Chapter 56 – First Fight

  [Let’s have some fun, Raijin.] Raizu perked up with amusement.

  Raijin narrowed his eyes as he stood firm on the uneven ground. Before him, a seasoned Samurai in bck armor with crimson trim wielded twin katanas that fshed in the fading sunlight. The air crackled with tension.

  The Samurai moved first, closing the distance in a blur, forcing Raijin to react. His fingers formed hand signs, chakra surging through his veins and into his short two bdes. Lightning crackled along their edges as he raised them to meet the Samurai’s strike. Steel met chakra-infused metal with a thunderous crash, sending a shower of blue-white sparks cascading around them like electric rain.

  [Beat that sword fanatic.]

  His swords became extensions of his will, each strike a precisely aimed bolt of lightning, each parry calcuted. Yet the Samurai matched him move for move, those twin katanas weaving an impenetrable defense before transitioning seamlessly into sweeping counterattacks that whistled with deadly intent. There was no wasted motion, no hesitation—only the perfect movement born from decades of relentless training.

  Sensing the need to change tactics, Raijin kicked hard against the earth, propelling himself backward in an arc. His hands fshed through signs mid-flight, chakra gathering at his fingertips.

  Jagged bolts of electric fury erupted from his outstretched palms, splitting the air with the sharp smell of burnt oxygen as they snaked toward their target. The Samurai’s eyes widened briefly before narrowing with focus. With a fluid motion, he channeled dark blue chakra into his katana and cleaved through Raijin’s attack. The lightning shattered with a sound like breaking gss, fragments of energy dissipating into the humid air.

  Raijin nded in a crouch, the impact jolting through his knees as he immediately rolled sideways. The ground where he had stood a heartbeat earlier exploded in a shower of dirt and stone as the Samurai’s follow-up strike cleaved deep into the earth.

  “You’re quick,” the Samurai acknowledged, his voice deep and measured beneath his cquered mask. “But speed alone won’t save you.”

  Then the Samurai advanced.

  Raijin’s arms vibrated painfully as he deflected a barrage of strikes that came at him, each impact threatening to tear the bdes from his aching grip. Sweat stung his eyes, his breath coming in controlled bursts as he searched for an opening.

  There—a subtle shift in the Samurai’s footwork. Using his opponent’s momentum against him, Raijin ducked under a horizontal ssh that passed close enough to sever a few strands of his hair. In the same fluid motion, he drove his elbow upward with bone-crushing force into the gap between the Samurai’s chest pte and side armor. The satisfying crunch of ribs giving way was followed by a pained grunt, but the samurai recovered with inhuman swiftness, his upward swing forcing Raijin to backflip away, the bde missing his chin by mere centimeters.

  [What are you going to do?]

  Shadow Clone Jutsu, Raijin replied as two clones appeared beside him. The clones rushed the Samurai in tandem.

  The Samurai’s swords fshed, dismantling the clones in a flurry of precise strikes, but that was the opening Raijin needed.

  Behind the veil of dissipating clone smoke, Raijin’s hands came together in a final seal. Concentrated blue-white electricity burst from his palms, coalescing into crackling chains that wrapped around the Samurai’s legs like hungry serpents.

  Lightning Net

  The warrior’s smooth movements faltered, muscles seizing as the electric current disrupted his nervous system.

  [Neat… But I bet he will break that.]

  Seizing the momentary advantage, Raijin surged forward, lightning chakra enveloping his bde as he aimed a decisive thrust at the Samurai’s exposed chest. Victory hovered tantalizingly close—until the Samurai’s katana fred with unexpected intensity, its bde glowing with a burst of energy. With a swift ssh, he cleaved through Raijin’s electric bindings, shattering them with a burst of light and force. In the same fluid motion, the Samurai twisted, deflecting Raijin’s strike and countering with a savage kick that connected solidly with his sternum.

  The world tilted as Raijin was sent flying backward, pain blossoming across his chest like wildfire. He tasted dirt and blood as he tumbled across the uneven ground, somehow managing to roll to his feet despite the protest of his bruised ribs.

  [Told ya, you seemed to be at a disadvantage.]

  The Samurai advanced methodically, his bdes spinning in deadly. Noticing the incoming attack, Raijin’s hand dove into his pouch, emerging with a small bck sphere. “Let’s change the odds,” he muttered, hurling the smoke bomb at the ground between them.

