Raizen gritted his teeth.
He'd been racking his brain for a plan, but the fog, the terrain, and the damn Lightning users below left him with one option.
"Guess it's time for the caveman strategy," he muttered. "Explosions solve everything."
He slapped a chunk of clay into his palm and molded it with practiced precision. Chakra surged through his hands as he spat out—literally—a massive clay dragon. The creature roared silently and dived into the mist, scales of white clay gleaming faintly.
"Go play fetch," Raizen said dryly.
The dragon opened its maw, firing a barrage of tracking bombs straight into the fog.
BOOM!
The night split open with fire and thunder. Orange light devoured the mist, and the screams that followed were anything but poetic.
Raizen smirked. "Guess that hit something."
He kept the pressure up, tossing out clay bombs one after another like a demented bomber pilot. The air filled with smoke and the sharp scent of burning earth — a hellish firestorm in motion.
Below, Ueshi Tokusho, the clan leader, was already cursing his luck.
"Damn it! Retreat! Get everyone out of here!"
His voice cut through the chaos as he realized the truth — the mist was useless now, the Lightning Style couldn't keep up, and every second under that rain of bombs meant more bodies on the ground.
Even for a hardened war clan, this was suicide.
The Ueshi ninjas scrambled to withdraw from the compound, the fog dispersing as they retreated.
"Running already?" Raizen muttered, narrowing his eyes. "You think I'm gonna let you off that easy?"
He swooped lower atop his clay owl, hurling more explosives toward the retreating silhouettes.
"Lightning Style! Take those bombs down!" Tokusho's voice barked out again, this time laced with desperation.
Bolts of chakra lightning streaked upward, crackling through the darkness. The electric surge fried Raizen's clay midair, turning his bombs into harmless lumps that splattered uselessly on the ground.
"Tch…" Raizen clicked his tongue. "Right. Clay versus lightning — bad matchup. I just unlocked the Deidara experience DLC."
He watched the detonations fizzle one after another, his grin fading. "So much for my air raid. Guess we're doing this the old-fashioned way."
He exhaled sharply. "Clay's limited, chakra's burning fast, and those Lightning guys aren't running out of juice anytime soon… fine. Let's go face-to-face."
The owl dived, wings cutting through the night.
Tokusho spotted him immediately. "Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
The ground split open, and a giant mud dragon surged upward, roaring as it lunged.
Raizen jerked his owl hard, narrowly dodging the hit. He flung a marked kunai midair — and vanished in a flash.
Swoosh!
"Gah—!" A Ueshi ninja barely had time to scream before Raizen's blade sliced clean through his neck. Blood sprayed like red mist across the muddy field.
Raizen reappeared, eyes cold, voice mocking. "Next."
Tokusho roared, drawing his blade. "Amamiya Raizen! You dare slaughter my clan?!"
Raizen's smirk didn't waver. "You're strong, Ueshi Tokusho. Stronger than me, probably. But here's your problem—"
He vanished again in a streak of lightning-fast movement.
"—you can't hit what's already gone."
Another ninja fell. Another scream.
Tokusho's fury reached a breaking point. "Spread out! Don't group together!"
He'd already realized the nightmare — Raizen's speed wasn't normal. The Flying Thunder God wasn't just a jutsu. It was death wearing a smile.
Even Tokusho, an elite jōnin, couldn't react fast enough. For the rest of his clan — the chūnin, the genin — it was like watching ghosts slaughter them in the dark.
And in that chaos, Raizen's laughter echoed, sharp and cruel against the wind.