Ch 56: Taking Advantage of the Fire

Chapter 56: Taking Advantage of the Fire

Boom!

"Ahhh! Everybody run!"

"It's the Nine-Tailed Fox! The Nine-Tailed Fox has gone berserk!"

"All ANBU, follow me! Ninjas below Chunin level, lead the civilians to the shelters!"

Hearing the rumbling noise, screams, and the sound of hurried footsteps outside, Ayaan sat up with a quick flip and sighed in relief.

"Finally, you're here. If you hadn't shown up, I would've just left tomorrow!"

There was a chilling, oppressive chakra flowing through the night breeze. Even though Ayaan's chakra had nearly reached the limits of Kage-level power, it was still nothing compared to the overwhelming energy of the Nine-Tails outside.

"With that much chakra, even ordinary people without sensing abilities must be feeling like the world is ending," Ayaan muttered, leaping from the room and catching sight of the colossal orange-red beast roaring toward the heavens.

"Time to take advantage of this chaos and head for the Hokage Building."

He smiled faintly and vanished in an instant.

In this kind of chaos, Ayaan moved like a fish in water. The stronger ninjas had already rushed out to deal with the Nine-Tails. Those remaining in the village were mostly Genin or weak Chunin—none of them could even track his movements.

"Who's there?! Stop!"

When Ayaan arrived near the Hokage Building, two competent-looking ninjas rushed out. Clearly, even in this emergency, someone was maintaining minimum alert around the building.

Though they yelled for him to stop, their hands moved even faster. In a flash, kunai were launched, multiplying through a Shadow Kunai Technique, creating a dense storm of blades.

Ayaan didn't dodge. His body shimmered with metallic luster as a layer of Armament Haki wrapped around him. He charged forward.

Ding! Clang! Crash!

The kunai shattered harmlessly on impact, with the cloned ones vanishing into smoke. The real few were reduced to twisted scrap metal.

The two ninjas were stunned. As Ayaan neared the building, they didn't hesitate—they whipped out two reinforced steel wires, flinging them at his body.

These weren't ordinary wires. Made from specialized alloys, they were razor-sharp and ultra-tensile. But the moment they latched on, they felt as if they were pulling a mountain.

"You really want to compete with me in strength?" Ayaan sneered. "You've picked the wrong guy."

With a single jerk, he yanked them both forward. The steel wires snapped with a loud twang.

Still mid-air, the two ninjas formed hand seals, releasing simultaneous lightning and fire-style attacks.

Ayaan raised one hand. A swirl of dark mist—the effect of his Yami Yami no Mi—instantly swallowed their attacks, and then engulfed the men themselves. When the mist cleared, they lay unconscious on the ground, their chakra fully drained.

"This is still my birthplace. No point killing unless I have to," Ayaan murmured.

Looking up at the Hokage Building, he paused, then grinned. "Why search every room?"

"Dark Hole Road."

A massive tide of darkness erupted beneath his feet, enveloping the entire Hokage Building. Layer by layer, the structure was sucked into the abyssal void of his dark space.

Panic erupted inside. Screams echoed. The black mist neutralized all resistance. Within moments, the entire Hokage Building was gone—swallowed.

"Let's see where you're hiding the Scroll of Seals now. If I've got the whole building, I'll find it eventually."

As for the ninjas inside, Ayaan made sure not to kill them. He drained their chakra, knocked them out, and tossed them aside safely.

"Next stop: Root base. Hashirama cells and Sharingan—those should still be in storage!"

But unlike before, this move couldn't go unnoticed. Even with most of Konoha's forces occupied, some remained, and they couldn't ignore someone devouring the Hokage Building.

A few squads tried to stop him, but against Ayaan's fully awakened Yami Yami no Mi, they didn't stand a chance.

As a cloud of black mist cloaked him, all ninjutsu and projectiles were drawn in and dissolved. Touching the mist meant unconsciousness. Wherever he passed, only fallen ninja remained.

"No wonder the Yami Yami no Mi doesn't allow for intangibility like Logia users. This fruit isn't about turning into darkness—it's about controlling it. If it could become intangible, it'd be a walking black hole. Nothing would survive."

"Only seastone and Haki can counter it. And maybe a chakra or energy blast several times stronger than the darkness..."

The more he used it, the more Ayaan realized the terrifying potential of the Yami Yami no Mi.

Suddenly, he froze mid-step.

"Got him! Hold him still!"

A voice rang out—sharp, commanding.

Ayaan's body wouldn't move.

"Shadow Possession Technique? Nara clan?" he muttered. The shadows had crept up unnoticed beneath the heavy fog. Observation Haki wasn't perfect against formless, grounded tricks like that.

"You really think your chakra can restrain me?" Ayaan smirked. "And devil fruits don't need hand seals."

The Nara ninja coughed blood. "No... I can't hold him!"

"I'll handle it!" shouted another voice.

An Akimichi clan member charged, his hand expanding through the Partial Multi-Size Technique, aiming for a devastating palm strike.

But Ayaan shook off the shadow control in a blink. Swathed in black mist, he met the giant hand head-on with a dark-coated fist.

The fists clashed—one massive, one small.

And then—scream.

But it wasn't Ayaan who screamed—it was the Akimichi.

A black hole punctured the massive palm. Blood gushed like a river as the suction of the Yami Yami no Mi drained him dry. Within seconds, he passed out, pale and motionless.

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