"Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Blade!"
As a crystallized blade appeared beneath her right forearm. Driven by her survival instinct, she drove the blade forward, ripping a vicious slash across the ANBU's stomach. They gasped and coughing up blood in their mask, but Guren didn't stop. By a manic rush of adrenaline, she unleashed a brutal volley of slashes, carving through the enemy until the ANBU collapsed as Guren was covered in blood.
The adrenaline vanished. The severe chakra exhaustion hit her as her vision went dark, as her knees buckled, and she began to tip forward into the ground.
Before she could fall, Dodai flicked infront of her and caught her gently, her forehead resting against his flak vest.
"You did great, Guren," Dodai said. "I am proud to be your teacher."
Guren's eyelids fluttered, consciousness slipping away from her but tried to stay awake. "Dodai-sensei..." she whispered, her voice could barely be heard. "Did I... win?"
"Guren, you just defeated a seasoned Jonin at ten years old, there are not many who can claim a feat like that."
The young girl remained quiet for a long moment, staring blankly at the fallen ANBU. "It wasn't easy," she murmured softly. "I thought I was going to die. I thought I'd never see KinGin, GinKin, or the kids at the orphanage again."
Dodai gave a reassuring smile. "Why do you think I was watching so closely? I would never let my student die in my presence." He lifted onto his back, looking out across the treeline toward the distant sound of crushing stone. "Now, let's go see how Jugo is holding up. Kaien's side looks like they have finished."
~~
Jugo was cornered, fighting the Inuzuka ANBU had proved to be an exhausting, which made exponentially worse by the tracking prowess of the shinobi's ninken.
"Come on... tell me, why are you running away?" the Inuzuka ANBU taunted, his voice with sadistic amusement. He slowly strolled through the undergrowth, enjoying the hunt. "You think you can hide from us? My ninken has already marked your scent. What are you so scared of? Just come out, and I'll be kind enough to end this quickly."
Behind the thick trunk, Jugo pressed his back against it, trembling in fear. His body has already turned into a partial transformation, warped his flesh into grotesque and animalistic features. He gasped for air, his lungs burning as he clawed at his chest, trying to suppress the monstrous power.
"I'm going to lose control again," Jugo thought, his mind spiraling into panic. "Will the medicine work this time, or am I going to go berserk? I'm scared... I'm so scared."
"Fou... nd you."
Jugo looked up to see the masked ANBU peering around the tree, gazing down at him with a triumphant grin. Jugo was small, curled in on himself in fear.
"I don't want to kill you," Jugo whispered, his voice cracking as he spoke to himself.
The ANBU blinked, his grin widening under his mask. "What did you say?"
He didn't wait for an answer. Whipping his hand forward, he commanded his Ninken. "Fang Passing Fang!"
In a blur, both the Inuzuka and his ninken spun into drilling tornados. They tore through delivering a brutal series of rapid tearing body blows directly into Jugo's chest. Deep claw marks gouged through his flesh, spraying blood. Jugo collapsed, going completely limp. He looked undeniably dead.
"And just like that, you're dead without even putting up a fight," the ANBU scoffed, unimpressed. He dusted off his flak jacket and turned to leave as he still had a mission to kill all those Uchiha kids.
But he didn't get far. Beside him, his ninken let out a low muffled whimper, its tail tucking between its legs as it trembled in terror.
"Hehe... HEHEHE!"
A low guttural laugh echoed, Jugo's mangled body began to twitch, rising from the ground.
"Finally... that idiot went to sleep," Jugo rasped, his voice no longer belonged to the gentle boy from before. "What a complete wuss, letting himself get beaten by a wuss. Let me show you how to fight for real. But I will have to thank you spilling his blood which made the medicine effects weaker for me to emerge."
Jugo's skin darkened into a sickly stone-like hue. His irises bled into a pale yellow, stark contrast against sclerae that had turned pitch black. He vanished from the spot.
"Where are you looking? I'm right here."
The whisper came from the Inuzuka's right. Before the ANBU could even register the movement, Jugo's arm expanded, shifting into a massive piston.
"Sage Transformation: Piston Fist!"
A horrific crack echoed the force of the impact crushed the ANBU's skull instantly, knocking him unconscious... and effectively ending his life... before he even hit the ground. Jugo's arm elongated clamped tightly around the dead ANBU's head, lifting the corpse. With a maniacal laugh, he slammed the body into the earth again and again, swinging it like a ragdoll until the ground was painted red, it was an art.
The ninken let out a desperate, grieving howl. "Woof!" It stood its ground, loyal to its fallen companion until the bitter end.
Jugo turned his gaze to the four-legged creature, his face twisted into a grin. "I don't have a clue what you're saying. That gentle brat might have understood you, but not me."
Jugo altered his own cellular structure, transforming his foot into a gleaming blade. "Don't worry. I'll send you to join him," he whispered creepily.
With a blinding kick, Jugo drove the blade straight through the ninken's underbelly, the blade tip coming out of the other side. With a casual flick of his leg, he dislodged the carcass, sending it crashing into a nearby tree.
~~
Kaien, Shisui, and Itachi finally arrived. They landed swiftly beside Dodai and Guren, who were already watching the one-sided slaughter.
Jugo, now entirely consumed by his berserk rage, actively hunted for his next target. His chest heaved as he absorbed the chakra from the fallen Inuzuka, his speed and senses multiplying exponentially. He was at his absolute peak. Turning his head, his yellow eyes locked onto the five figures ahead.
Jugo roared as all his teeth showed out."I'll just kill all of you too!" He bolted toward them.
Kaien observed the rampaging Jugo. "I don't want to hurt him too badly," he noted calmly, turning his gaze to the side. "Shisui, we're going to have to rely on you for this one to put him to sleep."
Shisui nodded. "Leave it to me."
~~
A/N: The battle here is almost completed. Guren barely defeats the ANBU while Jugo utterly overpowers his ANBU. How did you like their own screen time? I know Dodai could have simply ended the fight and be done with it and could have joined the fight against Kakashi but here we are... all is well that ends well.
How far along do you think the story is?
Upto 20 Advance chapters available @ patreon.com/aizenDuchiha0