Chapter 225: Chapter 222: Teamwork
After being struck by lightning from the dissipated [Lightning Clone], Ryu found himself facing the real enemy Chunin, who attacked, taking advantage of his vulnerable moment.
"An academy brat wouldn't catch me off guard… You are dead, kid," the enemy Chunin snarled and lunged forward, aiming a [Lightning Release—Lightning Punch] at Ryu's exposed side.
Despite still feeling the effects of the discharge, Ryu reacted promptly. Instead of dodging, he reached out and caught the Chunin's [Lightning Punch] in his hand, showing no signs of being affected by the electrical discharge on the enemy's fist.
"You are not the only one with a high lightning affinity," Ryu said with a smirk on his face.
The Chunin gasped, his eyes wide with shock, not only from the unbroken grip on his lightning-infused fist but also from the sheer, raw strength displayed in Ryu's arm.
"His strength..." the Chunin thought in stunned agony as Ryu tightened his grip.
The Chunin's hand began to tremble under Ryu's hold, the crackling sound of electricity filling the air as Ryu's own lightning chakra surged through his body.
Although this displayed physical strength, it also involved more than just that. The Senju-style taijutsu offered explosive impulsive strength, but with continued practice, it also gradually increased the practitioner's base strength over time.
Right now Ryu's physical strength was nothing to scoff at. A simple hit from Ryu would send someone away flying if Ryu is not careful with his strength.
Ryu forcibly bends the enemy's hand backward, causing the Chunin to cry out in pain as his arm breaks and snaps. Ryu did not release his grip, standing tall with a sense of accomplishment at his easy victory.
Ryu's eyes widened when he realised the extent of his own raw strength. In all his fights until now, Ryu has not been this open to violence like this.
As the crackling electricity dissipated, the Chunin screamed in pain and, with desperation and tears in his eyes, instinctively attempted to punch Ryu with his free hand. Ryu met the blow head-on, countering it with his punch with very little chakra impulse.
When both punches collided, the result was brutal. The sheer force of Ryu's strike shattered the Chunin's fist and forearm, causing his bones to break and splinter from inside out.
The enemy chunin screamed in agony, staring at his mangled arms in pain. He tried to reach his bag, but without hesitation, Ryu delivered a clean blow to his face, ending his screams but not killing him.
Ryu then quickly disarmed the enemy and restrained him, preventing any further attempts to escape or cause harm. The defeated and broken Chunin lay on the ground, subdued, while Ryu took a moment to catch his breath and assess the situation.
"I was able to fool them by suppressing my chakra," Ryu thought, looking at the unconscious Chunin, the seal on his nape hidden beneath his bloodied collar. "Will I be able to fool others? My secretary? the other Jonin, and this Kaminari guy?"
There was a certain disadvantage to suppressing chakra; Ryu just found out how dangerous it can be when the enemy chunin fooled him with a [Lightning Clone], but still, it was best for sneaking up.
Just then, Ryu spotted a bird watching him. He looked straight at the bird, which stared back at him before looking away as if it were a normal bird.
"I guess I will find out," Ryu thought, "but luckily, it did not take much chakra to subdue these four. But I do not think it will be that easy to defeat the Jonin. I should prepare for the worst.
Ryu smiled as he inhaled the thrill and danger of the situation. Even though he was not scared of dying, he still had some fear—not enough to prevent him from saving his team, but enough to keep him alert and on his toes.
After swiftly subduing the Chunin like the other Genins, Ryu turned and ran back to where he had left his secretary, determined to rescue her. The bird followed Ryu from a distance.
The scene now shifts to Secretary Kaori vs the Jisatsu Squad.
Kaori served as a spy rather than a combatant, relying on stealth and cunning to complete her missions. She initially targeted the weak ninjas because she knew that her underhanded assassin tricks, which involved using smoke as cover, would not be effective against the strong ones.
