Chapter 200: The Battle Begins, A Mad Rampage
Soon, Kyosuke reached the heart of the canyon. There, he saw them: the captured Uchiha clansmen, and among them, the Second Elder, his face ashen like a dead man's.
Though only a few years had passed since they had last met, the elder looked as if he had aged a decade. He was the very image of a candle flickering in the wind, about to be extinguished.
Kyosuke knew in his heart that this was inextricably linked to Uchiha Nagisa's death.
The girl's unexpected demise caused him an agony so profound he could barely stand it; he could only imagine the pain felt by the Second Elder, who had always doted on her.
The thought sent another sharp, stabbing pain through Kyosuke's own heart. His gaze swept across the canyon, cold and vicious. "Today," he said, his voice a low, chilling promise, "you will all die."
"Such arrogance." An Iwa ninja, the one appointed by "Tōshi," slowly stepped forward from the ranks. He looked at Kyosuke as if he were staring at a pile of treasure.
In his mind, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. Regardless of the reason his superior had entrusted him with this mission, after this day, his status in Iwagakure would skyrocket. He would no longer be disposable cannon fodder.
The thought that he might be killed by his target never even crossed his mind. It was a joke. With two hundred elite Iwa shinobi at his back, he was confident they could take down Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, let alone this boy.
Just as the puffed-up commander was about to give the order to attack, Kyosuke vanished.
Shouted warnings—"Watch out!" "He's coming for you!"—echoed around him, but they were too late. A bitter smile touched the Iwa ninja's lips as he opened his mouth and coughed up a great spray of blood.
His grand ambitions now seemed utterly laughable. With a final, sorrowful thought, he collapsed to the ground.
Kyosuke drew his Kusanagi Sword from the dead man's chest, letting the warm blood stream down his face. His demonic Sharingan eyes scanned the remaining ninja.
Normally, he would never have allowed himself to be splattered with an enemy's blood. But today was different. Today, he needed the baptism of blood to numb the pain in his soul. And besides, he had no confidence that he could slaughter two hundred men and remain untouched. It made no difference if it happened now or later.
"Attack!" A squad leader stepped forward, his eyes darting around before he bellowed the command.
With their appointed commander dead and Tōshi nowhere to be found, they couldn't simply wait. After a moment's hesitation, they unleashed an all-out assault.
In an instant, the sky was filled with a storm of kunai, all aimed at Kyosuke. Many of the Iwa ninja believed he wouldn't even survive this first volley.
They were wrong. For one who wielded the power of the Susanoo, defending against an attack of this level was trivially easy.
A flash of violet-red light erupted, and a ten-meter-tall skeletal giant materialized around Kyosuke. In the next instant, chakra constructs of muscle and sinew grew over the bones, finally covered by a skin-like outer layer of energy.
"Susanoo, Second Stage: Activate!"
A deafening clatter of metal on chakra rang out. Inside the construct, Kyosuke stood with his arms crossed, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding enemies as if they were nothing but ants struggling in a jar.
When the first wave of attacks ended, a solidified chakra sword appeared in the Susanoo's hand. Guided by Kyosuke's will, the massive blade swung toward the most densely packed group of Iwa ninja, carrying with it an aura that promised to cut through anything in its path.
"Susanoo: Chains of Hell!"
The nearly thirty-foot-long sword created a shockwave so powerful that the weaker Iwa ninja trembled with fear from the wind pressure alone. For those directly in its path, it was a vision of death.
They had no time to think of counterattacks or defense. Gripped by a primal, soul-deep terror, their only instinct was to flee.
But a heavy, oppressive pressure, like being trapped in a swamp, crushed down on them, rooting them to the spot. They were fish on a chopping block, left with nothing to do but wait for the blade to fall.
This was an ability Kyosuke had developed after completely mastering his swordsmanship. In his normal state, or even in Sage Mode, he lacked the power to use it. Only when channeling the immense power of his Susanoo could he manifest this binding pressure.
Once he initiated this attack, the only way to survive was to possess a unique method of evasion or the absolute power to break free.
The shinobi before him had neither. Their fate was sealed.
A few of the more disciplined Iwa ninja managed to react, throwing up defensive ninjutsu, but their efforts were futile. Earthen walls were sliced apart like tofu under the Susanoo's blade. They could not escape their doom.
BOOM!
With a thunderous roar, the single sword strike annihilated over twenty shinobi, among them several jonin-level warriors.
A cold smirk widened on Kyosuke's face. With a thought, the Susanoo's sword swung again, carving a path of destruction through another section of their ranks.
"Spread out! Don't bunch up!" an enemy shouted, but his voice was lost in the chaos.
Another deafening crash echoed through the canyon. Though fewer died in the second strike, the Iwa's morale plummeted even further.
The rain of severed limbs and blood did little to quell the inferno of hatred in Kyosuke's heart. This was not enough. It would never be enough to extinguish his rage.
The light in his Mangekyo flared. As he poured more power into the construct, a second chakra sword materialized in the Susanoo's other hand.
With two blades, the carnage intensified.
One hundred and fifty Iwa shinobi were being utterly suppressed by a single man.
With every cleave and every sweep, more ninja died. Though their numbers were still great, they were powerless against the god of destruction in his impenetrable armor.
The battle raged on. Just as the Iwa's will was about to break completely, one ninja finally found a weakness.
"His feet!" he screamed, his voice raw with desperation. "His feet have no chakra protection! Use Earth Release!"
His cry cut through the din. The others immediately looked down and saw he was right. The Susanoo's feet were planted firmly on the ground, completely exposed.
In an instant, countless earthen spikes erupted from the ground, filling every inch of space around Kyosuke.
Forced to act, Kyosuke made the Susanoo jump into the air to evade the attack. It was the first time since the battle began that he had been forced to give ground. Seeing this, the Iwa shinobi felt a flicker of hope.
"A futile struggle," Kyosuke muttered. He controlled the Susanoo to shatter the spikes beneath him. Before the enemy could launch another wave of jutsu, he unleashed a secret technique learned from the Forbidden Scroll.
"Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!"
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