  Thick gray smoke billowed outward, enveloping the battlefield in artificial twilight. The Samurai sshed through it without hesitation, but Raijin was no longer there. Using the momentary cover, he channeled chakra to his feet and scaled the nearest tree, unching himself from its highest branch like a thunderbolt from the sky. Gravity multiplied the force of his descent as he plummeted toward his opponent. Both swords extended downward, crackling with concentrated lightning chakra.

  Steel met steel with a deafening cng that sent shockwaves through the surrounding forest, startling birds from their roosts. The ground beneath them fractured from the force of their collision, spider-web cracks radiating outward as they strained against each other, muscles trembling with effort.

  Raijin disengaged with a powerful push, nding several meters away. His chest heaved with exertion, sweat soaking through his clothes as he assessed his chakra reserves. His mind, however, remained knife-edge sharp, analyzing every detail of the Samurai’s stance and movement patterns.

  Raijin feinted left, his foot pivoting in the loose soil before he abruptly darted right. His hand flicked forward, releasing a barrage of shuriken, each one carefully infused with a precise amount of lightning chakra. The Samurai’s bdes danced, deflecting most of the projectiles with practiced ease—but one found its mark, embedding itself in a seam of his shoulder armor.

  The shuriken discharged its payload, sending a violent pulse of electricity through the metal armor. The Samurai’s rhythm faltered, his sword arm momentarily seizing as the current disrupted his muscle control. Raijin closed the distance in the blink of an eye, his bde slipping past the Samurai’s disrupted guard to carve a shallow but precise wound across his exposed side.

  [Nice.]

  With first blood drawn, Raijin leaped back as the Samurai countered with a fierce upward ssh born more of instinct than technique. Crimson droplets spattered the ground, stark against the dusty earth, but the Samurai’s expression remained impassive beneath his half-mask, only the slight tightening around his eyes that betrayed the pain.

  Raijin’s chakra gathered, condensing and intensifying as he extended his arm. The air around his palm warped with power, electricity coalescing into a brilliant spear of pure lightning enveloped into a kunai that illuminated the battlefield with harsh blue-white radiance.

  He hurled the crackling javelin with all his remaining strength, the projectile cutting through the air with a sound like tearing silk. The Samurai crossed his katanas before him, channeling a surge of defensive chakra that formed a shimmering barrier of energy. Raijin’s lightning spear collided with the barrier, the resulting explosion bathing the forest in blinding light. The concussive force bent tree trunks and sent leaves swirling from their branches in a verdant tornado.

  As the light faded, Raijin stood with legs braced, knuckles white around the hilt of his remaining bde. Faint lightning flickered around him like a cloak, responding to his racing heartbeat, the static energy making the fine hairs on his arms stand on end. A familiar voice chimed in his head, tinged with its usual sardonic amusement.

  [You better not make me look bad, Raijin. Imagine losing to a guy with shiny swords.]

  The Samurai emerged from the dissipating smoke, armor bckened in pces but stance unwavering. With a battle cry that seemed to resonate from deep within his chest, he lunged forward, a blur of deadly precision as his twin bdes cut lethal arcs through the air.

  Raijin sidestepped, the deadly edge missing him by a hairsbreadth. He could feel the dispced air kiss his cheek as he pivoted, retaliating with a swift, targeted ssh aimed at the Samurai's already wounded side. The warrior parried with masterful control, the metals singing against each other before he countered with a spinning strike that forced Raijin to leap backward.

  His sandals barely touched the ground before his hands flew through seals, each position perfect despite the speed of execution.

  Thrusting both palms forward, he released not one but multiple bolts of concentrated lightning, each aimed at a different vital point. The Samurai twisted with impressive agility, his chakra-enhanced bde cutting through the air in a defensive pattern that deflected most of the electric assault. Yet the sheer force pushed him back several paces, his heels digging furrows in the earth.

  [Nice aim,] Raizu’s voice crackled with sarcastic glee. [Did you mean to miss by an inch or was that part of the pn?]

  Ignoring the jab, Raijin pressed the advantage, closing the distance with blinding speed. Their bdes collided in a furious exchange, each csh producing a shower of sparks that briefly illuminated their determined expressions. Raijin's strategy was evolving with each moment—keep the Samurai defensive, deny him the initiative, exploit the microsecond gaps in his guard. His strikes grew faster, each movement fueled by increasingly precise chakra control as he pushed himself beyond normal limits.

  The Samurai’s defense began to falter under the relentless assault, his counter-attacks coming a fraction slower each time. Sweat beaded on his brow, his breathing growing bored behind his mask as Raijin pressed his advantage mercilessly.