After Kaminari told his men the weakness of the barrier seal, the [ReflexGuard Seal] also seemed not to work in her favour, as many of the strong ninjas began using sharp weapons from a distance, throwing shuriken and kunai with increased frequency and precision and targeting her blind spots and gaps in her defence. They understand that if she wasn't actively observing them, her shields wouldn't be able to repel cold weapons.
Soon, the secretary Kaori was all bloodied and wounded, with small cuts and bruises covering her body.
With no more smoke bombs or paper bombs, only 40% of her chakra remaining, and blood seeping from her wounds, Kaori faced a desperate situation.
The enemy leader, Kaminari, stepped forward towards Kaori and said, "It is over for you now," with a sly grin. "Kill her now."
One ninja jumped towards Kaori, raising his sword, aiming to deliver a finishing blow from behind to her. Suddenly, with a blur of movement from behind the attacker, Kohinata appeared, kicking the enemy ninja away with immense force. Kohinata landed beside Kaori, bloodied and battered, much like Kaori.
"You did surprisingly well," Kohinata said, acknowledging both Kaori's wounded state and the number of downed enemies around her. "You managed to stop this many enemies all by yourself."
The secretary smiled slightly. "But a few still escaped," she answered in a trembling voice. Kohinata nodded, his gaze scanning the remaining enemy ninjas.
"We will at least make sure," he said, his voice firm, "that there are not any more enemies at the tail of our little genius."
The enemy leader, Kaminari, watched Kohinata with narrowed eyes. "Even those three Jonin couldn't stop you," he said, a grudging respect in his voice. "They were very close to elite rank and together were very difficult to deal with; I am impressed. I suppose they are all dead."
Kohinata just looked at him, a silent confirmation of the Torture Trio's fate.
The enemy leader's tone shifted to one of cold amusement as he commented, "Too bad they couldn't take you out when they died."
Kohinata understood the meaning instantly. Kaminari was referring to the final explosion of the enemy corpses, which was intended to kill anyone who was fortunate enough to kill a member of the Jisatsu Squad but unlucky enough to remain near their body.
"It was a cruel but very effective method," Kohinata thought, a grim memory of the force of those explosions. "And it almost killed me."
"Stay away from these ninjas when they die," Kohinata warned the secretary in a low and serious tone. "They explode when they die… but you're aware of that, correct?"
The secretary nodded, her expression grim. "Yes," she replied. "Very convenient for the one who sent them. No loose ends, huh… and if they find some luck after their death, they take out the enemy as well."
"Yes," Kohinata confirmed. "These are members of the Jisatsu Squad from the Cloud Village. I've heard rumours about them. They are a squad made up of captured rogue ninjas from cloud village. They are rumoured to have explosive seals on their bodies and are forced to complete their mission or face death."
The leader, Kaminari, chuckled darkly. "You are right," he said. "This is the Jisatsu Squad." His voice hardened with ruthless determination. "Just like my previous missions, I will accomplish this one and survive."
With a fierce shout, Kaminari raised his hand and commanded, "Kill them!"
Kohinata reacted instantly. "Back to back!" he shouted to Kaori.
They both positioned themselves back-to-back, adopting defensive stances to protect each other from the sudden onslaught of shuriken and ninjutsu attacks.
Unaware of each other's abilities, they seamlessly moved, ducked, and dodged with unexpected coordination. They even covered each other and intuitively changed positions to not give away the holes in their defences to their enemy.
A few seconds and a few jutsus later, both began to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses, and their coordination improved to the next level very fast. Both the secretary and Kohinata had parried, dodged, and blocked; their back-to-back positions were surprisingly effective.
The enemies now resorted to using paper bombs, hurling explosive tags from a distance. Kaori, despite her exhaustion, channelled chakra into the [ReflexGuard Seal], which Ryu previously provided, to compensate for their brief defence lapse and unblockable attacks like paper bombs and a number of mid-range ninjutsu used against them.
Their teamwork and Ryu's defensive seals allowed them to hold their ground against the enemy's relentless attacks. Their teamwork was truly a force to be reckoned with, shifting the tide in favour of Team Ryu.
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