Chapter 7: Combat

Kuzo, who found himself in a harsh situation, started running alongside Ano. When he noticed some boulders flying toward him, he turned to them and weaved a series of hand seals while gathering his chakra to his chest. He released the Water Bombs jutsu, or balls, since he didn't know the actual name. A series of water balls left his mouth and hit the boulders, exploding and slowing them. What was left were a few boulders, which were easier to dodge, and so he and Ano did by jumping to a high tree and landing on its branch.

"Hamuro, hold on." Kuzo said as he jumped to another tree. "We'll get help soon."

The masked woman pointed her hand at them. A few other shinobis ran after them.

From their speed, one could tell that they were experienced genins with one being faster than the others.

Kuzo, who was jumping, looked at Ano. "Do you have any good jutsu that can help us."

"You think if I had a good jutsu I would be on genin corpses looking for pocket money?" She replied with an annoyed, yet shaking tone.

Kuzo took a deep breath. He had thought of some strategies to use in such a situation.

"Go ahead, I'll distract them."

She gave him wide-eyed look. "You what?"

"Just do it. The nearest guarding point is southeast. I'll lead them in the opposite direction. Hurry up, or we may actually die." Kuzo replied.

She nodded. "But they will chase after me."

"Turn into me, use transformation jutsu." Kuzo said.

She did as she was told, not questioning his logic. At the same time, Kuzo weaved a series of hand signs, creating around 10 clones which popped after smoke clouds.

From such a distance, the other ninjas wouldn't be able to tell which body had mass or not.

Ano, who turned to Kuzo, seemed to get his strategy.

Kuzo, the clones, and Ano, went in different directions.

The masked ninjas stopped, taking a moment to realize what had happened.

One of them stopped. He was taller than the rest. He put his hand next to his ear and said. "Listen."

"Vice - Captain."

"Listen."

Kuzo, who was trying to tip-toe jumping, held his urge to curse the masked man. He reached his pocket, grabbing a series of explosive tags attached to kunais. He had planned to use these later. But if his foe was using sound to locate him, so be it.

He threw the explosive tags in different directions and at the genins down.

BOOM BOOM BOOM…

A series of explosions were released. Using the explosion's sound as a distraction, Kuzo focused his chakra on his feet, boosting his speed to get as far as possible.

'A series of loud explosions, even if not killing them, would mess up with their hearing just like a stun bomb would. And most would receive damage, which should come to my advantage.'

Kuzo reached his pocket and grabbed his kunai, holding it tight. He was barely able to breathe, and he could hear his own heart beat.

Was he afraid? Was he excited?

He didn't know.

But he knew if it came to the worst, he'd fight to death.

'It's not time to act courageously. I need to leave a clone and use the transformation jutsu.'

Kuzo looked left and right. A rock was around.

Kuzo thought about something. Clone jutsu had no mass, that's why it was an illusion.

If one gave it mass, it would appear more realistic.

He looked at the rock, put the explosion tag on it, and then created a clone above it. The clone acted as if it were injured and covered the rock.

Kuzo then used the transformation jutsu to change his look into a large kunai, which was a bit far from the clone, who was panting.

One minute later, two masked ninjas appeared on the top of a tree branch.

They looked down toward Kuzo's clone.

"Do you think it's a trap." Said one of them.

"He has mass, doesn't he?"

"Indeed. Should we kill him?" One of them threw a shuriken at him. Kuzo's clone moved its head, dodging the shuriken.

"Having him alive would allow us to extract more information. Let's kill him if he resists."

"Stay away from me." Kuzo's clone yelled.

They got nearer toward him.

One of them stopped and said. "Be careful! It's a clone!"

Just as they realized that, the real Kuzo was behind them. He formed a hand seal. The explosive tag reacted to his chakra, and it released a large-scale explosion.

The two shinobis jumped backward. They weren't lucky to dodge the explosion completely. But they jumped enough to get only hit by the shock wave.

Not wasting this chance, Kuzo weaved his hand seals, releasing a water stream from his mouth. One of them weaved a few hand signs, forming a small earth wall in front of him.

Kuzo created another clone and dashed, taking a turn around the wall.

He and his clone appeared at the same time. The two ninjas split their attacks, one attacking the clone and one attacking the real one.

The one that attacked the clone had his fist passing by him.

As for the one that attacked the real one, he missed. Kuzo then thrust his kunai into the man's stomach. As he pulled the kunai away, the Gluttony Seal reacted like a black hole, absorbing the shinobi's spirit.

Kuzo got a rush of chemicals in his brain. He felt numb, happy, satisfied. His chakra reserves expanded. His physical power and muscles got stronger. A bunch of memories about jutsu, ninjutsu, and new taijutsu style invaded his memory and muscle memory.

Just while he was processing what was happening, the other ninja jumped at him. Kuzo dodged the attack with ease, noticing how he got faster. It was as if the other shinobi's power combined with his.

The foe kicked at him, and Kuzo jumped backward, dodging and surpassing his opponent in terms of speed.

As he did, his opponent weaved some hand signs. Kuzo did the same.

