(T/N: Sorry for missing yesterday's update! I got caught up with some real-life matters. To make up for it, I'll be posting two chapters today.)
Seeing Kaze ready for action, the leader of the Cloud ninjas quickly assessed the situation. A direct confrontation was unavoidable now, but he couldn't afford to waste time fighting here.
"Delay him!" the leader barked, his voice sharp with urgency. "I'll make my way to the Konoha border. Once I join up with the other Cloud ninjas, we'll deal with him together."
With that, the leader turned and sprinted toward the border, leaving his subordinates to buy him time. His plan was simple: reunite with reinforcements and leave Kaze to them.
"Understood, sir!"
The three remaining Chunin responded without hesitation, bracing themselves for the battle that would come.
They quickly surrounded Kaze, moving in a tight formation, preparing to engage him head-on.
"Don't look into his eyes," one of them warned, his voice low but urgent. Drawing his short sword, he focused on Kaze's neck, ready to strike with deadly precision.
Kaze stood still, his body already crackling with the lightning of the Thunder Fruit, sending sparks arcing across the ground. His eyes narrowed as he observed the leader's retreating form, then shifted back to the three ninjas before him.
He'd spent the last two days honing his elemental abilities, and now, as the three blades neared him, it was time to act.
A brilliant flash of lightning erupted from his body, streaking into the sky like a bolt from the heavens. The light was so intense that it rivaled the full moon's radiance, illuminating the area as if it were daylight.
The previously dim surroundings suddenly became overwhelmingly bright to the leader of the Cloud ninjas.
"This...?"
He swallowed nervously, his pace quickening as he tried not to turn around. But curiosity got the better of him, and he glanced back.
The moment his eyes landed on Kaze, his face drained of color, turning as pale as a sheet.
Kaze stood in the center, fully enveloped in lightning. It was as if he had become one with the storm, his form crackling with electric energy, reminiscent of the Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
But—
That was impossible.
The Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode was a unique technique, exclusive to the Kage of the Cloud Village. How could this Konoha ninja possess such an ability?
What was even more shocking was the result of the technique.
As Kaze activated the mode, the short blades aimed at him passed right through his body.
No…
It wasn't just one of the Cloud ninja's blades.
The entire body of one ninja, thrown off-balance by his own attack, ended up skewering Kaze's chest. The blade plunged through his body, only to continue on and strike his own teammate, embedding deep into his comrade's chest.
In an instant, the three Cloud ninjas, who had come from different directions to ambush Kaze, ended up wounding each other instead.
None of them had ever encountered a technique like this before, and they were completely unprepared for the consequences of their own actions.
"Could it be an illusion? But when… I didn't even look into his eyes…"
One of the Cloud ninjas screamed in shock, his face draining of all color.
The sight before him defied all logic, plunging him into a fear unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
But Kaze, of course, paid no mind to their confusion.
With a sly grin, he spoke casually, almost teasingly. "I've heard you Cloud ninjas are supposed to be experts in lightning. How about we test your resistance to lightning, hmm?"
As the words left his mouth, the air around him crackled with electricity. A storm seemed to pulse from his body, and in an instant, a violent surge of lightning arced out, blasting across the three ninjas.
The intense electric charge slammed into their bodies, sending violent jolts through their systems, their forms writhing as the current ripped through them. The air was filled with the unmistakable scent of burning flesh, and within moments, the ninjas' bodies were reduced to nothing more than smoldering remains, their screams lost in the crackling storm.
Their bodies were little more than ash in the wind, the ground beneath them charred from the overwhelming power of the lightning.
The Cloud ninja leader, wide-eyed and trembling, could only stare in disbelief as his comrades were wiped out in the blink of an eye.
"This… this is impossible…" he gasped, unable to comprehend what he had just witnessed.
"This guy's strength... at least on par with an Elite Jōnin level," the Cloud ninja leader gritted his teeth, realizing that Kaze's power far surpassed his own.
"I'm a sworn brother of the Raikage!" the leader shouted desperately, trying to appeal to Kaze's sense of reason. "If you kill me here, the Raikage will never let you get away with it!"
Kaze chuckled softly, his voice dripping with nonchalance. "The Raikage? How cute. You think I'm scared of some overgrown thundercloud? Besides, I don't think the Raikage would have a spineless brother like you."
His eyes sparkled with amusement as the leader's desperation only made Kaze's smile widen.
Seeing Kaze's casual demeanor, the leader felt his stomach twist with fear. He quickly placed the unconscious Hinata on the ground, realizing there was no way he'd be walking away with her tonight. The deaths of his subordinates had already sealed that fate. The only thing left to do now was save his own skin.
I'll make sure to make Konoha pay for this when I get back to the Hidden Cloud, he swore silently, clenching his fists in frustration.
But Kaze was already done listening. His thoughts were as carefree as ever, and the leader's pleading words were nothing but a distant hum in his ears.
The air around him seemed to crackle with energy as he narrowed his eyes.
In an instant, the carefree attitude faded into a storm of killing intent. With the sudden force of a bolt of lightning, Kaze rushed forward, his body blurring with the speed of his Thunder Fruit powers.
The Cloud ninja leader barely had time to react. Kaze closed the distance in a heartbeat, his body surging forward like a living thunderstrike, his movement almost a blur of blinding speed. The crackle of lightning erupted from his body, as though the storm itself had come to life.
"Damn it, are you planning to start a war between Konoha and Kumo?" The leader's heart pounded as he saw Kaze charging toward him. With no other choice, he quickly began forming hand seals, but his efforts felt far too slow.
Kaze's grin widened, watching the leader's movements with disdain. "Oh, please. Do you really think I care? The world doesn't need another boring, meaningless peace treaty."
As the leader's hands moved rapidly through the seals, Kaze stopped, waiting with mock patience. "Are you done yet? I'll just stand here and wait for your grand ninjutsu display."
Finally, the leader completed his hand seals and shouted, "Lightning Release: Thunder Strike!"
He gathered chakra in his throat, releasing a blinding bolt of lightning aimed directly at Kaze.
Boom!
The deafening thunder shook the air, but the lightning simply passed through Kaze's body without a mark. The leader froze, staring in disbelief as the lightning shot past him and struck a towering tree, splitting it in half. The intense heat sparked flames that consumed the trunk and branches.
Kaze watched, unimpressed. "You call that a Thunder Strike?" His voice was dripping with contempt.
The leader's face drained of color. "N-No effect?" he muttered, still unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Kaze grinned, his posture casual as he cracked his knuckles. "Let me show you what a real Thunder Strike looks like."
With a flick of his wrist, Kaze's Thunder Fruit ability surged to life. There were no hand seals—just raw power. "5000 Volt Thunder Strike!"
Before the leader could even react, a bolt of lightning shot forward faster than the eye could track, striking him with unstoppable force. The leader barely had time to scream before he was reduced to ashes.
Kaze looked toward the remains, his tone completely carefree as he deactivated his Lightning Mode, watching the ashes of the Kumo leader scatter in the wind. "Now that... is how a true lightning strike should look like."
(T/N: So, what do you think? I revamped this chapter because the original fight felt so bland and underwhelming. The guy barely used his Thunder Fruit for anything other than elementization. This version definitely packs more punch, doesn't it?)