On the other side of the city, a fierce battle was raging between Mirio and Kinto. High above the ground, Mirio hovered in the sky, manipulating his chains into giant sharp constructs, launching them down at Kinto with deadly precision. Kinto, moving at full speed, darted between the attacks, narrowly dodging each one as he sprinted through the ruined cityscape."Fucking hell. After helping people and other soldiers to get to safety, this chain bastard appeared and started attacking me. Runo is out there protecting the citizens along side with the rest of the full time soldiers down there. Mori is probably doing the same."
Mirio's chains then formed into a massive, spinning shuriken, which he hurled toward Kinto. Seeing the incoming threat, Kinto quickly tossed a barrage of explosives to intercept the attack, the resulting blast shaking the area. As smoke filled the air, Kinto tried to catch his breath, only to hear Mirio's cold voice echoing above.
"Running is useless in a situation like this," Mirio declared.
"You bastard..." Kinto growled, looking up. "What's your objective?"
Mirio's expression remained calm and distant. "Ukina gave us a mission. A very important one."
Kinto's eyes narrowed. "If you're here to take Alex, it's not going to happen. I'll blow you to smatterings before you touch my friend" Kinto said with malice in his voice.
Mirio let out a dry chuckle. "Capturing that demon boy is part of it... but not now. Our current orders are simple—invade and eliminate any Special Ranked Forces sent our way."
Without warning, Mirio's chains morphed into countless sharp spikes and rained down on Kinto at rapid speed while destroying buildings. Reacting instantly, Kinto activated his Explosive Mark, a red mark that appears on his hand and stretches to his eye. He started detonating explosive bursts of energy in all directions to counter the barrage while moving at lightning speeds. While dodging, he sprinted up a building, leapt into the air, and launched a massive explosion at Mirio before landing on a nearby rooftop.
As the smoke faded, Mirio emerged unscathed, shielded by his swirling chains.
"You're annoying..." Kinto muttered with annoyance and a slight hint of blood lust in his voice. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop as Mirio pursued him from the sky, launching chains relentlessly.
But Kinto wasn't just running—he dodging as skillfully as he could while he was laying traps everywhere. Each rooftop he touched was left with a hidden explosive charge. When Mirio finally passed over them, the entire area erupted in a massive coordinated blast, blanketing the sky in smoke. "Got his ass." Kinto muttered to himself with a smirk.
As the smoke cleared... Mirio was trapped.
A glowing, shimmering dome of heat surrounded him.
Mirio calmly assessed the situation. "A barrier?"
Kinto smirked from afar. "It's called Locked Shut. A dome made from concentrated, dangerous heat. Hope you enjoy it."
Mirio tried touching the barrier—only to recoil as his hand sizzled from the burn.
Kinto pulled a small device from his pocket. "Let's wrap this up."
He pressed the button, and the inside of the dome exploded violently with Mirio inside. As the blast faded, Kinto deactivated the barrier and stepped off the rooftop, muttering, "That went faster than I expected, hopefully he's dead.…"
Just as he landed with his hands in his pockets, a rock hammer flew out of nowhere, nearly hitting him. Kinto dodged with a startled jump as Baraka came crashing through a nearby building, barely missing him.
Kinto turned and yelled, "How many times do I have to tell you to control your damn strength?!"
Baraka stood up with a grunt. "Can't do that right now buddy."
Before Kinto could reply, a blur smashed through another building—Garou, whose metal fist slammed into Baraka, sending him flying across several blocks.
As Baraka got back to his feet, Garou cracked his neck. "I'm not done with you yet."
"Oh yeah? That's funny. I was just about to beat you to a bloody pulp!" Baraka growled.
Garou's arms shifted, turning into massive metal hammers, while Baraka's fists hardened with dense earth with a huge amount of white energy charging all over it. The two charged towards each other, colliding with explosive force. Each strike created shockwaves that destroyed buildings, the ground trembling under their power.
As Garou swung a hammer toward Baraka's head, Baraka blocked it and unleashed a flurry of lightning-fast punches to Garou's face. Just as he was about to land the finishing blow, Garou caught his fist, grabbed him by the neck, and began slamming him through building after building.
"What's wrong, big guy? You slowing down?" Garou mocked as he kept the onslaught going.
Baraka, dazed but defiant, stretched out his hand "UHHHAAAGHAHA", he scremed. His rock hammer came hurtling through the sky, smashing Garou in the head with a tremendous boom, creating a crater and sending him flying.
Baraka stumbled to his feet, charged, and slammed Garou into the ground with his hammer, causing a small quake. He then raised a massive stone wall around Garou, trapping him inside.
Breathing heavily, Baraka muttered, "Damn... wasn't expecting that kind of fight. What even is that guy? Some kind of tank?"
He paused, recalling another intense battle. "When was the last time I fought someone like that...? Takashi... that bastard in the forest, three years ago... when I saved Alex."
His expression dimmed. "Why the hell'd I have to remember that guy? What a pain"
Just as he was about to walk off, Garou burst through the stone wall and launched a punch "IM NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!!", Garou scremed with excitement. Baraka reacted quickly, forming a stone slab with his powers and slamming it into Garou's head, knocking him back.
Watching the chaos from a nearby rooftop, Kinto munched on a bag of chips. "Not bad... I'm surprised you handled it that well."
Baraka turned with a glare. "Wait... you've been there this whole time?! You could've helped, you jerk!"
Kinto shrugged with a grin. "Fight was kinda fun to watch, y'know?"
Meanwhile, far from the destruction, Kenji trudged through a vast desert, shielding his eyes from a raging sandstorm. In the distance, he spotted a cave and made his way toward it.
As he entered, the air shifted.
"This must be it," he muttered. "The cave that holds one of the Millennia Stones Ukina told us about…"
TO BE CONTINUED.