Naruto: Zoro of Uchiha Chapter 33 33: Two-Sword Style: Iai—Rashōmon!!

"Pfft!!"

Fire spat out a mouthful of blood while still in midair.

The sudden explosion had completely caught him off guard.

His body crashed violently against the rocky ground and rolled several tis before finally slamming into the base of a stone pillar. His chakra beca unstable instantly, and his already weakened aura rapidly collapsed.

Monts later, he lost consciousness on the spot.

"So this is Konoha's Anbu?"

The Iwagakure ninja who had used Earth Release earlier grinned mockingly toward his companions.

"Doesn't look very impressive."

"Don't underestimate them," another Iwa ninja warned cautiously while glancing toward Gari. "A lot of our village's skilled shinobi have died at the hands of Konoha's Anbu."

If not for Gari noticing sothing wrong in advance, the three of them likely would have already been ambushed successfully.

Unlike his companions, however, Gari had no interest in idle conversation.

His gloomy gaze remained fixed on the two Anbu still standing in the distance.

One was the Anbu who had launched the Wind Release sneak attack earlier.

The other wore a black coat and carried two katana at his waist. So far, they still had no idea what abilities he possessed.

Under Wind's cautious stare, Gari calmly bent down and picked up a small stone from the ground before lightly tossing it into the air.

"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!!"

The instant the stone descended, Gari suddenly punched forward.

Wind's expression changed drastically.

Boom!!

A terrifying wave of explosive force erupted instantly and surged toward him head-on like a roaring white shockwave.

The speed was absurdly fast.

Even though Wind had been watching Gari carefully the entire ti, he still failed to dodge completely and was directly caught within the explosion.

The violent impact blasted him backward while blood sprayed from beneath his mask.

Wind truly had not expected that such a tiny stone could produce destructive force on this level.

"As expected of you, Gari."

The two Iwagakure ninja nearby looked toward him with unconcealed admiration.

"You handled two Konoha Anbu so easily."

A kekkei genkai was sothing ordinary ninja could only envy.

Most people would never possess one no matter how hard they trained.

"Don't lower your guard yet."

Gari's expression remained cold as he stared toward the only remaining figure still standing calmly in the distance.

"There's still one left."

Even after Wind suffered heavy injuries, Gari still kept his full attention on Zoro.

Sothing about this silent black-coated Anbu made him instinctively uneasy.

"Gari, let us handle this one first."

The two Iwagakure ninja beside him cracked their knuckles and slowly approached Zoro, playful grins appearing on their faces.

"You just watch from the side and step in if necessary."

In their eyes, three against one was already a guaranteed victory.

There was no possibility of losing.

"Earth Release—"

As the two Iwa ninja approached and began forming hand seals—

Click.

The crisp sound of a katana leaving its sheath suddenly echoed through the battlefield.

The two shinobi froze instantly.

"Hmm?"

Gari frowned slightly.

Seeing his teammates suddenly stop moving, a strong sense of unease rose within his heart.

The next second—

"Pfft!!"

Blood suddenly sprayed into the air.

The two Iwagakure ninja collapsed heavily onto the ground.

Dead.

Gari's pupils contracted violently.

He instantly looked toward Zoro, who had sohow already appeared several ters away in another position.

His heart sank slightly.

Too fast.

The speed of that sword draw had been absurdly fast.

So fast that Gari had only heard the single sound of steel leaving its sheath before both of his teammates were already dead.

They had not even managed to scream before collapsing.

"Who exactly are you?"

Gari stared solemnly at Zoro's blade.

"Why have I never heard of soone like you in Konoha?"

"I'll give you a chance."

Zoro calmly drew his second sword.

The twin blades reflected cold light beneath the sun.

"A chance to prove whether you're worthy of making draw my blade."

He wanted to use this rumored Explosion Release user to test his newly unlocked Two-Sword Style.

"Arrogant."

Gari sneered coldly.

"I'm not like those two idiots."

