The Real Ninja World

Kitsuchi did not comfort Yichen and the other two. They would get used to this sort of thing after a while. He had gone through the same thing himself back then.

Ninja grew through enduring such tediousness, constantly breaking through their own limits.

But the ninja world often refused to follow human will. Their journey had been peaceful, yet an accident occurred on their return after completing the mission.

Kitsuchi, who had been running at the front all along, was naturally the first to notice something was wrong.

In the area Team Five was passing through, he discovered traces of another group.

After Kitsuchi called for a stop, Yichen and the other two quickly adjusted their mindsets and became tense. Cooperating with Kitsuchi, they formed a combat formation and began searching for clues.

Before long, at Kitsuchi's request, Yichen and the other two began analyzing the information.

Shinohara spoke first. "Judging by the traces at the scene, there were probably two groups. They passed through here one after another and headed east. My preliminary assessment is that one was pursuing while the other was fleeing."

Tana nodded in agreement. "That's right. Neither group had many people. The first group had four people, three of whom were children. Unless something unexpected happened, they should be a squad like ours. The other group had three people, and they should all be adult Ninja."

Kitsuchi said nothing and instead looked at Yichen.

Yichen said, "Judging from the size and weight of the footprints, the adult captain in the first group Tana mentioned should be injured. His steps were unsteady, and the spacing between them was irregular."

"The other group's three sets of footprints never changed. They should be the pursuers."

After a pause, he added, "Of the three pursuers, two have light steps and should specialize in Taijutsu. The other is like me—his footsteps are the heaviest in the group. He should be a Ninjutsu-type Ninja."

Yichen looked around before continuing, "This is the heartland of the Land of Earth. An adult Ninja leading three children is most likely a companion from our village. So I believe our companions have been attacked."

Kitsuchi nodded approvingly. "Your analysis is very good, especially yours, Yichen. Your conclusions are basically the same as mine. And the three pursuers should be Chunin. If they were Jonin, their footsteps would be lighter."

Yichen nodded in agreement. "Yeah. If they were Jonin, the three children in the first group would not have escaped."

Tana and Shinohara were not surprised by Yichen's performance. Yichen had always ranked first in theoretical studies in their class. This was his specialty.

Seeing that everyone understood the situation, Kitsuchi continued, "Now let's discuss whether we should provide support."

Shinohara immediately said, "Our companions are in trouble. Of course we need to support them."

Tana added, "That's right. Besides, with Captain Kurotsuchi, a Jonin, on our side, we have the advantage against three Chunin. I agree that we should provide support."

Yichen said, "I agree as well. This is within the Land of Earth, so the chance of an accident during the rescue should be low. But to be safe, we should call for more companions while providing support."

Kitsuchi nodded. "Good. Yichen, leave a coded marker. Then maintain the combat formation and move out."

Yichen nodded and drew the symbol of an Iwa Ninja forehead protector on a conspicuous rock. Then he drew an arrow pointing east.

The group of four then hurried eastward.

The four were somewhat silent along the way. For Yichen and the other two, this would be their first real Ninja battle. They were eager, but also nervous.

Kitsuchi, meanwhile, was more vigilant. He was not worried about himself, but about something happening to the three behind him.

Following the footprints, they soon heard the sound of Exploding Tags detonating ahead.

Yichen and the other two did not slow down. Instead, they rushed even faster toward the source of the sound.

The Land of Earth's terrain was relatively open, with good visibility. As the four approached the battle zone, they quickly saw what was happening.

Ahead was a field of jagged rocks, the sort that could be found everywhere in the Land of Earth.

Yichen and the others saw three Ninja assaulting the rock field from outside.

It was clear that the three Ninja were being careful. They were likely dismantling traps.

It seemed the pursued group had hidden inside the rock field.

They had used the rocks to set traps, but it had clearly been too rushed. The traps had only delayed the three men and had failed to kill or even injure them.

Before Yichen saw the three men, they had already spotted Yichen's group coming to provide support.

After a moment of hesitation, the three still decided to forcibly kill the three people in the rock field first before retreating.

It was not because they bore any great hatred, but because their earlier clash had exposed their information. If they did not clean up every loose end, they would never escape Iwagakure's pursuit.

Kitsuchi saw what they were doing as well and said to Yichen, "I'll go provide support first. You command Team Five."

With that, he burst forth at a Jonin's speed and charged toward the rock field.

After acknowledging the order, Yichen immediately directed Tana and Shinohara to change formation. Shinohara moved to the front, while Tana and Yichen took the rear flanks. The three advanced rapidly in a triangular formation.

The Chunin in the distance who was about to use Ninjutsu on the rock field was shocked when he saw Kitsuchi suddenly accelerate. He hurriedly warned the other two, "Not good. That one's a Jonin."

The other two Chunin, who were nearly done dismantling the traps, immediately changed strategies. They no longer attacked the group of Ninja in the rock field, who had already lost the ability to resist.

After the three gathered together and assessed Kitsuchi's rapid approach, one of the Taijutsu Ninja said, "He's too fast. We can't escape."

Then he said to the Chunin preparing Ninjutsu, "Kijima, blow apart the rock field and force him to save them."

