"Konoha ninja, stop wasting your effort. Your attacks are nothing but tickles to me!" Mashu taunted, his body still keeping a defensive stance.
From a previous battle against an Iwa ninja, he had acquired the Earth Release - Earth Spear technique! Ever since, he'd grown confident in both attack and defense, earning a solid reputation among Suna's Jonin. The technique specialized in hardening his skin—it was top-notch for both offense and defense!
Once again blocking Gekko Masano's blade with his hand, Mashu grabbed the sword barehanded.
"Boom!" With a single punch, Mashu struck Gekko Masano in the chest, sending him flying backward.
"Puh!" Another mouthful of blood. Masano felt like his body was about to fall apart.
"Swish!" The sword that had just been taken away flew through the air filled with murderous intent straight toward his chest! Gekko Masano's pupils shrank, revealing a hint of helplessness.
"Deng!" He pushed off the ground, leaving a large hole in the sand, and leaped away from the rapidly approaching blade.
Just as he landed, a foot came soaring toward his abdomen!
He pulled out a Kunai, holding it firmly with both hands, tensed his arm muscles, and pressed against the incoming foot!
"Clang!" The Kunai hit something hard. A tremendous force surged forth, nearly causing Gekko Masano to drop his weapon, while also pushing his body back yet again.
Gekko Masano could feel the difference in power. Though they were both Jonin, Masano was clearly outmatched. None of his techniques could pierce that defense—everything he threw at him just bounced off harmlessly!
Regaining his stance while carefully watching for movement, Gekko Masano noticed the Suna ninja wasn't rushing forward immediately. Confused, he caught sight of a corner of the scene where Saitama was pulling his sword out of his opponent's corpse—a heartening sight indeed. Gekko Masano now saw hope of victory, although slightly surprised too. He'd thought Saitama was only around upper Chunin level—but now he was taking down Jonin in seconds!
Understanding the situation clearly, Gekko Masano knew his current role was to keep this Jonin occupied until Saitama could come assist or instead make his way closer to Saitama seeking direct protection. After all, he simply couldn't handle the enemy before him!
On the other side, Mashu's face showed rising fury but not extreme rage; he remained calm. Refocusing his gaze, he stared intently at Gekko Masano.
"Worthless! Can't even deal with a little brat!" Mashu muttered under his breath. His eyes grew darker as he sinisterly turned them back to Gekko Masano still keeping his defensive posture.
"I'll start with you, then deal with that kid!" His voice became ferocious. Mashu realized he must finish this quickly—no chance should be given to surround and kill him. Even though he had confidence in his own Ninjutsu, there was absolutely no reason to push for unnecessary confrontation.
With a punch thrown outward, the air began to howl fiercely. Before being directly hit, Gekko Masano already felt sharp pressure on his face, like walking bareheaded through winter winds—cold and painful!
Knowing evasion wasn't possible, Gekko Masano crossed his arms in front of his face and kept retreating—refusing to fight back directly!
Using the Earth Spear Jutsu indeed affected the user's speed, but Gekko Masano had already been hit unexpectedly several times by Mashu and consequently suffered a certain degree of impairment, losing his previous advantage in speed!
"Boom!" Finally, that punch landed on Gekko Masano.
"Crack!" It seemed like Gekko Masano heard the sound of his own bones. If he hadn't concentrated a large amount of chakra in both arms just then, it wouldn't have been resolved so simply.
Mashu looked at Gekko Masano with some confusion too. He had attacked furiously just now; such an attack shouldn't have been easily blocked by a Leaf ninja.
Since the initial blow didn't achieve the desired effect, Mashu raised his hand and prepared for another attack! He was confident—next time, that Konoha ninja would regret ever stepping forward!
His skin darkened further, and the chakra lines along his arms became clearly visible.
"Clang!" A blade appeared to Mashu's left, but seemingly anticipating this, he blocked it with both hands.
Saitama, seeing his blade caught, increased the chakra in his hand. Lightning began surging and traveled directly through the point of contact!
"Crackle-spark!" Electric arcs flickered across Mashu's body. His clothes were beginning to char slightly, but he appeared completely unaffected, gripping Saitama's blade with immense strength!
"Boom!" Stimulating his leg cells with chakra, Saitama felt a surge of explosive muscle power. He launched a fierce kick aimed directly at Mashu's vital point!
Mashu also lashed out simultaneously, their legs colliding midair. Both grunted quietly under their breath. Saitama drew his blade and quickly retreated beside Gekko Masano.
