"Boom!"
After taking the pills and giving the order, both enemies surged with newfound power—their speed and strength clearly no longer the same as before.
"Die!"
"Die!"
The ninja wielding the war hammer moved like a furious, brown-furred bear in human form, relentlessly swinging his massive weapon without pause.
"Pop!"
Saitama narrowly avoided the hammer's arc and caught the punch of another charging ninja with both hands, skidding backwards from the force.
"That punch was damn heavy..." he thought, gritting his teeth. Despite his confidence in his own strength, he had nearly been blown away by a single strike.
As he slid back, Saitama kept hold of the enemy's arms. In one motion, he unleashed his chakra—Chidori Current exploded from his palms, arcing up the enemy's arms in a crackling surge.
"Zzzzzt!"
Lightning danced across their bodies—but the enemy didn't even flinch.
"Tch… they must've taken something to numb pain, too."
Saitama analyzed as he fought. "Some kind of combat stimulant—physical enhancement at the cost of endurance and sensation?"
"Boom!"
The enemy lashed out with a kick, and Saitama countered, coating his foot in lightning chakra and striking back.
The two collided mid-air—sparks and wind burst outward.
Using the moment, Saitama released the enemy's hands and leapt back faster than before.
"Bang!"
The war hammer slammed down once more. The enemy leaped high, bringing the hammer down with crushing force.
"Damn it!"
Saitama twisted midair and narrowly evaded the direct hit, but the resulting shockwave sent pressure rippling through his chest.
"These kinds of pills usually have a short duration. I need to stall... What about Early Spring Tiger?"
He glanced sideways mid-fight.
Only four of the retainers who had departed with them were still standing, surrounding Xiahu of Early Spring, who looked to be in bad shape. His katana drooped in one hand, his grip nearly gone.
They were outnumbered—fifty samurai against four, at least ten-to-one.
"This is bad…" Saitama clenched his fists. "This is the turning point!"
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
This time, multiple smaller fireballs erupted from his mouth—each one carefully controlled.
The chakra had been split among them—less power per shot, but enough to scatter the two enemies.
As they dodged left and right, Saitama dashed forward, targeting the hammer-wielding brute.
The hammer came again—this time purple veins bulged on the ninja's face, capillaries bursting beneath the skin.
"Boom!"
The hammer hit the ground just ten centimeters away.
Saitama stomped on it with one foot, pinning it down so the enemy couldn't retrieve it. He lunged forward.
"Tch!"
Lightning crackled in his hand as he slashed across the enemy's face, leaving a searing red line on his cheek.
"Die!"
The enemy, now visibly fatigued, charged recklessly.
Saitama surged in, plunging his hand into the enemy's right chest—lightning screeching and snapping from his fingertips.
"Tch…"
Even Saitama staggered slightly from the force. His body was running on fumes.
"He's still not going down?!"
The enemy grinned wickedly despite the hole in his chest, his life clearly fading—but not fast enough.
He released the hammer and wrapped both arms around Saitama in a crushing bear hug before he could react.
"Urgh!"
Saitama felt the air squeeze from his lungs, his chakra drained, his muscles screaming.
Then—"Shhk!"
A kunai pierced into his back.
Saitama's remaining chakra exploded in reflex, lightning coursing from his skin in all directions.
But the second enemy had already stabbed again.
"Gah!"
Blood sprayed from Saitama's mouth, splashing across the face of the man holding him.
"Aaaghh!"
His eyes flared—the Sharingan spun wildly, evolving on the verge of death.
"Rrrrgh!"
Time slowed.
The pain, the suffocation, the electric haze—it all crystallized.
Saitama's vision sharpened, chakra surging from deep within as if something had awakened inside him.
He forced his right hand into a one-handed seal—"Substitution Jutsu!"
"Poof!"
He vanished.
The enemy crushed only a wooden log in his arms, which splintered to pieces.
Saitama reappeared behind him, panting—but in his eyes, three tomoe rotated with cold precision.
The matured Sharingan.
"Now…" he whispered, lightning flickering at his legs, "let's finish this."
He launched forward—"Zzzzzt!"—his chakra amped his muscles, and he pushed his speed beyond safety, ignoring the toll on his body.
His hand became a blade.
It barely held chakra anymore, but it was sharp enough—swift enough—to leave a long gash across the enemy's chest.
Saitama ducked a desperate kunai swipe, slipped inside the enemy's guard, and rose up with a flash of lightning in his eyes.
"Too slow."
With a knife-hand, he slashed across the enemy's throat and disappeared again in a blur of motion.
"Thud!"
The body collapsed.
The Sharingan's awakening didn't just change Saitama's eyes—it expanded his perception, his control, his courage. He now dared moves he'd never attempted before.
Moves that needed split-second reaction speeds he now possessed.
Only one enemy remained.
He tried to flee—but Saitama, a blur of motion, ended it before he could breathe.
With the last enemy down, Saitama barely stayed on his feet. He grabbed his sword, his breath ragged, and turned toward Xiahu of Early Spring.
He was exhausted. But not afraid.
---
Meanwhile...
"Give it up, Early Spring Tiger! Your life ends here!"
The lone noble, Xiahu, stood opposite Sanshijili, the enemy commander, surrounded by samurai.
"Tch."
Xiahu spat blood, his katana trembling in his grasp. Despair weighed heavily on his chest.
He'd seen Saitama surrounded earlier—beset by three ninja. He didn't know if the boy had survived.
And now... it seemed his own end had come.
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