Explosion

The explosion from the Explosive Tags sent flying not a living person nor a corpse, but a section of wood, almost completely carbonized and dotted with scorch marks... a log used for the Substitution Technique.

This was only to be expected. It was hard to imagine a Jonin being taken down by a single Explosive Tag, even though Yuhara's "sneak attack" timing was impeccable. But ultimately, a trick was just a trick.

Having ensured that Konoha's crucial intelligence wouldn't be lost, the Konoha Ninja who failed the mission now only had one thing to consider: how to escape the battlefield.

"Mission failed! Disperse and retreat, rendezvous at the front-line camp!" Jian Dong released her grip on the Kunai. Standing up, she spoke. Whether it was pity or guilt, she couldn't bring herself to look down at her brother again.

However, dispersing didn't mean the Konoha Ninja would scatter like birds and beasts, fleeing in disarray. To retreat without breaking formation, they needed to maintain their small squad formations.

Fleeing alone would only lead to them being easily killed by the enemy. Only by acting as a unit, in small groups, was there a sliver of a chance to escape... though that chance was very slim.

At this moment, Rindou was already dead. Jian Dong had effectively taken over command of the squad, so Tigo, who was hiding behind, immediately relayed her orders without much hesitation.

The death of the commander didn't mean the entire front-line squad was wiped out. Otherwise, the enemies Yuhara and the others were facing wouldn't be one, but four. They were still entangled in a fierce fight, but unfortunately, the Konoha side couldn't get any support.

Winning meant a huge profit; being wiped out meant no loss. This mission, dispatched by Konoha's higher-ups, inherently carried the sentiment of "you're sent to die."

After relaying the retreat order, Tigo was the first to move backward. Yuhara, Xinliang, and Jian Dong provided alternating cover as they moved, maintaining high vigilance and retreating cautiously.

Would the enemy pursue them?

Undoubtedly, they would.

Every so often, Jian Dong and Xinliang would bury an Explosive Tag in the shallow earth. Once they were sure they wouldn't be affected by the explosion and had cautiously changed their retreat direction, they would detonate these tags, seemingly attempting to use the sound and smoke from the blast to conceal their tracks.

Amidst this tense escape, Yuhara began to ponder other questions, such as whether he should take this opportunity to flee Konoha... Although the risk was considerable, this was indeed an opportunity.

But being on the battlefield and in an absolute disadvantage meant the enemy would never give Yuhara time to weigh the risks and rewards.

With a whistling sound, several Shuriken pierced the smoke and dust, heading towards Yuhara.

Yuhara instinctively swung his Kunai, deflecting the Shuriken. But at that moment, the figure of the Cloud Hidden Ninja suddenly shot out from the woods. Then, with exaggerated speed, he zipped past Yuhara without attacking him.

Ignored? No, the enemy's primary target wasn't him. In an instant, Yuhara understood what the enemy intended.

Even though Konoha's main commander was dead and their command system was practically useless after the final orders were transmitted, out of sheer ninja instinct and habit formed from long-term combat, the enemy would prioritize cutting off Konoha's command channel.

The critical intelligence node for the Konoha Ninja squad wasn't Rindou, but the Sensory Type Ninja, Tigo.

Yuhara watched, almost in slow motion, as the enemy bypassed him and rushed towards Tigo further ahead.

A deep sense of powerlessness washed over him. This powerlessness, in turn, triggered his "PTSD from facing death helplessly." So, the question arose: how should a reborn individual truly be reborn?

The answer was self-evident.

As a human, one should be kind when it's time to be kind, selfish when it's time to be selfish; resolute when it's time to be resolute, sharp when it's time to be sharp; persistent when it's time to persist, and willing to give up when it's time to give up...

Now was definitely not the time to give up.

Even if the scope of one's "ability to do something" as a human had changed, the standards of right and wrong had not.

Even if Yuhara wanted to flee Konoha, he shouldn't do it now.

In short, run.

In fact, in many situations, the body is more honest than the mind. While Yuhara was still lost in thought, his body had already changed direction and begun to sprint!

The enemy tore through the negligible obstacles like a heavy tank. After reaching Tigo, he unhesitatingly swung his blade down.

Tigo was somewhat stunned. She couldn't dodge in time.

But just as the enemy's blade was about to pierce her chest, a figure appeared beside her like a ghost. One hand clamped down like a vise on the enemy's wrist, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Yuhara, he had actually caught up.

