Born To Rise In Konoha-Chapter 76

"Whoosh!" The thrown kunai flew through the air. "Shura" wasn’t far behind the "Oni," and Saitama’s sword reached him in an instant.

"Hiss!" Without even looking at Shura behind him, Saitama abandoned the sword in his hand and dropped from above.

"Die!"

By this time, the Oni had already reacted. He clenched his fists and swung them at the descending Saitama.

"Boom!" Saitama met the attack with his bare hands.

"Urgh!" Gritting his teeth, Saitama felt the shock reverberate through his arms. He realized that trying to block the brute force of this behemoth head-on was unwise.

Still, after being tempered by lightning chakra, his body was durable enough to bear the pressure—barely.

Using the impact as momentum, Saitama launched himself like a wild goose in flight toward Shura’s direction.

He hadn’t expected his previous sword strike to kill, and the truth bore that out. While his blade, charged with lightning chakra, had pierced through Shura, the enemy’s body had dispersed into a swarm of insects as the sword stabbed through.

"A clone made of kikaichū," Saitama thought grimly.

"Che," he muttered, yanking the blade free and flipping back several times to create distance.

Shura emerged slowly from the ground beside the Oni, touching his shoulder where a shallow wound bled. That was where Saitama’s blade had made contact.

"Be careful. This kid’s speed is unpredictable," Shura warned solemnly.

Oni grunted in acknowledgment, his gaze never leaving Saitama.

"Shadow Clone Technique!" Saitama quickly formed a seal.

"Poof!" With a puff of smoke, another Saitama appeared.

The two shared a knowing grin before charging together.

"Heh. Using a shadow clone in this situation? Reckless," the Oni muttered. He locked eyes with one of the Saitamas and charged forward.

His steps were thunderous—like a golem pounding across the earth. It was the price of his technique: sacrificing speed for overwhelming defense.

Saitama’s Sharingan narrowed. One blow. That was all he needed.

"Chidori!" Lightning chakra gathered in his right hand, crackling violently in the dark.

"Hiss!" The blue-white glow lit up the forest, casting ominous shadows. Both Root operatives froze for an instant at the intensity of the chakra.

"Die!" the Oni roared. Unable to dodge, he pressed forward, cocking his arm to strike.

"Crack!"

"Ha!" Saitama’s speed surged as the two neared contact. He’d channeled chakra into his legs, boosting his acceleration just at the final moment.

With the insight of the Sharingan tracking every twitch of muscle, every shift in balance, Saitama twisted, evaded the strike, and drove the Chidori straight into the Oni’s chest.

"Eh?!" The Oni’s eyes widened with disbelief. He hadn’t expected to die—at least, not so easily.

"Chidori!" Lightning bloomed in Saitama’s hand again, surging through the enemy’s chest and erasing the last traces of life.

Meanwhile, the clone tangled with Shura, keeping him occupied.

"What?!" Shura reeled. His partner—the Oni—was dead?

Panic surged in his chest, and his movements slowed.

"Boom!" The clone landed a solid kick to his abdomen, sending him staggering. Shura glanced sideways—he had used a substitution technique just in time.

"Troublesome," he muttered. He hadn’t expected this Uchiha to be so strong. His partner had Earth-style reinforcement techniques akin to Earth Spear, and was known for shrugging off direct hits—but he’d gone down in one strike.

Worse, under the gaze of the Sharingan, he couldn’t rely on hidden jutsu. The moment he began weaving hand seals, Saitama would read him.

Now surrounded by the real Saitama and the clone, he realized he had no way out.

"Got any more tricks?" Saitama asked, lightning dancing across his blade.

"Heh. Our lord will avenge us. Don’t get cocky, Uchiha Saitama."

"If your boss is anything like you two, I’ll cut him down just the same." Saitama’s smile turned cold.

Shura didn’t flinch. Root shinobi were trained from a young age to suppress fear and emotion. Death didn’t scare him.

"Bzzz!" His kikaichū buzzed louder, sensing their host’s desperation.

"Hmph!"

"Mystic Art – Insect Tornado!"

A swarm of kikaichū erupted from beneath him, spiraling into a tornado that engulfed Saitama.

The insects spun rapidly, biting and tearing at everything inside.

"Hiss!" With a burst of chakra, Chidori Current exploded outward from Saitama’s body, frying hundreds of insects instantly.

"Slash!" With a single strike, his blade cleaved a path through the vortex. He leaped free.

"Thud!" In a blink, he appeared before Shura and drove his blade straight into his chest.

Death is like the wind—always by my side.

"It won’t end with me, Saitama..." Shura smirked beneath the mask, even as the light left his eyes.

"Poof!" The shadow clone dispersed. Now only two bodies remained on the forest floor.

The entire fight had lasted only minutes. The camp was far enough that no one had been disturbed.

Saitama didn’t bother cleaning up. This was deep forest—beasts would feast come morning.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, pressed his tongue to the bleeding cut in his cheek, and walked back quietly.

A quick ambush. A quicker victory.

---

"Crack!" The firewood snapped, and the flames crackled brightly.

Back at the camp, Saitama spotted someone sitting by the fire. It had been lit to ward off wild animals.

The man was familiar—the client for this mission.

"All done?" Haru, the tiger trainer from Early Spring, tossed a branch into the fire. His tone was casual, like chatting with an old friend.

"It’s settled," Saitama replied, sitting beside the flames.

"They wake up?"

"Not a peep." Saitama leaned back and closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the fire soothe the last of the tension from his limbs.

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