Chapter 40: Killer Move: Serious Series
Author Note:
Here's the BONUS CHAPTER as promised—thanks for the support, and let's keep this energy going!
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Flames tore through the air, their heat sharp and biting from the force of impact.
Was Sunagakure always this obsessed with tricky abilities?
The sand of Gaara and Rasa, the iron sand from the Third Kazekage, the puppets of Chiyo and Sasori of the Red Sand… and now, the Scorch Style of the woman standing before him—Pakura.
"But honestly, your moves are slower than Rasa's, poker-faced lady."
Guts swerved past the fireball with ease, his fist cocked and brimming with terrifying energy. It shot forward—straight toward Pakura's cold, yet strangely captivating, face.
Pakura remained expressionless, her eyes calm, like someone still waiting for a debt from Kakashi years ago.
With a fluid wave of her hands—like a puppet master at work—the fireballs Guts had dodged suddenly turned midair and came flying at him again.
"Didn't I already say this kind of thing won't work on me?"
Though facing away, Guts twisted his body instinctively, his senses sharp. The fireballs missed again, barely grazing past him.
From a distance, Rasa—locked in combat with Jiraiya—watched and couldn't help exclaiming,
"What is this kid? Does he have eyes on the back of his head?!"
"No… it's not perception," Pakura finally murmured.
At first, she assumed he was simply tracking chakra—standard sensory technique stuff. But no, this wasn't that.
Chakra sensing could give a general direction, maybe even a vague location.
But doing that in the middle of battle, while dodging attacks so precisely? That was something else.
Only the Byakugan could offer that level of precision. And he clearly didn't have it.
Still, she didn't stop. Her fingers shifted slightly—another command. Four new Scorch Style fireballs launched from different angles, boxing him in.
"Come on," Guts sighed.
"I already told you—it's too easy to read you."
He inhaled calmly. His right fist clenched tight.
"Meteor Fist!"
With a bone-rattling crack, his fist slammed into the ground.
The ground erupted. Rock and earth exploded outward as the raw pressure blasted through the soil like a shockwave.
Debris flew in every direction, forming a makeshift shield of boulders between Guts and the incoming fireballs.
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.
"That strength… it's almost on par with Tsunade's. What kind of monster is that kid!?"
He had no idea of the future technique Tsunade would develop—one powerful enough to shatter Susanoo's ribcage. But even so, Guts was terrifying.
A five-year-old with strength rivaling the Sannin?
"Fist" Garp… he really lives up to the title.
Pakura was forced backward. The shockwave and debris left her bleeding—small stones cutting into her skin like shrapnel.
"Kekkei Genkai? Ninjutsu? I don't care about any of that crap."
Guts emerged from the crumbling crater, dust swirling around him. His muscles tensed, wrapped in chakra thick enough to rival the Senju.
"What matters is strength. If you're not strong enough—then just get stronger."
Even with just 20% of Garp's power, Guts already carried the air of a future hero.
But as he grew, he realized something troubling: simple training no longer helped much.
What used to give him a 0.01% boost every day… now took several days for even that. The plateau had arrived.
That's why he had asked White Fang to train him personally.
It wasn't just him—even Garp had faced it. As strength increased, basic exercises became less effective.
Luffy had gone through the same—growing stronger through real fights, struggling until discovering Haki, which led to another massive leap.
A level Useless Captain Mid could never reach.
For Guts, it wasn't enough to train. He needed to fight real threats.
And Pakura was more than enough for now.
She suddenly formed a hand seal Guts hadn't seen before.
The fireballs floating around her dispersed and scattered, turning into glowing embers that hovered in the air like fireflies.
They gently drifted around Guts and the surrounding Konoha shinobi.
Beautiful… and ominous.
"What's this supposed to be?"
Guts said casually, glancing around.
"Trying to put a baby to sleep?"
But then he felt it.
The temperature. The dryness.
The other shinobi around him began to scream. Steam hissed off their skin. Their faces twisted in pain. Their bodies shriveled.
In seconds, they collapsed—mummified corpses.
"Scorch Style: Oversteaming." Pakura said coldly.
A gruesome technique. Like Deidara's C4—killing silently, from within. The moisture in the body—evaporated instantly.
Guts licked his lips, dry and cracked. His skin tingled with burning heat.
"…That's a flashy trick. I don't have anything that pretty."
He smiled.
Then—BOOM!
Another punch into the ground.
This one was different. No explosive shockwave.
Instead, deep cracks spidered out across the earth, drawing a wide, irregular circle—half the size of a football field.
"Ghh!"
He grunted, veins bulging, and thrust his hands into the massive cracks.
"Don't tell me…"
Jiraiya gasped, realization hitting him.
"He's not… no… no way…"
In the next moment—
Guts lifted the entire slab of earth.
A boulder the size of a small battlefield, hoisted over his head like it was nothing.
Even if it wasn't as massive as the iceberg "Diamond" Jozu once threw, the idea of a kid lifting something like that?
A grasshopper lifting an elephant.
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PS: Sigh... Just wanted to clear something up real quick—some of you might've missed this, but the total number of power stones included some from earlier. I already posted the bonus chapter for those, so no worries there! I get that it can be a bit confusing, so just wanted to clarify. Thanks for the support as always!
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