The smoke gradually cleared, revealing Sakura's proud figure.
"How dare you betray Master Hyde!" Temujin roared, pointing at her accusingly. "He gave you his trust, and this is how you repay him!?"
"Hyde is the one who's betrayed you!" Sakura shouted. "He claims to want to create a utopia for the downtrodden, but how many lives will he stamp out before he's satisfied? He's been using the people he captured as batteries to power this machine and these lifeless, hollow soldiers of his!"
What Sakura had seen in the generator room had chilled her to the bone.
Hundreds of unconscious people trapped in ampoules, just like the Plants from Trigun, sucked dry of their life energy to fuel Hyde's ambitions of world domination. Hyde had been harvesting the people of the Land of Fire as he progressed northwards from the southern coast, kidnapping people from fishing and farming villages for human livestock— forcing the Land of Fire's peasantry to fight against their own kind!
"And we shall forever honour their noble sacrifices," said Hyde, spreading his arms wide. "When I told your countryn of my goals, that I would free them from the tyranny of the noble class and the horrors of war, they voluntarily chose to shed their weak human forms and beco my knights, so that they might finally gain the strength to fight at my side for a just world!"
The proof was in the purin, as the saying went. The Hollow Knights obeyed their master's orders, which had to an they agreed with his vision… right?
"Lies, all lies!" Sakura shouted. "And here's the proof!"
At that mont, a few dozen shivering children dressed in shabby white tunics stepped out of the earth-moving machine's entrance.
"Impossible," growled Hyde. "This must be a trick of so kind— don't listen to her, Temujin!"
Once a person had their life energy extracted, they would beco incredibly lethargic until they had ti to recuperate. There was no way they'd be up and on their feet so soon after being unplugged from the machine!
"It's not a trick!" lied Sakura. "The people of this continent are hardier than they look. Just listen to what they have to say!"
Hyde was actually correct in this case— these children were all Sakura Shadow Clones who'd disguised themselves using the Transformation Jutsu. The real ones were still in the engine room, still in the process of getting removed from their glass bubbles by Kahiko.
"Master Hyde," said Temujin hesitantly, as he listened to the children's plaintive cries. "Is what they're saying… actually true…?"
"Of course not, Temujin," said Hyde impatiently. "I told you it was a trick, so would you kindly go kill them, or at the very least, get out of my way so that I can shoot them?"
Hyde's genial façade was quickly slipping away. In Temujin's mind, Hyde's now monstrous face appeared to superimpose with that of the hooded man who had once destroyed his village…
"Is this what you call a noble sacrifice?" said Temujin quietly. "No… I've had enough. No more."
Hyde sighed— and without warning, he reached into Temujin's chest and plucked out his Gelel stone, before swatting him aside.
Sakura was instantly alard at the ease with which he had sent Temujin flying— now that she knew Gelel energy was just another form of Natural energy, she was slowly realising she was facing a man who had undergone a pseudo-Sage Mode transformation, which ca with all the bells and whistles, such as vastly enhanced strength, speed, durability, reaction ti and senses!
"You're right, Temujin, it is getting botherso having to keep up this little pretence," said Hyde, rolling his shoulders. "As I've collected plenty of your blood already, I have no more need of you, so begone, you pathetic little brat."
'Temujin was the descendant of the royal family!' exclaid Inner Sakura. 'So, his royal blood can activate the stones… literally!'
Sakura had her Shadow Clones retreat into the earth-moving machine and dispel themselves. It probably wouldn't matter much if her trickery was found out at this point, but she did need her chakra back.
"Sakura, watch out!" Sasuke shouted hoarsely, as Hyde pointed his fist at her. "His attacks are invisible!"
Sakura flickered out of the way, but the energy projection attack never ca. As if to demonstrate his physical superiority, Hyde caught up to her mid-flicker and grabbed her left arm, twisting it painfully. Sasuke threw a handful of shuriken at Hyde's back harmlessly, temporarily distracting him, and…
"Rasengan!"
Sakura summoned a sphere of swirling chakra into her free hand and slamd it into Hyde's chest, launching him away from her in a spiralling motion.
"That attack packed quite the punch," said Hyde, picking himself up and dusting himself off.
Sasuke and Sakura stared in disbelief.
Hyde's flesh, which had got twisted out of shape by the Rasengan, was quickly restoring itself. The Rasengan was supposed to be Naruto's finishing move, but it had sohow failed to finish off its target…
"It's the stone of Gelel!" said Sakura, pointing at Hyde's hand. "With his regeneration speed, he might have more than one in his body!"
They had to find so way to take him down with needing to injure him, which ant…
"Genjutsu: Breast Illusion!"
Sakura quickly ford her seals, her enormous L-cup breasts quivering violently as she clapped her hands. However… nothing happened. She couldn't find any purchase for her yin chakra to enter Hyde's brain!
"Was that supposed to do sothing?" said Hyde mockingly.
Genjutsu worked by sending chakra into a foe's brain, forcing their chakra to mimic the caster's. It was effective even on non-shinobi such as civilians, but it couldn't possibly work on Hyde, since he didn't even have any chakra pathways to begin with! Sakura had no idea how to cast an illusion on sothing whose brain chemistry was completely different from hers!
"Sasuke, swap with !" Sakura yelled. "Sharingan Genjutsu, now!"
Sakura wasn't sure about the specifics, but if the Sharingan's illusions could affect even Tailed Beasts— creatures made entirely of chakra instead of flesh and blood— then surely they'd work on just about anything, right?
"Got it!" Sasuke growled, hurling a few shuriken at the dive-bombing Kamira to drive her away.
User Comments
0 comments from readers