards Sora's landing point.
"Earth Release, Rock Fist Technique."
The earth dragon controlled by Tanuki also raised its head again, unleashing another wave of mud bullets.
Facing the three-pronged combined assault, Sora's eyes hardened ruthlessly. He did not dodge or evade. His right hand transformed into a dragon claw again, grabbing towards the wind sphere.
Simultaneously, he concentrated his will. The skin on his chest instantly covered with a layer of tough azure dragon scales, prepared to withstand any mud bullets that got through.
"Fool. Actually taking my Vacuum Great Sphere head on." A cruel smile appeared beneath Leopard's mask. His Wind Release could easily cut through rock, let alone flesh and blood.
But the next moment, his smile froze on his face.
Rip.
The dragon claw and wind sphere collided, emitting a grating, tearing sound.
The wind sphere was actually torn apart by the dragon claw. The scattered air currents cut countless marks into the surrounding ground.
Fine, dense wounds also appeared on Sora's dragon claw, blood continuously seeping out. But he had ultimately blocked this attack.
A few mud bullets that got through struck his draconified chest, emitting dull thudding sounds, but were steadily blocked by the dragon scales, not causing substantial damage.
"What. His defense." Leopard's pupils contracted sharply, clearly finding it hard to believe.
Not only did he tear apart my Wind Release barehanded, but he easily blocked Earth Dragon Bullets too.
And in that instant of his stunned disbelief, Sora, leveraging the impact force of the wind sphere's explosion, saw his speed surge yet again. He instantly closed in, appearing right in front of him.
"Watch out." Wildcat's roar came from the side, but his Rock Fist was ultimately a step too slow.
Squelch.
The sound of a sharp claw piercing flesh rang out again.
Sora's dragon claw accurately pierced Leopard's throat.
"Urk..." Leopard's body stiffened abruptly. His twin blades clattered to the ground. He feebly grabbed Sora's arm, his eyes filled with shock and unwillingness, before finally slumping down powerlessly.
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