Veins of stress appeared in the eyes of Musashi Raito.
To see the Third Yokage in such a state had shocked him.
But he was a shinobi with the ability to keep his emotions calm in the thick of battle.
"Huh? Oh." Crixci said as he turned his head and noticed Musashi Raito.
He then tossed the Third Yokage by the neck in Musashi Raito's direction.
The dead body of Ning lay at Musashi Raito's feet.
"Lord Third…" Musashi Raito tried his best to not sound like he was giving the Third Yokage any pity. Ning would not have wanted that.
"A terrible loss," Crixci's astute voice was like a eulogy, "but a necessary one."
"What do you mean?" Musashi Raito asked.
"The old man was an obstacle against the world I'm going to build. We don't need his kind."
"And what kind might that be?"
"The old kind. The constant stalemate between the nine villages. All the while, the military-industrial complex profits. War is money."
Musashi Raito scoffed, "And death is its collateral. So what are you doing? You eat your village's tailed beast fruit, now you go rogue and try to destroy all the villages?"
"Muhahaha. You aren't thinking big picture enough, Genius of the Waves."
The words of Crixci intrigued Musashi Raito, "Oh?" he hollered back at him. "Enlighten me."
Crixci cracked his neck and looked at Musashi Raito menacingly,
"As you know, each of the nine ninja villages has safeguarded and passed down their mythical zoan fruit for generations. The 'tailed beasts' we call those that eat them. It is the possession of these mythical zoan fruits that have upheld the stalemate."
Musashi Raito could sense where this was going. "And you, with your Tako Tako No Mi, Model: Kraken fruit, passed down by the village hidden in the mountains, were supposed to be another piece of that cycle."
Crixci nodded, "Idiotic, isn't it? No, I have different plans. All my life, I worked to gain the trust of my village. But as soon as they gave me that fruit…"
Crixci held out his arms in a posture of pure power, "My plan is already a success."
"What plan might that be?" Musashi Raito said.
"I intend on collecting all nine of the tailed beast mythical zoans. That includes the Hidden Wave's Inu Inu No Mi, Model: Kyubi no Kitsune."
Upon saying this, Crixci extended a welcoming hand in the direction of Musashi Raito.
"Join me, Raito. With you by my side, Anaki can take over the ninja world and end this conflict. I'll even let you be the one that eats the Kyubi."
"…"
The brow of Musashi Raito hardened. His eyes were shaded in darkness, his expression neutral with a hint of inner anger.
He did not answer.
Crixci babbled on, "Think about it, the peace we will usher in. With the ninja villages united, the entire world would have to take notice. We would become an instant superpower with one of the most elite fighting forces on the planet. Who's to say we stop at just Ninja Kuni? We will spread our peace to south blue- no, all of the blues! We won't stop until even the Grand Line is conquered! All shall know and fear the name of Anak-"
["OWARI KOKAI!"]
"GAH!"
Musashi Raito had taken the opportunity and cut the sales-pitch short with an impressive speed blitz and a fatal slash of his tanto blade on the body of Crixci.
Crixci coughed blood, his eyes went cloudy, and he dropped to the ground.
"Goodbye, Crixci of the Mountains."
Musashi Raito ignored the body of Crixci and slowly walked towards where the Third Yokage lay.
"Lord Third, I'm sorry I didn't make it in time…" The regret in his voice could make any man cry if they witnessed this scene.
Suddenly, an alien sound came from behind Musashi Raito.
"Hmm?"
Crixci's body erupted in a rapid expansion.
Eight massive tentacles spawned from his body, closely followed by a full transformation into the Kraken.
The body was large enough to easily envelop a warship. It was the form befitting the legendary monster of the sea.
Crixci flailed his tentacles around, smashing the outer wall of the Yokage mansion and the buildings that bordered the clearing.
"Shit!"
Musashi Raito quickly scooped up the body of the Third Yokage and carried it away to safety.
With that done, he wasted no time engaging with Crixci once again.
Crixci in his Kraken form gave Musashi Raito the impression of a mindless beast that had no control once they transformed.
As such, Musashi Raito charged in, confident in the lack of awareness that Crixci should have in theory.
