Chapter 130: Operation Soft Launch (Part-5) [How to Break a Man Using His Own Sword]

Chapter 130 - Operation Soft Launch (Part-5) [How to Break a Man Using His Own Sword] The moment of shift was subtle. There were no flashy bursts of chakra or dramatic thunderclaps. But for Ren, the world changed again. Lines became sharper. Sounds slowed into clarity. He could count each heartbeat, each shift in the air as a foot pressed down on snow. Every muscle twitch of his enemies fed directly into his anticipation. He had fully entered the Hyperfocus state. No more testing. No more dodging to learn. This was now combat at full capacity. The first to move again was Makiru, his lightning blade humming to life with a buzz that split the frost-heavy silence. He lunged in with a horizontal arc that should've cut through Ren's upper torso. Ren didn't move in haste. Instead, his foot twisted subtly on the snowy surface, shifting his weight just enough that Makiru's blade missed by millimeters. In the same fluid motion, Ren twisted and brought his elbow backward with precision and drove it into Makiru's ribs. The crack of impact echoed sharply as Makiru staggered, his armor breaking without any resistance. But there was no pause. Shiba, the stealth specialist, used the distraction to slip in. His form had been hidden beneath a Genjutsu-enhanced shadow, and his dual daggers came slicing up from below, aiming for Ren's hamstrings. Ren stepped into it. Literally. One heel stomped down, pinning Shiba's wrist to the ground before he could pull the strike fully. Then Ren spun, bringing the heel of his other foot down on Shiba's elbow, forcing the joint to shatter with a sickening crunch. "AGHH-!" The scream was cut short when Ren kneed him in the throat and sent him rolling across the frostbitten earth. But Yuka was already closing in, her movements quick and erratic. Genjutsu laced her every step, a flickering image of herself to the left, then right, then vanishing completely. But hyperfocus didn't care about illusions. It saw breath patterns, the muscle twitches, the faintest displacement of snow under foot. Ren ignored the fakes and drove forward into the real one. Yuka's eyes widened as his punch connected squarely with her abdomen, throwing her across the battlefield and smashing her into the side of a tree. The bark cracked. Her body went limp for a moment before she groaned, clearly still conscious. That's when Kenkuro returned once again. With a furious bellow, the large brawler launched himself into Ren's flank with raw power. One iron-reinforced fist swung out with the intent to cave in Ren's ribs. Ren didn't dodge. Instead, he let the fist come, and at the last second, caught it between both of his palms. A normal person's arms would have snapped. But Ren had reinforced his arms with chakra the moment before impact. The earth cracked beneath his feet as he absorbed the blow, but he held his ground. Kenkuro stared, disbelieving. "You-!" He didn't get to finish. Ren twisted, pulled Kenkuro's arm forward, and spun into a shoulder throw, using Kenkuro's massive momentum to hurl him over the shoulder and slam him head-first into the ground. The snow around them scattered violently from the impact. Ren exhaled slowly. The first wave had ended. But they weren't done. Makiru had already risen again, blood trickling from his mouth. His eyes were wide now, not with arrogance, but alert recognition and subtle fear. "This isn't a prodigy," he muttered under his breath. "This is a damned monster." He wiped the blood from his lip and raised his blade. "To hell with it. Full formation. Kill him." The others recovered quickly, bloodied, limping, but still elite shinobi. They circled him. Yuka retreated back slightly, weaving hand signs to prepare a wide-field Genjutsu, while Shiba slunk into the fog again, his broken arm awkwardly hanging but his remaining dagger still sharp. Kenkuro slammed his fists together, shaking snow off his body as chakra surged around his new reinforced knuckles. Makiru activated a more refined lightning chakra armor around himself and rushed forward again, aiming to pin Ren down. This time, they came together. Makiru from the front with high-speed blade strikes. Kenkuro from the right, fists swinging like piledrivers. Yuka's Genjutsu field settled over the area like a blanket, designed to hide movement and break timing. Shiba, hidden, closed in for another silent strike from behind. But it didn't work. Ren's body moved just his mind issued the command. Hyperfocus made sure that his instinct and analysis worked together. He ducked under Makiru's blade, twisting his upper body mid-motion to avoid Kenkuro's punch. Then, with his right foot, he kicked a small rock into the space behind him, clinking against Shiba's hidden foot, alerting Ren to his exact position. Spinning, he caught Shiba's dagger with the edge of his gauntlet, twisted the rogue's wrist mid-grip, and forced