Pursuit Battle

Three black figures sprang from the trees and landed beside Jin, surrounding him in a triangular formation.

This formation was usually used to protect someone, or...

To surround and attack someone.

Jin quickly swept his gaze over the three. They wore gray-black ninja uniforms and white masks marked with strange patterns, identical to the attire worn by the Anbu.

The only way to distinguish them was by their hair color.

A tall man with orange hair, a slender woman with long straight black hair, and a man with close-cropped black hair.

The moment he saw them, Jin had already drawn kunai in both hands and watched the three warily.

They had blocked him in the Forest of Death. They clearly were not here for anything good.

"Uchiha Jin, by Lord Hokage's verbal order, come with us."

The orange-haired man spoke to Jin in a commanding tone.

"I don't think Lord Hokage would need to summon me so sneakily."

Jin did not believe him at all. Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi truly wanted to see him, why had he not sent Jiraiya to relay the message?

No matter what conflicts Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya had in their ideals, they still trusted each other now.

So these people were basically impossible to be Hiruzen Sarutobi's men.

The only one who could command people dressed like Anbu was the legendary figure hidden deepest within Konoha—

Pot Kage Shimura Danzō.

Seeing Jin take a fighting stance, the orange-haired man barked sternly, "Are you planning to defy the Hokage's orders?"

Just as Jin was about to speak, he caught sight of a black speck flying toward him from the corner of his eye. He immediately used Soru and vanished from where he stood, landing on a tree on the other side.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the branches around him.

The three stood on the surrounding branches, encircling him once again.

The woman with long black hair praised him. "That's quite an impressive taijutsu."

This high-speed movement technique was much faster than the Body Flicker Technique.

If the three of them had not possessed extraordinary abilities themselves, they would never have been able to keep up with his speed.

"Attacking while we're talking isn't the Anbu's style."

Jin spoke, but his eyes never stopped searching for an opening.

The orange-haired man barked again, "Are you trying to betray the village, Uchiha Jin?!"

What a huge accusation.

Jin curled his lip.

If things outside the village were not even more chaotic than inside, he would have run away long ago. Did they really think he had been brainwashed by the Will of Fire?

But he could not say that aloud.

Especially not in front of Pot Kage's subordinates.

He merely chuckled softly and looked at the orange-haired man. "Attacking a fellow villager without cause? I think you're the ones trying to betray the village."

"If you have the guts, tell me your names. Tomorrow, I'll go see Lord Hokage myself."

The orange-haired man did not speak again. He had already realized that taking Uchiha Jin away so easily would not be possible.

Then they could only use force.

He discreetly formed a hand signal, indicating that there was no need to ambush and knock Jin out. They would simply beat him unconscious and take him away.

The short-haired man spread his arms. Countless black specks emerged from his sleeves, densely packed as they intertwined and swirled through the air.

They were tiny insects.

An insect user of the Aburame Clan.

The insects quickly gathered into a sea of bugs that surged toward Jin.

Jin immediately used Soru to leap toward the upper reaches of the tree. The towering tree's trunk had not even reached its midpoint yet.

Below him had already turned into a black mass.

The next moment, the female ninja suddenly appeared before Jin, rapidly forming hand seals.

"Water Release! Water Blade Technique!"

Water flowed rapidly around the kunai in her hand.

Jin's feet were suspended in midair, leaving him unable to use Soru to change position. He could only meet the attack head-on.

His right-hand kunai blocked her kunai wrapped in rapidly flowing water, while his left-hand kunai stabbed toward her temple. If she did not retreat, her temple would be pierced through.

The female ninja did not choose to retreat immediately. Instead, she aggressively accelerated her kunai and collided with Jin's right-hand kunai.

There was not the slightest sound. Jin's right-hand kunai was instantly severed by the flowing water, but his other kunai had already reached her temple.

If this continued, he would suffer at most a light injury, while she would die.

The sea of insects below was spiraling upward, but it was too late to save her.

The next moment.

The kunai pierced straight through the female ninja's temple, while her kunai cut a gash across Jin's face.

But water sprayed from the woman's temple, and her body turned into a puddle.

"A Water Clone?!"

During the time the female ninja had stalled him, the sea of insects below had already reached him.

Jin was still suspended in midair.

"Got him."

Seeing the branch Jin was about to land on covered in insects, the black-haired man spoke casually.

At this moment, Jin had already lost.

But Jin did not see it that way. His hands rapidly formed seals. He drew a deep breath, then exhaled with all his strength.

"Fire Release! Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball burst from his mouth and instantly exploded. The blast's aftershock kicked up a gust of wind that lifted Jin onto a higher branch. He planted himself sideways against the tree trunk and immediately ran upward without hesitation.

At that moment, the female ninja appeared ahead of him again, standing sideways on the tree like Jin and waiting for him.

Jin pulled another kunai from the Ninja Tool Pouch on his leg.

Neither said another word. The moment they met, they fought.

Their figures crossed, and for a time, neither could gain the upper hand in taijutsu.