A rumor of tailed beast mythical fruit users losing control of themselves must have been false information.
Musashi Raito thought this as Crixci intelligently wrapped him in one of his tentacles and sent him flying.
"!"
Musashi Raito went crashing through multiple buildings before he finally stopped.
"Waaaah! I'm scared!"
A child clutched at his mother's fabric as Musashi Raito came bursting into his family's house through the wall.
"Oh my!"
Musashi Raito lay on the floor, 'Well, I won't be doing that again…'
Then he got up and brushed the dust off his person before bowing to the family,
"My apologies. Please stay here until everything is safe." He said, wiping the blood from his mouth.
He walked through the rubble, through the holes of the buildings that were created by him getting thrown, back into that clearing.
Crixci towered in his Kraken form, his long tentacles creating widespread damage in the heart of the village.
Musashi Raito grits his teeth as he glared at the form of Crixci.
Crixci then noticed Musashi Raito and spoke with a watery tone,
"I'll give you one last chance, Raito of the Waves. Join me and create world peace!"
Musashi Raito grunted in contempt, "Hmm,"
He then readied his tanto blade and declared
"I don't believe in war for the purpose of peace!"
"Wahahahaha! What did you expect, you baka! You and your massive blade with only limited range. Me with my sleek rifle that can kill from anywhere. The results were set from the moment we began!"
Grit called back to Wang Puk from his cover in the alleyway, "You know, I'm starting to think there is some insecurity rooted in this whole Gun vs. Sword thing. People that have trust in their beliefs don't need to go around proving it to people."
"Shut up! Why would I listen to a fool that I turned into swiss cheese?"
*BANG!* *BANG!*
Shots tried to angle themselves around the corner but they could not hit Grit.
"You think you can hide forever? I could just change the position you know."
"But you won't." Grit swallowed heavily, "You've gotten cocky during our fight. That will be your undoing."
"Ehhh?!"
Wang Puk was too ensconced in his ego to understand what Grit meant.
But Grit was correct. Wang Puk had been getting cocky.
Earlier in the fight, Wang Puk would shoot and move, shoot and move…
Now, he was sitting idly in one spot, talking trash to Grit and confident that there is no way Grit could close the distance.
Wang Puk was correct also.
Grit had been shot with too many bullets.
With his ankles busted, there it would simply be impossible for Grit to make it to Wang Puk's location.
"I bet you wish you had a gun right now!" Wang Puk taunted.
"Pfft. You bastard. You want to know something interesting?"
"What's that?" Wang Puk answered from the rooftop of a building nearby the alleyway.
"A sword has more range than you realize."
"Nani?"
Grit summoned all of his resolve, all his willpower.
Ignoring the pain, he strode out of the alleyway and planted his foot firmly on the ground.
"Baka!" Wang Puk fired shots.
*BANG!* *BANG!*
They came at Grit, but he did not care. He had no intention of dodging these.
It was all hanging on this one moment.
Do or die.
Grit spun his hips, generating great rotational force.
He swung his Demon Slayer, despite the two bullets hitting his thigh and shoulder.
"RAH!"
He swung and let go.
The Demon Slayer hurled into the air, spinning towards Wang Puk.
"!"
Wang Puk tried to flee. The Demon Slayer didn't even look like it was going to be on target.
Only it was.
It tore through part of the building and cleaved its way to the roof, slicing Wang Puk in half.
"OOF!"
As the top half of Wang Puk's body fell to the street, Wang Puk got a glimpse of the victorious smile on Grit's face.
"You…"
Grit and Wang Puk landed face-first on the street at the same time.
But Grit was the lone survivor.
…
Running down the street came the young Pandora.
"Oh my god!"
She hurried towards Grit who was nearing death.
The sight of Grit covered in countless bullet holes filled Pandora with dread.
"Are you alright?! How are you even breathing? Don't worry, I'm a medical ninja! I'll get you patched up."
Grit did not exert any energy. He savored this brief moment of rest. Only his eyes and mouth made any movements.
"Hurry up."
Pandora ignored Grit as if to say she was doing it because she wanted to, not because Grit ordered her.
As the young medical ninja tended to Grit's wounds, a funny thought came to Pandora.
This is a birthday she will always remember.