Leg-Blowing Demon?

While the Konoha Anbu were stirring, this ninja squad was traveling not far away.

They maintained a steady pace, their formation slightly spread but not chaotic, and each person wore a cautious expression, clearly indicating they were all highly trained experts.

The man in the middle of the group wore a scratched Forehead Protector, making him easily identifiable as missing-nin from Takigakure. His name was Chang Ji. Seeing that the terrain ahead was becoming more complex, he immediately said, "Be careful, everyone. There might be an ambush here."

Although the entire team remained silent, their movements were perfectly synchronized, and the distance between them suddenly decreased significantly.

As they entered the overgrown woods, they quickly made the right choice: first, they stopped to observe their surroundings, and then they chose a route with a clear and flat view to continue.

Although traversing irregular curves takes more time, it is safer and more stable, which is a basic quality that a ninja must possess.

When the group stepped onto flat ground, they felt a little more relaxed. There were only some withered yellow weeds growing there, and it looked much safer than before, allowing them to adjust their mood.

Just when they thought everything was calm, the almost invisible thin line in the weeds seemed to light up slightly, followed by a loud bang. A violent explosion occurred on the flat ground, hitting the three people walking to the side directly.

"Ugh..."

"Be careful!" Chang Ji's face was grim. They hadn't encountered an attack while navigating that complex terrain, but instead, they were attacked in a place where an ambush was unlikely. Their opponents had calculated their intentions very accurately.

After the explosion, two charred corpses flew into the distance, and another person, although on the edge of the blast, was also severely injured, half of his body was mangled and he was screaming in pain.

Kakashi frowned as he hid behind a large tree. Actually, the trap was a little off-target; it would have been perfect if it had directly killed the enemy's leader, a Jonin.

But there was no time for regrets. As soon as the explosion occurred, the Konoha Anbu rushed out. Two of them threw out a large number of ninja tools, while another one seized the opportunity and completed the hand seals in advance, shouting, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The three worked together seamlessly; the coverage area of their ninja tools did not overlap with the Great Fireball, but rather the transitions were perfectly executed.

The enemy's vision was partially obscured by the fireball, and then, unable to change direction again while dodging, two of them were thrown around as if they had run directly into Jonin tools.

Without hesitation after their first surprise attack, the Konoha Anbu drew their longswords and charged at their opponents. With many enemy soldiers wounded and losing most of their fighting ability, the situation had completely turned in their favor.

"Damn it, those bastard Konoha Ninja!"

Chang Ji immediately began Hand Seals to prepare for a counterattack, but Kakashi had already set his sights on him. As soon as Changji's attention was diverted, Kakashi unleashed his Body Flicker Technique, drawing his White Fang Dagger and aiming straight for Changji's vitals.

Hearing the sound of wind breaking from the side, Chang Ji quickly realized that the Ninjutsu could not be completed and could only abandon the Hand Seals and retreat to avoid it. At the same time, a silver light flashed past his face, cutting off a small section of his hair, which scared him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.

Kakashi missed his attack but was unaffected. He bent his legs to absorb the impact and then used Taijutsu to roll forward and rush to the lower right of Chang Ji. Another upward slash came like lightning.

"When!"

Chang Ji's face contorted with rage. He aimed for the attack's trajectory and slammed his arms down, the sound of metal clashing echoing in their ears.

Kakashi felt a tremor in his right hand; the opponent's strength was astonishing. In that instant Sharingan saw a ring-shaped blade on Chang Ji's arm. He knew he had better not take this attack at all, or he would surely be seriously injured.

"Boom!"

Chang Ji smashed two small craters into the ground, but he didn't hit anything. Kakashi escaped unscathed thanks to the Sharingan's extraordinary Dynamic Vision, but he abandoned the White Fang short sword to ensure his safety.

"Drink it..."

Seeing the Waterfall Ninja missing-nin from Takigakure pressing his advantage, Kakashi remained extremely calm, as the previous exchange had given him insight into his opponent's strength.

This is a powerful Taijutsu expert. Although I can't fight him head-on, I can easily see through his attack patterns.

"Call!"

After Chang Ji charged in, he threw a powerful punch, the strong sound of which was exceptionally clear. Kakashi quickly dodged the attack by turning to the side, and at the same time, he rapidly began to Hand Seals. Even when the wind from the punch grazed his hair, he showed no sign of panic.

The opponent, missing his punch, immediately changed tactics, sweeping his other hand in a hook punch. Kakashi, however, remained vigilant, instantly crouching down and simultaneously striking Chang Ji's knee with a palm strike. "Explosion Release: Explosive Palm!"

"Bang!"

A strange, muffled thud followed, Chang Ji felt an excruciating pain in his leg, as if someone had violently broken his bones. "Ugh... ah..."

Kakashi quickly jumped back two steps, easily dodging his opponent's wild swings. At this moment, Chang Ji's right leg was twisted in a strange way, and the exposed bone was horrifying to look at.

Clearly, this injury rendered him useless, unable even to stand, let alone escape.

Chang Ji lost his balance and fell to the ground, while the overwhelmingly superior members of the Anbu quickly dealt with the enemy and rushed to Kakashi's side.

"Captain Kakashi, the power of your Explosion Release Ninjutsu is truly astonishing!"

The Anbu wearing Monkey Face Mask exclaimed in admiration. Their team had only been formed a short time ago, yet they had already witnessed the strength of the genius Kakashi, who possessed both the Sharingan and Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai, a terrifying combination.

After scouting the enemy's whereabouts, they used Explosion Release Clay, which is far more powerful than Explosive Tag, to make landmines and directly reduce the enemy's numbers through unconventional ambushes.

Then, facing this leading Jonin, a simple and unadorned strike crippled him. It should be noted that in ninja duels, capturing someone alive is much more difficult than killing them.

Kakashi had repeatedly used Explosion Release to cripple targets, making their team's mission completion efficiency far surpass that of their colleagues—it was incredibly satisfying.

"I think this move will become the team's signature move from now on, so I've specially given you a nickname: 'Leg-Blowing Demon,' how about that?"

Beneath the mask in the Monkey Masked Anbu, an expectant look appeared. He had loved giving others nicknames since he was a child, even though it often resulted in him being beaten up, but he still enjoyed it immensely.

Kakashi was speechless. What an awful name! He immediately stopped him, saying, "My Explosion Release was taught by Shuichi, and since I only recently mastered it, I still need to Hand Seals for attacks. But his Explosion Release can be used at will without any Hand Seals, so let him have this title."

A person nearby exclaimed in surprise, "What? Lord Purple Aurora can use Explosion Release? Why didn't anyone in the village know that?"

Shuichi to fame with his powerful Body Flicker Technique and signature Rasenshuriken, while also possessing terrifying proficiency in various other esoteric techniques. Now, they've learned that he already possessed Kekkei Genkai —is he still human?

Kakashi took out several poisoned Senbon and shot them at Chang Ji, intending to paralyze him and extract information from him through torture. "Anyway, he learned this several years ago. Try not to let this news get out."

The Monkey Masked Anbu sighed, "It's a real pity I never got to talk to Lord Shuichi. He's so perfect for the nicknames I come up with, like Purple Hurricane, Flickering Gale... and the one I just thought of, Explosion Genius. He'd be thrilled if he knew."

Kakashi: "..."