"Shit! Everyone back, NOW!" Kushimaru shouted as he ran.
The remaining Swordsmen, aware of the power of Jinpachi's technique, didn't hesitate to flee. They knew that not even people with immortality would be safe.
"Another explosive?" However, Luo Lei remained unfazed. With a flick of his wrist, his sword cut one last time, murmuring with boredom. "How unoriginal."
SHING!
The blade found Jinpachi's neck, cleanly separating the head from the body.
The dying Swordsman's eyes widened, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "You... damn demon,"
At that instant, the explosive seal detonated.
BOOOOOM!
The roar of the explosion was deafening, as if the sky itself was splitting in two. A shockwave expanded in all directions, making the earth tremble and the air vibrate.
The nearby forest disintegrated in a matter of seconds, the trees reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.
Hundreds of meters away, Guy, Genma, and Ebisu, who thought they had moved far enough, were thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion.
THUD! SPLAT!
The impact was so violent that all three spat blood.
"Ugh...!" Guy struggled to stand up, wiping blood from his mouth.
His eyes, full of concern, fixed on the epicenter of the explosion. "Luo Lei-sama..." he whispered.
Genma and Ebisu, still on the ground, looked at the scene in horror. A huge mushroom-shaped cloud rose into the sky, darkening the stars.
"No... it can't be," Genma murmured, his voice breaking. "It's... it's impossible for anyone to survive that."
Ebisu nodded slowly. "Even Luo Lei-sama... nobody could..."
"..."
The silence that followed the explosion was suddenly broken by trembling voices.
"Did... did you do it?" Ameyuri whispered.
"Jinpachi..." Jinin murmured with respect.
Everyone fixed their gazes on the center of the smoking crater. Their expressions went from hope to disbelief in a matter of seconds.
GASP!
A collective gasp escaped their lips. The power of Jinpachi's explosion had exceeded their expectations.
But then...
"Mmmm... this level of explosive power is not enough."
A deep voice sounded.
WHOOSH!
From among the smoke and debris, a figure appeared. Luo Lei, without a visible scratch, his clothes still intact.
"Impossible..." Ameyuri whispered, her voice trembling.
Kushimaru, his ANBU mask unable to hide the tremor, murmured: "Not even a scratch... What kind of monster is he?"
The remaining ones struggled to comprehend what they were witnessing.
Jinpachi's self-destruction technique was unique, capable of eliminating even the most powerful ninjas. And yet, here was Luo Lei, standing before them, without a single visible scratch.
"Now... it's your turn," Luo Lei announced, his eyes scanning the Swordsmen, like a predator choosing his next prey.
GASP!
Panic seized the Swordsmen. In an instant, they became desperate prey.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The sound of their bodies moving at full speed filled the air as they tried to flee in all directions.
From their position, Guy, Genma, and Ebisu observed the scene with a mixture of amazement and disappointment.
"Is that all?" Genma murmured, incredulous. "The legendary Seven Swordsmen..."
Luo Lei's voice sounded threateningly: "I just have to kill you. Don't run."
FWOOSH!
Suddenly, his eyes began to glow with an intense crimson light.
VWOOM!
A beam of crimson light, bright as the sun and deadly as hell itself, shot out. The temperature around the beam was so intense that the air itself seemed to distort.
Hundreds of meters away, Jinin felt the imminent danger. His survival instinct screamed in every fiber of his being.
"Shit!" he exclaimed, spinning on his heels.
In an act of desperation, he raised his axe, hoping to deflect the deadly beam.
SSSSSZZZZZ!
The sound of vaporizing metal filled the air. Luo Lei's heat vision, with a temperature exceeding 5,400 degrees Celsius, turned Jinin's legendary weapon into little more than vapor in a matter of microseconds.
"What the-?" Jinin couldn't finish his sentence.
FWOOSH!
In an instant, his body turned to ashes, dispersing in the wind before he could even register his own death.
Luo Lei, unfazed, turned his gaze to his next target. "You're next," he declared, his eyes fixed on Ameyuri Ringo.
The kunoichi felt true terror for the first time. "No, please, n-"
VWOOM!
Another heat beam cut through the air. Ameyuri, with her reflexes, tried to dodge it, but it was useless. In the blink of an eye, her body vaporized, leaving only a memory of her existence floating in the air.
Guy, Genma, and Ebisu, observing from a distance, were paralyzed by shock and awe.
"That... that's not a normal jutsu," Ebisu whispered, his voice trembling.
"What the hell are we doing?!" Kushimaru shouted.
Fuguki, taking the lead, roared: "We can't keep running like rats! Let's use the Hidden Mist Jutsu, now!"
"It's our only chance!" Mangetsu added, his hands already forming seals.
FWOOSH!
Suddenly, a dense mist began to emanate from their mouths, quickly spreading throughout the area. In a matter of seconds, the forest clearing transformed into a sea of white, thick fog.
Luo Lei, momentarily surprised by the sudden loss of visibility, raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Interesting."
The mist, charged with chakra, was more than a simple smoke screen. It distorted the senses.
SWISH! SWISH!
The Swordsmen, taking advantage of the cover, tried to escape stealthily.
"Hmm, they think this will save them," he said, clearly seeing them with his vision, a cold smile forming on his lips. "How naive."
________
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