Chapter 172: 171. Ascension [1]

MrProper

"W-What in the...?!"

"Don't waste any time, attack!"

"R-Right!"

VWOOOO!

The air shifted and swirled as powerful chakra gathered with Suzu at its center. Energy condensing to the point it became visible to the naked eye.

A rare phenomenon that only occurred in cases of ridiculously high-leveled chakra manipulation and/or quantity

The Chinoike trio pondered if this was reality or a Genjutsu...

"Is...is that even possible?"

"The color of her chakra...it's so pure..."

"And...bright! Eh?! Her hair is-?!"

Suzu began undergoing a physical change. Her figure remained the same, with one exception. Her once raven-black hair, now conditioned into a bright, snowy-white color...the chakra around her also assumed this color

The maturing 13-year-old girl was already considered by many to be quite the beauty. Flawless fair skin lacking even the slightest of blemishes, emerald-green eyes, along with an enchantingly graceful and well balanced physique

These distinct traits, paired with her current changes, granted Suzu an almost otherworldly appearance...like gazing upon a delicate fairy in the snow

"Haaaa..."

CRACK!

"?!"

"Here she comes!"

But the girl before them, snapping her knuckles, was anything but..."delicate"

ZWIP! THWAK!

"Get ready. She's about to-GUOH?!"

"Huh?!"

In barely an instant, Suzu drove her fist into the jaw of the one furthest away from her. Still covered in white chakra, she stood over the downed man before delivering a barrage of punches. Pummeling the man into the very Earth itself as the ground split under him due to sheer force

"Shit, my eyes couldn't even follow!"

"Tsk! Come on!"

"O-Okay..!" 

FWIP! FWIP!

Strength, speed, agility, endurance, dexterity...she'd been enhanced in every conceivable way. When the beaten man's allies, still too afraid to get close, attempted to stop her with shuriken...the throwing stars bounced right off her

Her white aura acted similar to the infamous "Tailed Beast Cloak" used by Jinchūriki, a dense shroud of chakra acting as a shield against any outside force

Be it a lack of awareness, or the feebleness of their previous attack, Suzu didn't even notice the shuriken. Continuing her assault on the man before her, almost as if she bared some form of grudge...

"H-Hey...if we don't do something, he's gonna-!"

"I know, don't hold back!"

SHING! GURGLE!

Activating their respective Ketsuryūgan1Blood Dragon Eye, the pair gathered blood into the form of small senbon needles, sending them at Suzu from above

It was only after they unleashed this "red rain-looking" attack that Suzu finally turned her attention away from the man she was beating. Streaking from her position, spanning a wide range as she dodged their ceaseless attacks before stopping

The two men were flabbergasted...

"...!"

"No way, that was our fastest...! What the hell is she?!"

"Calm down"

The leader of the trio did his best to keep his partner focused. With one of them already down, he knew losing another ally would lead to certain death

Opting to observe Suzu's every action, looking for any weakness he could find, all the while trying to comprehend her abnormal transformation

Soon after, something caught his eye

"Hey...look behind her. See that?"

"H-Huh? What? I don't see...oh...OH!"

"Hehe! Yeah...that could work, wouldn't you agree?"

While Suzu seemed to be in a trance, she still held enough sanity to distinguish between friend and foe. Standing in front of a now unconscious Rei, refusing to let anyone get near him. The latter drained of his remaining energy prior to his use of Kisshōten2Auspicious Heavens

When the pair unleashed their last attack, Suzu grabbed Rei with haste and moved him to safety. Despite her current mental state, protecting him seemed to be her number one priority

Her choice of who to target was dependent on whoever attacked him. The man she pummeled had previously struck Rei before trying to finish him off

This attempt on her teammate's life had set her off...

"She didn't move to protect herself...she moved to protect her teammate. That's how we win!"

"Yes, but one of us still needs distract her. I can't keep up with her movements, but you..." the younger one said as he glanced towards the leader

He was still shaken from observing the beating his ally had taken, now buried in the ground...unmoving. He didn't want to say it, but the man was no longer breathing

The leader knew what the he implied, and though he disliked the idea, he understood this plan had to work for him to survive. Gritting his teeth, he angrily agreed to be the bait before subtly threating his comrade not to fail

VWOOO!