  Seizing a critical opening, Raijin feinted high, his bde arcing toward the Samurai’s head. As the Samurai’s swords rose to block, Raijin abruptly changed direction, dropping into a low stance and driving his knee into the Samurai’s unprotected midsection with bone-jarring force. Air exploded from the samurai’s lungs in a pained gasp, and Raijin capitalized immediately, transitioning into a powerful roundhouse kick that connected solidly with his temple.

  The impact sent him sprawling across the battlefield, his armor scraping against stone as he tumbled to a stop. For a moment, all was still, save for Raijin’s breathing and the distant calls of fight.

  Slowly, remarkably, the Samurai pushed himself upright, blood trickling from beneath his mask to trace crimson rivulets down his neck. His eyes, though gzed with pain, burned with unbroken resolve as he retrieved his fallen swords. With a fierce battle cry that seemed to draw strength from some hidden reserve, he charged once more, his bdes fshing in the dappled forest light.

  Raijin anticipated the desperate attack, his body moving almost before his mind could process the threat. He sidestepped the primary thrust, his hand shooting out to grasp the Samurai's extended wrist. In the same fluid motion, he channeled a concentrated surge of lightning chakra directly into his opponent's arm.

  The effect was immediate and devastating. Electric current raced through the Samurai’s nervous system, causing his muscles to spasm violently. A gut-wrenching cry tore from his throat as one of his swords cttered to the ground, fingers twitching uncontrolbly.

  [He’s still standing. You’re holding back, aren’t you?] Raizu’s voice buzzed with what almost sounded like concerned impatience.

  Raijin’s expression hardened, his chakra surging with renewed purpose. His hands formed a complex sequence of seals, each movement precise despite his exhaustion. The very air around him began to charge with power, making small stones vibrate across the ground. The sky above darkened perceptibly as Raijin drew energy from the atmosphere itself, condensing it into a technique of devastating potential.

  Smming his palm to the earth, Raijin released the gathered power. The ground beneath the Samurai erupted in a massive pilr of blindingly bright lightning, a cataclysmic surge that seemed to connect earth and sky in a column of electric fury. The thunderous roar shook the entire forest, sending ancient trees swaying and wildlife fleeing in terror. Arcs of wild electricity snapped outward from the central column, scorching the ground and igniting small fires in the surrounding underbrush.

  Distances away, Ryouka and Izumi paused mid-battle, their heads turning toward the overwhelming surge of chakra that pulsed through the area like a beacon. Ryouka’s perpetually stoic expression flickered with rare, genuine surprise, while Izumi’s Sharingan eyes widened in shock.

  When the blinding light finally faded, revealing the aftermath of Raijin’s technique, the Samurai y motionless on scorched earth. His armor, once pristine and formidable, was now bckened and partially melted, wisps of smoke rising from the superheated metal. His swords y scattered, the bdes glowing faintly red from the heat.

  Raijin stood over his fallen opponent, chest heaving with exertion. His limbs felt like lead weights, and perspiration dripped freely down his face, but satisfaction burned bright in his eyes. Faint remnants of his lightning technique still danced around him, small arcs of electricity jumping between his fingers as his chakra slowly stabilized.

  “It’s over,” he decred, his voice hoarse but steady.

  [Now that’s more like it,] Raizu’s voice floated softly through his mind, carrying an unmistakable note of pride that the entity would surely deny if questioned.

  The moment of victory was short-lived as urgent cries cut through the forest.

  “Raijin!” The familiar voices of Izumi and Sora echoed between the trees, ced with unmistakable distress.

  Raijin immediately approached Izumi, Sora, and the crates of goods to be delivered. He moved fast with his fullest capability but he seemed to be much more slower than expected.

  Adrenaline surged through Raijin’s depleted body, temporarily banishing his fatigue. He bolted toward his teammates and the precious cargo they’d been tasked with delivering, pushing his muscles to their limit. Despite his best efforts, his movements felt frustratingly sluggish, as though he were running through chest-deep water.

  [Yes, you can’t handle my lightning yet,] Raizu’s voice commented matter-of-factly in his mind. [Your body needs time to recover after channeling that much raw power.]

  Huh? What do you mean? Raijin’s thoughts raced as he struggled to accelerate. In desperation, he reached down and uncsped the 10-kilogram weight pte secured at his waist—a training tool he had stubbornly insisted on wearing despite the obvious risk during a mission. The other weight slots on his custom belt remained empty, a small concession to practicality he’d made before departing.

  The pte hit the ground with a dull thud, and Raijin felt a measure of mobility return, though his body still protested the abuse it had endured during the intense battle.