"Remember the name of the man who killed you: Iwagakure Jonin, Iwaku Suma."
Musashi didn't speak. Watching the enemy draw closer, he mobilized the chakra within him and chanted silently in his mind.
Third Gate: Gate of Life, OPEN!
Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain, OPEN!
Fifth Gate... Gate of Limit... OPEN!
Powerful chakra roared through his veins like a raging river.
Musashi's skin turned crimson, and visible chakra began to manifest around his body.
The Iwa Jonin's calm expression vanished.
Even an idiot would know there was something strange about this kid!
The powerful chakra fluctuations were enough to make even a Jonin take him seriously.
Can't wait any longer!
Just as the thought flashed through Iwaku Suma's mind...
Musashi let out a sudden roar.
"RAAAHH!!~"
The surge of air pressure actually forced the Jonin to take a step back, caught off guard.
Musashi's body glowed red. The next moment, the chakra leaking from his pores transformed into arcs of electricity, crackling around him.
"Konoha Taijutsu Specialist—Musashi Ryomiya, entering the fray!"
Iwaku Suma's eyes went wide. "This astonishing chakra! And Lightning Style too?"
He didn't wait any longer. His hands flew through seals to unleash a jutsu.
Whiz!
The boy vanished from sight. In the next instant, he was already in front of Suma's face.
So fast!!
WHAM!
Suma only had time to raise his arms to block before he was sent flying backward!
Sharp pain shot through his arms, making him suspect his bones might have cracked. His expression changed drastically, but a sound from behind made the hair on his neck stand up.
Bam!
The scenery before his eyes shifted constantly. Underestimating his opponent had cost him the initiative; his body was being knocked around like a pinball, changing position constantly.
By the time his vision cleared, he had been launched high into the air.
Too fast... I can't even dodge.
Realizing the danger, he endured the pain and formed seals, pouring out chakra recklessly. Poof-poof-poof! Dozens of clones appeared in mid-air.
With dozens of Shadow Clones, it should take you some time to destroy them one by one.
No need.
Musashi flashed through the air. Whichever body was closest to the ground, he appeared in front of it.
Bam-bam-bam~
In just a few breaths, all the clones were destroyed.
The next moment, the green figure appeared in front of the real Iwaku Suma.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
A massive wall of water formed a thick barrier, separating the two.
But before Suma could even sigh in relief...
With a deafening roar and a spray of water, the green figure smashed through the water wall, charging at him with ferocious momentum.
In a panic, Suma could only gather Earth Chakra on his body surface and, with an explosive sound, plummet toward the ground!
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
Suma crashed into the ground, creating a large crater.
But the jutsu succeeded.
Four irregular earth walls rose instantly, encasing Suma in a protective box.
I didn't expect... I didn't expect a brat to be this terrifying!
In just a short time, the chakra he's consumed far exceeds that of his team leader.
Damn it. My chakra is running low, and my body is heavily injured.
One breath! If I can just block him for the time of one breath, I have a chance.
As the Mud Wall closed over him, he struggled to form seals, intending to use Earth Style to escape underground. As long as he broke free from this relentless assault, he could find an opportunity to counterattack.
"Cough, cough~ An offense like this can't last forever. Just give me time, let me find an openi—"
BOOM!!!~
The solid Mud Wall shattered instantly!
Flying debris smashed nearby trees into splinters.
Suma's mind went blank for a second.
Impossible!! Breaking the Water Formation Wall was already unbelievable, but a Jonin-level Mud Wall... shattered by a fist?!
Yes.
Musashi's eyes had rolled back, showing only the whites—a sign of chakra overload.
The hand that shattered the wall was trembling slightly. Pain radiated from his bones, but with the brain's limiters removed, the pain wasn't debilitating. Careful perception told him he could still hold on.
Patches of skin were burned—damage caused by the stimulation of his immature Lightning Chakra.
His Lightning Style research was still in Phase One: effective stimulation to boost physical stats.
But damage was unavoidable, especially in all-out combat.
Yet, his feeling remained the same.
I can hold on!
But I need to end this fast!
The faster I end the fight, the less damage my body takes.
After shattering the wall, Musashi switched to his other hand. Arcs of lightning flashed as he smashed his fist into Iwaku Suma's face!
BOOM!!
The ground cracked extensively. Amidst the billowing dust, a massive crater appeared beneath them.
But Iwaku Suma was gone. In his place lay a shattered scroll.
Musashi focused his senses.
Body Replacement Jutsu? No... more like a passive triggered seal.
Activated the moment he took a hit... Earth Style escape?
Hmm, the depth shouldn't be too great. Probably no more than ten meters.
Musashi made a silent judgment.
A passive jutsu triggered by lethal damage, sending the user underground to escape or regroup.
When activated, the user goes underground. Maybe five or six meters deep now?
The thought flashed by in an instant.
The next moment, he jumped straight up.
As he fell, lightning crackled around his legs, and he stomped onto the ground with titanic force!
RUMBLE!
The massive boom echoed far into the distance, scaring away birds and beasts.
When the dust cleared, the original landscape where Musashi stood was unrecognizable. An even larger, terrifying crater had replaced it.
Panting, Musashi pressed his hands to the ground.
Earth Chakra penetrated deep, sensing.
A moment later, he detected a faint, almost extinguished chakra signature.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall."
An earth wall rose slowly, carrying the lifeless body of Iwaku Suma within it.
The moment he went underground, he had already lost consciousness. Musashi's subsequent stomp sent a shockwave that finished him off completely.
Even in death, he died with regret.
A dignified Iwagakure Jonin, killed by a brat because of a moment of carelessness.
Confirming the enemy was dead, Musashi finally relaxed.
Feeling the little chakra he had left burning away rapidly, he formed hand signs.
"Ninja Art: River Flow Seal!"
Inside his body, patterns emerged. At various meridian points, Yang Chakra gathered into spheres, expanding to block the flow of chakra in the veins.
When the Yang blockage expanded enough, the chakra flow stopped completely.
Then, tiny chains manifested within his meridians, reaching the location of the Fifth Gate and pulling gently.
Click-click-click~
The five gates closed one after another.
This was the result of his four years of practice. Using Yang Release Sealing Jutsu, he first slowed the chakra flow internally, then used a method similar to the Adamantine Sealing Chains to forcibly shut the Eight Gates.
Unlike sealing a Tailed Beast which required massive chakra and power, internal sealing relied on precise control.
Finding the main chakra pathways, perfecting the formula inside the body, and executing it successfully.
After four years, he finally had a practical application.
As the Eight Gates state faded, Musashi collapsed onto the ground.
He immediately checked his body's condition.
The results were okay.
Muscles and skin tissues suffered some damage, but it was within acceptable limits. A period of rest would heal it.
No fractures or broken bones.
With the dust settled, he took a special military ration pill from his pouch to replenish energy. While recovering, he began to get a headache over how to deal with Iwaku Suma's corpse.
Just as he was thinking, the sound of snapping twigs came from behind.
Ignoring the pill still in his mouth, Musashi jumped up instantly and spun around.
In the distance stood Daiki and Izumi, who had either doubled back or never left.
Ebisu was still unconscious.
Daiki's eyes were perfectly round.
Izumi stared at him blankly. Her usually bright and intelligent eyes were now filled with confusion and emptiness.
Musashi facepalmed.
Great. Add another headache to the list!