Chapter 3

(MC POV)

<Crescent Moon>

The sharp edge of the chakra blade in my hands glows white like a crescent moon as the world seems to turn pale. Everything becomes still as my perception of time slows down by thousands of times. My body fluidly moves through the air as if even time couldn't stop me.

I chop the air with a simple twist of my wrist and the arms of the Iwagakure chunin burst off the rest of his body in a disgusting shower and blood. Repeatedly I flick my wrist ten times, one hundred times, one thousand times, one hundred thousand times, one million times.

Before his body can even process the pain of losing his arms billions of small cuts appear all over his body. Reality turns back to normal and the body of the chunin falls apart into trillions of little pieces of human meat that fly away in the violent wind.

"AgagagagfAgaggagargrgrgrhjfh."

The young genin behind me throws up on the floor emptying out his stomach as he watches cut down another chunin into astronomically small pieces like ash left behind from cremation.

Gaki turns to look at me as he feels the dominant chakra flowing through every tenketsu in my body. I know what I look like right is horrifying to most people, white condensed chakra covers my skin like frost and my hands, arms and shoulders are completely soaked in blood from my previous fight a couple of hours ago. A wretched smirk causes my lips to stretch to unimaginable degrees causing people to see as some type of unholy demon.

Of course Gaki himself also doesn't look like a human, large chunks of steel jut out from his body at random parts and his body is hardened to a ridiculous level looking like Kirishima in his Red Riot Unbreakable form. The nails are no longer there replaced by steel claws several feet long and his body is also far taller than normal standing at a good 9'2.

"Who are you?"

The behemoth says to me in a deep scratchy voice that irritates me.

"No need for a dead man to ask such a question."

An ugly smile appears on his steel plated face that makes me cringe in discomfort at the view. Holy fuck this bastard is an abomination that is overwhelming disturbing, how the hell does he even smile. Is his skin transformed into metal through his kekkei genkai or does he simply cover his original body in steel?

Regardless of whatever his kekkei genkai does it isn't important. The entirety of my legs turn a place white as my muscles spasm in pain from the strain and pressure of my chakra.

<White Streak>

In an instant I see the world lose color becoming a black and white background as I run behind Gaki at a speed just a little over twenty times my original running speed. Even with the enormous speed advantage I notice Gaki's eyes miraculously move to follow my body with some difficulty. I crouch down using the momentum to swing my sword downwards and I cut his left leg cleanly in half.

"Aagagagrrhrh."

Even as a well-known jonin with an incredibly high level of pain endurance Gaki screams as his left leg becomes unusable and he is forced to balance his large body weight on just his right leg. This bastard is already screwed, he is mainly a taijutsu fighter and has no jutsu that would help him in this situation. Without his left leg he can't go on the offensive or turn fast enough to block my attacks.

At this point Gaki immediately makes giant spikes come out of his back attempting to pierce me while I don't expect it but I step back a good few meters expecting some type of retaliation. Gaki quickly molds his chakra into one of the five basic nature elements and I sense a large build up of heat around his mouth as he turns, not at me but at a large carriage that several Konohagakure shinobi are trying to guarding.

Ah, I see, he already recognizes that he's going to die here so in order to make his last act benefit his village he's destroying that carriage. If he decided to attack me with that fire nature jutsu I definitely would've been able to dodge considering his low mastery of ninjutsu, even if he did try and attack me I would most likely inflict an even deadlier blow before he could.

Of course there is something strange about this entire situation, a famous Iwagakure jonin with a strong kekkei genkai coincidentally finding a Konohagakure team? From what I remember of Gaki's entry in the bingo book he mostly works alone and hates cooperation so why would he bring a dozen chunin with him on a mission unless it was a direct order of a superior? And that carriage...what is in there that the Iwagakure shinobi are risking their lives to destroy?

Perhaps it contains important jutsu, war supplies or something else. After all a jonin was leading the Konohagakure team and before I arrived he was killed by Gaki. Why would a jonin be leading a large team of over a dozen chunin and genin for a mission in the land of Fire? Why wouldn't the jonin decided to abandon the mission instead of risking his life to protect whatever was in there?

As I continue to ponder over the mess I had interfered with Gaki finishes casting his hand seals and a giant blast of fire and shrapnel expels from his mouth destroying the carriage and six shinobi, three of which were fellow shinobi from Iwagakure.

Gaki collapses immediately from chakra exhaustion and I stab down at his forehead with wind coating my blade. A slit is seen in his forehead after I lift my sword up with a satisfying squish.

[Mission: Kill Gaki (1/1) Completed. Reward: <Internal Steel Coating>]

[<Internal Steel Coating>: A protective layer of coating that covers the bones, muscle and organs.]

As I finally strike Gaki down the fighting settles as the remaining Iwagakure shinobi run away seemingly haven completed their mission and the last Konohagakure shinobi look at me with slight vigilance but mostly awe and respect at the level of skill I had shown in this battle.

At once of the closest chunin walks up to me with a smile before bowing down to me in respect for my help.

"May I know your name sir?"

"My name is Hikaru Shiro and I am a jonin of Konohagakure."