The Kumo ninjas were confused. In the next moment, Ryota's body exploded! The ninja who had stabbed his back didn't have any time to move. His body took the entire brunt of the explosion. The other Kumo ninja was a bit far away. He moved a bit but he too was caught in the explosion.
When the dust settled, Samui saw a very gore picture. Ryota's body was blown into pieces. The ninja that stabbed him had no flesh on the front side of his body. His face, chest, abdomen and other parts were completely exposed. He fell down dead. The last Kumo ninja was crying in pain. His body was on fire.
Samui immediately doused the fire and began helping him. At the same time, she was shocked at how decisive Ryota was.
Ryota knew that despite Katsumi buying him some time, escape would be very difficult. He recalled Fujin saying that there were more than 30 ninjas still encircling them. And all of them were at least as strong as Ryota himself was.
So in the time between him leaving Katsumi behind and the 2 Kumo ninjas attacking him, Ryota had stuck 20 Explosive tags on various parts of his body and on the inside part of his clothes. When he saw Samui, he knew that his death was inevitable. So he decided to die in a way that would hurt his killers the most.
If he knew that his last move killed a chunin from Kumo and ended the career of another Kumo chunin, he'd probably smile.
As Samui applied some first aid to the injured ninja, her face was very grim. She thought, 'We had planned to kill the Konoha squad while taking no casualties. At most, we concluded that some might take a few minor injuries. However, 8 of our ninjas died in the initial counterattack while 12 got injured. Now 1 more is dead and another is critically injured. I hope that the remaining two Konoha ninjas don't manage to kill anyone.'
Soon, another Kumo ninja arrived on the spot. He was shocked to see the gore. Before he could say anything, Samui instructed, "Apply first aid to him. I'll send a medical ninja over here to help you."
The ninja nodded and got to work. Samui left to ensure that the remaining two Konoha ninjas don't mess up anything.
Fujin and Darui were still in a fierce fight. Darui was much stronger than Fujin, however, Fujin had managed to fight back without getting injured. In fact, he had made more killer attacks during their fight than Darui. As he fought while multitasking, a smile appeared on his face.
Fujin had never been a fan of taking risks. He always chose the easy way out and won his battles efficiently. So he had never experienced such a battle. A battle where one wrong move would end his life. Where one misstep could maim him.
Between the 2nd and the 3rd phases of the Chunin exam, Renjiro tried to simulate such an experience for Fujin. However, Fujin always knew that his life wasn't in danger against Renjiro. So he viewed it more as a pain in the ass rather than experiencing any thrill.
However, in this deadly fight, all his senses worked beyond what Fujin had ever experienced. Every single move he made was flawless. The battle made his blood boil in excitement. His movements kept improving as the fight moved on. Fujin felt that he was getting faster and faster. However, it was just his body moving more efficiently. Fujin was surprised, 'I expected to hate the situation I am in. I never expected that I would instead find it enjoyable.'
Darui was surprised when he saw the smile on Fujin's face. He had seen such a smile very few times in his life. He sighed in his mind, 'Another battle freak! Great!'
The smile reminded Darui of a few people who he had seen in his life who loved to fight without caring about anything else. Instead of fear, they would fight like a maniac. One of those few people was the current leader of Kumogakure.
Despite being weaker in strength, Fujin managed to hold on against Darui without getting a single injury. However, though he had a smile on his face, he didn't lose himself in the battle. He analyzed, 'My chakra reserves are almost empty. I only have a little more than a quarter. I won't last much longer in such an intense battle!'
Unfortunately, despite performing well, Fujin never found any opportunity to escape from Darui. Fujin's chakra field was active as he analyzed, 'I need to find a way to get rid of the ninjas watching the fight. If I try to escape, they will attack and I'll be pincered between Darui and whoever attacks. It'll only result in me dying faster.'
Just like Fujin, Tamotsu was also engaged in fierce fighting. He was completely outmatched by his enemies as well. However, while Fujin managed to ensure that he didn't get injured and kept the other Kumo ninjas at bay, Tamotsu was ganged up on by 7 Kumogakure ninjas in addition to C.
Injuries piled on his body. He had lost his left eye. His right arm was completely burnt from intense lightning shocks. Over a hundred small cuts were visible on his body. He was pretty much on his last legs.
