Chapter 54: 30 Seconds
The Iwa Jonin with his arm severed landed, his arm thudding beside him.
As soon as he landed, the Jonin held his remaining arm in front of him, a kunai in hand. Losing one arm meant he could no longer form hand seals, reducing his combat effectiveness by at least 70%.
However, this Jonin was proficient in taijutsu, and as a Jonin, even after losing an arm, he remained calm.
"Keep your distance. I'll hold him off."
The Jonin roared, trying to boost the morale of the Chunin on the rooftop. With his arm gone, he couldn't use ninjutsu, making these Chunin the main fighting force.
There were still seven Chunin left on the rooftop. Compared to the one-armed Jonin, their mental fortitude was far inferior.
The one-armed Jonin's shout snapped the Chunin to attention. Two of them immediately leaped down from the rooftop, turning their backs to Su Xiao. Seeing this, the one-armed Jonin knew it was bad.
Clang.
Two pale blue blade auras shot from the edge of Dragon-Slaying Flash, flying straight toward the two Chunin.
One Chunin heard the piercing whistle and instinctively turned his head.
"Wind Release?"
This Chunin was mid-air, with his back to Su Xiao, making it impossible to dodge the blade auras.
Ding.
Sparks flew as the one-armed Jonin appeared behind the Chunin, his kunai striking the blade aura.
With a crackling sound, the kunai was severed. The one-armed Jonin, mid-air, curled his body and kicked the nearby Chunin hard in the rear.
The Chunin landed face-first, scraping his nose and face. Grateful to be alive, he looked up just as the other Chunin who had leaped from the rooftop also landed—but as a corpse cut in two.
Cold sweat dripped down the Chunin's temple. If not for his Jonin leader saving him, he would have met the same fate.
The clang of metal rang out from the rooftop. The newly landed Chunin looked up to see his five companions on the roof throwing shuriken at the enemy.
These five Chunin were clearly more experienced, knowing not to turn their backs on the enemy. Even when retreating, they chose the right moment.
Su Xiao sliced through several kunai and shuriken flying toward him. He could even deflect bullets from the Spider Empress, let alone these ninja tools.
Scanning his surroundings, Su Xiao, positioned at a high point, easily took in the entire area.
Obito had already held off four Jonin and dozens of Chunin in the village, while Amu had stalled two Jonin and several Chunin. The creature kept trying to charge toward the direction where civilians were retreating, forcing the Iwa ninja to divert forces to contain it.
From the current situation, aside from the six Chunin and one Jonin around Su Xiao, no one would intercept him anytime soon. Once he dealt with these, he could enter the underground prison.
It wasn't that he couldn't enter now, but if he didn't eliminate these Iwa ninja and there were guards inside the prison, he risked being trapped between two fronts.
"Finish this in 30 seconds."
Su Xiao stomped the ground, and a pale red aura spread like a tide around him.
Whoosh.
The Jonin was the first to be swept by the pale red aura. His body stiffened, and a dull ache surged within him—this was the effect of Aura Release.
Skill Effect 1 (Active): Releases one's aura outward at ultra-high speed, dealing 100 points + Willpower × 5 damage to enemies within 30 meters. This damage ignores armor/magic resistance/shields/equipment defense.
Before the passive effect of Aura Release could even take hold, waves of blue-white electromagnetic pulses radiated from Su Xiao's center. This was a high-intensity electronic pulse. How Su Xiao acquired this ability came from a piece of equipment he had recently obtained.
[Destroyer]
Quality: Gold
Type: Belt (Black, High-Tech Product)
Equipment Effect 1: Destruction Pulse (Active): Releases an electronic destruction pulse within a 20–25 meter radius. Damages internal components of electronic devices and deals 120 damage to enemies. Mechanical enemies take 4x damage.
The seven ninja around him had clearly never seen Aura Release, nor did they know what an electromagnetic pulse was. But the stabbing pain inside their bodies and the numbing sensation told them something was wrong.
After the two waves receded, the one-armed Jonin shook his head. When he looked back to where Su Xiao had been, he was gone.
In terms of strength and speed, Su Xiao far surpassed most ninja—of course, excluding the likes of the Raikage and Tsunade.
Zzzz.
The sound of contracting metal wires came. The one-armed Jonin suddenly felt numbness in his foot, and then half of his sole lifted. The loss of balance made him stumble forward.
But a Jonin was no pushover. Jonin were the mid-to-high-end combat power in the Naruto world.
Unfortunately, even Kage-level opponents had fallen to Su Xiao. How long could a Jonin last? As for the Chunin beside him, they couldn't keep up with Su Xiao's speed at all. Under these circumstances, their ninjutsu couldn't possibly hit him.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."
A Chunin slapped his hand on the ground. He had rich combat experience but lacked talent, which was why he remained a Chunin.
An earthen wall rose behind the Jonin, blocking Su Xiao's path. It wasn't that the Chunin had tracked Su Xiao's speed; he had guessed Su Xiao might attack from behind—a lucky shot.
A flash of the blade, and the earthen wall was shattered in an instant. Su Xiao's longsword swung toward the one-armed Jonin's neck.
Just as the blade was about to sever the Jonin's head, Su Xiao suddenly stopped and leaped backward.
Boom!
A burst of flames erupted. The one-armed Jonin, knowing he had no hope of survival, had detonated the explosive tags he carried, intending to take Su Xiao with him.
The blast wave rushed toward Su Xiao. He raised his left arm to shield his face as the explosion pushed him back.
Su Xiao landed, sliding several meters across the ground from the momentum.
The flames gradually dissipated in the air, and the smell of burning flesh wafted over.
"Even... that didn't hurt him."
A Chunin stammered, stepping back instinctively.
Su Xiao turned his head to look at the remaining Chunin, then raised his arm and slashed at the ground in front of him, sending up a spray of dirt.
"Earth Release..."
A Chunin began forming hand seals, but a flash of light appeared at his neck. His vision spun, and he finally met the ground.
Using the flying dirt to block the Chunin's line of sight, Su Xiao closed in with his speed advantage. It was easy to imagine what happened when a close-combat expert like Su Xiao engaged Chunin at close range.
Ten seconds later, Su Xiao stood with one foot on a Chunin's shoulder, Dragon-Slaying Flash piercing through his throat. The Chunin knelt, both hands gripping the blade, gurgling as blood poured from his mouth. He looked up at Su Xiao.
Su Xiao pulled the blade free, and the Chunin collapsed with a thud.
Just then, Su Xiao turned his head toward a nearby civilian house, locking eyes with a young girl. At the window, the girl quickly pulled back, crouching beneath the sill, her hands covering her mouth as tears streamed uncontrollably. She was a civilian who, frightened, had failed to evacuate from Tsuchi Village in time.