As he spoke, he suddenly pulled several specially-made black spheres from inside his clothing.

"Explosion Release: Explosive Bombs!"

With a violent swing of his hand, the black spheres shot through the air toward Zoro.

There were no hand seals.

This was purely the power of Gari's Explosion Release bloodline.

Unfortunately—

The speed of the bombs was simply too slow.

Zoro had already reacted to A's full-speed assault while the man was using Lightning Chakra Mode.

Compared to that terrifying speed, Gari's attacks were far from enough.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!

Yellow sparks exploded violently.

The surrounding earth shook as massive explosions erupted one after another.

Even the gigantic stone pillars nearby trembled under the impact.

Although the black explosive bombs themselves were not especially large, the destructive force they produced vastly surpassed ordinary explosive tags.

In an instant, the area where Zoro had been standing looked as though it had been bombarded from the sky.

The rocky terrain shattered completely.

Smoke and dust spread wildly across the battlefield.

Unfortunately for Wind, who had barely survived Gari's earlier sneak attack—

He was also caught within the chain explosions this ti.

His body was completely torn apart.

Now, he was truly dead beyond any doubt.

"Is it over?"

Gari narrowed his eyes slightly.

Within the smoke-filled battlefield, he could no longer sense any chakra presence.

After an explosion of that scale, even if the target sohow survived, he should at least have been crippled.

Yet for so reason—

Gari's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

Buzz.

His body instinctively trembled.

Then, like the whisper of a death god, a calm voice echoed beside his ear.

"Split apart the decaying self of this world…"

Gari's pupils shrank violently.

"Two-Sword Style: Iai—Rashōmon."

"Ugh—!"

A terrified sound escaped Gari's throat.

In the next instant, his entire body split apart like a pile of collapsing blocks struck by an invisible force.

Blood exploded outward.

"You were worthy of making draw my blade."

Zoro calmly returned Shusui and Wado Ichimonji to their sheaths.

Clack.

The sound of the blades entering their scabbards echoed softly.

The strength of the three Iwagakure ninja had not been particularly impressive.

The only one truly worth acknowledging was Gari, the shinobi possessing the Explosion Release kekkei genkai.

Zoro then shifted his gaze toward Fire, who still lay unconscious not far away.

Walking over calmly, he kicked the man over with one foot before casually opening the water flask hanging at his waist.

Then he rcilessly poured the cold water directly onto Fire's face.

Stimulated by the freezing water, Fire imdiately woke up.

Clutching his chest where his chakra and blood were still violently churning, he instinctively leaned against a nearby boulder in caution.

Only after realizing the figure standing before him was Zoro wearing the cat-faced mask did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

"What are you still standing around for?!"

Without even thinking, Fire imdiately barked angrily:

"Go help Wind! That bastard has the rare Explosion Release kekkei genkai!!"

But when he finally forced himself painfully to his feet and looked toward the battlefield—

The expression beneath his mask instantly froze.

The entire battlefield had already fallen silent.

"Those… those Iwagakure ninja…"

Fire stared blankly around the shattered landscape.

"And Wind… where did they go? What happened here?"

"The mission is complete."

Zoro's tone remained calm and indifferent.

"We're returning."

Although he genuinely wanted to kill Fire here and weaken Hiruzen's forces further, Zoro still needed the man alive.

Because Fire would beco the best witness to spread his reputation.

Only then could the na of the Sword Demon Asura begin echoing across the ninja world.

At that thought, Zoro glanced briefly toward a distant direction.

One of the Iwagakure ninja had not actually died imdiately.

Zoro had intentionally left him heavily wounded and allowed him to escape.

That way, the surviving witness could spread news of this battle to Iwagakure.

"R-right…"

Fire's tone had changed completely.

The way he looked at Zoro now carried obvious respect—and even fear.

At the center of the battlefield, even Wind's corpse had completely disappeared.

As for Gari, the Explosion Release ninja of Iwagakure—

Not even a complete body remained behind.