Growth, New Ninjutsu

An oasis was like a seed of life cast down by the gods, taking root and sprouting in the dead desert, nurturing new life.

Splash!

Splash!!

Tōka removed his fox mask, scooped up clear water by the river, and splashed it over his face.

What water tasted best? Without a doubt, it was a clear spring in the desert!

"The oasis isn't large, only a little over a thousand square meters. It has survived the sandstorms entirely because of this underground spring." Sakumo Hatake analyzed as he filled the water canteen.

"Who cares? Are we resting here tonight?" Tōka patted his slightly bloated belly and reclined on the grass.

He looked utterly lazy. The fox mask could shield him from wind and sand, but Tōka did not particularly like it.

Especially when it covered his face so completely—the mask affected his field of vision.

"No. We'll travel through the night and try to reach this place before dawn." Sakumo Hatake held the intelligence map and pointed at a Sunagakure Shinobi outpost.

"This outpost? You think they have food stored there?" Tōka asked in confusion.

"No. I want to tell the Sunagakure Shinobi where we are." Sakumo Hatake said calmly.

"Huh?" Tōka looked utterly baffled. Tell the enemy their location?

"Don't worry. I don't consider the Sunagakure Shinobi a threat." Sakumo Hatake said confidently.

Tōka did not understand Sakumo Hatake's thoughts, so he chose to remain silent. Still, he added inwardly, They don't consider me a threat either.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!

A series of kunai carrying the scent of burning shot in from all directions.

Their discussion ended without a conclusion, and both immediately chose to evade.

Sakumo Hatake used the Body Flicker Technique to flash away, while Tōka used the Substitution Technique and leaped onto a large tree.

More than ten Explosive Tags instantly blew away over half of the small oasis.

"Sunagakure Shinobi?" Tōka's gaze swept over the figures darting out from the shadows. The symbols on their forehead protectors clearly belonged to Sunagakure!

"This is your own territory. Is it really all right to destroy it so recklessly?"

"Hmph. Compared to that, the damage you two will cause is far greater."

A somewhat impatient Puppet Master controlled a mechanical monster and sent it lunging at Sakumo Hatake.

Tōka quietly breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. As long as the Puppet Master was not targeting him, everything was fine.

As for Sakumo Hatake? Tōka felt that unless Chiyo herself came, any other Puppet Master would simply be delivering themselves to Sakumo Hatake.

Besides, Tōka had no time to worry about anyone else.

A standard squad of four Sunagakure Shinobi had surrounded him completely.

An ordinary four-man squad consisted of one Chunin and three genin; a standard four-man squad consisted of one jonin and three genin; an elite four-man squad consisted of one jonin and three Chunin.

And right now, Tōka was facing one jonin and three genin.

"Though he's just a brat, none of you should let your guard down!" the jonin shouted in a deep voice. After all, this was someone who could act alongside Konoha's White Fang.

They could not simply treat him as a child!

"Teacher Miyano, you're making too much of this!" a female ninja carrying a large fan said disdainfully.

"Isn't he just a six- or seven-year-old brat? The three of us once teamed up to take down a Chunin!" another male ninja with two painted stripes on his face chimed in.

While they spoke, Tōka adjusted his condition and quietly observed them.

The jonin looked about thirty. There was a very high chance he was a powerful veteran who had survived the Second Shinobi World War. He was strong and difficult to deal with, though Tōka could not yet tell what he specialized in.

As for the three genin, they were all merely twelve- or thirteen-year-old brats.

The female ninja carried a large fan. She was a Wind Release ninja, and her weapon was Sunagakure's commonly used Three-Star Fan.

The male ninja carried a meteor hammer, and several scrolls hung from his pants. He was the type proficient in ninja tools.

As for the last one, the brown-haired brat who had remained hidden at the rear of the group had not drawn a weapon...

"A medical ninja?" Tōka frowned slightly. Sunagakure's medical ninjas were absolutely better at poison than medicine.

Whether it was ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, or Medical Ninjutsu, Tōka's development was relatively well-rounded. None of them stood out especially.

Precisely because of that, Sunagakure's poison techniques posed the greatest threat to him.

I should have prepared some common antidotes! Tōka put his fox mask back on, already having formed a plan.

His primary target was clear: that sneaky fellow hiding behind the Sunagakure Shinobi squad!

Whoosh!!

While the Sunagakure Shinobi squad bickered noisily, Tōka's body flickered and he suddenly charged out.

At the same time, he raised his hand and fired a barrage of bone bullets at Jonin Miyano.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!

The piercing sound of wind tearing through the air completely interrupted their argument.

The female ninja bared her teeth in a mocking grin. Clang! With a shake of her arm, she slammed the Three-Star Fan heavily into the ground, revealing the first star.

Wind Release: Wind Cutter!

The female ninja fiercely swung the Three-Star Fan in her hand, and a violent gale transformed into thin blades of air that could slice through flesh and bone in an instant.

Pfft, pfft, pfft!!

The barrage of bone bullets was effortlessly blown away.

Tōka narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them. "They weren't just talking big. These people are strong! Even among genin, they're outstanding."

If they were in Konoha, they would definitely have graduated near the top of the Elite Class.

However, his target was not Jonin Miyano, but the fellow hiding in the rear!

