Naruto: Call of Cthulhu

"Run quickly!"

"Ah!"

"Move! Don't block the way!"

The nobles in the stands scrambled to flee, their usual orderly demeanor giving way to panic. In this moment, their human instincts were laid bare as they stepped over fallen, slower nobles, trampling them in their rush to escape.

However, no matter how desperately the nobles ran, the blue electric orbs, flying as fast as ninja-thrown kunai, struck them instantly.

As they were hit, their bodies convulsed violently, and the powdered faces darkened at a visible speed. In an instant, their twitching ceased, and they fell rigidly to the ground, their faces twisted in an unwilling expression. The smell of burnt protein wafted from their bodies.

"Help m—" A noble's cry was cut short as an electric orb struck him, his body crumpling to the ground.

Is this how I'll die too? A surviving noble stumbled over the fallen bodies.

Witnessing the horrific fate of those around them, the remaining nobles became even more frantic, fleeing without thought or direction, completely losing their sanity.

"Out of my way!" A panicked noble shouted, shoving others aside in his desperate attempt to escape.

The scene in the stands was dramatic, resembling a shooting gallery at a tourist attraction. The fleeing nobles were like moving targets, while the Mi-Gos below were the players in this deadly game.

"Protect the lord! Protect the lord!"

"Get someone here, protect him!"

At the highest point of the stands, the Daimyō, terrified like a frightened shrimp, curled up on the ground, covering his head. He frantically ordered the surrounding soldiers to form a protective circle around him.

"Protect me! I command you to save me!"

To think this man rules our land... A guard thought bitterly as he took his position in the human shield.

"Form up! Protect the lord at all costs!" The guard captain shouted, organizing the defensive formation.

"At the cost of our lives, you mean..." A guard whispered to his comrade.

Thanks to the human shields of these soldiers, the Mi-Go's electric guns were not able to hit the Daimyō quickly.

---

Meanwhile, Shikaku was closely observing the Mi-Gos in the square. Their electric guns had a low accuracy rate in such an open space, even lower than ninja-thrown kunai.

In this situation, the electric orbs had trouble hitting people lying down, while those running wildly were more likely to get hit by the randomly flying orbs. The Mi-Go's electric guns didn't have widespread damage—just a slight miss meant no harm, but a direct hit would be deadly to any ordinary person.

"Stop running! Get down!"

"Lie down!"

Shikaku shouted with all his strength, but no one listened. His voice was instantly drowned out by the cries and chaos around him.

"Are you mad? We'll be sitting ducks!" A panicked noble retorted, not even slowing his frantic pace.

Damn it! They can't hear me over their own screams. Shikaku cursed but quickly started strategizing.

What should I do now?

Think, Shikaku, think! There must be a way to turn this around. He pressed his fingers together.

---

The nine Chunin on the execution platform had not been idle. Seeing the chaos unfold, they abandoned the execution and immediately descended to the square, joining the battle against dozens of Mi-Gos.

"Forget the execution! We need to protect the civilians!" Ibiki called out to his comrades.

"Agreed. Spread out and engage!" Asuma responded, already moving into position.

"Ninja Art: Senbon Rainstorm!"

Genma spat a senbon from his mouth at the nearest Mi-Go while swiftly forming hand signs. In an instant, one senbon multiplied into several, flying toward the Mi-Go's body.

Let's see how these aliens handle a little acupuncture. Genma smiled.

The Senbon was a needle-like throwing weapon. It typically has low lethality and is often coated with poison. This was his primary weapon, apart from kunai.

On missions, he would hold a poisoned senbon in his mouth, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment. It would be positioned carefully so that only the non-poisonous end was in contact with his mouth. When not on a mission, he usually held a toothpick or grass stalk in his mouth instead, partly to look cool and partly to stay sharp, maintaining the habit without risk.

Once, a senior ninja known for his skill with knives made the foolish mistake of licking a poisoned blade, turning himself into a joke among ninjas. Genma wasn't about to repeat that.

As for the Senbon Rainstorm technique, it was inspired by the Third Hokage's Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, though this was a weaker version since duplicating senbon was easier than shuriken.

Several poisoned senbon flew toward the Mi-Go, whose large bodies and slow movement made them an easy target. Most of the senbon were deflected by their bio-armor, but a couple pierced their bodies, as the webbed structure of the armor wasn't fully resistant to needle-like attacks.

