Boom
The clash of the rasengan with the panther's body seemed to illuminate the area more than the moonlight could ever. The rasengan powered by both chakra and cursed energy, stroke true.
The panther flew back, rolling in the ground until it was stopped by the tree that it had made its home.
The beast with rage in its eyes stood up, slightly limping due to the damage it had sustained.
A low growl could be heard from the panther as it cautiously eyed Nio. It positioned itself in a way to protect the area it had just been wounded in.
Nio also looked at it with caution. Nio had made use of the opportunity of a surprise attack. He used the fact that panther was sleeping to make the first strike as well as employ chakra strings. The moment the panther had broken off its constraints, the chakra strings did not dissipate, instead they remained in the ground. When Nio reached forward, he launched new strings to attach to the old ones, shortening the time needed to create long enough strings to create an opening for his cursed rasengan.
It had been a pretty thought out strategy, and it deeply depended on that surprise attack, otherwise, it would be unclear whether he could actually create such a wide opening to land such a powerful blow.
So now, he needed to be cautious to prevent any troubling injuries. That was one of the main problems, Nio needed to defeat the panther without receiving noticeable injuries, otherwise he would be discovered by the Nell clan.
He could justify the lighter injuries with some late night training, actually, that had become his excuse in case someone caught him sneaking in or out of the dormitory at night.
But a major injury, like a huge slice in the back or a bite, would require immediate attention, and that meant, either dying alone in the forest or dying after delivering himself to the clan.
If he could afford to make a few mistakes to create bigger openings in the panther, his chances of victory would be much higher.
So he needed to be extra cautious, therefore he waited for the panther to make a move, just to find it suddenly calming down.
"Huh?"
The panther silently looked at the moon, completely ignoring Nio and the fact that they were fighting at the moment.
Suddenly, he felt as if the moonlight that had been illuminating the clearing started shining exclusively on the beast, similarly to stage lights.
'What's happening?'
A sudden white hue started covering the panther like a silk fabric, before he noticed, the panther no longer had golden eyes but instead bright silver ones.
Nio tried to make sense of what was happening in his head, but before he could his bloodline started screaming about a sudden change in the air behind him, just to find the place where the panther had been, completely empty.
He turned around hastily, wrapping his arm with chakra strings, said arm was bitten by a powerful set of teeth. His other arm was busy blocking the swipe of one of the beast's claws.
'Shit!'
Things were starting to get worse, he quite literally felt the probability of success decrease.
'Now I can lose and know that I'm losing.'
The strings around his arm had successfully prevented its teeth from plunging inside his flesh, and the swipe had also been fully blocked, however, if the panther continued to act that speed, he would surely falter at some point and lose his life.
Using the hand that had just blocked the panther's second strike, Nio gathered a good amount of cursed energy and willed it to shoot forward.
Bam
The impact was enough to knock the panther back a little, enough to give Nio enough space to step back safely and prepare a follow-up attack.
He shot several beams of cursed energy. They weren't really powerful, mostly because he was rapid firing instead of charging and building up power.
The panther dodged all of them, but with this it was on its toes, it couldn't get close. That was his goal, to keep a distance while he thought of a plan to turn the tables.
Nio hadn't even started thinking of a proper plan when the panther suddenly roared. A bright light shot from its mouth, similarly as a shock wave would.
All the cursed energy beams dissipated, and the panther rushed forward with another burst of speed and another swipe of claws.
Nio did his best to defend himself, using chakra strings to move around, cursed energy beams to explode on the ground, and hid his movements with the clouds of dust and sand.
However, he was slowly being cornered. Even though he possessed the [Android Physique], this physique had been a little of a scam. He had chosen it because of the infinite stamina, but instead he got infinite energy.
Even though he could keep up using chakra and cursed energy, his body would eventually falter due to a lack of stamina. His endurance stat was at a good 34, and it was his highest stat, but it was still limited.
Confronting a mutated Skin Tempering Panther, it wouldn't take long to figure out who would tire out first.
'This is bad. Really, really bad.'
What was once a good probability of winning was now a declining chance of survival.
Things were blick, and he couldn't find a way out, not even close.
The panther kept striking and going after him, he needed to do something.
Right now he was running in the direction of the tree, and he would soon run into it if he didn't turn. He did not.
Instead, he used chakra to climb a few meters up the tree and jumped backwards. As expected, the panther had been following and had even climbed slightly up the tree.
Weaving several chakra strings, he once again restricted the panther against the trunk. The panther fought fiercely, trying to liberate itself, and it was close to doing so, but before that.
"Cursed Rasengan Barrage!"
It was met with two Cursed Rasengans.
The impact of such an attack obliterated both the chakra strings and the tree trunk, blowing the panther away, however, unlike before, where the panther struggled to get back up, the mutated beast stood up effortlessly with only a few injuries in one of its sides.
The Black Panther had now marks of rasengans on each of its sides, however it kept moving as if there was no problem.
"What the fuck is this? You are so powerful, and yet you choose to not mess with the rabbit?!"
What was this? Had the panther always been this strong, or was this a mutation caused at this very moment and not something that was supposed to happen?
Regardless, Nio's strongest attack had done nothing.
'I need something better, similar to the principles of the rasengan but with a smaller area of impact, a small rasengan? I don't have time to properly make a new technique on the spot!'
The panther was once again upon him, and he struggled to keep it away. Its speed was as overwhelming as always, the only thing keeping him alive was his bloodline's ability to sense change.
He then noticed something.
They were awfully close to the pit that leaded into the cave entrance, the one he had been using to sneak in and out of the forest. A smirk marked his face.
"Can you die of natural causes?"
Muttering, he started his plan, slowly getting close to the pit, luring the panther closer.
The panther jumped forward in an attempt to strike him. He countered quickly, he dropped to the ground, supporting his body with his hands, and pressed his feet on the panther's belly. With a little of chakra and cursed energy reinforced muscle work, he forced the panther into the pit.
He didn't waste any time and jumped after it. Using chakra strings, he attached himself to the bottom of the pit and pulled the strings. He once again landed his feet on the panther and used both gravity and the force of him pulling the strings attached to the ground to accelerate the both of them into crashing into the ground.
Boooom
They both fell, creating a small crater at the center of the pit. They slowly crawled in different directions, making some space.
"I . . . I was going to make a joke about gravity being natural, but since you didn't die, it would be meaningless. God damn it! Why don't you die?"
The panther rose from the ground and looked at him with clear anger.
"I guess this is the benefit of fighting an opponent who can't speak, he won't trash talk you after surviving an attack."
The panther looked at him in the eye and let out a simple sound, like a provocation.
"Roar"
'Son of a bitch.'