He gripped the enemy's wrist tightly with his right hand, his sharp gaze fixed on the enemy's eyes. Despite the vast difference in their ninja proficiency, the two seemed to be evenly matched in terms of aura.

No, Yuhara had the upper hand!

"Friend, harming, abusing, or even killing children is a serious crime."

Yes, because Yuhara held the moral high ground, and even the legal high ground. The speed he had just unleashed, not inferior to the enemy's, was clearly a victory of humanity and values.

"Run!"

After uttering a redundant statement, Yuhara first reminded Tigo to keep moving and not stop. Then, he released the hand gripping the enemy's wrist... At this moment, a large mass of tangled metal threads had already wrapped around the enemy's wrist.

The threads tightened, and the other end was tied to a large tree nearby. Thus, the enemy was temporarily tethered like a dog.

The toughness of this special metal wire was quite good, but it couldn't hold the enemy for too long.

The Cloud Hidden Ninja glanced at the threads cutting into his skin, blood flowing from the shallow wounds. In response to Yuhara's rambling, he said, "The weak cannot protect their own lives, nor can they choose the manner of their death."

Yuhara's judgment was extremely rational. He absolutely did not believe he had any chance of defeating a Cloud Hidden Jonin, so his entire consideration from the beginning was how to escape. Therefore, after slightly impeding the enemy's actions, he turned and began to sprint without looking back.

This proved to be an incredibly correct judgment, because the moment he moved away from the enemy's side, an intensely bright, pale lightning suddenly flashed around the enemy.

If Yuhara had been overconfident and rashly approached, he would now fully understand what it felt like to be addicted to the internet.

"Cloud Hidden Jonin, the Storm Release Ninja I. He is our target for this mission." Seeing the lightning on the enemy's body, Jian Dong said.

This explanation came a bit too late. A bolt of lightning, with high-speed and agile "footwork," attacked from behind and directly pierced Yuhara's right shoulder.

The intense pain made Yuhara stagger, almost falling to the ground. Fortunately, he hadn't hit any vital organs, so he didn't lose his ability to move instantly. Unfortunately, he began to bleed profusely.

Noticing his condition, Tigo quickly came to his side and supported his shoulder. She seemed to want to help, but this greatly reduced their escape speed.

Seeing this, Xinliang, who was nearby, suddenly stopped.

It was impossible for the entire squad to evacuate, so he decided to stay behind and buy time.

"Xinliang!"

Jian Dong called out.

"Go!"

But Xinliang had already made up his mind.

What else could anyone say at this point?

Even Yuhara felt his breathing becoming more rapid, his heart beginning to beat strongly and irregularly. His bodily functions started to become unbalanced, and something that was normally suppressed by his chakra began to grow rapidly... or rather, due to severe injury, some kind of uncontrolled emergency mechanism had activated within him.

Xinliang was no match for the enemy, especially since his right arm had long been incapacitated. In fact, he couldn't even delay the enemy's pursuit.

In just one exchange, Xinliang was injured again, but just as the enemy was about to end his life, their movements suddenly stopped.

The Cloud Hidden Ninja's gaze shifted towards the dense forest ahead, where something seemed to have suddenly appeared.

"What's with this chakra intensity? Konoha reinforcements?"

Buzz!

"Wh—"

A figure shot out from the front like lightning. His high-speed movement even created slight vortices in the air around him.

The Cloud Hidden Ninja had no time to react. In a flash, the figure soared high above Xinliang's head, then a sweeping leg blocked the Cloud Hidden Ninja's eyes, followed by a sudden and fierce strike!

BOOM!

The immense force twisted the Cloud Hidden Ninja's neck at a bizarre angle. Then, pulled by his head, his upright body instantly snapped to a 90-degree angle, and he fell to the ground.

Unfortunately, his feet landed not on soft earth but on a hard rock foundation, so his head suffered horrific secondary damage, like a falling watermelon.

Xinliang, who had been waiting to die, watched the scene unfold with disbelief. After the Cloud Hidden Ninja fell, he subconsciously turned his gaze to the person who had taken down the enemy...

Was it Yuhara?

But compared to just now, Yuhara's condition was clearly different. His skin was covered in long, slender dark red patterns, which seemed to have spread all over his body.

Performance art? Special tattoos?

No, these were the marks of Nature Energy's erosion.