Struggle, Combination Jutsu and Tailed Threat

__________ POV Narration __________ 

Ken cracked his neck as his now thin blade shone a dangerous sparkling blue.

It became even worse when the Blind Monster grabbed the second handle of the blade and separated his long blade in two.

He held them with their tips slightly above the ground and pointed to his sides. They were both just as long, slightly thinner than a regular katana. 

Lightning rolled off of both of them as Ken's chakra charged and unleashed their full potential. 

The aura surrounding them felt dangerous to all of the Shinobi that now faced him, but not one of them seemed to hesitate, all of them raising their weapons and preparing their jutsu.

Their leaders had made it clear to them, that Ken was a danger to their villages, to their loved ones, and to their livelihoods.

They needed to make sure that he was going to die there, and if they needed to give their lives to tire him down, they would do so without hesitation. 

If their lives could widdle down the monster in front of them, then it would surely secure a better future for their villages, right? 

At least that was what they kept telling themselves.

Those were the words that kept repeating in their minds, on and on... It was an endless loop of affirmations that was not even entirely their own.

Which was why Ken could sense it. The fear that seeped deep into their bones.

They were just Shinobi, doing what they were told was best, following orders blindly. 

But that didn't mean they fully knew the situation or understood why they needed to now face their deaths, therefore they couldn't help but feel fear.

At least the majority of them were like that.

There were also a few who were so brainwashed that their fear was overwhelmed by their pride.

And they were the ones to attack first.

"Charge!" The Shinobi, although only a small percentage of the army, still numbered in the hundreds, and Ken sighed and simply cracked his neck when sensing them.

He jumped once, twice, then dashed forwards as well, at speeds far exceeding that of his enemies. 

His elongated blades cleaved through scores of enemies, a blue aura of lighting extending from them with each slash and cutting them down before they could even scream out in pain, split in half while shouting in pride. 

Swords broke, blood spilt, and the Blind Swordsman gripped both of his blades harder before immediately raising them over his head in a cross shape.

That sudden move blocked three masked shinobi that were trying to cut him in a downward motion with short blades.

Sparks flew as the Blind Monster smiled underneath his mask. The ground behind him broke at that moment, with two more shinobi rising from it, their blades already pointed at his back, aiming to stab through his heart. 

Ken's leg immediately shot to the side, aiming a backwards kick at one of their arms with his heel, knocking both of the assailant's blades to the without even turning his head to them. 

Then the blades of the shinobi he was clashing with finally seemed to have had enough. They all snapped, and Ken's hands turned into a blur as his blades cut all of the Shinobi in halves as if with scissors. 

"Shit! Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" 

One of the shinobi to the side spat out a ball of flame large enough to completely engulf Ken.

But the Blind Assassin casually swiped one of his blades towards it, splitting it in half with a wave of blue aura while his other blade decapitated the two men who had tried to stab him in the back. 

"Shit! Don't use Fire! You'll create a smokescreen, remember he doesn't have eyes, he doesn't need sight!" One of the shinobi around them shouted out in a panic when noticing the slight steam that rose from the remains of that fireball.

'Hoh? So they did their homework, huh?' Ken couldn't help but tilt his head slightly, both to express his emotions and to dodge a kunai that whizzed past his head. 

The dried-up grass around him still burned from the fireball, but it likely wasn't going to spread too far. 

"Wind Release: Air Bullets" One shinobi to the side tried to use a Jutsu as well, likely wanting to fan the flames in hopes of burning Ken even slightly.

But he had found himself a bit too close to Ken, before the first air bullet even left his mouth his head was cut off as Ken dashed towards the shinobi once more.

"Earth Release: Rock Grasp!" Just as he decapitated a few of them, the earth rose and formed hands at his feet, gripping tightly and trying to hold him in place.

But that was never going to work on someone who was permanently in Sage Mode like Ken.

With his absurd strength, the Blind Monster completely disregarded the earth's bindings, breaking them without even trying and continuing with his carnage.

"Wind Release: Vacum Blade!" Immediately, a swordsman approached, an actual challenger.

A man wielding a Katana infused with wind dashed in front of Ken and clashed blades with him. 

Blocking both of Ken's blades with his own as the ground underneath him broke from the pressure.

He seemed a bit more skilled than the rest, his blade sparking with a whitish aura while both of his hands trembled on the hilt, trying to not be pushed back by Ken's blades. 

The two of them were in a deadlock for a second, as the Shinobi did his best to essentially hold back the Monster they were facing. 

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" 

To the side, several shinobi used that strength to form an attack.

They moulded the water in the lake behind them into dozens of small dragons, which immediately rushed towards Ken.

And just as the dragons were about to reach him, he immediately tensed up putting more power into his hands.

The other Shinobi's arms seemed to break in an instant as the deadlock fell apart. Ken's blades then moved madly.

"Dragon Twister!"

With the two blades firmly in his grasp, the Blind Monster spun at a speed large enough to create a Tornado so large that it reached the clouds. 

Plenty of people that were around him got caught up in it as well, and the Water Dragons seemed to get absorbed into it as well, managing to do no harm to their intended target in the end. 

The tornado ended not soon after Ken stopped spinning, it was already self-sustaining, but one downward slash using the momentum he had gathered from spinning broke it apart in an instant.

It also created a flying slash that split apart the earth and segmented it greatly, making the battlefield even messier than before and even trapping some shinobi in the rubble. 

Bodies also fell from the skies, crashlanding onto the ground.

Some died, and some managed to break their falls.

Some even got rescued by the Kazekage it seemed. The Iron Sand user had a limited storage of sand, however, so he could only help so many. 

To the side, a group of shinobi had finally finished their hand signs and completed a large-scale Jutsu.