Tamotsu looked at the Kumo ninjas and realized, 'This is the end for me… But, if I am going to die, I'll take at least a few of them with me!'
He began making hand signs. However, at the next moment, a kick landed on his abdomen. He was sent flying away. He flipped in the air and managed to land on his feet. The kick disrupted his hand signs. However, he landed a few meters away from every Kumo ninja. Realizing the opportunity, he immediately flickered away!
The Kumo ninjas followed him in a hurry. And a chase began. Unfortunately for Tamotsu, he was very exhausted and injured. His speed was much lesser as compared to Kumo ninjas.
C took out a giant Shuriken and threw it at Tamotsu. Due to his tiredness, Tamotsu didn't notice it. He stepped on a branch and jumped aiming to get away. Just when he jumped, the shuriken hit his left thigh and cut clean through it.
Tamotsu felt the pain and looked down at his left leg in horror. He lost his footing and crashed down. As he fell down, he saw Fujin and Darui fighting in front of his eyes. Both Fujin and Darui also saw him and were surprised. They stopped fighting for a moment. Fujin immediately flickered and appeared next to Tamotsu. Unfortunately, he had already lost consciousness!
Soon, C and the Kumo ninjas with him also arrived. Samui as well appeared next to Darui at this moment. The Kumo ninjas were surprised to see that Fujin was unharmed. Fujin's expression became grim. His already bad situation had taken a turn for the worse.
He thought, 'Shit! Darui was already out of my league. And I am sure that C and Samui are both stronger than me. Not to mention the 15 others that are along with these 3. Now, what the fuck should I do?'
Fujin's brain calculated all possible options at the speed of light. Fortunately for him, Kumo ninjas didn't attack him right away.
C asked Darui, "How is he still alive?"
Darui shrugged and said, "The kid is strong. I couldn't injure him."
The Kumo ninjas who just arrived were surprised. Darui was very reputed in the Land of Lightning. The fact that a kid much younger than him could last so long was shocking.
C observed Fujin who was crouching down next to Tamotsu while observing all the Kumo ninjas. C shook his head and said, "The kid has almost exhausted his chakra. Let's fini…"
However, Darui interrupted by asking, "What is your name?"
Fujin looked at him but didn't answer. Darui didn't mind that and continued, "You have exhausted most of your chakra. Though you are still unharmed, if you fight, your death is the only possibility. Surrender now. In the future, your Hokage could make a deal with the Raikage to get you back."
Fujin didn't reply. He thought, 'Though his words are honest, becoming a prisoner would be the stupidest move. I'll have no control if Kumogakure decides to torture, maim or kill me. Not to mention, hoping for Hiruzen to rescue me would be beyond stupid. That old fox might show that he is a very emotional person, but there are layers of deception hidden under his thick skin!'
Seeing that Fujin didn't respond, C said, "Since you don't want to surrender, you'll have to..."
However, as he spoke, Fujin's frown disappeared. Instead, a smirk appeared on Fujin's face. Soon, that smirk turned into a wide grin. The Kumogakure ninjas were surprised. One of them asked, "Did he lose his mind?"
For the first time, Fujin spoke, "You know, I was always very afraid of risking my life. I always decided to take the easier way out and do my job efficiently. However, fighting you has made me experience a thrill that I never imagined!
Darui, though you may not have heard of me, I have heard of you. Doesn't the Raikage think of you as his second right hand?"
Fujin's grin grew wider. It grew so wide that it looked as though his face might split into two. His grin creeped out some of the Kumo ninjas surrounding him.
Fujin continued, "Though I will die, taking down 18 Kumogakure ninjas including the Raikage's right hand with me would make me a hero in Konoha. Hahahahaha!"
Samui's eyes widened on hearing that. She had already seen a crazy Konoha ninja. However, before she could act, the seals on Fujin's bracers lit. In the blink of an eye, 400 explosive tags appeared around Fujin and formed a sphere around him. They completely blocked Fujin from the line of sight of the Kumogakure ninjas. However, they could still hear Fujin's laughter!
The Kumogakure ninjas immediately became grim. They decided to move away. However, even before they could move, a breeze flew from inside the sphere made of Explosive tags. The winds made the explosive paper tags spread throughout the area. Kumo ninjas were horrified to see hundreds of Explosive tags heading towards them!