Chapter 232: Chapter 229: Three-sword style vs Three swordsman
After Ryu's last dodge, One of the surprised enemies yelled, "What the...!? Did he really dodge that without even looking? Does he have eyes behind his head!?"
"Eyes in the back?" Kohinata thought and noticed most of the time Ryu dodged without even looking back, and a realisation dawned on him. "Like... like the Hyuga clan?" A wild, improbable thought flashed through his mind. "Could... could he be distantly related to me? Is that how he knew my secret? But how?"
One more enemy tried to hit him with a kunai to the head, but Ryu deflected the kunai with the sword in his mouth, and the kunai hit the enemy behind him, who was hit by the shuriken in the balls earlier, killing him and relieving him of his suffering.
Ryu walked slowly away from the enemy behind him and took a moment to pose, pointing his two borrowed swords towards the scattered cards behind the now-stopped enemies; the sliced enemy exploded a few metres behind Ryu at a safe distance.
The explosion occurred at the perfect moment. A dramatic background serves as a backdrop for Ryu's glorious stance, which appears in a style that is cinematic, cliché, and action-movie-type.
Every other remaining enemy and ally was staring at Ryu's perfect pose. Ryu gestured with his swords, channelling chakra into the [Magno-Telekinesis Seal] on his arms, and the carbon cards scattered on the ground where he had been knocked down earlier started vibrating.
Suddenly, they all started floating in the air, rising a few feet before starting to move towards where other enemies were, guided and manipulated by his [Magno-Telekinesis Seal] and his sword gestures.
A faraway enemy ninja who had evaded the initial smoke shouted, "Look back! Be careful!"
Enemies jumped away from the incoming flying cards, dodging and evading the strange projectiles. After completing their outward movement, the cards all converged around Ryu, returning to where he was standing.
Ryu crossed his "borrowed" swords in front of him, holding them in a defensive crossed posture, the carbon cards circling him rapidly like a protective swarm, creating a ring around him.
Ryu took a moment to assess. "If I go for the kill using cards," he thought, considering their earlier counter-tactic, "they will just cut the cards and neutralise them with lightning…. Instead... I will go for A wide-area blast near them to disorient and disarm, using the cards. And while they are distracted by cards, I will kill them old school."
Ryu gestured with a sword, pointing towards the remaining enemies. The cards flew in that direction, a guided barrage of small, explosive projectiles.
The cards that were close enough to the enemy exploded in quick succession, one after another. The result was a chaotic series of blasts. The less fortunate and inexperienced ninjas, attempting to neutralise the cards as they had previously done, dodged and sliced at them in close proximity, ultimately falling victim to the sudden, close-range explosions; meanwhile, Ryu took advantage of the chaos and killed more ninjas.
Only a few elite ones remained. These experienced ninjas, due to their heightened awareness and combat experience, were able to guess that Ryu could explode the cards remotely and that he would likely aim to wound them to slow them down rather than try to go for immediate kills on seasoned fighters. So, instead of slicing the cards, they used pure dodging and mid-range jutsu to either avoid them completely or neutralise them from a safe distance, surviving the barrage through tactical avoidance.
Before Ryu could summon more cards or launch another barrage, a swordsman among the remaining elites confronted him directly. Their sparring was brief but vicious, and the weapons that were used were swords and kenjutsu. After that, another adversary joined them, and they moved in carefully coordinated movements to flank Ryu.
It was now two against one, and Ryu was already aware that this could happen. He had been very careful before this movement to not face many in close combat simultaneously. He knew that when he was outnumbered, his best chance was to ensure that every confrontation with the enemy was one-on-one, even if only for a brief moment, allowing him to quickly eliminate an opponent before others could join the fight. His [Parallel Thinking] and [Peripheral Awareness] were working regularly, tracking all opponents.