'It's time to test my previous theory. If I'm unable to do this jutsu, I'll dodge.'

The previous theory he had was that he would get the bloodline of those whom he kills. If he got their chakra affinity, then he got their bloodline.

Both placed their hands on the ground at the same time.

A couple of boulders rose from the ground from both ends, attacking both shinobis. Kuzo, who had a bigger chakra, had a larger boulder, and it crushed his foes.

'So I'm able to use their chakra affinity. Meaning I get the bloodline power, along with their powers.'

Kuzo smiled at the genin. If he'd finish him, he'll get his powers combined with his. It would help him annihilate the others.

Although, he was quite worried about the guy called vice-captain. He seemed to be at least a chunin.

"Well. Guess this is where it ends. You'll live as a part of me."

"What are you saying, Kohona's bastard."

Kuzo dashed with the bloody kunai in his hand. The genin kicked and pushed at Kuzo, who now was familiar with this taijutsu style.

Kuzo dodged with ease and took down the man to the ground before slicing the life out of his throat. The former then used his Gluttony seal to absorb the latter's power.

'Earth Wall jutsu is within my hand. Nice.'

While enjoying the feeling of getting powerful, Kuzo took a wide leap and landed on the top of the tree.

'Now I need to hunt down the others and avoid the so-called vice-captain. But how to do that?'

He looked down at the bodies of the men he killed. One of them was near his height.

'His clothes would fit me.'

He jumped down, stripped him, and took on his clothes. He then buried him down and put the mask on his face.

Kuzo jumped and started running. Soon, he met another masked shinobi, who stopped and asked.

"You found him?"

Kuzo shook his head.

"But we heard a series of explosions coming from here."

Kuzo nodded.

"Why are you not talking?" Asked the masked shinobi.

Just as he finished his words, Kuzo stabbed him in the stomach and whispered.

"That's why."

Then he took his kunai out, absorbing all of the power that shinobi had.

Tonight, Kuzo could only get stronger and faster and earn more chakra and jutsu.

'Did killing become too easy to do.' He was wondering if he was becoming a sociopath. 'That doesn't matter now, does it?'

He then headed in another direction, meeting another two shinobis. He didn't hesitate to attack them and take advantage of the surprise element. He held each one from the neck and broke them.

He could only imagine what it was like to have a combined fitness of many genins in him. He wondered how many left he needed to take down to reach Lee. Maybe he got it already. He should think about Guy.

Maybe having the gluttony's power in exchange for being unable to get stronger on his own was a good deal.

Kuzo kept hunting until he got 8 masked shinobis down. A few earth jutsu joined his arsenal.

Taking the mask down, he took a deep breath and looked at the sky.

He raised his fists and clenched them.

The sensation of satisfaction was taking over him. The tickling feeling at the back of his head was beautiful. Yet his consciousness was telling him that it was wrong. Despite feeling good, there was a feeling in his guts. It was of pure disgust.

He took a deep breath. 'The last thing I need is self-conflict. What I need to do is to see how I will fare against the Vice Captain.'

He threw the mask away, and then he threw a kunai with an explosive tag into the sky. When the explosion occurred, it spread a noise that was hard to go unnoticed.

A few seconds later, someone arrived. It was the vice-captain.

"Shinobi of Konoha. For you to make a signal, you're quite courageous."

"You think I fear you?" Kuzo asked.

"Genins not appreciating their lives. Happy to see somethings never change." The vice-captain said with a mocking tone.

Kuzo, who was not interested in wasting time, dashed forward and formed a few hand seals, releasing a water stream from his mouth. The chunin dodged with ease, jumped backward, put his legs on a tree, and then flew toward Kuzo.

Noticing a fist flying towards his face, Kuzo blocked with his palm, not budging an inch from his place.

'It's not heavy.' Kuzo took his hand backward and kicked. The masked shinobi backflipped, dodging and putting his hand on the ground, kicking toward Kuzo, who crossed his arms to receive the kick.

'And I'm not used to my new power. But still, I have enough to confuse him.'

Gathering a huge amount of chakra to his feet, Kuzo vanished and turned into a blur. He appeared behind him, and he grabbed his arm before twisting it and flipping the man to the ground. Before Kuzo could punch, the chunin weaved a few hand signs with one hand.

The ground moved beneath Kuzo's feet, sending him gliding away. Kuzo weaving a series of hand signs, sending a series of small rocks flying from the earth toward the chunin, forcing him to break the earth seal which stopped the ground from gliding under Kuzo's feet.

Surely, it would be a tough battle. And he was not sure to win. But there was a chance to pull it off.

Would he take the risks? Hell yes! Beating a chunin would put him in a higher lead.

"Bastard. Not only do you know our taijutsu, but you also know the ninjutsu of our village. Where did you learn it?" asked the chunin.

"Does it matter?"

"I asked you where did you learn it!"

Kuzo took a deep breath and said. "If you want the answer, I will tell you."

"Where?"

"From your mom." Kuzo replied.

Before Kuzo could insult the other chunin any longer, a man appeared behind the masked ninja with a kunai at the latter's neck.