Kirigakure Gamer : Rise of the mist-Chapter 44: Operation Hydra (7)

[Your understanding of the Haze Kenjutsu style is growing...]

For some reason, forms of the Haze Kenjutsu [B] style, which he had never been able to display before, were naturally forming. The battle acted as a catalyst for his growth.

[You have mastered Haze Kenjutsu [B]...]

[You have leveled up...]

[You have leveled up...]

[You have leveled up...]

Ignoring the power-ups, he continued to fight. The slight recovery from systemic artificial level up growth were consumed before he could realize it, the fight being more intense than anything he had felt until now.

Takeshi's body flickered as he used the technique to move faster.

Yugito swiped at him, but her claws passed through an afterimage.

[Body Flicker Technique [D]]

He appeared behind her, his blade ready.

The difference in skill proficiency was massive.

Yugito was experienced, for sure, but Takeshi was more than just a genius.

He was a genius who had been trained by the crazy elder Otuka, and invested his training on the most battle-efficient techniques, most of which had been proved to have extreme potential.

[Haze Kenjutsu 3rd Form: Whispering Phantom Cut]

He aimed for her neck again, but Yugito twisted at the last second and blocked with her last remaining arm. Takeshi's eyes widened as her tail lashed out, striking his side. He was thrown back, skidding across the ground.

[You have taken 320 points of damage]

[You have resisted critical status]

Takeshi groaned, clutching his side. The blow burned, but he forced himself to stand. Yugito's chakra cloak flickered, but she roared again, her energy surging. Takeshi steadied himself, knowing he had one last chance.

"This is it," he said, forming his final hand seals. Water swirled around his blade, creating a vortex of energy.

Haze Kenjutsu Final Form: Abyssal Tempest Breaker [A]

Takeshi charged forward, the vortex propelling him like a missile. Yugito's claws came up to block, but the water and chakra collided in a massive explosion of steam and force. For a moment, the battlefield was hidden in the mist.

As the steam cleared, Takeshi collapsed.

Replacing Yugito, a monstrous 10-meters-tall cat-like figure remained.

*GULP*

She swallowed Takeshi ruthlessly.

===

At the same time, Naya had managed to kill Darui. This in itself was an achievement, an anomly even. Kirigakure, a village that would be plunged into an era of darkness, had already killed a genius of Kumogakure that was supposed to become the future fourth Raikage's right arm.

However, an even stronger transformation happened.

'Takeshi...', she screamed inwardly, seeing his figure being swallowed whole by the monstrous creature.

Any normal person would have collapsed from the energy waves alone, and if anything, the monstrous tail-beast's stare would have been enough to dissipate any fighting spirit in a sane shinobi.

On the side, Yukiko's body was barely recognizable, completely charred. Her opponents did not fare much better, all lifeless besides her killer.

Naya's purple chakra rushed forward with extreme intensity. It was not particularly huge, but incredibly dense.

The cat-like monster did not care and raised her paw.

*SWOOSh*

Naya's grip tightened on her blade as the monstrous paw came down. Her purple chakra swirled, sharpening around her sword like a condensed mist of death.

[Hidden Mist Kenjutsu 2nd Form: Silent Thrust]

She leapt into the air, her body twisting mid-flight as her blade rushed forward like an arrow.

The dense chakra surrounding her weapon cut through the paw's descent, piercing through it.

The cat-like monster roared in irritation, a deep, guttural sound that shook the battlefield.

Naya landed gracefully, sliding back a few feet as the ground cracked beneath the beast's weight. Her gaze flickered to Takeshi's last location—the sight of him being swallowed still burned in her mind. Her teeth clenched.

"Takeshi..." she whispered, her voice like a dagger slicing through the heavy mist that hung over the battlefield. "You cannot abandon me...Not you...Anyone but you..."

Emotions were the strongest vectors of emotions, and for some reason, Takeshi's appearance in her life had changed something profound in her. He had awakened an attachment that surpassed even that of her loyalty to the village, something that would have never happened in regular circumstances.

The monster lashed out again, this time with its tail.

The enormous appendage whipped toward her with devastating speed.

Naya moved, her body dissolving into the mist as the tail struck only empty air.

[Mist Kenjutsu 11th Form: Tempest Strike]

She reappeared above the beast, her blade gleaming with a sinister purple glow. With a sharp downward strike, she aimed for the creature's head. The monster raised its claws, deflecting the blow, but not before Naya's chakra-infused blade left a deep gash across its arm. Purple energy sizzled at the wound, eating away at the flesh.