Wind picked up as the opposing sides glared at one another. Sweat ran, throats dried, and skin shook with anticipation as the weighty pressure of her chakra unsettled them any further

Her calm, unflinching demeanor was the worst for them. They way she stared at them, as if looking at someone about to die, got under their skin the most

Being the eldest of those present, the leader grew irritated that a girl, so much younger than he, could look at them in such a way...as if looking at ants

Eventually, his temper flared up until he couldn't take it anymore, throwing caution to the wind!

GURGLE!

"Ketsuryū Yari3Blood Dragon Spear!" yelled the leader

"Let's go!" The younger one dashed away, leaving Suzu to his partner

BOFF! BOFF!

The leader formed spears out of blood. Slower than the senbon from earlier, the power they held proved to be quite formidable. Enough to tear apart anything they struck, clearly seen from the ones Suzu dodged

Still a question of whether or not she was conscious of her actions, Suzu utilized her wind style. Now stronger thanks to her new power, the air blasts she fired were potent enough to offset the man's attacks

She quickly closed the distance

"Kuh...!"

And in no time at all, the girl had reached striking distance when...

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

"?!"

"Heh...took you long enough!" the elder man mused in relief

The younger man had Rei in his hands, holding a kunai blade to the boy's throat. Suzu stopped in her tracks prior to glaring at the shameless person

He payed her attitude no mind before issuing his demands

"Unless you want me open your friend's throat, back away from my colleague and get on your knees!"

"..."

"Don't make me repeat myself!" his yelling intensified as he pressed the blade even closer to Rei's neck

Suzu maintained her silence. Walking away from the one she was about to hit, slowly proceeding towards the one holding Rei hostage. After several steps, she stopped, standing on a spot equally distant from both men

The younger one became satisfied as the powerful girl seemingly complied with his demands. The elder Chinoke remained tense after almost being struck by her

"Good! Now, get on your knees! And be quick about it!"

"..."

When he finally began to loosen his guard...

CRACK! BOOM!

"AAAHHH?!"

"IMPOSSIBLE! THOSE ARE--?!"

The ground under the one holding Rei hostage suddenly burst before he was hoisted in mid air, completely immobilized!

"UGH!"

"That chakra...how can she do that?!"

Suzu had somehow manifested a large, ethereal arm from the chakra covering her body!

"What the hell is this?!" screamed the young Chinoike

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{The girl must've sent that "Chakra arm" beneath the surface when she stopped walking! I couldn't see it travel underground with all this rubble in the way!} "She wasn't complying, just getting close enough until he was in her range...wait? Range?"

CRACK!

"Don't tell me...!"

BOOM!

Another arm rose from the ground, grabbing the other Chinoike!

"Ugh! Shit...!" {Not just him, she moved until both of us were within her radius of attack. She stopped in a position with her situated right between the two of us! And we fell for it, goddamn it!}

"Haaaaa..."

Taking another deep breath, Suzu raised her right hand, palm open as the chakra arms hoisted the two men even further into the air!

"H-H-Hiek!!"

"W-Wait! We surrender! We surrender! Don't do it!"

"..."

She said nothing, her right hand still in an open palm...

"I-I-I'm sorry...sniff...please...!" the younger Chinoike began crying for mercy, tears and snot falling in an unsightly manner

"We...we can give you intel! Y-Yeah! You guys obviously want to know who orchestrated this right?! Don't kill us, and we'll tell you!"

"Tha-Tha-Tha-That's true. There's so much about this you don't know!"

The pair continued to bargain...desperately thinking of something, anything that could save them!

But Suzu stared at them silently with no change in her expression

Her right hand still in an open palm...

"You're making a mistake!"

"Are you really going to throw away this opportunity?!"

"You..." Suzu spoke for the first time since the fight began

"?!"

"You hurt him..."

"N-No..."

GRIP!

Suzu clenched her palm, and with this action, the giant chakra arms did the same. The fists contracted, crushing them from every conceivable angle until they were nothing, killing them instantly

SPLATTER!

Their bodies burst into pieces, scattering around the area like rain

Suzu shot a small glance towards the direction of the front lines where the main battle for the village took place...before turning her attention to Rei, who was still out cold

"Protect...you"

♦♦♦

"You! Get me an update on our antibiotic supply!"

"Right away!"

"Why is this hallway still occupied?! I told you to clear it out! We need clear paths in order to transport people to the other wards!"

"Y-Yes sir! I'll get right on it!"

"C-sama!"

"Sigh! What now?!"

CLAMMOR!

"We've got another one! Multiple cuts on his lower torso!"

