"Rōshi! Akatsuchi! Sumashi!"
Shibito's voice, filled with desperation and fury, rang out.
His eyes, bloodshot with anger and fear, scanned the battlefield.
The meaning of his cry was clear: attack Luo Lei, stop this massacre at any cost.
Luo Lei's thermal vision had become an unstoppable force on the battlefield, a killer against which there was no defense. If it continued like this, thousands of ninjas would be annihilated in a matter of minutes.
"Understood!" The response came in unison.
Whoosh!
The air itself seemed to vibrate as Rōshi, still in his Bijū form, lunged towards Luo Lei. Waves of burning chakra emanated from his body, preparing for the confrontation.
But Luo Lei, unfazed by the imminent threat, directed his gaze towards the Konoha army. His eyes, glowing with that unsettling crimson hue, settled on Jiraiya, still in Sage Mode.
"All of you, observe," he declared.
"Whoever dares to disobey my orders, don't blame me for the consequences."
"And as I've told you, my word is law," he continued in a tone that left no room for doubt. "Whoever doesn't follow it will die."
Then, turning to the approaching Iwagakure troops, a cruel smile played on his lips. "And as for you, Iwagakure, there's no need to rush. I'll attack you personally, one by one."
"....."
A tense silence fell over the Konoha ranks.
Shikaku, Inoichi, Chōza, and the other leaders exchanged glances. The situation had surpassed any strategy they might have planned.
The Chūnin and Genin, for their part, experienced relief and admiration. They wouldn't have to risk their lives in battle, and yet, if Luo Lei triumphed, they would share in the glory of victory.
"A lunatic... a damned lunatic without scruples," muttered Jiraiya with his fists clenched. Frustration boiled inside him.
He had entered Sage Mode, ready to deliver a devastating blow to Iwagakure, only to be relegated to the role of a spectator by Luo Lei's threat.
"Little Jiraiya, abandon Sage Mode," Fukasaku's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Luo Lei is... different," added Shima. "When did such a monster appear in Konoha?"
With a resigned sigh, Jiraiya let the senjutsu chakra dissipate.
Fukasaku and Shima jumped from his shoulders, their small bodies trembling slightly as they watched Luo Lei advance towards the battlefield.
"He wasn't like this before," reflected Jiraiya, rubbing his still swollen cheek. "In the battle of Kikyoyama, he seems to have awakened some kind of special Kekkei Genkai."
"Kekkei Genkai?"
Fukasaku frowned, making a mental note to investigate further once they returned to Mount Myōboku.
"Don't mess with him," Shima warned, her voice laden with concern. "Next time it won't be just a slap. You could really die."
Feeling the throbbing pain in his cheek, Jiraiya decided to keep quiet.
Any word out of place could provoke Luo Lei's wrath, and the consequences would be disastrous not only for him but for all of Konoha.
"Let's observe!" exclaimed Fukasaku, directing his gaze towards the battlefield.
____
In an instant, the atmosphere on the battlefield changed drastically. The Iwagakure army, momentarily dissuaded by Luo Lei's display of power, found its determination anew.
"What's so special about Luo Lei?" The question resonated. "He's strong, yes, but if we keep attacking, he'll eventually tire out."
Rōshi, Akatsuchi, Sumashi, and other Iwagakure leaders channeled their chakra. They were willing to sacrifice everything to defeat this monster called Luo Lei.
"Everyone, obey!" Shibito's voice echoed in everyone's hearts. "Attack Luo Lei with everything you've got!"
"Kill him!"
But Shibito's words had barely left his lips when Luo Lei moved.
Whoosh!
With astonishing speed, Luo Lei appeared in front of Sumashi. The ninja, despite being in the midst of channeling chakra, had no time to react.
"H-How is this possible?" gasped Sumashi, writhing in Luo Lei's grip. "If you're so strong, why don't you let me go and fight fairly?!"
Luo Lei's response was instantaneous.
Fzzzzt!
A flash of crimson light illuminated Sumashi's face for a fraction of a second. Luo Lei's eyes glowed with intensity, and from them emerged a laser beam.
In the brief instant before impact, Sumashi saw his reflection in Luo Lei's eyes, and at that moment, he understood the true magnitude of his error.
Boom!
The laser beam impacted directly on Sumashi's head. There was no time to scream, to repent, to say goodbye.
In an instant, the Iwagakure ninja's head vaporized, turned into nothing more than vapor and incandescent particles.
This was just the beginning of the nightmare for Iwagakure.
Splat!
Without adornments or flourishes, Luo Lei unleashed the true potential of his speed.
His body became an indistinguishable blur, moving at a speed that brushed twice that of sound.
What followed was a one-sided massacre.
The Iwagakure ninjas didn't even have time to register what was happening. One moment they were standing, prepared for battle; the next, their bodies exploded in a shower of blood and flesh.
Luo Lei moved among them like a specter of death, invisible and unstoppable.
The impact of his body, moving at supersonic speeds, was devastating.
Bones pulverized, internal organs burst, and entire bodies disintegrated before the brute force of his onslaughts.
Some Iwagakure ninjas, in a desperate attempt to survive, formed defensive jutsu but... it was all useless. Luo Lei tore through their defenses as if they were wet paper, the force of his impacts amplified by his speed.
"What the--?"
"DOWN--!"
Interrupted screams filled the air. Jōnin tried to use substitution techniques or create clones to confuse Luo Lei. But his X-ray eyes saw through every trick, every stratagem.
There was no escape.
Even offensive ninjutsu proved futile. Bursts of cutting wind were dodged, or simply ignored as Luo Lei continued his relentless assault.
Rōshi, in an act of desperation, launched a Bijūdama directly at Luo Lei. To the horror of all present, Luo Lei didn't even try to dodge it. The powerful sphere of concentrated chakra impacted him head-on.
But when the smoke cleared, Luo Lei emerged without a scratch, his expression as impassive as ever. The message was clear: not even the power of a Bijū could stop him.
In less than five minutes, the battlefield had transformed into a slaughterhouse. The carefully organized formations of Iwagakure - Genin, Chūnin, Jōnin, even the ANBU squads - had been reduced to nothing more than ground meat and pulverized bones.
The air was saturated with the metallic stench of blood and the sickly-sweet stench of death.
________
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