Overwhelming Strength

Two squads of Stone Ninja gradually approached Karot and the others, intending to surround them. Their intentions were clearly hostile.

"Stone Ninja, what business do you have in our Land of Fire?" Matsushita Hokuto asked warily.

"What a foolish Leaf ninja. Isn't it obvious? We're here to send you on your way," the leading Stone Ninja said, the last sentence laced with a strong killing intent.

"How did you know our route in advance?"

This transport route was highly confidential. Yet, these Stone Ninja seemed to have known he would be here and laid an ambush. Fortunately, Karot had warned them; otherwise, the losses would have been immeasurable.

"Your brain isn't completely broken yet. Be sensible and hand over the supplies you're carrying, and I'll let you leave safely."

The Stone Ninja leader was intelligent. He wanted to lower their guard. As long as their lives weren't directly threatened, ninja resistance would be much weaker. After all, everyone understood the principle of a cornered beast fighting back. He didn't want to be dragged down into a mutual kill.

"Impossible," Matsushita Hokuto stated firmly.

"Then there's no other way. You'll have to leave your lives behind!"

"Earth Style, Swamp of the Underworld Technique."

After the enemy unleashed their ninjutsu, the area where Karot and the others stood quickly turned into a swamp.

"Damn it," Matsushita Hokuto felt his body slowly sinking, his heart filled with anxiety.

Karot used the Flight Technique to stay airborne, preventing himself from being swallowed by the swamp. He hid his ability to fly, making it appear as though he was running on the surface of the swamp.

With a pull and a toss, he extracted his teammates from the swamp like pulling radishes, flinging them out of the mire.

Standing on solid ground again, Matsushita said to his students, "First, we protect our lives, and second, the supplies behind us. Leave the enemy Jonin to me. Karot, the rest are up to you."

Truly a ninja trained by Hatake Sakumo. A comrade's life always comes first.

"Yes, Teacher Nakajima. I will protect Sanada and Kazumi," Karot replied with a confident smile.

"Tch, I can handle myself. You should be careful too!" With that, Hyuga Sanada activated his Byakugan and charged at the two Stone Ninja. Each facing two opponents, Sanada's strength was considerable among Chunin, more than enough to handle two Stone Ninja. However, defeating them would take a lot of time, and time was precisely what they lacked. The key to victory lay in defeating the two Stone Ninja Jonin.

Karot engaged three of the remaining four Stone Ninja, leaving one for Kazumi to practice on.

Karot faced three Stone Ninja Chunin alone.

"Brat, you're quite arrogant, planning to take on all three of us," the Stone Ninja taunted Karot.

"No, no, no. I'm the one who's going to finish you," Karot said, wagging his index finger in front of him.

The Stone Ninja felt insulted. "I won't kill you. I'll torture you thoroughly and make you regret ever being born into this world." Saying that, he charged at Karot first, intending to strike Karot's face with a direct punch. Karot, standing firm, took a step back with his right foot, slightly bent his body, formed his right hand into a fist, and threw a punch.

"Bang." Karot's fist collided with the Stone Ninja's. A cracking sound was heard. The Stone Ninja's arm was directly broken by Karot, with bloody bone protruding from the joint. Even the best Medical Ninja in the ninja world couldn't heal it; it was effectively crippled.

"You didn't believe me when I told you, but now you should," Karot said, a look of 'you should believe me now' on his face.

At this moment, seeing Karot's expression, the Stone Ninja felt as if they were looking at a devil. A single punch had incapacitated a third of the Stone Ninja's strength.

"I don't have time to play with you anymore." As Karot spoke, the two Stone Ninja felt an intense sense of crisis, but they had no idea where it was coming from.

Karot raised his hand, and a ball of yellow light condensed in his palm.

With two "chirping" sounds, the two Stone Ninja Chunin were blown to death before they could even react. Karot lamented, "If I weren't on a mission, I'd love to play with you. It's just too bad you picked the wrong time." Karot, who had perfectly inherited the Saiyan's preference for riding the wave of victory, was about to leave when he heard a groan from above. He turned his head.

"Oh, I almost forgot about you. The road to the underworld isn't far; you can still catch up to them." A wave-like energy ball sent him flying.

Thank you for saying the road to the underworld isn't far. Who would want to die if they could live? You just sent me off without asking my opinion. Is there no human rights or law in the ninja world? This was the Stone Ninja's final inner monologue, but Karot never got the chance to hear it.

From the start of the battle to its end, less than three minutes had passed. A new "Speedy Ninja" was born. As for Hyuga Sanada and Kazumi, their battles had just begun.

Afterward, Karot instantly appeared on the battlefield with Kazumi. She's the healer! My food scrolls all depend on her to open; she can't be harmed in any way. As for Sanada, as long as he didn't die, that was fine. What kind of man is he if he doesn't have a single scar on his body?

Kazumi's combat experience was practically zero. Both were Chunin, so a Medical Ninja's chakra control should have been stronger than her opponent's, yet she was being dominated and sustained several injuries. Without my help, she definitely would have been dragged to her death. I've been protecting Kazumi too much before.

Just as the opponent's kunai was about to pierce Kazumi's body, Karot flashed and used a Hokage-version "Finger of Understanding" to firmly clamp the opponent's kunai.

"What?"

The Chunin's eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Karot."

Seeing Karot suddenly appear, Kazumi called out with a surprised expression. I wonder if the hero saving the damsel trope will happen.

"Disappear!"

An energy sphere struck the Stone Ninja, and nothing remained after the explosion.

"This is?"

Kazumi stared at the scene with terror, the events far exceeding her belief.

"This is the ability of my Kekkei Genkai, which I recently developed."

It was an excuse Karot's father had thought of for him, and Karot relayed it.

"Mhm."

Kazumi nodded, indicating she would keep this secret—a powerful ninjutsu that could obliterate someone to bone and ash. If other ninja villages knew, they would surely find a way to eliminate him.

If Karot knew what Kazumi was thinking now, he would tell her there was no need to worry.

"You hide first, I'll go check on Sanada's situation."

"Okay."

Kazumi also knew that in her current physical condition, staying with Karot would only be a burden.

Sanada had already collapsed from exhaustion. Not a single Stone Ninja had gained an advantage; one was dead, and one was injured, resulting in both of them being completely incapacitated on the ground.

Karot arrived before Sanada and examined his wounds. He patted the wound and said, "You'll be fine, you won't die."

Sanada gasped.

"Ssss."

Then he cursed Karot.

"Damn you, Karot, you're taking advantage of this to get revenge."

Facing Sanada's verbal protest, Karot silenced him with action, threatening to pat his wound with his hand, which immediately worked. After dealing with the Stone Ninja, Karot took the injured Sanada back to Kazumi for treatment, and then went to support Matsushita Hokuto.