"Move him to the ward upstairs. Give him some penicillin, DO NOT let the wounds get infected!"

"Doctor! There's a shortage of our saline solution!"

"Isn't that what HQ next door is for?! Send someone to Dodai, ask for more! Otherwise, we're gonna run out of IV's!!"

"Y-Yes sir!"

Describing the inner workings of the general hospital as "chaotic" would be in poor taste

Were it not for C, a Letter Bearer who along with his partner Darui, was a handpicked personal guard of the Raikage...the place would've fallen apart already

But with this siege enduring all the way into the night, he was starting to feel the pressure. Countless Kumogakure lives were riding on his shoulders tonight

"I saw plenty of Dextrose lying around on my way up here, it works just as well for IV's"

"Hm? Yeah, that'll work just--wait, Tai?! You were supposed to be here a while ago! I needed more medical-nin's for the supply chain towards the front!"

"Yeah, sorry about that. Dodai-sama kept me busy working on...you know what" Tai said apologetically

Intricate details pertaining to the "Network" were still a highly guarded secret. Dodai took a big risk revealing its existence to a Genin like Tai

He warned the young man of incredibly harsh consequences should his tongue slip and he divulge any classified information towards those not privy to its secrets

Fortunately, Dodai informed Tai that C had long been made aware of the project before sending him to the hospital

"Sigh, of course. You're here now, and there's a squad on standby downstairs. They're set to bring first aid equipment to the front. Someone qualified enough to understand what's what will speed up their distribution upon rival"

"Right, I just had a question if you don't mind me asking. Have you seen Rei or Suzu? Tango-sensei can't seem to locate them"

"...Tango's using that device for the first time, and on large a scale, it'll be a while before he's used to it. It's difficult to zero-in on a single chakra signature amongst thousands. Hell, I told Rei the same thing when I taught him how to sense chakra"

"Oh...o-okay. Guess I'll be on my-"

BOOSH! VWOOM!

"What the-?!"

"Is the hospital under attack?!"

Out of nowhere, a sudden burst of wind wracked the hospital, with nearly every single window forced open. All following the intense shaking of the earth from beneath the hospital floor

As if a meteor landed on the ground right outside the building!

"Nobody panic!!"

"No running, stay calm! It's not an attack!"

C ordered the guards to keep everyone composed, many of whom believed the enemy had reached the hospital. With Darui now gone, there was no one else coordinating the guards

Tai volunteered to go out and see what it was, moving alongside the shinobi exiting the building. Upon coming outside, the first thing that caught their attention was a streak of light soaring through the night sky, heading towards the front lines

"What the heck? A...shooting star?"

"No...I don't think so. Too low of an altitude"

"Hey! Look!"

But what they found next only gave them more questions than answers. Or rather...whom

"Wha-?! Who is that?"

"A Genin?"

"Um...please let me have a loo--NO WAY?!" Tai yelled in surprise

"Eh? Do you know this kid?"

"He's my teammate! Rei! What happened?! Where's Suzu?! How did you end up in such a-?!"

To his surprise, Tai found Rei lying unconscious in a small crater right outside the hospital doors. Running to his friend, he immediately checked for injuries

"He's a bit banged up, but why isn't he conscious? This amount of injuries wouldn't be enough to keep him down"

"We'll figure it out later. Move kid, I'll carry him inside"

"R-Right..."

The older shinobi picked him up, bringing him to a hospital bed. Quickly calling for medics to take a look at him

Tai wanted to go in help, but C insisted he leave it to the adults, stressing he had another job to complete. Somewhat unsatisfied, he did as he was told and left with the other squad heading for the supply chain outside the village walls

"Please take care of him C-senpai!" Tai pleaded as he left

"Naturally!" {Mabui will murder me if something bad happens to him under my watch...}

The moment Tai could no longer be seen, C entered the room Rei was just put in. Placing both arms above the boy's chest, he performed the Medical Ninja's signature Shōsen Jutsu4Mystical Palm Technique

ZUUUU!

Chakra flowed from C's hands directly into Rei's body, not only reenergizing him, but giving C a thorough understanding of his current physical condition

"Hmm...mostly bruises. A rib is somewhat out of place, but I can easily fix it. The main problem is his chakra network, the energy flowing through it is completely erratic. As if all the chakra in his body is focusing on a singular location"

C glanced at his unconscious face

"What the hell is happening to you?"

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