and Breaking the Spirit 13: Killing the Body…
and Breaking the Spirit “Relax.” “I’m fine.” Akira looked calmly at Aoki, who was falling from the sky before him, his eyes filled with mockery.
“My favorite opponents…” “…are speed types who like to charge straight at me.” After all…
Who would ever pay attention to a tiny, nearly invisible thread?
Aoki landed heavily on the ground.
His eyes were full of horror.
He stared blankly at the severed arm lying nearby, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
A moment ago…
His attack had clearly connected.
So why…
Why was it his own arm that had been cut off?
…Wait.
At the instant they crossed paths…
He had indeed caught sight of a tiny glimmer.
It looked like…
A thread?
“So…” Clutching the stump of his severed arm, Aoki’s face twisted with pain.
“Your ability is to create threads?” “What a bizarre ability.” He had never heard of such a Bloodline Limit before.
Could it be a newly awakened one?
“You guessed correctly.” Akira nodded without denying it.
“My ability really is manipulating threads.” During that exchange…
He hadn’t merely created a thread.
He had also coated it with razor-sharp Wind-attribute chakra.
That made the already incredibly sharp string even deadlier.
It was a new application he had developed only recently.
Something similar to a form of chakra nature transformation.
“What a troublesome ability.” Aoki gritted his teeth.
Using Lightning Release, he forcibly cauterized the wound to stop the bleeding.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced toward Kushina floating in the sky.
Then…
Toward the border of the Land of Fire.
His decision was made.
Taking the girl was no longer possible.
His only option…
Was escape.
Without another word, lightning erupted around his body.
His speed exploded to an astonishing level as he fled toward the border without looking back.
“He’s running!” Kushina cried out.
“Don’t let him escape!” “Don’t worry.” Akira smiled faintly.
“He won’t.” The moment he finished speaking, he shot through the forest at incredible speed.
Within moments…
He caught up to Aoki.
A thread coated in Wind-attribute chakra shot straight toward the Jonin’s back.
“Overheat!” Slash!
The razor-sharp thread pierced straight through Aoki’s Lightning Armor.
Then…
It buried itself deep inside his body.
Crack!
The overwhelming pain caused Aoki to lose his footing.
His foot caught on a tree root.
Boom!
He was hurled forward like a cannonball before crashing into a massive tree trunk.
The impact blasted a huge hole straight through it.
Watching the scene, Akira couldn’t help clicking his tongue.
“Speed really is power.” No wonder Kizaru from the Marines loved asking people whether they’d ever been kicked at the speed of light.
It really did feel satisfying.
“Cough…” Inside the shattered tree, Aoki spat out a mouthful of blood.
Even fragments of his internal organs came out with it.
He knew…
There was no escaping now.
But there was one thing he couldn’t understand.
How…
How had Akira managed to keep up with his speed?
“Wondering how I caught you?” Akira slowly walked over and looked down at him expressionlessly.
It was the gaze of someone looking at a corpse.
“…Yeah.” Aoki was barely breathing now.
Even so…
He wanted an answer.
“Since you’re about to die…” “I’ll let you understand.” A faint smile appeared on Akira’s lips.
“I never said…” “…that the one standing in front of you was my real body.” His String Clone…
Had become incredibly refined by now.
“What…?” Shock filled Aoki’s eyes.
With great difficulty, he shifted his gaze toward the clone still floating in the sky while holding Kushina.
“Don’t tell me…” “Tsk.” Akira shrugged.
“So you figured it out.” “I thought it’d take you a little longer.” “Then again…” “It doesn’t really matter.” “You won’t be alive much longer anyway.” “To be honest…” Akira tapped his lips thoughtfully.
“You’re actually pretty weak.” “You probably only became a Jonin recently, didn’t you?” “…Were you a disposable pawn?” A look of gloom flashed across Aoki’s face.
Akira had guessed correctly.
He had no choice.
Only by carrying out this mission…
Could his family live a better life.
Only then…
Could the sins he carried finally be washed away.
“No!” Aoki suddenly roared.
He remembered.
He hadn’t come here for himself.
He came to make the Land of Lightning stronger.
He might have made mistakes.
But that didn’t change the fact that he loved his country.
He loved his village.
A fierce light erupted in his eyes.
“Then die with me!” Without hesitation…
He detonated every explosive tag hidden on his body.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion shook the entire forest.
Even several kilometers away, the blast could be heard clearly.
Yet…
Despite the terrifying power of the explosion…
Neither Akira nor Kushina suffered the slightest injury.
“What a shame.” Akira sighed.
“He killed himself.” “Otherwise…” “We could’ve extracted plenty of useful information from his head.” If they’d brought him back to Konoha…
The Yamanaka Clan could have searched his memories.
There would’ve been quite a few interesting pieces of intelligence to uncover.
“…Akira.” Having finally calmed down, Kushina spoke softly.
“Hm?” “What is it?” “…Can you promise me something?” “What?” “Don’t ever leave me again.” “…Alright.” “I promise.” “…Thank you.” “Isn’t that only natural?” “…Yes.” “It is.” Under the moonlit sky…
The two young children embraced each other.
The scene was breathtakingly beautiful.
Below them, Sakumo Hatake, who had rushed all the way from Konoha, looked up at the pair in the sky with a helpless expression.
I rushed here as fast as I could to rescue you two…
And here you are, hugging your little boyfriend beneath the moonlight.
Seriously…
Forget it.
I’ll let them have their moment.
Turning his attention toward the distant explosion, surprise flashed across Sakumo’s face.
Just how many explosive tags would it take to create a blast like that?
The effective blast radius had to be over a dozen meters.
Don’t tell me…
That boy wiped out every Hidden Cloud ninja by himself?
Interesting…
A smile slowly appeared on Sakumo’s face.
It seemed Konoha was about to gain another extraordinary genius.
At only ten years old…
He had already defeated a Hidden Cloud Jonin.
Looking across the entire ninja world…
Who else could boast such a feat?