19 - The Calm Behind Lostvayne

---Ryouma's POV---

From my position crouched behind the remnants of a splintered tree, I could see the tall Suna ninja with war paint on his face respond to the command and then engage in combat with Inoichi. 

On the other side, hearing his captain's orders, the other Suna ninja naturally did not refuse.

Just a kid, after all. That was what he must have thought of me.

When I saw the opponent charging toward me, I naturally did not retreat. The familiar weight of Lostvayne slid from its sheath with a soft metallic sound as I unsheathed it and clashed with him.

Despite possessing the Rikugan, which allowed me to use chakra with almost 100% efficiency, I still tried to conserve chakra wherever possible due to my body's limited development.

Moreover, I wasn't a fragile ninja anymore. Although I had made no progress in defensive skills before my last wish, the successful prayer had left me extraordinarily durable now.

Amazing, wasn't it?

My enemy pivoted immediately, following with three rapid kunai strikes targeting vital points. I parried efficiently, showing just enough vulnerability to encourage overconfidence.

Blocking the last kunai with Lostvayne, I secretly formed a hand sign against the hilt.

Like the cries of a thousand thunderbirds, my blade erupted with blinding lightning. The air itself ionized, the smell of ozone sharp in my nostrils as static electricity made the fine hairs on my arms stand on end.

Sensing the danger, the Suna ninja tried to retreat, but his body was paralyzed by the current, causing his movements to pause.

"Damn!"

I could see the fear dawning in his expression.

"Rasengan!"

I wasn't about to miss this opportunity. With my free hand, I began molding chakra, forming a compressed sphere. The swirling blue orb stabilized in my palm, and I quickly launched it directly into the enemy's chest.

The impact had sent him backward like a rag doll, his body carving a path through the air before slamming into the massive tree with enough force to splinter its trunk.

His chest was almost entirely obliterated, and he died instantly.

"Shiori, go help Heiji. I'll assist Inoichi-sensei," I said after finishing off my opponent, then hurried toward Teacher Inoichi's location.

Shiori hesitated briefly. "But Inoichi-sensei ordered—"

"Situation has changed," I cut her off. "Heiji's opponent uses puppets."

"On it." Shiori didn't argue further. Whatever rivalry existed between us in the Academy was temporarily suspended in the reality of combat.

She followed my instructions and went to assist Heiji against his enemy.

And I quickly moved toward Inoichi's position using the trees as cover. My chakra reserves remained at roughly 85%—well within operational parameters for extended combat.

From what I could see before I left, Shiori positioned herself at optimal firing angle, her hands blurring through seals with the precision only Sharingan users could achieve.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

The Suna ninja puppeteer hurriedly dodged the fireball's range.

"Damn it! Where did she come from? Seito was supposed to—" His realization that his teammate had fallen hit him mid-sentence, disrupting his technique and causing a momentary lag in his puppet's movements.

Seizing the opportunity, Heiji switched from defense to offense, closing in directly.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

The puppet was shattered into pieces.

With his Byakugan active, he should be aware that I had already killed the enemy on my end.

"Circle left. Cut off his retreat path," Heiji called to Shiori.

"He's preparing another technique. Wind nature," she responded, Sharingan tracking the enemy's chakra movement.

"I see it. Three... two... one..."

Now, it was him and Shiori against a puppeteer without his puppet.

The advantage was theirs.

Thus, Heiji decided to press the attack. Although Inoichi had only instructed us to hold the enemy off, eliminating the opponent was naturally better.

As for Inoichi, with my arrival, there was a higher chance to win. It was 2 vs 2 after all...

"Status?" Inoichi called, breathing heavily.

"One down. Heiji and Shiori engaging the puppeteer," I responded concisely.

"Good. Watch the Suna captain—Earth and Wind dual nature."

"Noted." I was already forming seals.

The two Suna ninjas he was fighting were no pushovers. The one who seemed to be the Suna ninja captain was skilled in ninjutsu, while the tall one with war paint on his face excelled in taijutsu.

The combination of close and long-range attacks left Inoichi struggling. His normally immaculate ponytail had come partially undone, sweat beaded on his forehead, and a shallow cut across his left shoulder leaked blood down his arm.

After forming hand signs, I struck the ground. The tall Suna ninja fighting Inoichi suddenly lost his footing as the ground beneath him caved in.

"What the hell?" He quickly scrambled to regain balance, arms pinwheeling momentarily before he began to sink into the collapsing earth.