him to stab himself in the thigh. Then he spun again, leaned just enough to the side to avoid a shockwave from Makiru's blade as it hit the earth, and responded with a brutal elbow strike to the man's temple. Makiru staggered, blinded by the hit. Ren caught his sword arm and twisted it, driving the lightning-infused blade deep into the frozen ground, sending sparks into the air and neutralizing the electric current. Then he stepped on Makiru's back, driving him face-first into the snow. But Ren didn't stop. His movements blurred. In a single instant, he was in front of Yuka. She blinked once then coughed blood. She hadn't even seen the punch. She crumpled before she could even cast another Genjutsu. Kenkuro, furious and panting, tried to grab Ren from behind in a full-body grapple, but Ren slipped low just between his legs then rolled once, and launched a brutal uppercut straight into Kenkuro's chin. The man's jaw snapped upward. His eyes rolled back. He dropped like a felled tree. Now only Makiru remained conscious, struggling to push himself up from the snow with one hand. Ren stepped forward slowly. The wind blew softly, carrying his breath out in mist. The battlefield had been reduced to cracked ground, craters in snow, and scattered blood. His own armor was nicked in places. A shallow gash on his arm still bled, and smoke wafted from his scorched sleeve. But his body moved without tremble. The Hyperfocus was stable. He was fully synchronized. Makiru looked up at him, gasping. "You... you're not normal. What the hell are you?" Ren didn't answer immediately. He had to check if he could speak with Hyperfocus active, so he cleared his throat a few a times. "I don't know if I can tell you my name, but it was my debut performance, thanks for being good targets," he said simply. Then, he cracked his neck once and got ready, this one would be Makiru's last stand so the man might just pull off something dangerous, that's why he had to finish off the rest of them first. Ren's breath misted faintly in the cold. He didn't pause. Makiru was still half-upright, one knee in the snow, bleeding from the temple, lightning chakra flickering in and out around his arms. The others were injured but not dead. That needed to change first. Ren moved. He reached Shiba first. The rogue assassin was crawling away through a barely perceptible slit under the fog, trying to melt back into the white and regroup. Ren stomped on his back with just enough chakra in his boot to pin him in place. Shiba jerked. Ren's hand came down next, piercing his spine just above the waist with a sharp, rapid jab of chakra-enhanced strength. Shiba tensed and then stopped moving. No theatrics. No threats. One less variable. Next was Kenkuro. Still breathing. Still twitching. Bones broken, but body intact. He had dragged himself behind the nearest boulder, biting his lips bloody to muffle his groans. Ren stepped around it and caught Kenkuro's wide eyes. The brawler raised one arm slowly, fist still cracked, muttering something. It wasn't surrender, more like a dazed warning. Ren didn't wait. He gathered chakra into his right arm, twisted it across his body, and brought it down like a guillotine. [Fang Breaker] His fist connected with Kenkuro's chest. The blow snapped ribs instantly, caving the sternum and collapsing both lungs. There was no scream. Only a gasp. Kenkuro's head slumped to the side. Dead. Two down. Yuka was next. She had pushed herself to a sitting position and was trying to string together hand signs, blood still leaking from her mouth. Her chakra shimmered faintly, trying to stabilize. Ren closed the gap in a flicker. She barely turned her head before his palm slammed into the side of her skull. [Echo Knuckle : Double Burst] A normal chakra-enhanced strike caused an internal rupture. This version, learned through trial, caused the chakra to pulse again just after the delayed pulse after the initial contact, so it was in fact a triple layer attack. First strike. Concussion. Second pulse. Internal hemorrhage. Third pulse. Dead. Her eyes rolled back before her body even hit the ground. No movement followed. Three down. Only Makiru remained. Ren turned, finding the man now standing fully. His eyes were locked on Ren's every step, and there was no more arrogance in his stance. The blade in his hand was trembling, not from fear, but from the static surging across his forearm. He had activated the full state of his chakra armor, lightning racing around his body in sharp arcs. Even his hair floated slightly, lifted by the energy coursing through his system. Ren immediately shifted into a low stance. Makiru didn't speak. He ran forward instead. His blade swung diagonally, then reversed immediately into an upward cut. Lightning trailed behind both motions. The speed was faster than before. Ren ducked under the first and twisted to avoid the second. He countered with a jab, but Makiru deflected it by twisting his