All these moves happened in quick succession, taking only several seconds total! This assault also forced Mashu to take one step back, his leg showing signs of electric shock damage, charred black.
"Hmph! Kid, you're asking for death!" Mashu glanced at the two standing not far away and shouted toward the newly arrived Saitama.
"Captain, can we keep going?" Saitama glanced at the visibly battered Gekko Masano and hesitated slightly. Was this Suna ninja really this strong? Both being Jonin, yet Gekko Masano hadn't gained any upper hand. After just this single battle, Saitama himself had already used up a significant amount of chakra. If they couldn't fight anymore, they'd temporarily have to withdraw—since the enemy was alone, he probably wouldn't continue chasing them!
"I'm fine, just minor injuries! Let's attack together!" Gekko Masano wasn't about to back down—not with just a few scratches.
"Hissing through clenched teeth, he yanked his sword from the sand, eyes narrowing sharply."
The tension in the air began rising just right, with yellow sands swirling between the three figures.
"Boom!" Planting his foot down, Saitama launched the first attack, gripping his sword at his waist. Gekko Masano wasn't willing to fall behind either, following closely behind Saitama, hiding and emerging behind him like a shadow!
"Here we go!" Rarely unbridled, Mashu found his excitement instead of anger growing as the impending clash approached.
Rushing fiercely toward Saitama and the other, Mashu channeled his chakra to its maximum. The color of his skin became even darker, approaching the shade of near-black rock!
"Clang!"
"Sparkling with arcs of electricity, the ninja blade was blocked by Mashu's left arm. Immediately after, his right hand balled into a fist and slammed fiercely toward Saitama! But Saitama wasn't fighting alone. Before the punch could land on his chest, a figure leaped high from behind him!
[Konoha Style - Sunmoon Slash!] Gekko Masano soared over Saitama and unleashed a powerful sword technique!
Two chakra-powered X-shaped slashes shot forward like energy blasts, speeding straight toward Mashu's head!
Seeing the Sunmoon Slash, Mashu dared not be careless. Although he had been cultivating Earth Spear Jutsu, his head remained quite fragile. Thus, he hastily retracted his previously thrown right hand and brought it up alongside his left to guard his forehead!
Seizing the opportunity, Saitama swiftly retreated—he definitely didn't want to get caught in Gekko Masano's attack by accident!
"Boom!" The instant the two chakra-laden slashes struck Mashu's arms, they exploded like bombs! The impact rivaled that of several explosive tags detonating simultaneously!
Gekko Masano exhaled heavily as he landed beside Saitama on his left, eyes fixed intently on the explosion site. That last move had consumed quite a bit of his chakra—already, he could feel the first signs of depletion within. This was precisely why he seldom used the 'Sunmoon Slash'; it drained way too much of his chakra!
"Ahh!" Mashu cried out in pain directly hit by the strike, his voice echoing from amidst the swirling sand!
"That should've hurt like hell," Gekko Masano said confidently. "Trying to block with both hands? He'll be lucky to survive without being crippled!"
Though saying this, both fighters remained vigilant of their surroundings, eyes still locked on where their opponent once stood.
"Heh! Heh! Heh!" The swirling sands quickly cleared away, revealing Mashu.
"Boom!" Without giving Saitama and his companion time to react, Mashu charged forward! His advancing steps split the air itself, producing a piercing sonic boom!
"Dodge!" they both shouted in unison.
As Mashu initiated his attack, both Saitama and Gekko Masano instinctively warned each other and sprang backward with a forceful push off the ground.
Drip... drip..." Having missed his strike, Mashu ceased his assault and simply stood in place. Following Saitama's gaze, one could see enormous gashes across both of Mashu's arms, blood continuously dripping onto the sand, staining the golden grains dark and spreading downward!
"You really pissed me off!" Mashu glared at the pair standing several meters away, lingering particularly on Gekko Masano. If it weren't for that Konoha ninja's Ninjutsu, he wouldn't have ended up in such a pitiful state!
Gasping for breath, Mashu's throat emitted continuous raspy sounds. He felt his chakra reserves reaching their limit. Maintaining the Earth Spear Jutsu might consume relatively little compared to other techniques, but the battle had dragged on long enough already.
"I must finish them quickly. If I can't, I'll retreat temporarily—we're on Suna territory. They won't dare chase us endlessly." Resolved in his mind, Mashu decided to launch a final assault; if it failed, he would withdraw immediately to seek backup!
The wounds on both arms started hardening and the bleeding slowly stopped.