As Kijima began forming hand seals, he turned to the other Taijutsu Ninja and said, "Takeo, deal with the three brats behind him. We'll hold this Jonin back."

The other Taijutsu Ninja did not hesitate in the slightest. He went around Kitsuchi and charged toward Yichen's group from the flank.

As Yichen and the other two rushed toward the rock field, the vast difference between their speed and Kitsuchi's quickly widened the gap.

When Yichen saw one enemy break off and charge at them, he knew that his first true battle since crossing over was about to begin.

There was still some distance between the two sides, so Yichen directly told Tana and Shinohara, "Slow down, change direction, and engage!"

Shinohara did not hesitate after hearing this and immediately complied. Though the two usually did not get along, Shinohara had never doubted Yichen's intelligence.

As the two sides gradually drew closer, Yichen began analyzing the enemy's information.

Kitsuchi had just been able to judge from the depth of the three men's footprints that they were around Chunin level.

After that, Yichen had carefully observed the three enemies' footprints while pursuing them.

He found that their formation during the chase closely resembled his own group's current formation: one person in front and two behind.

The Taijutsu Ninja at the front was clearly stronger.

Of the two at the rear, one was a Ninjutsu Ninja. Yichen could not judge that person's true strength from his footsteps.

But the remaining one was much easier to analyze.

His own team had two Taijutsu Ninja with completely opposite fighting styles.

The Taijutsu Ninja at the rear of the enemy's pursuit formation clearly had a style similar to Tana's.

Now, observing the Ninja's posture as he ran and the movements of his steps, Yichen reached a conclusion. This was the agility-type Taijutsu Ninja.

Thinking that, Yichen said, "Be careful. His style should be similar to Tana's. He should be a Chunin who specializes in speed."

"Once we engage, Tana, don't stray too far from me. Don't reveal your speed specialty yet. Wait until he exposes an opening, then deliver a fatal blow."

After a pause, he added, "You can pretend to form hand seals with me first and lure him in to attack. Then act as if he interrupted you."

Tana quietly acknowledged him.

Yichen continued, "His objective should be to capture us alive and use us to threaten Captain Kurotsuchi into sparing them. His companions will not be able to hold out against Captain Kurotsuchi for long, so he'll definitely try to end this quickly. That is our opportunity."

"In the first exchange, just throw Shuriken around wildly. Show weakness and make him underestimate us as much as possible."

Before long, the distance between them shrank. Once the enemy entered effective Shuriken range, Yichen and the other two tacitly hurled a chaotic volley of Shuriken, kunai, and senbon at him.

But the enemy had clearly been prepared. Relying on his exceptional speed, he easily avoided them.

As expected, freshly graduated Genin. Takeo thought. He had killed more than one Genin like this since defecting.

As long as he dodged their first burst of attacks, once they saw it had failed, their rhythm would fall apart and they would expose openings on their own.

As if confirming his thoughts, their formation fell apart after their Shuriken failed to hit him.

The two at the rear actually slowed down and began forming hand seals.

Takeo was initially startled. Can children this age use C-rank Ninjutsu? Could they be geniuses?

But the next moment, he felt he had overthought it. Although Yichen and Tana were forming hand seals, at a speed of roughly three seals per second, they could not possibly threaten him in time.

Sure enough, Takeo took several more lateral steps, placing Shinohara, who had originally stood between him and Yichen, in a position where he could no longer cover the two. Then he raised both hands and flung several kunai toward them at once.

Yichen and Tana looked shocked and hurriedly dodged. During the evasive maneuver, Tana's hand seals were interrupted, leaving only Yichen still forming seals.

Takeo's brows creased slightly. It was not that he feared Yichen's Ninjutsu, but the situation was urgent, and he did not know how long his two companions could hold out. He did not want Yichen's Ninjutsu to waste his time.

So, after going around Shinohara, Takeo took a deep breath and used the Body Flicker Technique, instantly arriving not far from Yichen and Tana. At the same time, he drew a kunai, avoided Tana's position, and stabbed straight at Yichen.

Seeing the terror in Yichen's eyes steadily intensify, Takeo smiled faintly. Got him.

But immediately afterward, a sharp pain tore through his abdomen. He hastily stopped himself, endured the pain, and flashed to the side.

When he turned his head, the female Ninja he had ignored was rapidly closing in on him, a bloodied kunai gripped in her right hand.

There was no need to ask. This female Ninja had definitely stabbed him just now.

Damn it! I fell for it. I never expected her to be an agility-type Ninja like me, and she even pretended to be using Ninjutsu.

Although he had taken a vicious hit, Takeo did not retreat. The three of them had no way out. They could only fight to the death.

But just as he was about to force Tana back first, a sudden feeling of Heart Palpitation struck him. Not good. That kid's Ninjutsu.

Takeo glanced toward Yichen. Sure enough, Yichen had already finished forming hand seals and had both palms pressed against the ground.

How could he be so fast? He's using Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear, but clearly... Once Takeo realized it, the corner of his mouth twitched. Another one hiding his strength.

Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear was a relatively widespread Ninjutsu in the ninja world, and its countermeasures were simple.