Seeing this, Inoichi immediately threw a kunai toward the enemy, then jumped back to create distance and detonated the explosive tag attached to the kunai.

A loud explosion resounded, and smoke filled the pit created by my Earth Style.

Inoichi regrouped with me and said while watching the smoke, "Don't let your guard down; I can still sense chakra."

Unlike his sensory field, I could see clearly.

The tall Suna ninja, realizing he had lost balance, had used an earth jutsu to burrow underground and avoid the explosion's range.

At this moment, numerous projectiles shot out from the smoke, their surfaces shimmering with a purple glow, clearly laced with a deadly poison.

Although our team had a medical-nin, I had no intention of being caught off guard by such an unknown poison.

"Chidori Current."

The sound of chirping thunderbirds resounded again, this time even louder. Blinding lightning engulfed my entire body.

There was no need for further testing.

I instantly closed the gap to the tall Suna ninja who had just emerged from underground.

The ground erupted as predicted, the enemy launching upward with kunai in hand—only to find me already waiting.

The dancing arcs of electricity obediently wrapped themselves around my blade. Wielding Lostvayne, I slashed down with a brilliant flash of lightning.

"So fast…"

I heard him mutter as he realized he couldn't dodge in time. He used an earth jutsu in an attempt to block my attack. His skin took on the color and texture of sandstone.

However, he had gravely underestimated its power.

"Boom!"

The ground was charred black by my lightning strike, glass forming where sand had instantly melted from the heat. His arm was nearly severed by the slash, hanging by little more than tendon and bone as blood poured from the cauterized edges of the wound.

The injury was severe, but he did not lose consciousness. Instead, he tensed his entire body, preventing me from pulling Lostvayne out immediately.

He stomped heavily on the ground, instantly turning the area into quicksand, locking me firmly in place.

I could see the fire in his eyes—he intended to kill me, even if it cost him his life.

"Midori! Attack already, you useless captain! Next time, make sure to explain mission intel clearly!"

Midori's face darkened from afar.

Although it took time to describe, all of this happened in an instant. From the release of my attack to being caught by the enemy's technique, only about two seconds had passed.

"This is bad…" Inoichi was not a speed-focused ninja, so he couldn't quickly rescue me. His only option was to interfere with the Suna ninja captain's attack.

"Mind Body Disturbance!"

His hands formed the distinctive Yamanaka seal as his consciousness partially projected toward the Suna captain.

In the earlier part of the battle, he had been overwhelmed in a 1 vs 2 situation and lacked the opportunity to unleash his secret techniques due to the tall Suna ninja's close-range attacks.

"So, you're a member of the Yamanaka clan? But don't underestimate my willpower!"

Midori's face contorted with effort, veins bulging at his temples as he fought against the mental intrusion. Through sheer force of will, he forcibly snapped himself out of the jutsu's influence and threw several kunai with explosive tags attached toward me, as I was immobilized by the quicksand.

At the same time, he formed hand signs.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave."

Sharp wind blades surged toward me, invisible to normal sight but clearly defined to my Rikugan.

"This will end it. If not for the war, you would've had a much brighter future," the tall Suna ninja said, his breathing labored.

"You assume much about my future," I replied calmly.

"War makes monsters of us all. I was like you once... talented, confident."

"And now?"

"Just tired. So damn tired. I just want to sleep."

Seeing Midori's successful attack, he sincerely spoke to me as I was trapped in his quicksand.

So, what was my state of mind when faced with such a deadly situation?

The answer: completely calm.

Defense was never something I had to worry about—at least not since I turned ten.

Facing the incoming wind blades and explosive tags, my response was:

"Full Counter!"

---

There is a poll if you want to vote on my p@treon. But you can also vote here in the comments. P@treon votes are 3x more.

PS: Skill will be chakra based.

Third Pity (Skill):

1. Divine Divide

2. Space manipulation (Either attack or utility like phasing)

3. Kite-like summoning (Kite is from HxH)

4. Mystic Eyes of Death Perception

5. Hellspace (similar to Shadow Monarch skill)

6. Zanpakuto (Lostvayne will become a Zanpakuto while skill is used)

7. Penance Stare (Ghost Rider)

8. Vampirism a la Hellsing (could be interesting if a new race is introduced. It has cons and pros.)

9. One Piece body and talent

10. Satan Soul (Fairy Tail)