"Earth Release: Sandwich Technique" 

Ken's head turned to his sides as gigantic walls rose from the ground and threatened to crush him.

They were so big that Ken could feel them spanning hundreds of meters, it seemed that the Shinobi were very serious about trapping him there, even if for a while. 

Or maybe they actually thought such a thing could crush him? 

Unfortunately, much to the surprise of the Shinobi that had used that Jutsu, Ken made no move to rush out of it or block it.

Instead, he dove head-first into one of the walls as they closed shut with a loud bang, creating a shockwave that blew away all of the dust that had gathered. 

 "Shit! He's gone into the ground!" "Sensory Shinobi, try to track him down!" 

Dust arose all around them as the gigantic dome of the earth stood there unmoving, all of the shinobi tensed up as they could only gulp and wait for their opponent's appearance.

Those that had sensory abilities tried their best, but they couldn't possibly find their world's most infamous assassin so easily, now could they? 

"Keep your eyes peeled! He'll strike at any moment!" 

The shinobi shouted as more and more of them stepped onto the already bloody shores of the lake. 

But as one lucky shinobi stepped onto the shore, he felt the waters behind him shift. 

Looking back, his gaze was filled with horror as he looked back.

"H-he's on the lake!" 

Everyone's heads immediately snapped towards the middle of the lake, where Ken's figure stood silently, his two thin blades now steadily fastened onto his back, underneath his cloak. 

His presence was so fleeting that he blended in between the panicking shinobi who were still hesitant to face him.

"I'm sorry for what I'm about to do..." Ken's voice sounded almost regretful, it was also quiet, as only a few of the shinobi around him had heard it.

Instead of facing off against the powerful Assassin, they all immediately turned their tail and ran, jumping from wave to wave as the waters rose while Ken made some hand signs.

"Stop him!" Some cried.

But it was already too late, Ken brought his hands together one last time just as a few kunai and flaming shuriken were about to reach him, and in an instant, a wave of water rose up all around him.

The shinobi watched in fear as the wave around Ken grew and grew, before suddenly rushing outwards, taking an odd shape. 

"Water Release: A Thousand Feeding Sharks!" 

The wave turned into an army of small water sharks that tore into the hundreds of Shinobi still around Ken.

Blood smeared the waters and limbs flew everywhere as now even the people above realized that they needed to get involved. 

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!" 

From above, a gigantic white pillar rushed towards Ken, aiming to interrupt his technique. 

The Blind Monster had already expected it, so he rolled off to the side, blending into the water as the Tsuchikage's jutsu formed a large empty space in the middle of the lake.

And what happened when such a space was created in a body of water?

That's right. A whirlpool. A sizable one at that.

It immediately seemed to be undoing Ken's gigantic shark waves, and the shinobi that stuck to the water seemed to be able to resist its pull by running away constantly. 

Ken smiled underneath his mask as he made a few more hand signs.

"Combination Jutsu: Thousand Feeding Sharks Whirlpool!" 

The Blind Assassin shamelessly decided to combine his jutsu with the whirlpool that Onoki had created, causing the small old man's eyes to widen.

Sharks immediately formed in the water and started spinning in the same direction as the whirlpool, strengthening it and making it larger and larger.

"Shit! Everyone get away from the lake!" The Tsuchikage spat out that order as he considered sending another Dust Release to undo that 'Combination Jutsu', but he knew that at that point, Ken could just continue using the whirlpools to his advantage.

And if the situation were to turn into a battle of endurance, Onoki was unsure if he would win with the absurd consumption that came with Dust Release. 

In the end, he was forced to watch as hundreds upon hundreds of men were shredded apart by water and sharks and the entire lake became a death trap.

"S-shit..." The shinobi that were on the shore all seemed to take a step back, unsure what to even do at that point.

"S-so that's the power of the strongest Bounty Hunter?..." "Shit, and he's still so young..." 

Many voiced out their concerns, now even the more brainwashed shinobi were starting to have doubts about their chances of even tiring out the monster they were tasked to deal with.

They had started with close to around 2000 shinobi from different villages. Now they were down to less than half of that.

Their fighting spirit had also dwindled significantly as they now looked at Ken who was seemingly unaffected by the whirlpool just sitting on one of his sharks near the middle of it, spinning in place. 

The Lake had mostly turned red in the blood of their comrades, and it was only a matter of time before they joined their friends in the afterlife if they actually tried to go after Ken again. 

"Shit... Seems he's very proficient in Water Release. We need to get rid of that source of water." The Third Kazekage scowled as Iron Sand rose around him, forming spikes and pointing at Ken.

But before he could attack the Blind Monster, The Tsuchikage raised one of his arms and waved it dismissively. 

"Don't bother attacking him there..." Despite his demeanour, he spoke in a frustrated tone.

He then turned towards the monk who was floating on some sand to the side.

"Oy, Jinchuriki! Get rid of that lake!" Onoki shouted that order coldly, he then signed to the shinobi below to not act and rush into the waters any more.

"... As you wish." The Jinchuriki smiled before his eyes changed colour, turning from blue into a deep yellow as sand started coming out of his body. 

Ken turned his head towards the sky at that moment, feeling the surge of chakra and shaking his head. 

'The Jinchuriki is finally joining in, huh?' 

_________________________________________________________________

Hope you liked the chapter!

It's always fun to write fight scenes, next chapter is even more fun tho, as I reveal Shukaku's unique ability as well. 

I've said this in a comment, but I find that the Tailed Beasts in the original are really underdeveloped and bland/generic. So I plan to make them a bit more special in some ways.

Till now I changed the overall designs of each jinchuriki and their chakra cloaks(as some might've noticed), and I also gave them each more special tailed beast bombs. 

Anyhow, stay tuned :)) 

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