Ryu was carefully watching his back, using the mirrored finish of the words [Improved Eyesight] to spot movements behind him. He parried the attacks of the two ninjas, deflecting blades with swift, economical movements. But before Ryu could use any trick or create an opening, a third enemy joined the fray, moving to corner Ryu effectively, their sword aimed for his flank.
Ryu was quick to see him coming using his [Peripheral Awareness] and mirror reflections on his swords and counter him instantly using his sword skills. Right now, his three swords are clashing with the three swords of the Cloud Ninjas.
When Ryu found himself in a situation where he was outnumbered three-to-one in the close-quarters exchange, he pressed his defence and spoke with a voice that was sharp and challenging. "Three at once against an academy student? You have no shame!"
While Ryu was in the process of launching his attack, one of the Cloud ninjas retaliated with a snarl, stating, "You are not an academy student! You are a monster!"
Before Ryu could taunt him further, the expressions of the three enemies surrounding him changed simultaneously. Their faces contorted into a look of sudden, confused dread, which is comparable to the expression that one gives when they fart with confidence but end up shitting themselves by accident.
Ryu, with his [Fast Thinking], processed their sudden confusion instantly. A terrifying possibility that was connected to the Jisatsu Seals was the only thing he could think of to explain what was going on. At this point, it was too late for him to escape because he was being held down by three strong swordsmen who were surrounding him on all sides to prevent him from escaping.
Almost instantly, Ryu took action, carrying out a series of coordinated actions. In order to create a momentary gap, he used all of his strength to push the swords that were pressing against him upwards. He then flipped two of his borrowed swords at the same time and ducked, placing his hands on the ground in order to make himself a smaller target.
In the same instant, he channelled chakra into his seals, which resulted in the formation of multiple layers of [ReflexGuard] shields all around him. Furthermore, behind the [ReflexGuard] shields, a one-of-a-kind Earth wall with three sides rose up around him, interlocking with itself to form a structure that resembled a pyramid. All of this happened incredibly fast, and a desperate, multi-layered defence was constructed in the blink of an eye.
All three enemies exploded with a very large intensity, caught within the confined space they had cornered Ryu in. A wave of chakra, heat, and force accompanied the enormous blast that was unleashed.
The secretary and Kohinata watched in terror and horror, their eyes wide with fear at the unfolding devastation before them. The fact that Ryu was right in the middle of the three explosions caused them to be extremely anxious. The explosions were of a much higher intensity than the typical paper bombs.
Kaminari had sacrificed the lives of his allies by remotely activating their [Jisatsu Seals] to eliminate Ryu with minimal effort. All of the remaining chakra that they possessed was violently channelled into the explosion, which resulted in a blast that was significantly more powerful than usual.
As the dust gradually settled, the chaotic epicentre of the explosions became visible. As Ryu coughed and pushed himself up from the ground, remnants of the Earth wall and shattered shield tiles littered the area. He was covered in blood and appeared to be badly injured.
"Shit," Ryu thought, pain coursing through him. "I was careless. I didn't expect this bastard would use his allies like this." It was a level of ruthlessness that had caught him off guard. "Luckily the earth wall and [ReflexGuard] were able to take most damage. But still, it was not enough." He felt the damage to his own body seals. "The seals on my body, both [ReflexGuard] and [Magno-Telekinesis Seal], are damaged."
When Ryu felt his chest, he discovered that the [Chakra Backup Seal] was still fully intact. This brought a wave of relief over him. Ryu now had only one sword in his mouth. Ryu glanced around in his pursuit of the other swords and discovered them a few metres away, scattered among the wreckage.
Ryu was going to use the [Chakra Backup Seal] to refill his chakra reserves before going towards the swords and rejoining the fight.
Suddenly, Kaminari appeared directly from behind him, moving with surprising speed and capitalising on Ryu's disorientation and injury. Ryu was unable to sense Kaminari immediately because he was still somewhat disoriented from the last blast, which had dulled his senses.
Ryu turned around and attempted to slash him, but the sword broke on impact, indicating that his luck had run out.
"Shit" , Ryu thought.
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