Shinobi From Hell

No matter the age, there would always be some sly ones in the society who would be willing to use uncanny means to get the upper hand against their enemy. That was how the first ninja was born.

The first ninja was but a slave was made to do the dirty work of his master. While it was an extremely dishonorable job, yet when did slaves have any honor? It was supposed to be a detestable job done behind the shadows.

Yet little by little ninja hood grew to their own school of martial arts that everyone detested and feared. Even those at the top of the food chain couldn\'t stop their growth. They were always hidden in the shadows with no way to find them.

But when this school of thought had begun, they didn\'t have expensive tools and eye catching weapons. Most of the ancestral shinobis were slaves anyway. That is why they used whatever they got their hands on. From farming tools to simple kitchen knives! Anything that was sharp became their solace.

"This one is called Ninjato," Klautz said with a slight smile as he brushed his finger against its blade.

What seemed to have evolved from just a piece of sharp metal had taken this form! Klautz had practiced with this weapon for years! And this was the one he was most comfortable with in battles.

Klautz swung his sword towards Steve drawing a 360 degree arc in the air as his body made a quick turn. The sword left black after images behind as it intended to end Steve\'s life.

Steve raised his hand in front of his face.

*Clang*

Steve defended it using his gauntlets as he placed them in between Klautz\'s charge. If it was anyone else he would have been crushed by the force alone! 

Klautz shot his eyes wide. Klautz had given everything in that slash and yet Steve was able to block it. They were equally matched!

\'There is no need of Detection Jutsu. I had suspected this before but his strength is as good as mine. But how did he get such strength?\' Klautz drew his brows closer to the point that they almost met.

Klautz guessed that it had something to do with the black flames that surrounded him. After all, just a few seconds ago it appeared that Steve would fall over from exhaustion alone.

There was no other explanation as to why he would be able to even fight, not to mention equal Klautz in strength. There was also a sudden increase in pressure that Klautz felt from him. 

"Is it a skill?" Klautz whispered.

But Steve could only smirk.

[Time remaining: 1: 50]

Klautz and Steve belonged to different schools of martial arts and yet here they were fighting toe to toe.

Indeed when it came to raw power both of them were somewhat equal. In fact, Klautz\'s [Strength] and [Agility] attributes were weaker than Steve\'s by a few attribute points. 

The [Berserk (Dark)] Skill boosts all stats by simply multiplying the base stat with 2. Steve who had a base [Strength] stat of 35 had reached 70 in this transient state! Not to mention that the gauntlets he was using was a C rank one that gave him +3 strength boost making it 73 instead.

But even if Klautz was weaker he made it up with his technique… his years of training in the art of Ken jutsu a.k.a. Sword techniques. 

Raw power definitely dominates over technique for sure. What was the use of a little jumping around in the face of absolute power? Such child\'s play was only meant to be crushed!

But technique is what makes for those few stat points that are always lacking... those that make up a difference in a battle... as for Klautz\'s in this case.

"Eat this!" Steve was throwing consecutive punches one after the other. It was like he was possessed and saw nothing that came in his way just madly punched wherever he found Klautz\'s visage.

The black flames surrounding his body had as if possessed his soul. With his increasing anger and annoyance the flames flared as they rose higher and higher.

Klautz who was faced with those barrages of punches could only dodge and deflect them with his sword as he was looking for the right opportunity to strike. He was on the defensive trying to deliver a severe injury to him to turn the tide of battle.

If it were any other sword, it would have probably broken by now under the barrage. But thanks to Klautz\'s spirit sword that had the [Unbreaking] effect, it was able to survive the blows... It was a B ranked weapon indeed!

Klautz\'s eye was sharp. He was able to perceive faults in Steve\'s defense from time to time. But alas, he was failing to strike. The problem wasn\'t Klautz\'s lack of expertise. He was a professional shinobi, technique was never the problem. Rather it was his speed instead.

Steve had not only higher [Strength] but he had higher [Agility] as well, thanks to his [Berserk] skill. His punches were rough and random but with rookie technique. They were thus all dodged by Klautz. But his punches were so fast that Klautz had to focus 90% of his attention on dodging them alone.

Thus before even Klautz could attack his weak spot, he was flooded with another barrage of punches.

"Ha ha, this is amazing," Klautz laughed.

Klautz reaction was quite contrary to what one might expect. How much had he craved for such heated battles in his ninja days? Probably only he knows. But as a ninja, frontal battles were never an option for him.

Steve was the first human enemy he was having a hard time against... someone who could make his blood boil.

***

Author:

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