Shika avoided the missile easily enough; however, now, standing between him and Utakata were the Six Paths of Pain.
"I'm disappointed. There are five of you, yet you can't capture a single Jinchuriki," Pain said in a cold tone, looking at the five new members of Akatsuki with evident disdain. Then he turned to Shika, narrowing his eyes.
"Handle the other person. Make sure you don't kill him. Bring him to me alive," Pain commanded, sensing that this person was responsible for the disappearance of their members.
Upon hearing Pain's orders, Kazuma, Hiruko, Fudo, Fuen, and Fuka wore unwilling expressions. It was evident to Shika that they didn't want to follow the command, but they had no choice. While Pain went after Utakata, they turned their focus to capturing Shika.
Shika, on the other hand, knew he had to act fast. Utakata wouldn't last long against Pain—that was a given. He had to do something quickly.
Seeing the five coming at him, he clenched his teeth and set his mind. He wasn't planning on letting a single Bijuu fall into Akatsuki's hands if he could help it. However, things weren't looking good for him. Taking on all five of them wouldn't be easy. Just as he thought, the kid among them was the most problematic. He even recognized two of them now. The white-haired, child-like teenager possessed a powerful Kekkei Genkai called Dark Release, and another one he remembered was Fuka, the long-haired woman who had once kissed Naruto.
There were three more he didn't recognize, but he didn't care too much about them. Ultimately, the real problem was always going to be the Six Paths of Pain.
"Maximum effort." Shika unsheathed his sword, now ready to kill. Hell, he was kicking himself for holding back earlier. Then again, maybe even if they had killed the Akatsuki members sooner, Pain would have shown up anyway.
Shika lunged at Kazuma first. Moving like lightning, he went straight for the kill, completely catching Kazuma off guard. Kazuma stumbled backward as Shika struck.
Kazuma barely managed to block the attack. A second later, and he would have been cut in two. His eyes widened as he realized that the man in front of him had been holding back all this time. He had unconsciously relaxed his guard, thinking that with five of them against one, the battle would be easy.
That was a fatal mistake.
Apparently, Kazuma hadn't learned from his earlier fight with Shika. Soon, he found his body no longer under his control. Shika's sound technique worked alongside his sword, making it nearly undetectable. The sound of his sword cutting through the air triggered this particular genjutsu, paralyzing its victims for a few seconds. Even after experiencing it once, Kazuma hadn't figured out what had happened.
Unfortunately for him, he wouldn't get a second chance.
Shadows beneath Shika moved just as Kazuma became immobile. In the next second, the shadows took the form of a beast, lunging at Kazuma and tearing him apart like a wild animal.
This was Shika manipulating his Ten Shadows without manifesting any of the Shikigami physically. Sukuna had done this once while fighting in Megumi's body.
Seeing Kazuma torn in two by the moving shadows, the others were taken aback. Kazuma had been the leader of Fuen, Fudo, and Fuka for a long time. They knew what Kazuma was capable of, and yet, he had been defeated so easily. It was a shock.
What they didn't understand was that Shika wasn't just any ordinary shinobi.
Next, Shika turned his attention to Fudo, who swung at him powerfully. Shika barely dodged, rolling away. Recognizing Fudo as an Earth-style user, Shika quickly formed a hand sign, and lightning crackled around his hand.
This was Chidori. He had learned how to use it with chakra a long time ago and no longer depended on Nue's lightning. In elemental superiority, Lightning trumps Earth.
Shika's Chidori struck almost point-blank, thanks to the binding vows he had placed on himself to form Chidori with just one hand and maximize its speed. Before anyone could react, another one of their group was dead.
Shika didn't waste a second before rushing at the others.
Hiruko, Fuen, and Fuka immediately moved as a group upon realizing that Shika was a real threat. He had taken down two of their members in the blink of an eye.
Only Shika knew that his success so far was because both of his opponents had let their guard down. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to defeat them so easily.
Now, however, the remaining three were on guard. Killing them wouldn't be as easy. It was time to reveal some of his cards.
"Alright, let's try this. Divine Dog: Totality."
His shadow morphed, and a giant wolf with white and black striped patterns emerged from it. This was the Totality version of Divine Dog, now infused with the power of Funeral Tiger—his only other deceased Shikigami. Not only was it larger, but with Funeral Tiger's power, it was much stronger than the previous Divine Dog.
"Distract the girls," Shika commanded before rushing towards the strongest among them—the white-haired teenager, Hiruko.
The giant wolf circled Fuka and Fuen, biting and clawing, forcing them to scatter. Meanwhile, Shika engaged Hiruko, unleashing a series of heavy blows. His strikes were fast and relentless, filled with multiple hidden attacks that the naked eye couldn't see. Over time, Shika had developed a distinct fighting style, seamlessly integrating all his abilities to gain an advantage. Each strike was aimed at disabling or outright killing his opponent.
Shika had chosen to deal with Hiruko first because he knew him. In the Naruto movie "Will of Fire," Hiruko was the antagonist.
Hiruko possessed Dark Release—a cheap version of Momoshiki's Rinnegan in his hands.
Aside from Pain, Hiruko was the most dangerous enemy here. Taking him down was a priority. In fact, Shika was the best person to fight him. Hiruko could absorb chakra and even elemental releases, making him a dangerous opponent to anyone except pure Taijutsu users.
However, Shika didn't have to rely on chakra. He could still use Cursed Energy.
'I just hope I'm not too late.'
xxx
[Word Count: 1000]
Sorry for the smaller chapter, got work to do.
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