c5: Spike
"Little brat, did you forget to take your medicine or are you just dreaming? You really think you can take us all on? I could beat you down with one hand," sneered the lanky second trafficker, not even bothering to look Chiba in the eyes.
"Hold it, Second. No need for you to move. Let me handle this. If I can't deal with a snot-nosed kid like this, I've got no business in this game," said the fourth man the youngest of the group who carried a long, curved blade slung across his back.
He stepped forward casually, swinging his sword in a lazy arc as he approached Chiba, confident and arrogant.
The little girl, still bound and held tightly in the arms of the burly third man, suddenly stopped crying when she saw Chiba. She stared at him, her fear slowly melting into cautious hope.
Deep in her heart, she prayed this strange but confident boy would be able to save her that he would defeat these men and take her back home to the village.
"If you insist on coming at me first, I won't hold back. I'll kill you where you stand," Chiba said coolly.
Without warning, he pushed chakra into his feet, launching forward with explosive speed. His movement was a blur, enhanced by chakra control and the agility of his fire-imbued body. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance between himself and the fourth trafficker.
"Shin'enka: Homura no Yari!" ("Deep Flame Technique: Spears of Blaze!")
With a sharp cry, Chiba thrust both hands forward. Twin lances of fire erupted from his palms, shaped like blazing spears, their tips white-hot and howling with searing heat.
The fourth trafficker was caught off guard. A second earlier, he'd been sure of an easy win. But now, faced with this level of chakra manipulation and elemental control from a child he realized his mistake.
He tried to retreat, but it was too late.
The twin fire spears surged into his chest, piercing clean through. His body lifted off the ground and slammed into a thick tree several meters behind him.
Boom!
The flame spears impaled him through the trunk, then faded into embers, leaving behind a charred corpse that slumped lifelessly to the ground.
He didn't even have time to scream.
The remaining traffickers stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief. Shock twisted their faces. Their youngest ally, their cockiest fighter gone in seconds.
"F-Fourth!!" the leader, a scarred man with a katana and a jagged blade tattoo across his face, rushed toward the body. But it was clear: the fourth was dead.
They'd all underestimated Chiba. That mistake had already cost one of them his life.
"You'll pay for that, brat. I'll carve you up and scatter your ashes for the wind!" the lanky second yelled, his rage exploding.
"I told you,you should've come at me all at once. But you wanted to play hero, one by one. Too late to fix that mistake," Chiba said mockingly, standing with hands at his side, completely composed.
Compared to the three grown men, Chiba's one-meter frame looked almost laughably small. But now, with one of them dead and chakra-infused fire dancing around his body, he looked like a demon in the shape of a child.
"Don't hold back. We go together now. End this fast," the scarred leader growled, his grip tightening on his blade.
The burly third trafficker set the little girl down roughly and pulled a massive cleaver-like axe from his back. His expression was serious now. No more smug grins.
"If you've got anything left, you'd better use it," Chiba said calmly. Around him, wisps of flame licked the air, curling and dancing as if alive.
The three men hesitated for a moment, stunned by the aura now surrounding him. The chakra-enhanced fire gave off heat waves, bending the air. Sparks clung to Chiba like fire spirits. It was unnatural powerful and it scared them.
"Kill him!" the leader shouted, snapping them from their stupor.
He rushed in first, swinging his blade with murderous force, aiming for Chiba's throat. The second and third flanked from both sides, intending to pin Chiba down and finish him together.
But Chiba didn't budge.
As they closed in, the fire around him surged outward in a violent wave.
Boom!
The sudden burst of chakra-charged flame exploded like a firestorm. It wasn't wild it was precise. The inferno swept toward the traffickers like a living thing, tendrils of heat wrapping around them like giant fiery arms.
The three men were forced back, unable to get close. They fought against the flames, swinging their weapons wildly, but the fire danced around their attacks, wrapping them up like prey.
"You can't even reach me. And you thought you could kill me?" Chiba said with a low chuckle, his voice suddenly devoid of childhood innocence.
Right now, he didn't look like a child.
He looked like death.
Chiba understood the ninja world well enough already. Hesitation was a liability. Mercy, a weakness. In this world, those who didn't kill were killed.
He raised his arms, flames spiraling around them.
Then, with a sharp motion, he formed three spears again condensed fire, hardened with chakra and sheer killing intent.
"Time to die."
The three flame spears fired at once, whistling through the air.
"No! Wait!"
"Spare us! We'll leave please!"
All three men panicked. Their bravado shattered. Fear overtook them, and they fell to their knees, begging for their lives.
In the face of death, pride meant nothing.
But Chiba's eyes were cold.
"There are no second chances."
The flaming spears tore through them.
Their screams were brief.
Their bodies were pierced, lifted, and thrown. Blood splattered. Flames crackled.
Then silence.
Only the soft crackle of fire remained.
The girl trembled nearby, silent and stunned. Chiba turned to her, eyes still glowing faintly with flame.
"It's over," he said, his voice softening. "You're safe now."
And for a moment just a moment he looked like a child again.
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