"Captain, buy me some time!" Saitama glanced at the enemy who was wounded but still full of spirit. He turned to Gekko Masano and added, "Back me up a bit." With that, he moved behind Masano, hiding his figure.
Frowning slightly, Gekko Masano did not object. One of the ninja codes is to trust your comrades!
Guess I'll have to use *that* move now... After this, I'll be counting on you, Saitama. Thinking this, Gekko Masano raised his blade horizontally, pointing it directly at Mashu.
"Boom!" Wielding the sword, Gekko Masano rushed straight toward the enemy, swinging his blade and creating several dazzling arcs.
[Konoha-ryu: Dance of the Moon!] His figure quickly approached the Suna ninja, unleashing the ultimate technique of his swordsmanship!
"Huh?" Mashu, prepared for battle, showed a hint of shock as three figures of Gekko Masano appeared before him, making it impossible to distinguish between real and fake!
Mashu broke out in a cold sweat. A creeping unease twisted in his gut.
"Doppelgängers? Die, all of you!" Without white smoke or a Sharingan eye, Mashu couldn't identify which one was authentic.
Chakra circulated through Mashu's body, deepening the color of his fists while they started to emit a slight gleam. Stepping forward forcefully, Mashu charged toward Gekko Masano's three illusions!
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" Each punch slammed into nothing but sand, blasting huge craters into the dunes!
"What?" A sense of foreboding crept over Mashu. He had pushed himself to maximize speed to strike before Gekko Masano could react, damaging his own body in the process, yet all three punches missed?
Saitama spared a glance at Masano charging ahead, then focused on what he had to do. Ever since discovering his affinity for Lightning nature chakra, he never ceased refining his Chakra Nature Transformation techniques. Before arriving at the frontline, Saitama had preliminarily mastered Lightning nature transformation, resulting in electric arcs forming along his blade. Now, after an intense fight against a foe with strong defenses, he decided it was time to attempt a new jutsu!
[Lightning Release: Chidori!] He compressed the Chidori chakra in his palm, amplifying its destructive force as he charged forward!
No longer watching Gekko Masano's battle, Saitama began gathering chakra.
At first, tiny sparks danced around his right hand. As Saitama carefully controlled them, lightning chakra from his entire body started to converge into his hand!
"Crackle! Crackle!" The noise intensified as the arcs multiplied rapidly, soon forming a concentrated ball of lightning glowing with intense white light!
"All illusions?" Seeing his attacks miss thrice without hitting the true opponent, alarm surged inside Mashu.
"Die!" A furious roar echoed from above as Gekko Masano descended suddenly, striking down with his sword.
"Ksssh!" Fueled by fury, Gekko Masano slashed across Mashu's throat, leaving a deep gash from which blood poured. Yet, this blow failed to inflict major damage.
"Die!" Fuelled by rage, Mashu lashed out just as Masano struck down — and landed a crushing punch to his gut!
"Puk!"
Before he even landed, blood had already started gushing out. Gekko Masano's expression darkened further, his lips turning pale.
After being hit, Mashu ignored the wound on his neck and strode forward to chase Gekko Masano, wanting to eliminate this Konoha ninja once and for all!
"Hiss!" Just as he stepped forward, a sharp crackle of lightning split the air behind his head. A chill shot down Mashu's spine—he abandoned the chase instantly and spun around.
"Die!" Saitama Uchiha snarled under his breath, his hand thrusting straight toward the enemy directly before him. This was going to be the killing blow!
"Pfuh!" Blood burst outward in every direction. Guided by the piercing power of his Chidori, Saitama's hand plunged into something warm!
"Eh! How could this happen?!" Mashu looked disbelievingly at the hand protruding from his chest—it belonged to Saitama!
"Crackle!" To ensure the enemy wouldn't regain strength, Saitama increased the chakra flowing into his hand. Instantly, electricity flared again at Mashu's chest, leaving him unable to utter another word. His lifeless eyes remained locked on Saitama, unblinking.
Nearby, Gekko Masano lay on the ground, watching everything Saitama had just done with shock. If he wasn't mistaken, that technique used just now was the famous Ninjutsu developed by Hatake's prodigy—[Lightning Release: Chidori]! But how did Uchiha Saitama know it? Could it be that Great minds really do think alike?
Gekko Masano stopped trying to make sense of it, pressed both hands against his chest, and sprawled flat onto the sandy ground.
"Teacher!" From afar, Soma—who had been hiding until now—witnessed the end of the fight. Dragging his exhausted and wounded body, he arrived beside Gekko Masano and supported him carefully.
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~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!