shoulder and brought the pommel of his blade down toward Ren's collarbone. Ren caught the weapon's handle midair and turned it, locking the motion and kneeing Makiru in the stomach. The blow landed, but the lightning armor absorbed part of the impact. Makiru didn't stagger. He let go of the blade and slammed his elbow across Ren's temple. A dull thud echoed but Ren rolled with it, minimizing the damage, but Makiru was already preparing another attack. Ren's vision caught it before it began. Makiru's hands blurred through seals. [Lightning Style: Chain Crash Barrage!] A net of linked lightning chains exploded from his hands, scattering in all directions like spears. They circled and converged, seeking Ren from all sides. Ren jumped up higher than normal and twisted midair, letting two chains miss his legs by millimeters. He landed on one of them and used the force to launch himself into the air again, moving toward Makiru instead of away. Makiru expected this. He jumped back, blade reclaimed in his grip, and slashed out three times. Bolts of lightning shot forward like arcs from a cleaver. Ren spun to the side, barely avoiding the first. The second grazed his shoulder, tearing a chunk of his armor. The third he deflected with a chakra burst from his palm. He closed the distance but Makiru met him head-on. The next exchange was brutal with no subtlety. Makiru's blade met Ren's enhanced fists. Sparks and snow flew with each collision. Every time Makiru struck, Ren's body twisted to either absorb, deflect, or dodge. He answered with precise counterattacks by targeting joints, nerve clusters, and exposed muscle lines. But Makiru wasn't going down easily. He ducked under a hook and slammed a chakra-coated palm into Ren's ribs. Ren felt the static surge through his body, locking his muscles briefly. Makiru capitalized. A lightning laced spin-kick followed and connected with Ren's shoulder, sending him into the snow. Ren caught himself with one hand, flipped backward, and landed on all fours. The static was fading. The pain was manageable. His regeneration, boosted by vitality and yang chakra control, was already working. Makiru launched again. Ren rose into a stand and exhaled. He didn't dodge the next attack. Instead, he met it. Their fists collided. Ren's bare hand against Makiru's charged gauntlet. [Focus Pulse : Core Breach] This was a technique Ren had prepared during his clone experimentation. Hyperfocus allowed for precise chakra manipulation. At the moment of contact, Ren condensed chakra into a pinpoint pulse and released it exactly on the joint of Makiru's wrist. The lightning shattered outward, destabilized by the targeted strike. Makiru's gauntlet cracked. His blade jolted. Ren grabbed the weapon midair before it hit the ground. Then he moved again. He ducked low, avoided a wide arc swing of Makiru's other hand, and stepped into his blindside. One movement. One clean arc. Ren slashed Makiru across the back with the man's own lightning blade. The lightning bit through flesh and muscle. Makiru spun in pain, backhanding wildly. Ren ducked under it and stepped behind him again, grabbing the rogue ninja's collar and pulling him backward with force. Makiru landed hard. Ren drove the blade down. Makiru rolled. The blade hit ground. Ren followed. Makiru coughed blood and rolled again, dragging himself backward. He spat and shouted, "You think I'll go down to a kid? You think you'll bury me out here in some frostbitten field?" Ren didn't answer. He flicked his wrist, letting the lightning laced blade reset into his reverse grip. Makiru charged again. No technique. No precision. Ren moved forward to meet him. In that final exchange, Makiru swung his remaining fist with wild desperation. Ren caught it cleanly. With his other hand, he buried the blade straight into the man's stomach. Makiru's body twitched. Ren pulled the blade out, rotated it, and stabbed again, this time through the heart. Makiru collapsed forward. Ren let the body drop, breath steady. He didn't gloat. He didn't look away immediately either. He stayed still for a second. Snow drifted gently around him. Then he turned. The fight was over. ~~~~~ {I think the fight went well but still tell me what you think.} {I hope that Hyperfocus is now understandable, so I won't be explaining it anymore in the future, but if you have any questions, you can ask them in the comments.} {Also, I think I did well in showing the abilities of the rouges, especially Makiru, the strongest. Though Yuka was a bit lackluster, I really don't know how to make a Genjutsu specialist fight Ren, who has resistance to Genjutsu, so I just made her use Taijutsu.} {One more thing, that lightning armor wasn't the Raikage's jutsu, this reminder is just for anyone who might think that.} {If you want, you can support me on pat-reon.} { h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n } {You know what else, 200 stone = Extra Chapter} {STONES!!!!}