However, such minor physical damage was barely noticeable to the massive Mi-Go. And the poison? Useless. Genma's poison was designed for human biology, while the Mi-Go were some kind of fungal organism.

Still, his attack drew the attention of the Mi-Go, who had been firing electric orbs at the stands. Now, they turned their electric guns toward him, launching several blue orbs in his direction.

With quick reflexes, he dodged, flipping backward to put some distance between him and the Mi-Go. He glanced at the scorched marks left by the orbs and muttered, "Getting hit by one of those would be bad. Time for Plan B."

Elsewhere, the other eight ninja were also locked in battle with the Mi-Gos. Kurenai attempted to cast a genjutsu on one of the creatures.

"Tree Bind Death!"

This genjutsu made the target believe they were bound by trees, giving the caster the chance to strike. In reality, the victim would simply stand paralyzed, screaming. Confident, she smiled as she saw the Mi-Go freeze in place.

Success!

"Gotcha! Now to finish this." Kurenai said triumphantly, moving in for the kill.

But in the next second, the Mi-Go's large wings suddenly flapped, and it quickly aimed its electric gun at her.

What? How did it break my genjutsu so easily?

Before she could process her shock, blue orbs shot toward her. She swiftly dodged, employing ninja agility to evade the barrage, but the failure of her illusion left her in a tough spot.

I need a new strategy. She continued to dodge, her eyes searching for an opening.

Noticing Kurenai struggling on the battlefield, Asuma's eyes filled with worry.

I have to finish off these two quickly and help her!

Facing two Mi-Gos, he equipped his chakra blades, their blue aura extending them into scythe-like weapons. With agile movements, he dodged two crossing electric orbs and leapt onto one of the Mi-Go's backs.

Using chakra to anchor his feet, Asuma held firm despite the creature's attempts to shake him off. "Not so tough when I'm up close, are you?"

He seized the moment, swinging his blade toward the its head. A green web of mucus flashed where the blade struck, meeting the blue chakra in a brief struggle.

His chakra blades, with their astonishing destructive power, could easily slice through a tree with a light throw. However, when faced with the bio-armor of these creatures, they were unable to cut through the green mucus webbing with the same overwhelming force, though they did manage to have a solid impact.

Nevertheless, the damage caused in such a short time wasn't enough for the chakra blades to completely sever the green netting.

Just as Asuma was about to cross his two chakra blades to amplify their power, the nearby Mi-Go turned its body and aimed its electric gun at him.

Having already witnessed the power of those electric spheres, he dared not block them with his body. He quickly sheathed his chakra blades and leaped away from the Mi-Go.

However, the electric sphere was still fired, but its target wasn't Asuma—it was the Mi-Go that he had been standing on. The electric sphere hit it directly, and a visible layer of charred blackness appeared on its pinkish exoskeleton.

They're willing to hit each other?

Yet, the Mi-Go showed no signs of convulsing or spasming. Instead, it turned and fired its electric gun at Asuma again. He dodged in an S-shaped movement, all the while pondering what he had just witnessed.

It was clear that the electric spheres could barely harm the Mi-Go, which is why one Mi-Go could safely fire at its companion. The goal seemed to be to force Asuma off its back. Judging by the scorch marks on the outer shell, its body conducts electricity. If he had still been on its back, he would have been electrocuted.

Moreover, in order to cut through the bio-armor on the Mi-Go, he would need to stay in contact with it for a certain amount of time.

In other words, as long as the two Mi-Gos coordinated even slightly, his chakra blades, no matter how damaging, would never get the chance to land a hit.

Besides Asuma, who was already in a tough battle, Genma and Kurenai were also struggling, along with the other six chunin.

Among the nine chunin, the strongest on paper was the oldest, Namiashi Raidō. At that moment, Raidō was locked in combat with a Mi-Go, wielding a black-bladed katana.

The Mi-Go wasn't particularly agile, and his rapid leaps and strikes had it on the back foot. Its electric gun shots were repeatedly missing.

However, despite landing multiple hits, his katana couldn't break through the Mi-Go's bio-armor.

Not even a scratch. He observed the unharmed creature.

