Chapter 194: Ghosts in the Mist (Part-16) [Who Needs Jutsu When You Can Launch Yourself Like Artillery?]

Chapter 194 - Ghosts in the Mist (Part-16) [Who Needs Jutsu When You Can Launch Yourself Like Artillery?] {Current stones - 680} {Needed stones - 960} ~~~ As Ren continued to launch himself forward with bursts of raw speed, he couldn't help but think, 'I've really been under using chakra stability.' Right now, it was doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Without it, there's no way he'd be able to combine chakra-enhanced strength and the Eight Gates like this. Normally, the two techniques weren't supposed to mix at all. Chakra-enhanced strength required extreme precision and control, while the Eight Gates threw that completely out the window. The whole point of the Gates was to rip through the body's natural limits, and the result was chakra so wild it became nearly impossible to manage. That's part of why the technique was forbidden. But Ren had a few advantages most shinobi didn't. With his chakra control above 90% and the added effect of chakra stability, he was managing it, however little it may be. Still, this wasn't something he could keep up forever. Right now wasn't the time for testing limits or refining technique anyway. He needed to get as far away from Kisame as possible. If he could make it back to the mountains, that'd be ideal. Kakashi, Itachi, and the others should've wrapped up their side of the mission by now. And if Kakashi did his part right, then Mist's internal situation should already be boiling over. A civil war was probably about to kick off and when that started, staying here any longer would be suicide. He ground to a stop for just a moment, closing the Gates to give his body a short breather and created a handful of clones. They scattered in different directions, each one heading off with just enough chakra to act as a proper decoy if Kisame or anyone else tried to follow him. Then, without wasting another second, Ren kicked back into motion, activating the Gates again and blasting forward. Each step hit the ground like a hammer, sending shockwaves through the earth and hurling him forward at breakneck speed. The recoil from the technique tore at his legs, the backlash unavoidable. He was basically propelling himself with controlled chakra explosions so damage was inevitable. But his body was holding together, just barely. His regenerative ability, bolstered by a constant flow of yang chakra and years of conditioning, kept the worst of the damage in check. It hurt, but it was manageable. As Ren tore through the trees, a wave of feedback hit him, one of his clones had just been taken out which meant Kisame was close again. Ren clicked his tongue and pushed harder, burning what little advantage he had left. He could feel it, the shark wasn't holding back anymore. That relentless pressure behind him, wild and unwavering, was Kisame in full pursuit. No games, no grins, just pure kill intent. Luckily, the clones had bought him a few seconds. That was all he needed and now, instead of running farther, he shifted tactics. Diving low, Ren formed a quick sequence of hand seals and slipped into the ground with Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu. It was slower than his previous speed by a long shot, but raw speed wouldn't help if Kisame kept tailing him like this. What he needed now was concealment. Once he was deep enough, Ren carefully hollowed out a small pocket in the earth, enough to crouch in without pressure crushing him. He closed the gates, exhaled sharply, and dropped to one knee as he focused on his breathing. His chakra reserves were still sitting around 90% which was not bad, but this was because he hadn't used many actual jutsu, most of his movement had relied on physical boosts and propulsion via dormant chakra from the Eight Gates. His base chakra pool had been preserved as a result. That wasn't the issue. Stamina, though, was a different story. He'd been running for hours with the Gates open. Add in chakra-enhanced strength, and the load on his muscles and lungs was brutal. His body felt like it had been slowly ground down by stone, functional, but only barely. Ren took a deep breath and chuckled softly to himself. 'Eight Gates and chakra-enhanced strength, these two burn stamina like the government burns tax money. Efficiently inefficient.' Still, he had an out. A risky one, but it could work. The Fifth Gate. Unlike the earlier ones, opening the Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit would temporarily remove the body's natural restrictions on stamina and oxygen processing. In short, it would trick his body into thinking it had more energy than it did. Which would be enough to defend but more importantly, it would be enough to run. He couldn't keep it open long, but a few minutes was all he needed so he started prepping. First, he channeled yang chakra through his muscle networks. Not full regeneration, just enough to nourish and stabilize the tissue. Preparing them for the strain. He took one more breath, rolled his neck, and slowly let his pulse settle. "Alright... Let's begin." He didn't waste time as he raised two fingers to his forehead, Ren began locking the modified seals he normally used to adjust the Eight Gates. For the first time, he was about to use the original technique, unfiltered and unmodified with no safety nets and that meant caution extreme caution was needed. He narrowed his eyes and fully activated Hyperfocus, tuning into the chakra pathways running through his body. First Gate. Open. A rush of chakra surged through his limbs. He waited for the usual strain, the tearing sensation, the sharp tug behind his muscles which is associated with the first gate but, nothing. The chakra flow remained smooth and clean. There was no backlash and no signs of internal damage. He checked it again for safety sake and, yep, still stable. So chakra stability really did work even inside his body. It wasn't just a surface-level support; it actively kept high-pressure chakra in check, even when his system was under extreme strain. That gave him the confidence to move forward. He opened the next three gates in quick succession, Second, Third, and Fourth. The effect was instant. His chakra output spiked, flaring around him in an almost visible wave. He became a glowing signal flare buried underground which was definitely not ideal as the Samehada was particularly sensitive to chakra and could lead Kisame here. But as he inspected the flow again, he found it was still mostly stable. A bit more turbulent than before, sure, but nothing that would cause system failure. The original Eight Gates, at least the first four, were usable now, even without his mods. There was one catch though, the way his chakra was behaving, he might not be able to blend in other chakra natures as smoothly as before. Earlier he could easily use wind chakra to enhance his speed even more however now, his focus had to be on the chakra flow and dividing the