Winner Takes All

Crap!

The groans of his partners caused Iga TobiRyuu's hairs to stand as he laid on the ground.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Almost at the same moment, Iga TobiRyuu was engulfed with the terror of being close to coming killed.

Iga TobiRyuu raised his head and saw Jack's grin. This felt like a sledgehammer pounding forcefully onto Iga TobiRyuu's chest. In a flash, Iga TobiRyuu's stabbed his sword into the ground to stop his slide. But before Iga TobiRyuu drew his sword, Jack had already rushed forward towards him and drew the samurai shuriken.

Stab! Jack plunged the samurai shuriken into Iga Tobi Ryuu's abdomen and blood gushed out. The intense pain caused Iga TobiRyuu to panic immediately.

He yelled in agony and frowned deeply and instinctively swung his fist at Jack.

Bash! The punch caused Jack to stumble backward five steps and extended the distance between them. Iga TobiRyuu took the opportunity and struggled onto his feet. He looked down and was furious to see his injuries. Iga TobiRyuu had the feeling of being a survivor. If he had been just a fraction of a second slower, that stab could have been fatal! It showed how deadly Jack's strike was and his desire to quickly finish this fight. This caused Iga TobiRyuu to have a different view of Jack and Iga TobiRyuu even began to fear Jack.

He quickly composed himself while slowly raising his head. It was dead silent.

"You had anticipated this." Jack scoffed and continued, "Otherwise how can we be equals?"

Iga TobiRyuu shuddered and looked at Jack's injured left shoulder and smiled.

The other two ninja lords looked on in fear as Iga TobiRyuu and Jack communicated.

During their fight, they had thought that Jack was only reacting to their attacks but they never expected that Jack already anticipated their plans.

It was their underestimation of Jack that he was almost able to strike Iga TobiRyuu fatally.

Iga TobiRyuu barely survived Jack's strike. Although Jack was their assassination target, they could not deny that Jack almost ended the fight with just one knife stroke! Just how terrifying were Jack's abilities?

Whoosh! Iga TobiRyuu did not hang around to chat and immediately raised his katana and rushed towards Jack. He had not forgotten about what he was there to do. Every second that he delayed would expose all of them to extra risks. However, he also wanted to use this encounter with Jack to push his limits and hone his skills.

Time was of the essence. Now Iga TobiRyuu did not have the luxury of time to use Jack as a means of sharpening his skills. Jack did not attempt to avoid Iga TobiRyuu's charge but stood firm and extended the samurai shuriken forward.

Then, clank clank clank...

Sounds of the swords clashing could be heard from the bamboo forest. Each clashing of the swords was accompanied by sparks flying. The sparks dimly lit up Jack and Iga Tobi Ryuu's bodies. The two exchanged blows and the swords blurred as they were swung at each other. Even the other two ninja lords looked on with awe.

The two silhouettes of Iga TobiRyuu and Jack blurred in the dim forest. Both fought all out for their lives. Occasionally there would be the crackle of a bamboo stem being chopped and crashing down onto the ground. Both Jack and Iga TobiRyuu could see clearly each other's wounds as they fought.

Although their wounds were not life-threatening, the fresh blood seeping out of Iga TobiRyuu's wound caused the other two ninja lords to look at this fight differently.

"Those in the Iga Clan who were responsible for gathering information on Jack had failed them. There was such a huge difference between what they were told about Jack's fighting abilities and what they were experiencing now!" One of the ninja lords remarked. They did not know how Iga Tobikou died but from the way Jack fought Iga TobiRyuu, they were sure that Jack exploited Iga TobiKou's error to deal a fatal blow onto him!

The other ninja lord nodded and smiled, "It was truly astounding that Jack could kill Iga Tobikou at his age. Although Iga Tobikou and Iga TobiRyuu were brothers, their skills were of different levels. It was only a matter of time when Jack succumbed to Iga TobiRyuu. But to have such skills at this age, Jack is clearly a talent and a true fighter."

"But alas, he would have to die eventually and destined to be killed by Iga TobiRyuu." He said this with utter disdain. Jack was regarded as a walking dead in the presence of three great ninja lords.

If it had not been Iga TobiRyuu trying to use the fight with Jack to hone his skills, the three ninja lords would have joined efforts to kill Jack and he would be dead within seconds! There was nothing to say that they had to fight Jack one on one.

When a champion of his domain had reached his peak, it would be rare to find a fighter that could fight on the same level to advance his skills. It would be even rarer that the opponent could fight so well as to threaten the champion's life. At Iga TobiRyuu's skill level, it was very rare to find a worthy fighting opponent... that could threaten his life!

Clank! Both swords clashed amid a shower of sparks. The intense impact of the swords sent both stumbling backward.

Iga TobiRyuu was first to regain his footing and without hesitation, the muscles on his hands tensed as he raised his katana, slashed and yelled, "laido Slash!"

Whoosh! The intense power of the slash rushed forward towards and engulfed Jack. Although Jack had once encountered the "laido Slash", he stood his ground and did not move. Instead, he started to grin frostily under the ferocious glare of Iga TobiRyuu.

Jack raised his samurai shuriken and prepared to receive the "laido Slash" head on!‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