Shunsui continued to clear the way forward by using the Rock Paper Scissors game again and again.
Most of the Kumo shinobi did not even understand what was happening around them. They only saw a young boy making strange hand shapes and then watched as giant golden fists, scissors in from of two sharp fingers or palms appeared to crush them.
A few of the smarter ones managed to figure out that some kind of game was being forced upon them, but more often than not they still lost because they did not know the proper responses or hesitated at the wrong moment.
Other times when Shunsui lost at Rock Paper Scissors, the young chunin and the teammates behind him used Kageoni to dodge the incoming golden attacks by teleporting into nearby shadows at the last possible second.
Shunsui knew that he could not afford to change the games any further. The chakra consumption was already increasing with every new round of Rock Paper Scissors and the more timethe Shadow Demon technique was active.
He could change the active games only once or at most twice more if he did not want to suffer from complete chakra exhaustion in the middle of the escape.
He kept one of his swords in his mouth so that he could freely use one hand to form the shapes of rock, paper or scissors.
But suddenly both of his swords started moving on their own and left his grasp completely.
The surrounding metal also began to shift and rise into the air. Kunai and swords belonging to both Kumo and Konoha shinobi lifted from the ground and from the hands of their owners as if invisible strings pulled them upward.
Shunsui's eyes widened in shock as he immediately tried to summon his swords back to his hands with a pulse of chakra. The blades trembled in the air and then suddenly started moving away from him again.
"Oye oye… I know that I did not wash you properly recently but you do not have to walk away from me, Katen Kyōkotsu." Shunsui spoke to the floating swords as if they could hear and understand every word.
He reached out with both hands while still running and tried to grab the hilts before they drifted any farther . "Come back here you ungrateful pieces of steel. I polished you last week. That should have been enough. Do not act like I left you to rust in a swamp. This is not the time for tantrums in the middle of a city filled with angry Kumo shinobi."
The swords continued to float and twist in the air despite him holding them tight.
Shunsui felt a mix of frustration and said, "If this is about the blood from earlier, I already said I would clean it later. You cannot just abandon me because of a little mess. We have been through worse. Remember the time, I dropped you in that river during training. You forgave me then. Do not be so sensitive now when people are trying to kill us."
Shinto's voice rose above the noise of battle in a sharp warning. "It is Toroi of the Magnet Release."
And there he was. A man walked toward them from the direction of the hospital with calm and confident steps.
Toroi had tan skin and a rather broad face with chiselled features. He had a strong cleft chin and a pair of prominent sideburns that descended from his medium length dull purple coloured hair.
He wore the standard Kumogakure outfit and forehead protector as well as a long scarf wrapped around his neck. The very air around him seemed to hum.
Shunsui realised at once why his swords had been moving on their own accord. It was because of the S rank commander of the Kumo forces, Toroi of the Magnet Release.
The man's bloodline ability allowed him to control any metal that was not protected by a strong flow of chakra.
Shinto shouted clear instructions to the entire team. "Continue to flow chakra into your weapons and your body armour. That would prevent his Magnet Release from working."
Every Konoha shinobi immediately poured chakra into their blades and any metal plates they wore so that the magnetic pull would slide off them.
Shunsui used his samurai coating technique that covered both of his swords with a thick layer of his own chakra.
The coating cancelled the magnetic pull and let him hold the blades firmly again.
Shinto then turned his head toward the young chunin and spoke in a firm voice that left no room for argument. "Shunsui, you have to run."
Chizo nodded with a grim expression and added his own support for the order. "We will hold him back."
Shunsui muttered a protest because he did not want to leave his comrades behind. "But I can help."
Shinto cut him off at once with a louder command. "No buts. That is an S rank shinobi and even with your tricks he would be able to kill us. You are an important asset to the village and we cannot afford to lose you. Hiori take him and run!"
Hiori nodded without hesitation. A thick cloud of her kikaichu formed below her feet and lifted her into the air.
She wrapped one arm securely around Shunsui and the insects began flying away at high speed.
Toroi's deep voice rolled across the open ground as he watched them leave. "Like I would let you escape."
He raised one hand and a large number of kunai that had been lying inside the packs of fallen shinobi or scattered across the ground rose into the air. The metal tools flew at rapid speed toward Shunsui and Hiori in a deadly swarm.
Chizo formed quick hand seals.
'Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Jutsu.'
A powerful blast of wind roared out from his position and blew the first wave of kunai off course. The metal tools tumbled away through the air, yet they rose again almost immediately.
Other pieces of metal torn from the surrounding buildings joined them. The collected metal twisted and reshaped itself into long sharp spikes that fired toward the Konoha shinobi who had stayed behind to face Toroi.
One of the Nara chunin reacted by forming a thick earth wall to protect himself from the incoming projectiles.
The metal spikes moved with terrible speed and their sharpness was no joke. They pierced straight through the earth wall as if the stone was soft clay and then continued onward through the body of the Nara chunin.
The young man fell without a sound as the spikes pinned him to the ground behind the broken wall.
Shunsui watched in horror from Hiori's arms as the first of his comrades died right in front of his eyes.
It was the first time he had seen one of the people fighting beside him fall in battle. He had always believed that with his shikai and the games he could create he would be able to protect everyone who joined him on missions.
Now he saw the first of them die and understood with painful clarity that the rest of the team still facing Toroi would soon follow if they could not escape.
The ever present smile that usually rested on his face faded away and turned into a deep sad look. He muttered,"I am still not strong enough."
-------Author Notes--------
Would appreciate power stones if you can spare any!
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