Shiranui Rei’s Shadow Clone appeared out of nowhere right in front of Captain Wolf.
The two stared at each other, their eyes practically meeting through their masks, while the atmosphere fell into an awkward silence.
“You…”
Wolf was just about to say something when Shiranui Rei’s Shadow Clone waved a hand.
“Ahem. Well… I’m still a little lacking in skill.”
After an awkward cough, a flash of black light swept over the Shadow Clone’s body, and it disappeared from the spot once again.
The disturbance also attracted Vulture’s attention.
His eyes instinctively followed the direction from which the voices had come.
However, from the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of a flash of black light blooming to his left.
No, wait.
This was—
A cold glint flashed.
The samurai sword in Vulture’s right hand was too slow to block.
Caught off guard, he could only raise the armored guard strapped to his left forearm to meet the incoming blade.
Clang!
The distinctive sound of steel scraping across the arm guard shattered the silence.
But a sudden strike like this couldn’t be completely blocked so easily.
After sliding across the arm guard, the blade continued upward, leaving a thin line of blood across Vulture’s exposed arm.
The sight made Moon, who was watching from a distance, instinctively grab his left arm.
When he noticed Wolf looking at him in surprise, he awkwardly lowered his hand.
“Damn it!”
Vulture’s face twisted beneath his mask.
He swung his sword with his right hand, forcing Shiranui Rei back, then quickly widened the distance between them.
Covering the wound on his left arm with his right hand, he watched in shock as blood seeped between his fingers.
His eyes then fell upon the kunai lying on the ground—the one he had long since overlooked.
Unable to contain his shock and anger, Vulture blurted out,
“You actually learned the Flying Thunder God?!”
“Actually?”
Shiranui Rei narrowed his eyes.
That choice of words was rather interesting.
He hadn’t said, “You actually learned the Flying Thunder God.”
Instead, he had said, “You actually learned the Flying Thunder God this quickly.”
As someone skilled at reading between the lines, Rei immediately noticed the difference.
Vulture wasn’t merely surprised that he had learned the technique.
He was more puzzled by how Rei had managed to learn it so quickly.
But there shouldn’t have been many people who knew that Rei was studying the Flying Thunder God.
After all, when the Hokage rewarded someone with a ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals, there was no need to announce it to the entire village.
The people who knew were only Jiraiya, Minato, Mikoto, Kushina, and the other higher-ups in the village…
Yet this ANBU member codenamed Vulture had clearly never met him before.
So why did he know about this information?
Combined with the inexplicable hostility he had shown earlier, Vulture’s origins suddenly seemed rather intriguing.
A meaningful smile curled beneath Shiranui Rei’s eagle-beaked mask.
He called out loudly,
“How did you know I was learning the Flying Thunder God?”
“…I only found out just now.”
Vulture’s body stiffened for an instant.
After realizing that he had misspoken, he gave only a brief answer.
After that, knowing that he had let something slip, he said nothing more about it.
“You’re already injured. You’re not going to surrender?”
Shiranui Rei raised his chin, gesturing toward Vulture’s bleeding arm.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Clone that had just used the Flying Thunder God had already disappeared in a puff of smoke after completing its task.
This was a combat method Rei had developed during this period.
Since the deviation of the Flying Thunder God’s teleportation point was beyond his control and could potentially cause him to randomly appear directly in the path of an enemy attack, why risk his own body?
Instead, he could have a Shadow Clone act as the caster.
Although this consumed more chakra, it could minimize the negative effects of the Flying Thunder God’s coordinate deviation.
If this had been a genuine fight to the death, he would have even equipped the Shadow Clone with explosive tags and detonated them the instant the Flying Thunder God succeeded!
This was the first time he had tested this combat method in an actual battle.
The blood continuously flowing from Vulture’s arm was proof enough that the technique worked quite well.
“Heh heh… It’s only a minor injury. You’re telling me to surrender over this?”
Vulture let out a cold laugh.
The murderous intent in his sinister eyes grew even more intense.
“Lightning Release: Earth Walking!”
The same hand seals.
The same ninjutsu.