One of the reasons Raidō was hailed as an elite among his peers was his masterful swordsmanship and the deadly poison on his blade, capable of killing with just a scratch.

But this powerful technique wasn't working now—his sword couldn't pierce the Mi-Go's body. Even if it did, his comrade Genma had already proven that the poison, designed for humans, was ineffective against the Mi-Go.

After several attacks, Raidō's scarred left cheek twitched slightly as he silently sheathed his black-bladed sword. Then, he formed a hand seal with both hands.

It seemed like ninjutsu would be his only option.

Aside from Raidō, the second oldest was Yamashiro Aoba, who was also battling a Mi-Go.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive fireball shot toward the Mi-Go. It quickly moved its legs to dodge, but its bulky body still got grazed by the fireball, causing red flames to erupt on its pinkish body.

I hit it! These things aren't invincible after all!

Aoba cheered inwardly. After all, the Great Fireball Technique had a notoriously low hit rate. To actually land a hit on the Mi-Go was a pleasant surprise. But before the excitement on his could last, the Mi-Go emerged from the flames.

The green mucus strands of its bio-armor had all been activated, thinning visibly to the naked eye. However, they were also regenerating rapidly, restoring to their original thickness within a mere second before retreating under the Mi-Go's skin.

The Mi-Go's bio-armor could be repaired at any time using its internal nutrients, making such weak fire-based techniques incapable of burning its true body.

"Damn it!" Aoba growled, his hands already forming seals for his next attack.

---

Among the three chunin squads, the weakest overall was the group consisting of Ebisu, Ibiki, and Mizuki.

Ibiki was battling a Mi-Go alone, his hands forming seals quickly.

"Summoning: Torture Chamber!"

Several chains shot out from the ground around the Mi-Go, wrapping tightly around it multiple times before swiftly retracting, binding the Mi-Go firmly to the ground.

These chains were part of his summoning jutsu.

However, he hadn't fully mastered the technique, so what he summoned was an incomplete version, significantly less effective than the full one.

To maintain this binding state, he had to keep his hands in the seal position, unable to deal a finishing blow. His already stern face grew even more grim.

"Someone! I can't hold this forever!" Ibiki called out.

But his plea for assistance went unanswered as his fellow shinobi were all locked in their own desperate battles.

Nearby, Ebisu and Mizuki had their hands full, working together to surround another Mi-Go. Both of them had only average talent and strength among their peers. They hadn't become chunin until they were 17, and Ebisu was a year older than Mizuki, meaning he had a bit more experience.

The two adopted a flanking formation to attack the Mi-Go. While running, Ebisu pulled out a scroll from his waist.

"Mizuki! On my signal!" Ebisu called out as he unfurled the scroll.

"Got it!"

Unfurling the scroll in midair, he slapped his hand onto it, summoning two giant shuriken.

"Catch!"

Ebisu threw one of the giant shuriken to Mizuki, who caught it firmly, holding it at his side.

They both dodged the Mi-Go's electric spheres with spiral, crisscrossing movements, then simultaneously leaped into the air, throwing their giant shuriken at its head.

"Give it everything you've got!" Ebisu shouted as they launched their attack.

Clang! Clang!

The two giant shuriken hit the exact same spot on the Mi-Go's head, doubling the destructive force. This was a tactic that could only be executed with extensive cooperation.

Yet, despite this combined attack, there wasn't even a scratch on the its head. The green mucus netting of its bio-armor didn't even show up clearly.

"What?!" Ebisu was dumbfounded, his mouth agape.

Mizuki glanced sideways at his unreliable senior, while secretly thinking about something else.

If only I had more power...

Among the nine chunin, the most impressive at the moment was Guy.

Unlike the others with their grim expressions, his face was full of excitement—a kind of thrill from facing strong opponents.

And he was facing not one, but three Mi-Gos!

"Dynamic Entry!"

"Leaf Hurricane!"

"Leaf Rock Crushing Square!"

With three taijutsu moves, he not only forced the Mi-Go's bio-armor to reveal itself, but also caused them to repeatedly retreat, struggling to stabilize their pink body.

"Alright!"

"You're worthy opponents of the proud Blue Beast of Konoha at full power."

"The Eight Inner Gates."

"Fourth Gate of Pain..."

"Open!"