Chapter 335   - Ch335. Various Ends

Sakon and Jiroubou rushed at Raiga with their low-jonin speed, surmising that after dealing with two Konoha A-rank jonins, he must be tired enough for them to take him on. Despite not being the strongest in the Sound Village, both Sakon and Jiroubou were a part of the Sound Four, Orochimaru's elite squad.

While individually their strength wasn't all that great, barely scraping low-to-mid jonin levels, they were trained to be the strongest when fighting together. It wasn't a problem for the Sound Four to take down even high A-rank rogue ninjas with their superb teamwork and individual fighting styles that covered each others' weaknesses.

Yes, they really thought the two of them were more than enough for one tired S-rank ninja. Plus... there was always Ukon hiding inside of Sakon, ready to react at a moment's notice if necessary and spring up a trap. The second Sakon or Ukon manages to meld with their opponent's body it is game over.

Seeing the eager expressions on his two quickly approaching opponents, Raiga grimaced and prepared his blades. He didn't particularly like that he was all but ordered to end these skilled but cocky teens. Since he took Ranmaru in, he grew somewhat soft. The fact Kakashi was still breathing after their two encounters was irrefutable proof of that.

The two teens were almost upon Raiga when he suddenly released an intense surge of lightning chakra and the world halted for them.

On the sidelines, Kakashi humorlessly chuckled when his Sharingan failed to spot when Raiga struck due to the sudden burst of his speed. 'The bastard was holding back?' He thought sourly as his pride stung, yet, he was also grateful towards Raiga for taking it easy on them.

A split second passed since Raiga disappeared and reappeared right in-between and slightly behind the two stunned Sound ninjas who stood frozen in their spots. Blood was quickly evaporating from Raiga's Kiba blades due to the intense electric energy coursing through them and a charred line slowly appeared on both Sakon and Jiroubou.

Sakon's upper and lower body was diagonally separated at the waist. His eyes were wide in disbelief as his upper body slid down his lower, both cuts already burned shut so no guts nor blood started gushing out. He realized he did not feel his legs a moment later before he started screaming bloody murder.

Jiroubou had more luck. His bulky stature and Earth nature prevented Raiga's blades from cleaving him in two like happened to Sakon. Instead, He only had a burnt gash going through his gut that didn't reach the spine. If it wasn't burnt shut, it would be a debilitating injury but since Raiga's lightning sealed the wound shut, Jiroubou could still fight. He survived worse injuries under Orochimaru.

Nevertheless, he slowly fell onto his knees from the pain and stifled a moan of pure agony as his body needed a brief break.

Raiga turned around in order to face his opponents and raised one of his blades towards the sky… "Lightning Release: Final Descent." And impassively intoned the name of his Jutsu.

Ukon who was hiding inside of the screaming Sakon suddenly widened his eyes, realizing he was somehow found out. It pained him to see his brother in such a pitiful state but there was still a chance for an unexpected ambush since Ukon didn't show himself for the entire battle, however brief it was.

Now that he was discovered, he understood that his chances to surprise Raiga were nill so when he saw the S-rank ninja charging a lightning Jutsu aimed right at the screaming Sakon... brother or not, Ukon quickly jumped out of Sakon's body, separating from him and creating a distance between them just as a resounding boom deafened the surrounding, drowning Sakon's screams as lightning strike descended right on top of him.

Jiroubou also managed to only widen his eyes as his breath hitched while he desperately pushed himself on his feet... alas, he was too late and far too close to Sakon. When the lightning struck, Jiroubou was brutally flung to the side like yesterday's trash, his body tearing apart in various places.

The lightning Justu was accompanied by a brief blue flash that managed to blind most of the spectators and when they finally managed to refocus on the battle, all they could see was the gaping Ukon with Raiga behind him as the young man's body split into two parts, a vertical burnt cut going from the top of his head all the way towards his groin and slowly fell down in the opposite directions.

Unfortunately for the three Sound ninjas, they horrendously overestimated their own strength and terribly underestimated their enemy. It was true that Raiga was physically and mentally tired. It was also true that he had just a bit more than half of his chakra left in his reserves after fighting Kakashi and Zabuza. But he was still an S-rank ninja and that meant something. He was qualitatively on a different level than some low-jonin upstarts even if he was exhausted.

The second he activated his Lightning Release: Full Body Activation, it was over. Raiga didn't give them even a chance to activate their Cursed Seals.

Turning towards Gato's group, Raiga could see the businessman gaping at the gruesome death of the sound ninjas and failing to believe his own eyes. He expected them to effortlessly win! Flinching as he realized the ex-Kiri Swordsman was staring right at him, Gato's pupils dilated. He understood the precarious situation he found himself in.

"Wa-" Gato started speaking, trying to make an offer now that he lost his most capable bodyguards to the man he ordered to be killed. He didn't manage to even utter the first word from his sentence, however, as Raiga again disappeared in a burst of lightning chakra and before Gato's brain could even comprehend what happened, he, with horrified realization, found a tip of the Kiba blade sticking out of his chest.

Unlike his handling of the sound ninjas, Raiga held no pity for Gato. He ruthlessly raised his Kiba blade upward, forcefully lifting the midget's body as blood leaked from his wound. There was no lightning coating on the blade, hence the wound was not seared shut either.

Gato helplessly dangled his feet above the ground, trying to plead for help but no words could leave his mouth as he started choking on blood. His eyes begged the thugs around to do something but they were too shocked at the brutality and ease at which Raiga appeared in their midst without them even noticing.

"It is nice of you to willingly come to your own funeral, Gato." Raiga grinned and let his lightning chakra slowly seep into the Kiba blade sticking through Gato's body. Since the output was low and the process slow.

The blade was not hot enough to instantly burn a wound shut. It was still scorching hot and steam started to rise from the chest wound. Horror appeared on Gato's face before he started screaming. The blood rushing up his neck prevented him from doing that and most of his wails sounded more like wet gurgles while his body shook as electricity coursed through it, painfully contracting his muscles, tearing some of them in the process.

It was painfully obvious Raiga was torturing Gato in his last moments and the sadistic but satisfied grin on his face clearly indicated the man enjoyed every second of it.

A minute of pain-filled wailing later, Gato's body helplessly slumped forward, unable to bear the strain of so much lightning chakra coursing through it.

The supposedly richest businessman in the world was dead.

"Now then," Raiga flickered his blade to the side, uncaringly throwing Gato's body away, and turned towards the scared hired thugs who were shaking in their boots, "I think it is high time to end this farce."

A massacre ensued.