But this time, Vulture’s Lightning Release: Earth Walking was completely different from before.
Instead of pressing his hand against the ground to release the lightning, Vulture completed the hand seals and stood perfectly still, concentrating all his attention on the standard-issue ANBU sword tightly gripped in his right hand.
The next instant, countless fine bolts of lightning erupted.
They twisted around the blade like serpents of lightning, biting and coiling along its length.
Blinding lightning and the cold gleam of the blade complemented each other!
Vulture wielded the lightning-wrapped sword, his figure tearing through the darkness like a bolt of lightning.
“Interesting. A combination of ninjutsu and swordsmanship?”
Shiranui Rei’s pupils contracted.
The approaching blade and the hissing lightning snakes made his hair stand on end.
As expected, anyone who had fought countless battles and reached jonin level had to have something up their sleeve.
Lightning Release: Earth Walking wasn’t an especially profound Lightning Release technique.
But this was the first time Rei had seen someone release it by wrapping the lightning around a blade.
As a shinobi, mastering even a single ninjutsu to an extraordinary level was enough to make others take notice.
Not everyone was like the Third Hokage, known as the “Professor,” who had mastered ninjutsu of all five basic natures.
And even the Third Hokage, renowned for his mastery of all five nature transformations, wasn’t necessarily stronger than the Third Raikage, who specialized exclusively in Lightning Release.
“Since that’s the case, I should show him what I’ve accomplished recently.”
The curve of Shiranui Rei’s lips gradually widened beneath his mask.
Within his tall frame, the darkness capable of devouring everything completely released its restraints!
Not the Wind Release and Fire Release techniques he was accustomed to using.
If this was going to be a whetstone, then he naturally had to use the ability he had obtained most recently!
Under the puzzled gazes of the three people present, Rei simply raised his right hand until it was level with his shoulder.
There was no samurai sword in his hand.
No kunai.
No shuriken.
Compared with the roaring lightning and blade rushing toward him, this hand was slender and bony, carrying the lean, clean lines unique to a young man.
It looked so thin and fragile.
“How arrogant!”
Seeing the young man’s movement, Vulture’s heart filled with a mixture of anger at being looked down upon and the vicious confidence of someone certain of victory.
He actually intended to block Vulture’s ultimate technique, which combined Lightning Release and swordsmanship, with his bare hand?
Did he think he was the Third Raikage or something?!
Foolish brat.
You dare interfere with that person’s plans?
Pay for your ignorance with your blood!
But at that moment, Shiranui Rei’s voice slowly echoed throughout the training ground.
“Captain Wolf, this is the first time I’m showing off this ability, so watch carefully!
“Let this darkness that devours everything become the beginning of my ANBU career!”
How could the debut of the Yami Yami no Mi take place without an audience worthy of witnessing it?
Captain Wolf—the shinobi who had earned the name “White Fang” and struck fear throughout the shinobi world—was certainly qualified to be that audience.
As Rei’s voice fell, an overwhelming darkness rose from within his body.
It condensed into thick, pitch-black smoke, deep and bottomless, flowing behind him like a billowing cloak.
Even his dark-purple hair seemed to merge with the darkness, making him look almost like a demon god!
On his slender right hand held out before him, rolling black smoke coiled and flowed.
An aura of extreme danger swept across the entire training ground without restraint!
“That is…”
Wolf and Moon, watching from outside the arena, both looked grim.
They widened their eyes in unison, staring intently at the dense darkness.
What exactly was that pitch-black power?
The next second, despite there being no wind inside the room, their clothes suddenly began to move.
Wait.
Their bodies were being pulled toward it!
The moment they realized this, Wolf and Moon didn’t hesitate to stay and watch the battle.
They immediately turned around and retreated toward a position farther away from the center of the training ground.
“Vulture, since you’ve staked your resolve on this, then face this darkness head-on!”
At the center of the arena, Shiranui Rei’s right hand suddenly slammed toward the ground, trailing countless strands of thick black smoke.
The instant his fist struck the floor, darkness of unimaginable intensity erupted from Rei and spread in every direction.
“Dark Cave Path!!!”