Chương 142

The valley gradually fell silent. The frantic clash of steel had long since faded, replaced only by the groans of wounded shinobi and the occasional crackle of broken trees settling beneath the weight of unconscious bodies. Craters scarred the once peaceful valley, shattered weapons littered the ground, and nearly every Kumogakure shinobi who had participated in the encirclement now lay defeated. Some struggled to rise, others had already lost consciousness entirely, but every single one of them still breathed.

Rei stood alone at the center. His breathing remained steady despite the battle that had lasted far longer than he had anticipated. Sweat trickled beneath the black mask covering the lower half of his face. The minor bruises that had occurred in the fight were now slowly being healed, thanks to both his Thor's physique and Senjutsu. He had deliberately restrained himself from using his greatest abilities, relying instead upon his physique, taijutsu, and measured applications of senjutsu. It had been enough.

"... Looks like it's over." The words had barely escaped his lips when his sensory ability expanded instinctively. Five... Seven... Nine... A fresh group of chakra signatures entered his range.

"Oh! C'mon. Do you want another Raikage dying in the battlefield episode?" Unlike the previous forces, these shinobi moved with frightening discipline. Their formation never broke despite the uneven mountain terrain, every step synchronized as though they had fought together for years. More importantly, every single chakra signature surpassed those of the jonin he had already defeated. One, however... One stood distinctly above the rest. The remaining conscious Kumogakure shinobi immediately noticed them.

Relief flooded their exhausted expressions.

"They're here..."

"The elite response unit..."

"Captain Darui..." The forest ahead rustled softly before a group of nine shinobi emerged into the ruined valley. Leading them was a young man with short white hair and dark skin, a massive cleaver-like sword resting casually across his shoulder. His expression appeared almost lazy, yet his sharp blue eyes immediately swept across the battlefield, calmly taking in every unconscious shinobi, every crater, every broken weapon. His gaze finally settled upon Rei.

"... Quite a mess," he muttered. He crouched beside one unconscious jonin, briefly checking the man's pulse before standing once more.

"No fatalities..." His eyes narrowed slightly.

"So you held back." Rei remained silent. Darui rested his hand upon the hilt of his sword.

"Who are you?" Darui asked, and Rei didn't reply back because it was useless, since it would be a lie regardless. Seeing the silence, Darui continued.

"I don't know who you are, but you've already crossed the line. I'll be taking those reports now." This made Rei under the mask eye brows raise. But he still didn't say a word. Without another word, Darui vanished. The distance separating them disappeared almost instantly. Steel collided against steel as Rei barely managed to draw his sword in time. The impact alone sent a shockwave across the valley floor, forcing both men several meters apart. This guy was fast. Faster than all other people he had ever faced.

Raikage really was making him the next one in line. Ranton: Reizaa Saakasu (Laser Circus) Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. A spear-like current of lightning erupted from his outstretched hand before branching into multiple arcs that raced across the damp ground toward Rei. Rei sidestepped the first stream before leaping over the second, only to discover the third changing direction in mid-course.

"...!" The lightning struck his shoulder. Electricity exploded across his body. Pain unlike anything he had experienced surged through every nerve. His muscles spasmed violently and his right arm refused to respond. For a brief instant, even his heartbeat felt disrupted.

"So..." Rei gritted his teeth as the current finally dissipated.

"... Thor's body really isn't immune." This guy needed to speed run to the events of Ragnarok or he would do for him by himself. Rei felt the hurt badly, but he didn't have time to linger over this as he could feel it that Darui was coming for him. His sword flashed downward, coated in brilliant blue lightning. Rei twisted aside at the last possible moment, but the electrified blade grazed his ribs. Another burst of current surged through him. His legs momentarily lost strength.

Darui followed with a spinning kick that sent Rei crashing through a massive boulder before the elite squad immediately surrounded the opening.

"He took two direct Lightning Release attacks... Nobody should still be standing..." Dust slowly drifted away. Rei stepped forward. The front of his clothing had been scorched black, thin trails of smoke rising from his shoulder and side. His breathing had grown noticeably heavier, but his eyes remained calm behind the mask.

