Intercept

"You really are full of surprises, kid!"

Glancing at the child beside him, Kamiya Ki said in astonishment, "At your age, you can actually unleash a jutsu over such a vast area?"

The thick mist earlier had been created by him. Just because others couldn't see what was happening inside didn't mean he couldn't.

He had witnessed every bit of Qi Shuang's wide-ranging Ice Needle Jutsu.

"Teacher Ki, you're overestimating me!"

Qi Shuang gave a bitter smile and continued, "With my amount of chakra, I shouldn't have been able to create such a large-scale Ice Release technique in the first place."

"But your Mist Technique happened to provide me with the perfect opportunity."

"All I did was process the large amount of water vapor you condensed and turn it into Rain of Ice Needles. It was a bit of a cheat!"

Then he rubbed his nose and said sheepishly, "Besides, my technique only looks intimidating. Its actual killing power is quite limited. I estimate they'll catch up with us soon!"

"Teacher, you'd better think of something quickly!"

With that, he looked solemnly at the young teacher beside him, his heart heavy.

Hearing this, Kamiya Ki turned to look at Kamimura, who was following behind them with his spirits low, and thought, This brat has completely lost his will to fight. If he stays with us, the two of us will probably be dragged down and killed.

Then he looked at the hill ahead. After estimating their distance from the Mist front-line camp, he called loudly to the two of them, "Once we get over that hill ahead, we won't be far from the Mist front-line headquarters!"

"I estimate those people won't chase us over that hill!"

Hearing this, Kamimura, who had remained silent until now, raised his head. A little spark returned to his eyes.

Kamiya Ki felt slightly relieved at the sight.

As long as Kamimura hadn't completely lost hope, there was still a chance to save the situation.

He immediately said to him solemnly, "Qi Shuang and I will stay behind to cover the retreat and hold off the enemy. You hurry back to the camp and bring us a squad of reinforcements. Can you do it?"

"Yes! Yes!"

Hearing that Teacher Ki and Qi Shuang were going to stay behind and let him escape alone, Kamimura forcibly suppressed his delight and hurriedly nodded.

He was afraid that if he moved too slowly, Teacher Ki would change his mind and refuse to let him fetch reinforcements, making him stay behind instead.

Seeing his slightly excited expression, Kamiya Ki grew even more annoyed. He waved him off and said, "Good! Sprint with all your strength and bring reinforcements back for us!"

"Mm! Then I'll go on ahead!"

Kamimura nodded again and said to the two of them with absolute conviction, "I'll definitely bring reinforcements back to support you!"

Before he had even finished speaking, he had already sped several meters away.

Qi Shuang, who had fallen behind, asked the young teacher with some concern, "He won't abandon us and run away, will he?"

It wasn't strange for him to think that way. Kamimura was, after all, a child not even ten years old. He had just experienced the terror of life and death at close range, so it wasn't impossible for him to do something irrational now.

Even adult armies often had deserters, let alone a child who had been frightened and traumatized!

Kamiya Ki sighed and continued forward at his current pace. Helplessly, he said, "In his condition, even if he stayed, he'd only drag us down. We might as well let him leave first!"

"If he really brings reinforcements, that's something to celebrate. But if he deserts in the middle of battle, the Mist pursuit team isn't made up of pushovers!"

"Especially now, during wartime. The higher-ups are paying close attention to the fighting at the front. No one is allowed to retreat from battle!"

As he spoke, he gave the little subordinate beside him a solemn look.

"But if he only cares about saving his own life, won't that leave us in trouble?" Qi Shuang frowned.

He had no feelings for the companion he'd known for only a few days. He didn't care what consequences Kamimura would face for deserting; he was more worried about his own life.

Kamiya Ki gave him a deep look and continued, "That Konoha team has only four people. As long as you and I work together, even if we're no match for them, it won't be easy for them to take us down quickly!"

Then he glanced at the approaching hill and continued, "We're already not far from our headquarters."

"As long as we make enough noise during the battle, the camp will definitely send people to investigate, even without Kamimura's request for help!"

"So all we need to do is hold the battle at a stalemate!"

Hearing that they still had a fallback plan, Qi Shuang breathed a little easier. He had been afraid of encountering some great teacher who would sacrifice himself for others.

The kind who would risk both their lives just to let a weaker student escape.

Though that might sound glorious, he didn't want to die young. His career as a shinobi had only just begun, and a brighter, more glorious future awaited him. Dying here for no reason while covering someone else's retreat would be incredibly frustrating.

Meanwhile, with Teacher Ki's permission, Kamimura spared none of his stamina and raced toward the Mist camp with every ounce of strength he had.

He didn't know whether Teacher Ki and Qi Shuang could stop the pursuers behind them, but he knew that as long as he ran fast enough to return to camp before the Konoha team caught up, he would be safe.

Just as he reached the foot of the hill, a faint voice came from somewhere.

"Kid, didn't your teacher ever tell you that running too fast makes it easy to overlook the dangers around you and get ambushed?"

Immediately afterward, a flash of silver suddenly shot out from the woods.

"Not good!"

Hearing the unfamiliar voice and seeing the cold gleam, Kamimura's heart sank to the bottom.

But the other party was right.

He had been running far too fast, beyond the limits of what he could control. He couldn't stop immediately.

All he could do was watch helplessly as the gleam came straight at him. He had no time to dodge; in an instant, it was already before his eyes.

Then a chill brushed his neck. He felt all the strength leave his body in an instant, and his uncontrolled body pitched forward. He collapsed onto the ground and could no longer move.

Is this what death feels like...?

That last thought flashed through his mind before Kamimura stopped breathing.

After the gleam faded, a Konoha shinobi stood beside Kamimura's corpse.

He lightly shook the blood from his blade, returned it to its sheath, and said slowly, "That's the second one. Two more to go."

With that, he looked in the direction Kamimura had come from, his eyes filled with confidence.

Meanwhile, although Qi Shuang and Kamiya Ki were also heading toward the Mist headquarters, they didn't dare move at full speed. They had to guard against a sudden ambush and ensure they would be in good condition to fight when the Konoha team caught up. Thus, they could only proceed cautiously.

Suddenly, Kamiya Ki said to Qi Shuang, "Go right. There's a lot of water vapor over there!"