The monster howled in pain, its chakra flaring wildly.

Naya used the momentary distraction to retreat, her breathing heavy. Her chakra reserves were dwindling, but she knew hesitation would mean death.

"I need more time," she muttered, her mind racing.

The beast wasn't waiting. Its jaws opened wide, and a swirling sphere of chakra began to form—a Tailed Beast Bomb [S].

Naya's eyes widened. The raw power emanating from the attack was enough to shake her to the core, but she forced herself to focus. Her hands moved in rapid seals, her blade glowing brighter with every movement.

Using [Mist Balls], a piece of equipment used by jonins usually, it released humidity and turned into fog. The mist around the battlefield thickened, obscuring everything from view.

The Tailed Beast Bomb fired, tearing through the battlefield with terrifying force.

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For a moment, it seemed as if Naya had been consumed by the attack.

But then, a single streak of purple light cut through the mist, heading straight for the beast's heart.

Naya appeared from the haze, her blade thrust forward with all her might. The concentrated energy around her weapon surged, piercing through the monster's chakra cloak and plunging into its chest.

The beast let out a deafening roar, its chakra flaring in a chaotic explosion. Naya was thrown back, her body crashing into the ground with a sickening thud.

The battlefield fell silent for a moment, the mist beginning to dissipate. The towering form of the beast was still as tall as ever.

Naya struggled to her feet, her vision blurring.

"No...How can it be....I can't die here...I have to save...Takeshi-kun", she muttered in utter defeat

The fact that she could last so long was already an anomaly. Her level and strength indicated that she would not stand a chance against Darui alone, not to mention a strong opponent like a teenager jinchuriki like Yugito.

The cat growled.

Something was wrong.

*CRUNCH*

The battle was far from over.

From within the beast, Takeshi had been woken up from his deep slumber and chakra exhaustion by the fight. Without Naya, the cat tailed beast would not have focused all of its chakra onto its protective coat. Its gastric fluid, normally lethal, had covered Takeshi with less intensity.

Still, regular shinobi would have melted and burned in seconds.

But he was different.

Takeshi held one trump card that was superior to all kekkei gekkai.

Knowledge.

His understanding of the Naruto series far surpassed anyone. He knew hidden techniques of the leaf, like chakra control exercises that allowed him to grow faster. He had learned techniques and applied it even better than some of the strongest shinobi in the world, like the Azure Stream Jutsu, taking inspiration from battles of Tobirama Senju.

The same could be said with kenjutsu, and even basic techniques like the Body Flicker, which had made a certain red-eyed Uchiha incredibly infamous.

If that was not enough, then he still possessed some other pieces of information that were of use.

Inside the stomach of a tailed beast, one of the wildest creatures in this world, he remembered a pair of twins from Kumogakure who had survived the very same experience, the only ones who had lived to tell the tales.

They ate the flesh of the monster.

And so...

Takeshi obliged.

[************* aliment has been ingested...]

[You have earned 650 EXP]

[You have received 80 points of damage...]

[Danger detected!]

Despite the danger, Takeshi did not stop. Despite his health diminishing, he did not stop.

[************* aliment has been ingested...]

[You have earned 1200 EXP]

[You have received 80 points of damage...]

[Extreme Danger detected!]

Despite the pain, Takeshi did not stop.

[************* aliment has been ingested...]

[You have earned 1200 EXP]

[You have received 80 points of damage...]

[Life-threatening Danger detected!]

However, Takeshi's knowledge served him well.

A notification eventually popped up.

[You have earned a perk]

[You have leveled up]

Almost instinctively, Takeshi upgraded his vitality, knowing that his death would become official upon reaching zero otherwise.

*GULP*

Continuing, without stopping, Takeshi continued to eat, ignoring the wild clashes between the tailed beast and an unknown shinobi.

His teammates were probably dead, but he, at least, would survive.

Regular individuals would have given up.

However, Takeshi's fighting spirit only grew as the situation became more dangerous.

Eventually, the battle stopped.

But Takeshi kept eating, the inside twitching violently, as the monster probably felt discomfort at getting eaten alive.

However, after some time, another living being fell into the cat's stomach. It was none other than Naya herself.

Takeshi's mind no longer was sane.

Seeing this, he smiled.

He was about to enact a historical feat. Cutting through a piece of flesh from the monster's stomach, he stuffed it into Naya's mouth.

She bled from her eyes, but he kept at it, knowing her limit better than anyone.

Hours passed, and resumed the stuffing and eating.