More Resolute Than Resolute

The torrential rain plunged from the sky, its momentum blocked by the jungle's towering canopy, producing a constant pattering roar. Above the jungle was a natural curtain of rain; within it, countless streams of varying sizes hung down densely.

In this environment, where no human presence might be seen for years, Konoha's reconnaissance team encountered the Rain ninja pursuing and surrounding them.

Fortunately, none of the pursuing enemies had "spiral eyes." Unfortunately, there were quite a lot of them... Konoha's side was surrounded by several times their own number.

After all, this was the Land of Rain. The enemy's mobility was far greater than Konoha's.

"We're surrounded, Captain Jian Dong. Which way should we retreat?"

Although Yuhara had never paid much attention to the team's decisions, now he had no choice but to care.

"Toward the Land of Rivers. Although we're closer to the Land of Fire here, Konoha's forces are weak in that direction. Accordingly, Konoha's forward camp facing Sunagakure is stationed in the Land of Rivers... We can only break through in that direction if we hope to receive reinforcements."

"Reinforcements..."

In reality, everyone knew that the chances of receiving reinforcements or an escort were extremely slim.

Jian Dong glanced at Tigo, then fixed her eyes on Yuhara. "Yuhara, I'm counting on you."

Although Jian Dong did not truly understand Yuhara's strength, she had seen all his training before.

"Mm."

Yuhara nodded, but at that moment, he had not fully understood what Jian Dong was entrusting to him.

His gaze locked onto an enemy charging at the very front, while his mind rapidly calculated. In a prolonged battle, conserving Chakra is the most important thing. If I run out of Chakra, everything is over. Taijutsu has the best cost-to-performance ratio, but I don't know any fighting techniques, so... I really have no choice but to do this.

For an ordinary-Chakra ninja like Yuhara, there were very few methods available to him in the first place. All his techniques had been designed for low Chakra consumption, and under these circumstances, he had to choose the one with the lowest cost.

So he nocked another arrow.

For ninjas, the trajectory of a bow and arrow was easy to observe. Therefore, to ensure his accuracy, even though Yuhara's arrows were extremely fast, he still decided to let the enemy enter within thirty meters before attacking.

Considering that more than ninety percent of battles between ninjas took place within five meters, thirty meters was an astonishing attack range by comparison.

Yuhara's fingers suddenly released the bowstring. The iron arrow instantly pierced through the curtain of rain. The first enemy was caught off guard and struck by the heavy arrow. The barbs along the arrow unfolded, and the powerful blow, enough to penetrate his body, locked firmly into him.

The enemy charging forward was sent flying as if he had taken a flying kick, crashing directly into a large tree behind him.

Blood flowed from his mangled wounds, staining the ground around him into a shallow pool. Impaling Technique was an exceptionally brutal ninjutsu, while Yuhara's Seaweed God was an imitation and refinement of it... Even where wooden spears could not penetrate, iron arrows could.

The enemy's first four-man squad instantly lost one member. The remaining three stopped and turned their gazes toward Yuhara.

The three exchanged glances, then launched another attack.

This time, they no longer charged in a loose formation. Instead, they formed a single file while using the jungle's complicated obstacles to close the distance with Yuhara and the others.

When the foremost one poked out from beside a tree trunk, an intense whistle of displaced air instantly reached his ears.

Yuhara's iron arrow was less than a meter from his torso.

But at that moment, an earthen wall suddenly rose in front of the enemy... It was Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall.

The enemy had clearly anticipated Yuhara's attack.

The unfolding iron arrow caused the Earth Flow Wall to crack inch by inch, but it was ultimately blocked. The three enemies burst out from behind it and attacked Yuhara directly.

At such close range, Yuhara no longer had time to fire another arrow, so he had no choice but to use a more direct method to stop their assault.

A ball of mercury appeared before the foremost enemy's eyes.

The enemy could not possibly have known the power of Yuhara's technique, but he could at least sense the intense Chakra within it. Yet at that moment, his response nearly left Yuhara stunned.

He spread both arms and hugged the silver ball to his chest, then planted one foot against the large tree ahead, forcibly changing his direction of advance.

During this process, Yuhara's attack had already begun to take effect. By the time the enemy had barely turned behind the tree, he had already become a pile of minced flesh.

Yet he had ultimately carried Yuhara's technique away with him. Yuhara's Mercury Lamp had been placed in the wrong spot.

The remaining two enemies did not directly enter Mercury Lamp's attack range. Instead, its ten-meter attack diameter even caused some interference for Yuhara himself... At such close range, this kind of ninjutsu really was unsuitable.

The attack paths of the remaining two enemies finally became completely unobstructed.

Iron began flowing over Yuhara's body. He prepared to engage the enemies in CQC.

But the enemies who had finally charged over once again made a move beyond Yuhara's expectations. His opponent did not assume any proper attack stance at all. Instead, he charged forward recklessly, looking as if he intended to embrace Yuhara directly.

"Something's wrong. Could it be..."

A suicide attack! Unfortunately, Yuhara realized it slightly too late. At that moment, he could only barely twist his body to the side.

Boom!

Intense flames rapidly spread through the dense curtain of rain. Caught off guard, Yuhara was blasted away.

At that moment, the torrential rain became an advantage instead. The soft mud absorbed the impact from Yuhara's body, while the rain and muddy water extinguished the flames on him... Although he looked somewhat disheveled, his entire body tumbled irregularly through the mud for a long distance before finally crashing into a large tree.

Fortunately, he had defended his chest and abdomen. In the explosion, his vulnerable internal organs were unharmed. Instead, his entire right arm had been blasted into a bloody mess.

Yuhara was only a beginner. When one enemy after another kept charging straight at him, he became somewhat flustered... In reality, he could have avoided being injured entirely.

He had underestimated the enemy's resolve.

The fact that a small country like the Land of Rain could establish itself, and that a minor village like Amegakure could survive to this day, naturally had its reasons. Moreover, those reasons were extremely simple and direct. That was...

That Rain ninjas were more capable of dying without hesitation.

Whether it was "the barefooted have nothing to fear from those wearing shoes" or "the ruthless fear those who don't value their lives," they feared neither death nor spending it. They were eerily quiet yet utterly mad.

They had nothing to lose except their lives, so every time, they placed their lives on the gambling table...

There for the taking.

But...

When your heart impaled itself, it would bleed profusely.