The Weight of a "Ninja"

"This level of Ninjutsu is so different from what I used during the Chunin Ninja Exams." The attacker was somewhat incredulous. He knew that Shuichi had been hiding his strength during the Chunin Ninja Exams, but he never imagined that a child could be this powerful when he went all out.

"There's no other way. It seems killing him will be quite difficult. Takeda Shuichi's threat level is far higher than assessed. I need to send the message back."

After dodging the Wind Release attack, the person landed and fled into the distance without hesitation, moving extremely fast when using full power.

Shuichi wasn't surprised at all. He was now certain that the opponents were infiltrating experts from other major ninja villages. Therefore, he created a Shadow Clone to stay in place and finish off the Wildfire Group members, while his main body immediately followed. "It's impossible for them to leak my information. I absolutely hate trouble."

Two dark figures chased each other through the forest when Shuichi suddenly spoke up, "You're Jonin from Iwagakure, aren't you? That Camouflage Technique is indeed very stealthy, but it's a bit lacking against me."

Upon hearing this, the Masked Man's body trembled. Even though he was well-trained and had experienced countless battles, having his information exposed like this still made his heart skip a beat. He never expected that his opponent would reveal his true nature so soon after they had only been fighting for a short while.

However, his quick thinking allowed him to realize that he needed to leave as soon as possible, otherwise it would be terrible if he were caught with other evidence.

As he tried to speed up his escape again, a swarm of venomous snakes suddenly appeared ahead, blocking his path like a dark cloud.

Countless snake heads surged down, and the Masked Man took out his black dagger and slashed with all his might. When he found a chance to catch his breath, he immediately turned around and rushed towards Shuichi, trying to find a breakthrough from that direction.

Shuichi was no longer in a hurry. "Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"

Several bolts of lightning struck the Masked Man at lightning speed. Seeing this, he could only move to the side to dodge the Lightning Release, thus interrupting his advance.

Turning his head to look at both sides, he saw a black-haired man with snake-like eyes looking at him with a mocking expression. The large snake at his feet slowly flicked its tongue, as if he were tonight's dinner.

"Teacher, what reward will we get if we capture him alive and return to the village?" Seeing his thigh reach the ground, Shuichi relaxed.

"That's hard to say, but I think there's a bit of it." Orochimaru and Shuichi chatted as if no one else was there, completely disregarding the Masked Man's feelings.

The Masked Man's heart sank. Even though he was Jonin, this situation was practically unsolvable.

Although Takeda Shuichi is young, his strength is completely disproportionate to his age. Coupled with Sannin, one of the Orochimaru, it is estimated that his ninja career has come to an end.

Without further hesitation, he charged straight towards Shuichi's position with unstoppable momentum, channeling his chakra to the maximum extent into the soles of his feet, unafraid of potential injury, wanting to use his own life to kill this terrifyingly talented genius.

"Whoosh!" Shuichi reacted even faster, unleashing a series of Body Flicker Technique and Taijutsu, constantly shifting left and right to the rear, darting around like an eel, making him completely untouchable by his enemies.

Knowing there was no escape, the opponent seemed determined to trade one for one. At this point, a direct confrontation would be unwise; all that was needed was to keep the opponent occupied.

"Water Release: Water Wave!" Seeing that the other side hadn't given up, Shuichi activated his Ninjutsu again, sending a massive amount of water surging towards the Masked Man.

This Water Release posed no threat to the Jonin. The Iwagakure jumped up to avoid the impact of the water, then stepped on the water's surface and continued charging towards Shuichi.

"Looks like they're in a bit of a hurry. Water Release: Water Sticky Syrup!" While still using Water Wave to spit water, seeing that the opponent didn't even care about Orochimaru behind him and was determined to kill him, Shuichi didn't stop using his hands and released another Ninjutsu under the cover of the large amount of water.

The water flow appeared unchanged, but in reality, highly viscous water had subtly mixed with the large amount of water that had been flowing earlier, moving closer to the Masked Man's feet.

"Splash!" The somewhat impatient Stone Ninja off guard. He stepped on the water with one foot as before, but it was as if he had stepped on glue and he couldn't jump up. The force of the forward lurched him into a face-first muddy position.

After being hit, he braced himself against the ground with both hands, his chakra surging throughout his body, trying to get out of the trap as soon as possible, but Orochimaru behind him would not let such a good opportunity pass.

He had just stood up when a powerful gust of wind struck him directly, "Boom, boom..."

Visible airflow blasted through several large trees as the Masked Man struck the scene, sending dust billowing everywhere.

"The other side should be crippled by now. Even if they use chakra to protect their bodies, they can't withstand this kind of Ninjutsu." After seeing Orochimaru's Wind Release, Shuichi carefully moved towards where the other side landed.

As the smoke cleared, the Masked Man from Iwagakure was revealed to have no intact parts; his limbs were severed, his internal organs were shattered, and his mask had completely disappeared, leaving him as an unremarkable young man.

Shuichi a while, preparing to get closer to check if he was still alive, when he heard a slight hiss...

"Damn it, it's Explosive Tag!" Without pausing, Shuichi used his Body Flicker Technique to retreat rapidly. Tiny Kakkō appeared on the Iwagakure ninja's body, followed by a massive explosion in the forest.

"BOOM!!!"

A mushroom cloud, several meters high, instantly leveled the surrounding environment. This time, he didn't even have time to Hand Seals. He immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to move backward, finally getting out of the blast radius first. The huge dust from the explosion had only just drifted to his side.

"Damn, these are real terrorists! They must be someone from Iwagakure, like Root." Shuichi way the other side acted as if they didn't care about their own lives or bodies at all.

Although he had been a formal ninja for over a year and had killed quite a few people, the concepts and memories from his previous life could not be easily erased. This was the first time that Shuichi had encountered such a ninja who was so fearless in the face of death, and such disregard for life had a certain impact on his mind.

Given the strength of the opposing Jonin, he could have easily lived a carefree life by leaving the village and going far away.

Now, he was carrying out a mission that was almost certain to kill him. Knowing that Orochimaru was with him, he still came to assassinate Shuichi without hesitation. Before dying, he self-destructed, blowing his own body to pieces. This was indeed hard to understand for Shuichi, who wanted to live.

"Ninjas!" Thinking of the Konoha Village's Anbu, the Root, and other ninja villages, he realized the weight of the word "ninja" in a new way.

"Life is so fragile. Perhaps you'll get used to it soon, Shuichi-kun." Orochimaru came to Shuichi's side while he was silent, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Even when the Jonin of each village die, they leave behind countless secrets. The Medical Department can deduce the details of a person's Ninjutsu from the differences in their meridians, not to mention things like their brains."

You'll likely encounter many similar situations in the future, and I believe you should be able to think things through.