"Got you, kid."
A sinister voice, like that of a devil, sounded behind Sora.
It was Raiga.
Using his speed advantage, he had long since bypassed the explosion area, appearing behind Sora's blind spot as if by teleportation.
The short blade in his hand, flashing with a blinding electric light, ruthlessly stabbed towards Sora's back.
This strike was cunning and vicious, the timing grasped perfectly.
"Green Snake, watch out."
Night Owl, who had just stabilized himself from the explosion's impact, was horrified and desperately tried to rush over to help, but it was already too late.
Every hair on Sora's body stood on end. The shadow of death instantly descended upon him.
He desperately tried to twist his body to dodge, but his body was in a brief state of stiffness after his attack, completely unable to react in time.
At this critical moment, Sora could only strive to shift his body and quickly transform his back into its dragon form.
Sshhk.
Although Sora's back had the protection of dragon scales, Raiga was after all a jonin. His lightning-short blade ultimately stabbed deeply into Sora's back.
Furious Lightning Release chakra was instantly injected into Sora's body.
"Ugh."
Sora let out a pained grunt, his entire body sent flying forward by the force of the lightning, crashing heavily onto the sandy ground. Electric arcs crackled wildly across his body, which twitched and convulsed in paralysis. An intense, burning pain shot from his back.
"Green Snake."
Night Owl's eyes widened with fury. He charged towards Raiga without regard for anything else.
"Get lost."
Raiga waved his hand back impatiently, his lightning blade drawing an arc of electricity.
Night Owl was already greatly depleted, and frantic with worry, his movements were a beat slow. Though he barely managed to block with a kunai, he was still brutally kicked in the abdomen by a heavy follow-up kick from Raiga.
"Pfft."
Night Owl spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying backward rapidly, crashing into a rock and sliding down limply, completely unconscious.
"Night Owl."
Struggling to lift his head, Sora saw this scene, his pupils contracting sharply.
It's over. The situation has completely collapsed.
Grey Wolf is down. Night Owl is down. Now only he and Captain Fox, who is still fighting bitterly, remain.
"Cough, cough."
Sora coughed up a mouthful of bloody saliva, enduring the intense pain in his back and the numbness in his body, arduously trying to get up.
The regenerative power of the Azure Dragon Fruit was already taking effect quickly. A tingling, itchy feeling came from the wound on his back, and the numbness caused by the lightning was also rapidly fading. But the two, Raiga and the others before him, clearly would not give him time to recover.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So tenacious, kid."
Raiga flicked the blood droplets off his short blade, walking over leisurely, a mocking and cruel smile on his face as he spoke.
"You can still move after taking my Lightning Release? Your body really is quite interesting."
Over on the other side, Ganko had also caught his breath. Rubbing his still sore chest, he walked over with a ferocious expression.
"Kid, that punch just now hurt me a lot."
The two of them, left and right, completely cut off Sora's escape route.
Sora's heart sank to the bottom. His eyes quickly scanned the battlefield. He saw that Fox in the distance was also at the end of his rope.
Toroi's attacks grew fiercer and more relentless. One shield served for both offense and defense. Under the magnetic interference, Fox's movements became increasingly sluggish.
Finally, after another fierce collision, Fox's chakra short sword, due to continuous magnetic erosion and impacts, could no longer bear it. With a sharp "crack", it broke into two pieces.
Fox's expression changed drastically as he hurriedly retreated.
But would Toroi let this opportunity pass?
"Magnet Release, Thunder Fang, Whirlwind."
The square shuriken that had been circling nearby, waiting for an opportunity, instantly accelerated with a piercing shriek of thunder and a strange arc, shooting out like a life-seeking ghost.
Sshhht.
Blood splattered.
Fox let out a muffled groan. His entire left arm was severed at the shoulder, flying into the air.
"Captain."
Sora cried out involuntarily, his heart giving a violent jolt.
Fox staggered back, pressing his right hand tightly over the severed stump. Blood gushed out like a spring from between his fingers, his face instantly turning deathly pale.
He barely managed to hook the half-broken sword on the ground with his foot, assuming a defensive posture. But anyone could see he had completely lost the ability to fight.
Sora's heart turned completely cold. The last hope was shattered.
"Hah. Konoha's Anbu. So this is all you amount to."
Toroi retrieved the shuriken, looking at the heavily wounded Fox, his tone full of disdain.
He did not immediately deliver the killing blow. Instead, his gaze turned towards Sora, who was surrounded by Ganko and Raiga, as if savoring the prey's final struggle.
Seeing that Toroi had finished his fight, Raiga grew even more smug. He taunted Sora.
"Kid, see that? This is the difference in strength. You have no chance of winning."
"Just surrender quietly. Our Kumogakure values talent greatly. A taijutsu genius like you is wasted in Konoha. Come back to Kumo with us. We guarantee you'll have a much better future there than being an Anbu in this damn desert. What do you say? We might even spare your captain's life. How about it?"
Raiga's voice was full of temptation, but deep in his eyes flickered coldness and greed.
What he coveted was Sora's unique body and potential.
Hearing this, Sora inwardly sneered.
'Surrender to Kumo? Heh...' Countless scenes from the original work instantly flashed through his mind.
What kind of place Kumo was, he knew perfectly well.
Outwardly calling themselves a militant faction, a gathering of muscle-headed brutes, but in reality, they were no strangers to dirty, underhanded methods.
Coveting the Byakugan, they sent people to infiltrate Konoha in an attempt to kidnap the head family's young lady, Hyuga Hinata.
And earlier, the same thing happened with Kushina.
Perhaps they treated their own village's jinchuriki, Yumiko and Killer Bee, decently enough. But talented individuals from other villages?
Sora could guess the fate of someone captured and taken back with his toes.
Either they'd be strapped to an operating table, dissected to study why someone so young could possess such power and a robust body, or they'd be used as breeding stock in an attempt to replicate his bloodline and abilities.
The best possible outcome would be having a curse mark planted on them, completely controlled, becoming a dog of Kumo, forever losing their freedom, reduced to a tool for slaughter.
Freedom and dignity? In a place like Kumo, they simply didn't exist.
Moreover, Sora's greatest secret, the Azure Dragon Fruit ability, once exposed, would lead to endless imprisonment and experimentation for him.
Expecting someone like Toroi to honor a promise and spare Fox? That was pure fantasy.
Someone like Toroi would absolutely, without hesitation, kill all captives to eliminate witnesses.
Surrendering meant a dead end, perhaps even a fate worse than death.
"Well? Kid, have you thought it over? This is your last chance."
Seeing Sora silent, Raiga, thinking he was wavering, urged him further, while he and Ganko took another step closer.
Sora slowly raised his head. His mask had long been damaged and fallen off in the previous battles, revealing his somewhat youthful face, now covered in dust and blood.
His eyes were ice-cold, showing not a trace of hesitation, only utter resolve.
'Why do they insist on seeking death?'