Chapter 28: Slaying the Serpent

Ren leaped from the building’s ledge, biting his thumb as he fell. He flashed through the familiar hand seals, slamming his bloodied palm down onto the air as if it were solid ground.

“Summoning Jutsu!”

***BOOM!***

A massive plume of smoke erupted mid-air, accompanied by a shockwave that rattled the surrounding debris. From the dissipating cloud, an enormous creature landed on the street below with a ground-shaking impact, its powerful legs cracking the asphalt beneath its feet. It was the Lion-Dog, King of the Six Paths. Ren landed nimbly atop its broad head.

The beast was colossal, having grown from its previous height of over ten meters to nearly thirty. It was now a true behemoth, a monster in every sense of the word.

“Huh? That’s… a summon?” Kakashi, who had been about to move out with Guy, halted at the deafening sound of the arrival.

“Is that… the kid from before? He summoned that?” Guy exclaimed, his eyes wide as he took in the gigantic creature and the small ANBU-masked figure standing upon it.

“Guy, we’re needed over there. Our forces can’t stop it,” Kakashi said, his voice grim as he watched one of the giant snakes wreak havoc, Konoha ninja helpless against its scaled hide.

“Right! Let’s go!” Guy yelled, his enthusiasm refueled, and they both shot toward the chaos.

On the Six Paths King’s head, Ren could only stare in astonishment. *This… is Erha? I haven’t summoned him in three years. He’s grown this much? The growth rate of a psychic beast is insane!*

“Protect your tiny blossom!” the Six Paths King bellowed its signature, ridiculous warcry the moment it materialized, its three heads scanning the chaotic battlefield. “Little brat! Why have you summoned this great one again? If it’s more digging, you’re a dead man!”

“Yo! Erha, long time no see,” Ren said, patting the beast’s head. “I didn’t expect you to get so big! I called you for a good reason. There’s a war on. Konoha is under attack by the Sand and Sound. I need to kill their ninja, and I need your help.”

“Oh? A war?” The beast’s voice rumbled with sudden, vicious excitement. “So I can cut loose today! Hehehe~~ My blood is already boiling! You’ve finally done something right, brat! Leave those scumbags to me!”

***ROAR!*** “Tonight, we hunt!” the Six Paths King roared, its body tensing to lunge into the fray.

“Wait, Erha! Listen first!” Ren stopped him. “You are only to attack Sand and Sound ninja. Do *not* harm anyone from Konoha. I don’t want to make an enemy of my own village, understand? It would be… troublesome. At least for now, I can’t afford to provoke them. If you can’t follow that rule, there will be no more fights in the future. I won’t call you.”

“Understood! Understood! Such a nagging brat!” the beast replied impatiently.

Just as Ren was about to give the order to attack, a terrified scream echoed from a nearby street, followed by a sickening, final crunch. Ren’s head snapped toward the sound. One of the giant snakes had just swallowed a Konoha ninja whole. After its grisly meal, the serpent raised its head and let out a triumphant, arrogant roar that shook the windows of nearby buildings.

“Damn beasts,” Ren gritted his teeth, his hands clenching into fists. “Erha! Those overgrown worms are too arrogant. Tear them apart!”

“Hmph! My thoughts exactly! I’ve been wanting a new belt! Now I can have matching boots!” the Six Paths King roared and charged toward the cluster of giant snakes, its massive form shaking the earth with every step.

The Konoha defenders were in a desperate struggle. “Stop them! Don’t let them push further into the village!” a chunin commander yelled, hurling a kunai that simply sparked harmlessly off the snake’s dense scales.

“Damn it! Use ninjutsu!”

A volley of fireballs and lightning strikes shot toward the beast, but they dissipated against its hide like water. The futile attack only succeeded in drawing the snake’s attention. It moved with shocking speed for its size, its massive head darting forward. Before the ninja could react, he was snapped up in its jaws and swallowed whole.

“Miyagi! NO! Damn you! I’ll kill you!” Another ninja, overcome with rage and grief at his friend’s death, broke formation and charged the serpent blindly.

“Akita, fall back! It’s a suicide run!” his comrades screamed, but their cries fell on deaf ears.

The enraged ninja, Akita, managed to leap onto the snake’s head, driving his kunai down with all his strength. But he was no storybook hero. The blade merely sparked against the impenetrable scales, doing little more than annoying the colossal creature. With a powerful shake of its head, the snake threw him off. He crashed through the wall of a already-damaged building, landing in a heap of shattered wood and plaster, dazed and broken.