"So this..." He rolled his aching shoulder once.

"... is what Kumogakure's most elite can do." Natural energy flowed deeper into his muscles. Not enough to reveal his full transformation, but enough for anyone to notice that something was wrong. Darui too noticed but he attacked again. This time Rei didn't meet strength with strength. The instant Darui committed to another lightning-coated slash, Rei shifted half a step inside the sword's reach instead of away from it. His left forearm redirected Darui's wrist and his shoulder crashed into Darui's chest.

The impact broke the young commander's balance. A senjutsu-enhanced knee buried itself into Darui's abdomen. The air exploded from Darui's lungs. Before he could recover, Rei rotated with the momentum and drove a crushing palm into his sternum. Darui was launched backward, skidding across the valley before smashing through two trees and finally crashing into a rocky cliff. The remaining elite shinobi immediately moved to protect their commander.

Darui slowly forced himself back onto one knee, coughing before raising a hand to stop them from charging.

"... Don't." He looked toward the masked shinobi standing alone in the ruined valley. His breathing was ragged.

"... You're... strong." Rei didn't answer. His own body throbbed from the lingering effects of the lightning coursing through his nerves. The fight had taught him a valuable lesson. Lightning didn't simply wound flesh, it invaded the nervous system itself, forcing muscles to seize and disrupting the body's natural rhythm. Even with senjutsu accelerating his recovery, the lingering numbness in his shoulder and ribs reminded him that there were still powers capable of bypassing brute durability.

Darui slowly rose from the shattered cliffside, one hand pressed against his chest. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and the lazy expression that had greeted the battlefield earlier had vanished completely. His blue eyes remained locked on the masked intruder as lightning crackled around his body once more.

"... You almost had me," Darui admitted, wiping away the blood with the back of his hand.

"Guess I can't afford to hold back anymore." Blue lightning exploded around his sword before surging across the ground in jagged arcs. Rei answered by lowering his center of gravity instead of retreating. The instant Darui vanished, the valley erupted into another storm of steel. Their blades collided repeatedly, each impact scattering sparks across the ruined battlefield.

Darui's Lightning Release granted every strike explosive speed, while Rei relied upon flawless timing and senjutsu-enhanced reflexes to intercept attacks that would have overwhelmed any ordinary jonin. Even so, another slash slipped past his defense, carving a shallow wound across his forearm before electricity once again invaded his body. Rei was regretting not using Sharingan in this battle as it wouldn't have been this problematic.

But he knew once he showed Sharingan, the words might reach the ears of Danzo, and then the real problem would start. He needed to finish Danzo soon or else events like these would happen and throw him into a disadvantage. Ignoring the burning pain, Rei stepped into Darui's range instead of creating distance. He deliberately accepted a glancing strike to his shoulder to rob the sword of its momentum before trapping Darui's weapon arm beneath his own. The sudden decision caught Darui off guard for the first time.

Rei twisted sharply, wrenching the sword free before driving his forehead into Darui's face. The impact staggered the Cloud shinobi, and a crushing elbow immediately followed, folding his guard. Before Darui could recover, Rei's senjutsu-enhanced palm struck squarely against his sternum. As it this wasn't enough... Doton: Doryūdan [Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet] A dragon's head suddenly emerged from the ground and then it launched a barrage of strong and big mud bullets at Darui with enhcncaed speed.

Darui didn't even had chance to stop the attack and skipped across the valley floor until he finally crashed through a massive boulder. The elite squad instinctively rushed toward their commander, but Darui raised a trembling hand before anyone could intervene. He struggled to one knee, breathing heavily as blood stained the front of his uniform along with mud spots, yet his eyes never left the masked shinobi.

"You are the strongest shinobi I have ever face apart from Bee and Raikage. You can't be nameless. So who are you? Which village do you belong to?" Darui asked. Rei wanted to finish this farce faster but thought about it and replied.

"Honestly speaking I don't even care about the reports."