A tree seedling rapidly sprouted from the ground, branches extending toward Ron's position—fast and razor-sharp.
Natsu stepped forward with a punch.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
They collided.
Boom!
A deafening impact sounded, and flames began licking along the branches. Old T's face twitched slightly.
"Flame abilities?"
He couldn't help but think of Old O, whose power was magma—akin to fire. Back in the day, Old T had been held in check by Old O. His tree-based ability was formidable at long-term entangling and constraining, but it was uniquely vulnerable to fire.
"Still, you only get that advantage if our strength is on par. This kid…"
Old T crouched, pressing both palms to the ground.
Splurt!
Splurt!
Splurt!
A flurry of sounds followed as more than a dozen saplings burst forth, rapidly aiming for Natsu.
"How will you handle this?"
Countless branches whipped toward Natsu.
"You can't block all these with mere fists!" Old T allowed a faint sneer to surface.
Natsu stepped back, inhaled sharply, then roared, "Fire Dragon's Roar!"
A surge of flames blasted in Old T's direction. The branches that touched the flames were instantly incinerated. Old T's expression hardened.
"Tree Shield!"
Branches converged to form a thick barrier in front of him. The fiery onslaught seared the wood but couldn't break through at once—there was too much foliage, buying Old T time to move to the side.
"More!"
He slapped his palms to the ground again, more saplings sprouting to enwrap Natsu. Simultaneously, the earth near Ron's feet started rumbling.
At first, Old T hadn't paid Ron much heed, assuming he wasn't a threat—someone whose strength couldn't possibly rival his own. Old T had been more curious about the "familiar aura" Ron seemed to carry. But seeing Natsu's performance changed his mind.
Thus, he abandoned the plan of focusing on Natsu, striking at Ron instead. As a fellow Beast-type specialist, Old T knew the weakness of Beast-type users: their main body was often the weak link.
Branches lashed out at Ron. He didn't budge. A figure flashed in front of him before the attack could land—lightning crackling:
"Chidori!"
In an instant—
Crack!
All the branches were sheared off in one slash. Sasuke's hand moved as though it were a blade. But he didn't stop there; after cutting down the branches, he charged toward Old T at high speed.
He was faster than Natsu.
Old T's pupils shrank.
"Incredible speed! Another Beast? Also at A-level? Impossible!"
Even at Old K's peak, it wasn't like this. Old K commanded many beasts, but most were low-level ones that worked in unison to overwhelm an enemy. Among them, he had only one A-level beast. Yet here Ron was, summoning two creatures both at A-level.
Old T could approximate Ron's age; it was nowhere near Old K's age back then, which also meant Ron's training time was far shorter.
"Is this brat's talent that much greater than Old K's?"
He referenced Old K, but it was also about himself—since the four members of the KUTO Thieves were roughly equals. If Old K had been on par with Old T, and Ron now easily surpassed that…
Ron watched Sasuke, clearly feeling that Sasuke's presence was far stronger than before. Initially, Sasuke had been B-level overall, with A-level attack and weaker defenses. Now, his total aura clocked in at A-level.
"Akutagawa Ryunosuke's situation is similar to Baki's," Ron thought. "Both fully vanished as separate beasts. Baki gave Natsu two things: a stat boost and the 'Demon Back' ability. The rest of his powers weren't relevant because they weren't originally Baki's.
"Likewise, Akutagawa has given Sasuke two things: a stat boost and a new skill—Rashomon Susanoo."
Ron processed the new information in his mind, delighted. It resembled Susanoo—formed from Akutagawa's power, like a shadowy suit of armor. Of course, it wasn't the real 'Susanoo' of legend, but for Sasuke, it was a huge upgrade, perfectly compensating for his prior defensive shortfall. Unless someone managed to break through the 'Rashomon Susanoo,' they couldn't hurt Sasuke directly.
With Sasuke pinning Old T down, and Natsu on the other side forcing him to divert more aura lest he be overwhelmed, Old T had no spare energy to target Ron's main body. Now Old T needed to figure out how to counter two A-level beasts attacking simultaneously.
Ron stepped further back. By his side stood Akame—though Sasuke and Natsu provided heavy pressure, there was no harm adding a further safeguard. You could never be too careful.
"Natsu and Sasuke both reached A-level overall. My power just got another big boost. The key here is the potential to expand via spreadability.
"Baki and Akutagawa have effectively disappeared as separate beasts, each turning into a 'Second Shadow' that boosts Natsu and Sasuke's base stats and grants them one extra ability. No other changes. Meaning I can release the Baki and Bungo Stray Dogs manga without leaking Natsu or Sasuke's real powers. Baki and Akutagawa no longer exist; I won't be revealing my own secrets.
"Thus, no intel leaks out about me at all."