As the dust settled, Akita looked up to see the snake’s gaping maw descending toward him, blotting out the sky.

*Is this… where it ends?* He closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

***BOOM! CRUNCH!***

A horrific sound of impact and tearing flesh filled the air, followed by a pained, dying hiss.

But the expected pain never came. Akita slowly opened his eyes.

“I… I’m not dead?” he whispered, stunned.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! You’re not dead yet,” a voice called down to him. “But if you stay there, you might be!”

Akita looked up. A gigantic monster now stood between him and the snake, its back to him. The monster’s left arm ended in three massive, curved blades, which were currently buried deep in the skull of the giant snake that had been about to eat him. The tips of the blades protruded from the other side, dripping with dark blood. His gaze traveled up the monster’s form to see a masked ANBU operative standing calmly on its head.

“In…incredible,” the chunin stammered. “Are…are you reinforcements?”

“That’s right!” the ANBU called back.

“But… damn it,” Akita’s voice broke as the image of his friend flashed in his mind. “If… if you had been sooner… Miyagi wouldn’t have…”

“I’m sorry,” the ANBU’s voice was flat, devoid of apology but stating a simple fact. “I couldn’t save him.”

“Akita! Are you alright?!” Several other Konoha ninja finally reached him, pulling him from the rubble. They stared, wide-eyed, at the monstrous lion-dog and its rider. “Anbu gear… Are you reinforcements?”

“Get him out of here,” the masked figure commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I’ll handle this.”

“Y-yes, sir!” they stammered, quickly helping their injured comrade retreat.

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The other two giant snakes, having witnessed the death of their kin, turned their malevolent gazes on the Six Paths King and Ren, their forked tongues flicking out in challenge.

“Hmph! Trash,” the Six Paths King rumbled disdainfully. “You’ll be reunited soon.”

“Erha, you take one, I’ll take the other. Make it quick!” Ren ordered. He quickly formed a sequence of hand seals, and a familiar, screeching sound began to emanate from his right hand. A brilliant, chaotic ball of blue-white lightning coalesced in his palm, casting flickering shadows across his porcelain mask.

***Chidori!***

The sound of a thousand birds crying out echoed over the din of battle.

Kakashi and Guy, who had been rushing to assist, skidded to a halt, their eyes fixed on the scene.

“Kakashi! That’s… that’s not…” Guy gasped, his usual exuberance gone.

“Yeah,” Kakashi said, his voice low and serious behind his mask. “It’s Chidori.” His visible eye narrowed. *Who is that? It can’t be Sasuke…*

“Is it you?” Guy asked, confused.

“No. I’m certain I only taught Sasuke,” Kakashi replied, his mind racing. *An ANBU who knows Chidori? But without the Sharingan to guide it… using that technique is a massive risk.*

“Erha, let’s go!” Ren shouted.

“Yo shi!” the beast roared in excitement, hefting its giant bladed arm and charging. The two remaining serpents surged forward to meet them, their massive bodies crushing everything in their path.

Ren pushed off from the Six Paths King’s head, launching himself high into the air. He executed a perfect flip, aiming his lightning-charged hand like a spear at the serpent below. One of the snakes reared up, its maw opening wide to swallow him whole.

“You like to eat people, beast?” Ren yelled, twisting his body to avoid the lunge and landing on the snake’s back. “Try a new taste! Lightning Release: Chidori!”

He drove the ball of lightning into the snake’s spine. The potent Lightning Release chakra tore through the dense scales, and the beast screamed in agony, thrashing wildly. Ren channeled chakra to his feet, anchoring himself to the writhing monster’s back.

“It’s not over yet!” he snarled. He bent his knees and pushed off, sprinting along the snake’s length while dragging the Chidori along its body. The devastating jutsu ripped a deep, sizzling furrow down the serpent’s back, leaving a trail of charred flesh and splintered bone.

He reached the base of its skull. “Die!” he roared, plunging the Chidori deep into the snake’s head. He pushed a final surge of chakra into the technique, causing it to erupt internally.

The snake’s agonized thrashing ceased instantly. Its body stiffened, then crashed to the ground like a felled tree, utterly lifeless.

***Ding! Host eliminates Giant Summoned Serpent. Reward: 2,000 Points.***

***Host’s Psychic Beast eliminates Giant Summoned Serpent x2. Reward: 2,000 Points.***

Ren stood panting on the dead serpent’s head, the screeching of the Chidori fading away, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. Across the street, the Six Paths King stood triumphantly over the twitching remains of the other two snakes, its bladed arms stained dark red.

The path was clear. The hunt was on.

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