Too Much

The forest clearing plunged into a deathly silence.

The remaining Six Swordsmen stood paralyzed, their minds struggling to process what they had just witnessed.

The air was now filled with the metallic smell of blood and fear. The Swordsmen's eyes were now wide open.

Fuguki felt his heart skip several beats. His mind replayed the scene over and over, trying to comprehend how Juzo, one of their own, had simply... ceased to exist in the blink of an eye.

Kushimaru silently thanked that no one could see the terror reflected on his face. His hands trembled slightly as he gripped his weapon.

Jinpachi now felt his throat closing, unable to emit any sound. Juzo's blood, still warm on his face, seemed to burn his skin.

Seconds dragged on like hours. Each Swordsman struggled internally with the realization that they were facing something that defied their understanding. Luo Lei's speed wasn't just fast; it was supernatural.

As their minds began to emerge from the initial shock, a new terror settled in their guts. If Luo Lei could move at such speed, what chances did they have? The force needed to make Juzo's body explode like a grape was incomprehensible.

Thirteen seconds. That was the time it took the Swordsmen to regain some of their composure.

When Luo Lei returned to his original position, the movement seemed to snap the Swordsmen out of their stupor.

"How... how is this possible?" Fuguki's voice trembled slightly. The green stripes painted on his cheeks contrasted with the terror in his eyes.

Jinpachi had his eyes wide open, "Is this... is this the speed a ninja can have?" he muttered in disbelief.

If Luo Lei could move like that, what other abilities did he possess?

The other Swordsmen struggled to maintain their composure. Their expressions, normally controlled and threatening, now revealed a vulnerability they had never shown in battle before.

Luo Lei, motionless in the center, observed the Swordsmen's reactions with cold calm.

On the other side..

The silence that followed Luo Lei's action was broken by the stunned reactions of Guy, Genma, and Ebisu. The three who had been retreating stood paralyzed.

Genma and Ebisu were bewildered. Their eyes frantically scanned the scene, looking for the Swordsman who seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

"W-where did he go?" Genma stammered. Unconsciously, he wiped his face, noticing some drops that had splattered on his skin. "Is it raining?"

Ebisu looked at the clear sky and then at his own hands. "No, it's not rain," he muttered, his voice breaking at the end. "It's... it's..."

It was then that they noticed the blood on their hands and on the faces of the remaining Swordsmen. The realization of what had truly happened hit them.

"...Oh my God," Ebisu gasped, his face turning pale.

The impact of the scene was so great that it took them a few more seconds to notice Juzo's head on the ground, not far from where they were.

"AAAH!" Genma and Ebisu's screams resonated.

Run over.

The ninja called Juzo was run over alive by Luo Lei-sama.

However, Guy's reaction was unique.

While Genma and Ebisu were paralyzed with horror, his mind was racing, analyzing what he had just witnessed.

"Is his physique really that powerful...?" he muttered, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"When such speed is reached, the pressure on the body should be immense," he reasoned. "But Luo Lei-sama shows not the slightest sign of effort. That can only mean that... his body is incredibly strong, right?"

This prompted a profound shift in his perspective on taijutsu. For years, his father had instilled in him the importance of hand-to-hand combat techniques, insisting they were the path to true ninja power.

However, Guy had always harbored doubts. After all, if taijutsu was so effective, why did his father remain known as the "Eternal Genin"?

But now, seeing Luo Lei literally run over one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist with pure physical strength, Guy felt a new world of possibilities opening up to him.

"Taijutsu... really has a future," he whispered with a smile of excitement forming on his face.

"Sigh...." Luo Lei observed the remaining Swordsmen with coldness. His recent demonstration of power was nothing more than a warm-up, a simple taste of his newly improved abilities.

This shinobi world was fragile. Despite their reputation and skills, the bodies of ninjas, even the most feared ones, were fragile, and he had exposed this truth.

With a voice full of menace, he broke the silence: "Well... who will be the next to fall?"

His hand moved towards the short sword at his waist, the metal emitting a sinister glow. His gaze swept over the remaining Swordsmen, choosing his next prey.

"This... this can't be happening." Feeling his entire body trembling involuntarily, Fuguki could barely shout.

Fear was palpable in the air.

The Six Swordsmen now felt like cornered prey. Their bodies were reacting instinctively, hair standing on end, muscles tense, prepared for a fight or flight that they knew would be futile.

Luo Lei's smile widened. "You," he said, his finger pointing almost casually.

ZWOOP!

In an instant, his body vanished again.

"No!" Jinpachi's choked cry barely had time to escape his lips before Luo Lei appeared in front of him.

"Don't move," Luo Lei whispered, his voice as cold as the edge of his sword that now grazed Jinpachi's neck.

The Swordsman, feeling the metal against his skin, could barely manage a bitter smile. "Ah, now I understand how you massacred the Sunagakure army," he muttered.

Without warning, Luo Lei's sword moved. A flash of white light was all Jinpachi saw before feeling the deep cut on his chest. Blood gushed from the wound, staining his uniform dark red.

But Luo Lei was far from finished. Quickly, his sword became a blur of movement. Each cut was precise, calculated to inflict maximum pain without touching vital points.

"AAAARGH!" Jinpachi's screams echoed through the forest. Cuts appeared on his arms, legs, torso, each deep enough to bleed profusely but not to kill.

He tried to raise his Shibuki sword, but discovered with horror that the tendons in his right hand had been precisely cut.

The other Swordsmen watched in horror, unable to intervene, paralyzed by fear and disbelief.

Kushimaru, his voice barely a whisper, muttered: "This... this is too much, even for us."

Ameyuri felt her stomach churn. "He's supposed to be a hero... but this is... it's..."

Reduced to a bloody mass of flesh and pain, Jinpachi finally reached his limit. With a desperate laugh, he shouted: "Luo Lei, you've forced me to this! We'll die together!"

With a final effort, he channeled his remaining chakra. "Explosive Sword Technique: Devastating Killing Blast!"

The explosive seal on his Shibuki sword began to glow intensely, promising an explosion that would devastate everything.

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