focus might be difficult. Though it wouldn't be impossible, he wouldn't be trying it for now anyway. Chakra-enhanced strength, though, was still on the table. It'd take a bit more strain, but it was possible. Suddenly, his head snapped up. He didn't sense Kisame's chakra, he didn't have to. That pressure above him, like a storm cloud ready to burst, told him everything. The shark was here. Above ground, Kisame had indeed already found the spot. He stood over the rough patch of earth with a savage grin on his face, his massive chakra cloak rippling around him. With both fists, he began hammering the ground, laughing as cracks spread through the stone. This was his favorite part, when the prey was cornered there would be no more tricks, no more games, just destruction. Below, Ren didn't panic even as the monster continued to blast the earth. He closed his eyes and shifted his focus to the Fifth Gate which was located in the abdomen. He hadn't opened it before, so there was no 'unlocking' it and he had to blast it open manually. Luckily, blasting things open was one of his few joys in life. He gathered chakra at the base of his stomach and pushed hard. There was a snap, almost like a pressure valve releasing and suddenly, the Fifth Gate was open. Oxygen flooded his lungs and his heart went into overdrive. Blood rushed through his body like a turbo-charged engine, and just like that, the exhaustion that had been weighing him down... disappeared. Ren exhaled slowly. He knew the truth though, it wasn't real. His muscles were still fatigued, but his brain was being tricked into ignoring it. That was the danger of the Fifth Gate. The moment it closed, all that tiredness would come crashing back. But for now he felt unstoppable. He checked his chakra one last time and it was stable, barely, but still under control. His body was surrounded in a pale blue aura, the raw chakra visibly leaking from his skin. Hyperfocus kicked into high gear, his mind tracking dozens of muscle micro-adjustments at once. With chakra control now hovering at 94%, he could manage this. He could actually do this. He took a deep breath then reached up with one hand, pressing his fist gently to the stone ceiling above. There was silence for a second. Then. BOOM. ~ Above ground, Kisame was still joyfully tearing through the stone with his fists when a sudden flicker of instinct made him pause and his eyes narrowed. Danger. He jumped back immediately, just in time to avoid the full brunt of the explosion beneath him. A thunderous boom erupted from the ground, blasting rocks, dirt, and debris into the air in a massive plume. The shockwave caught him mid-movement and shoved him backward through the air. It didn't hurt. But it definitely moved him from his location. He skidded back along the surface, dust swirling around his feet, and looked up with a grin spreading across his face. That chakra, the brat was stronger than before and that was even better. Kisame's grin widened, sharp and full of teeth. This was getting fun. He flickered forward, appearing just beyond the smoke and a crater had formed at his original position. Freshly carved into the ground by raw force, with dust still rising in the air. And in the center stood Ren, his body glowing faintly blue, one arm flexed from the blast, his breathing even, his eyes locked on Kisame with a grin that looked far too familiar. For a second, they just stood there, grinning at each other, one a predator, the other pretending he wasn't prey. Then they moved. Both vanished at the same instant, reappearing mid-air as fists collided in a booming impact. The air cracked around them as they exchanged a flurry of strikes, punch for punch, parry for parry, both moving at speeds that left sonic shudders in their wake. Ren was going all in, every muscle pushed to its limit, every movement sharpened by Hyperfocus, each strike layered with chakra-enhanced strength and precision. He wasn't holding anything back. But Kisame was still only using his body, barely reinforcing it with chakra. But even like this, he matched Ren blow for blow, deflecting each strike with minimal movement, almost lazy in his rhythm. It was a deadlock, but not one that could last and they both knew it but Ren moved first. Mid-air, Ren twisted his torso and planted a foot against Kisame's chest, not to strike, but to launch. With a sudden chakra burst from his legs, he blasted backward, using Kisame's body as a springboard. The shockwave of the movement pushed Kisame back slightly, not in pain, but off balance for the first time. Ren didn't let the opening go to waste. He clenched his right fist, locked his elbow, and focused. A split-second later, he fired a controlled burst of chakra from his elbow joint like a piston igniting and launched his fist forward in a straight punch. The speed doubled and a compressed shockwave tore through the air. This wasn't a technique that was used with the Eight Gates, it was just physics weaponized. The wave hit Kisame dead-on, slamming into his chest and forcing him back through the air. He slid back, this time with a slight grunt, though not from pain, but more from the surprise that the brat was still going. Ren's eyes were sharp. He wasn't trying to hurt Kisame because that'd be suicide. He just needed to move him and keep disrupting him so that he can keep him from forming seals. He already knew that if Kisame got even one water jutsu off, the entire battlefield would turn into Kisame's home turf and Ren wouldn't last five seconds. So shockwaves it was. No chakra constructs, no visible attacks. Just raw kinetic force, shaped and detonated with chakra-infused movement. Kisame's Samehada could absorb chakra, but not the shockwave created by a punch which was launched after burning chakra. As soon as the blow connected, Ren closed the gap again but Kisame was already back. The last two hits caught him off guard, sure, but now he was watching Now he was ready and now he was smiling. "Not bad," Kisame muttered, licking a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "But if you're done with the warm-up..." His chakra began to rise. Ren's chakra spiked as he realised time was running out. "Let's start for real alright?" ~~~~~ {I don't think I need to explain anything, but still, Kisame could absorb pure chakra based attacks using Samehada but not shockwaves which were created from Guy's attack and he had to tank them on his own. One more thing, Kisame isn't really going all out, otherwise there is no way in hell Ren could survive that beast right now unless he uses everything he has.} {Anyway, it's been quite a while since I gave you guys a proper fight so enjoy.} {Finished this arc on Pat with part 23 at Chapter 200, the last two Chapters of this arc are both 3.5k+ words and are meant to be read together so even if you aren't completing the goals right now I'll still be giving you the last two Chapters together.} {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} {280 Stones = Extra Chapter} {STONES!!!!}