Chapter 12: Collision with a Titan
"Guy, Genma, Ebisu—halt the convoy. Secure the wounded," Uchiha Akira ordered, his gaze sweeping over the jonin present. Though only a chunin by rank, his battlefield achievements and proven strength gave his words immediate weight. He commanded more respect than many nominal jonin.
"What's the plan?" Hyuga Kamon asked, his Byakugan fixed tensely on the ten o'clock direction. The presence of a suspected Jinchuriki was a game-changer, applying immense pressure.
"I'll handle the Jinchuriki—" Might Dai began, stepping forward.
"No," Akira cut him off firmly. "I'll take that one. The Mist currently only has the Six-Tails Jinchuriki active. It won't be an easy fight. Senior Dai, you should combine your firepower with the other jonin to eliminate the supporting Mist ninja swiftly."
He turned his attention to the chunin in the group. "Chunin and medical personnel, your priority is protecting the wounded. Defensive formation. Remember, the tactical advantage here is still ours."
Despite having only twelve escorts divided into three teams, Konoha actually held the high-ground in terms of elite power. Each team was built around a jonin. Even excluding Akira and Dai, that meant three additional jonin were present.
No one objected to Akira's deployment. His strength was undeniable. Facing a potential Jinchuriki, deferring to the strongest fighter present was the logical, and safest, course of action. If things went wrong, responsibility was clear.
Hyuga Kamon gave a grim nod. "Be careful. If they've sent a Jinchuriki this deep, it means he likely has significant control over the beast's power."
"I will. You all do the same. Any Mist team that penetrates this far at this stage won't be comprised of ordinary shinobi," Akira warned in return.
Might Dai locked eyes with Akira, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "Uchiha-kun, I will end my fight as quickly as possible. Until then… hold the line."
"I'll do my best to keep the Jinchuriki occupied and away from the main group," Akira promised with a nod.
At that moment, Hyuga Kamon's eyes widened further, the veins around them throbbing. "They're moving! Coming straight at us—fast!"
His words were a trigger. Five figures shot forward from the Konoha escort: Hyuga Kamon, Kakashi, the jonin Ryu Chiba, Might Dai, and Uchiha Akira. Konoha's elite vanguard deployed, aiming to blunt the Mist's assault before it could reach the vulnerable convoy.
They covered hundreds of meters in seconds, meeting the enemy in a dense stretch of woodland.
Uchiha Akira's gaze immediately found and locked onto a middle-aged man with shaggy brown hair, wearing a loose blue robe. In his hands was a simple-looking soap bubble pipe. This wasn't Utakata, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki Akira vaguely remembered from future lore. This was his predecessor, a man named Yagura (or possibly another holder—for this narrative, we'll call him Yūrei, implying a blood relation to the future holder). The Sharingan revealed the vast, swirling ocean of chakra within him—a reservoir rivaling Akira's own. In Akira's experience, only the Fourth Raikage and Uzumaki Kushina possessed chakra levels that clearly surpassed his.
Might Dai didn't hesitate. Green chakra erupted around him as he opened the Sixth Gate: Gate of Joy. He became a blur, fists lashing out and firing compressed air cannons towards the thirteen Mist shinobi.
BOOM!
The forest exploded into chaos. Combat pairs formed instantly.
Kakashi, Hyuga Kamon, and Ryu Chiba each engaged a Mist jonin. Might Dai, a green typhoon, tore into the Mist chunin. Akira and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki exchanged only a few probing strikes before both consciously broke away, leaping and flickering hundreds of meters from the central melee. Each wanted to fight without restraint, away from their comrades.
Akira's scarlet Sharingan tracked his opponent as his hands flew through seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball!"
A tidal wave of flame, more immense and furious than usual, roared forth, intent on swallowing the Jinchuriki and the forest around him.
"Water Release: Water Pillar!" Yūrei's seals were just as swift. A geyser of water erupted from his mouth, meeting the fire tide head-on.
KABOOOOM!
The collision of elements was cataclysmic. A dark red chakra beam—a byproduct of the destabilized energies—lanced into the sky. A violent storm of chakra and steam ripped outward, flattening ancient trees like grass and scouring a massive, bowl-shaped crater into the earth.
At the crater's heart stood a monstrous figure: a half-human, half-beast form shrouded in dark, boiling red chakra. Six amorphous, tail-like appendages whipped behind it. A low, bestial growl rumbled from its distorted mouth. Ripples of dark red energy pulsed from the semi-transformed Jinchuriki.
"A semi-perfect Jinchuriki transformation," Akira mused, a flicker of surprise crossing his features. "Kirigakure's research into harnessing tailed beast power is more advanced than I thought."
Whoosh!
Akira's senses screamed. The transformed Yūrei vanished from the crater's center and reappeared directly in front of him, a chakra-clawed hand already sweeping down with terrifying speed.
"Fast!" Akira's mind remained calm. Blue-white lightning chakra crackled over his body. He disappeared just before the claw could connect.
His figure solidified dozens of meters away.
CRACK!
The ground beneath his new position shattered. Dozens of dark red, spear-like chakra tendrils erupted from the soil, seeking to impale him.
Lightning flashed again. Akira vanished, the tendrils striking empty air.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Singing Bullet!" Mid-air, Akira completed another set of seals. Four roaring dragons of concentrated flame shot from his position, attacking the Six-Tails Jinchuriki from four distinct angles.
"GRROOAAAH!"
The half-beast Yūrei roared, influenced by the tailed beast's savage consciousness. He expelled a dense, dark red bubble from his maw. It burst with an inaudible frequency, releasing a concussive shockwave that radiated outward. The four fire dragons were struck, their forms disintegrating into a spectacular shower of crimson embers that painted the sky.
ZZZRT!
In the same instant, a sound like tearing electricity sounded right beside the Jinchuriki. Uchiha Akira had closed the distance silently, a ninja sword in his hand now sheathed in a roaring, concentrated blade of pure lightning.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Blade!" This was a B-rank technique of his own creation, designed to maximize piercing power, extending the sword's effective range with a blade of pure lightning chakra. Since its development, nothing on the battlefield had withstood its edge.
Thunk.
Akira knew immediately something was wrong. The lightning blade, which should have punched through steel, penetrated less than two centimeters into the dark red chakra cloak covering Yūrei's chest before meeting overwhelming resistance. It failed to breach the vital defenses of the tailed beast coat.
WHOOSH-HUM!
The six chakra tails behind Yūrei blurred, lashing toward Akira with whip-crack speed.
ZZZRT! Akira dissolved into a streak of lightning, reappearing a safe fifty meters away.
Watching the Jinchuriki roar in challenge, Akira's thoughts raced. 'Conventional ninjutsu is ineffective against a Jinchuriki transformed to this degree. I need to alter the battlefield itself. Use the environment. Fight with the power of nature, not just against it.'
(End of Chapter)
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