"As expected of the genius Uchiha. You're this strong even without awakening the Sharingan."

The female ninja praised him as they fought. Her ease formed a stark contrast to Jin's full concentration.

Jin had no leisure for such things. The kunai in his hand was severed by her water blade kunai again. No matter how careful he was, he could not avoid it.

The insects below surged upward again.

Jin had no time to continue fighting. He used Soru beneath his feet and leaped toward another tree.

But the female ninja followed like a shadow, impossible to shake off.

What Jin found most unbelievable was that the Chakra within her body was as immovable as a fortress. He could not steal even a trace of it, meaning Steel Cutting Flash was completely unusable.

The Chakra in her body seemed to have been sealed by some kind of technique, unable to leak outward at all.

He could only think of the Cursed Tongue Eradication Jutsu.

He did not know whether this was the effect of that technique.

"You can't escape."

The female ninja's voice carried a smile as she continued tangling with Jin.

As if she had him completely cornered.

From the corner of his eye, Jin noticed the orange-haired man leaping toward them. He did not enter their battle, instead maintaining the 'In' hand seal as he aimed at Jin.

Yet he held back, waiting for an opportunity.

"The Yamanaka Clan! What a pain."

Rather than continue pushing upward, Jin suddenly relaxed his footing and fell.

Countless insects blotted out the sky as they rushed toward him, seeking to bury him completely.

But Jin reached toward the distance. A steel wire instantly shot from his sleeve and struck a distant branch, carrying him swinging toward it.

He had no intention of fighting them.

Judging solely from what they had shown so far—

He did not know how strong that Yamanaka Clan member was, but he was absolutely no match for the other two.

At that moment, two identical figures to the black-haired man suddenly emerged from the sea of insects.

Insect Clone Technique.

The two insect clones used the sea of bugs as footholds and charged toward Jin.

They wanted to intercept him.

Jin responded by throwing a barrage of Shuriken behind him. The Shuriken collided in the air with loud clangs, changing direction as they flew toward the insect clones.

But two shields made of insects rose from the sea below, blocking every Shuriken. The Shuriken visibly vanished, as though they had been gnawed away by the insects.

Still, it blocked the insect clones' vision for a moment.

Jin tapped twice behind himself with his fingers.

"Spirit Gun! Double Shot!"

Two Spirit Guns instantly became thin pillars of spiritual energy and pierced through the insect clones' foreheads. The clones burst apart into countless tiny insects.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he reached the tree and used Soru to swiftly vanish from the three's sight.

The black-haired man suddenly turned to look to one side.

Jin was hiding behind a tree. Now that all the leaves had fallen, the trees were bare and offered no real cover.

But he had still underestimated the three of them.

Through the reflection on his kunai, Jin saw the three move at the same time.

Without thinking, he used Soru to flee into the distance.

As he ran with Soru, the wound on his face rapidly healed, and tiny, shriveled insect corpses fell from his leaping body.

"Where do you think you're running to?"

The female ninja appeared in front of Jin again, blocking his path.

Jin stopped on a branch and leaned against the tree, panting heavily. Repeatedly using Soru and then Spirit Gun came at a cost.

More than half his stamina had already been depleted.

Looking at the woman before him, he found it utterly unbelievable.

Do you know Flying Thunder God or something?!

How could this female ninja always block him in time?

The orange-haired man and the black-haired man were rapidly closing in behind him.

The ground was already a sea of insects, and countless insect shadows swarmed in the air above.

"There's no chance at all."

Jin gritted his teeth as he looked at the woman.

"Why hasn't Orochimaru noticed yet?"

If he waited any longer, these people would drag him into Root.

What would happen then was impossible to know, but it certainly would not end well.

Danzo, the Pot Kage who had led the charge to exterminate the Uchiha, would not treat him kindly.

He did not have the Sharingan, but his surname was still Uchiha.

Jin could not understand it. He had not even awakened the Sharingan, so why had he caught Danzo's attention?

Go after the ones who have awakened it. Why come after someone like me, nearly thirteen and still without it?

Did Danzo foresee that I'd become a threat in the future or something?

"You can't escape anymore, little brother." The female ninja's voice carried a smile.

Jin's breathing gradually steadied. He glared fiercely at the female ninja.

"I hope you say that to me in bed next time!"

Women with long straight black hair were one of his preferences.

"If you're still intact, I'd be more than willing." The woman giggled coquettishly.

She did not believe he could leave Root alive and whole.

"Actually, forget it." Jin refused again.

"Anyone who wears a mask all the time is probably ugly. I'm afraid I'd throw up."

The woman, who had always worn a smile, was furious this time. No woman could tolerate being called ugly.

"Looks like I'll have to torture you properly first, so you learn some respect."

Jin wore a disdainful smile and said nothing more, but his contemptuous attitude only made the female ninja angrier.

Just as she was about to say something—

Jin jumped toward the sea of insects.

Thank you to Dark Polar Boss for the monthly ticket.