"Baki, be careful! You're his target!" Jonin Miyano was not only powerful, but also perceptive.

When he saw Tōka abandon his attack and charge toward the rear instead, Jonin Miyano immediately realized that the concealed weapons earlier had merely been meant to force him back!

"Hmph, he's coming for me? Does he think I'm weak?" Baki looked only thirteen or fourteen, but he was incredibly sturdy, nearly the size of two Tōkas.

Wind Release: Wind Blade!

Buzz!!

A rapidly spinning sword of wind gathered in Baki's palm, its edge utterly exposed.

Even from ten steps away, Tōka could feel the biting chill.

"You've entered my attack range." Baki sneered, bending down into a half-crouch as he prepared to rush forward.

Tōka curled his lips into a mocking smile as well. "That's right, I've entered my attack range."

All-Killing Ash Bones: Earth Spear Stab!

Pfft!!

The ground beneath Baki's feet trembled, and an ash-gray bone as thick as an arm burst from the earth.

The ash bone thrust upward at an angle. Baki was leaning forward and had no time to pull back or evade.

Just as the ash bone was about to pierce straight through his chest, a female voice suddenly rang out.

Wind Release: Sand Dust!

Whoooo~~~

The female ninja swung the enormous Three-Star Fan, whipping up a fierce, sand-filled wind that sent Baki and a chunk of earth flying away together.

By then, two stars had already been revealed on the Three-Star Fan in her hand.

After using two ninjutsu in succession, a trace of exhaustion appeared on the female ninja's face.

Though she was an elite among genin, she was still only a genin. It was normal for her to struggle with using ninjutsu continuously.

Tōka glanced at Baki, who had been blown away, crashed through a large tree, and coughed up blood, then gave up any intention of continuing his attack.

Whoosh, whoosh!!

Jonin Miyano and the male ninja suddenly appeared, blocking Tōka's path.

The female ninja ran over to Baki's side and began bandaging him.

Baki specializes in Wind Release and taijutsu. He doesn't use poison, and he's badly injured. He isn't much of a threat. Tōka silently thought as he shifted his gaze to the two in front of him.

The female ninja had used two Wind Release ninjutsu in a row, so she would not be coming to cause trouble for the moment.

Between Jonin Miyano and the male ninja, whom would Tōka choose as his target?

There was no need to think about it...

Pick on the weaker one!

"Teacher Miyano, Baki is all right. It's just that the coming battle..." the female ninja's voice carried over.

"No problem. Take care of Baki. Leave the rest to me!" Jonin Miyano said in a deep voice.

After seeing his companion nearly get killed in a single move, the male ninja immediately discarded his contempt for Tōka.

This brat, who looked a full head shorter than him, was actually this strong!

If Teacher Miyano had not been here, the three of them probably would not have been a match for him even together.

And earlier, they had shamelessly bragged that the three of them could join forces to take down a Chunin.

Only then did the male ninja notice the mask on the brat's face.

That was Konoha Anbu's special mask. Only the village's finest ninja could become Anbu, and Konoha Anbu was the most elite force among the five great nations.

Compared to the intensity of Tōka's battlefield, Sakumo Hatake's battle against four jonin seemed somewhat quiet.

It was eerily quiet, terrifyingly quiet, chillingly quiet.

From time to time, two figures flashed through the air, followed by a clang as weapons collided and scraped past each other.

The four Sunagakure jonin did not attack with all their strength. They even kept their distance from Sakumo Hatake.

They seemed to be deliberately dragging out the battle...

"Here I go!"

"I'll support Teacher!"

With a whoosh, Jonin Miyano rapidly charged forward, kunai in hand as he closed in. He did not intend to waste too much chakra on Tōka.

The simplest way to kill was taijutsu combined with a sharp blade!

"Hm? You're giving me close combat?" Beneath the fox mask, Tōka raised an eyebrow, a faint delight in his voice.

It seemed that his intelligence had not been leaked. Otherwise, Sunagakure would have sent a ninjutsu squad.

Opening the distance and bombarding him from afar was the correct choice. Even a poisoned Puppet Master squad would have been an excellent choice.

Slash!!

Jonin Miyano swept his arm, his kunai slicing toward Tōka's throat.

With a rip, Tōka leaned back slightly and dodged, though the front of his clothes was cut open in a huge gash.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!!

Tōka had only just jumped back, and while his body was still in midair, a sharp rush of wind sounded beside his ear.

He instinctively turned to look and, sure enough, saw a meteor hammer smashing straight toward him.

Just as the meteor hammer slammed viciously into Tōka's face, everyone's faces lit up with joy before they could celebrate.

Pfft! A cloud of white smoke rose, and Tōka's body was smashed out of existence!

"Not good, it's a clone!" Jonin Miyano's pupils suddenly shrank. He instinctively turned his head toward the injured Baki and the female ninja.

However, Tōka's target was not those two.

"Brat, when adults are fighting, you should just sleep peacefully!" Tōka's body drifted out of nowhere like a ghostly shadow.

His words seemed to carry some strange magic, and the male ninja felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

With a thud, the male ninja rolled over and fell asleep.

"Damn it! He can even use genjutsu?!" Jonin Miyano's expression darkened, and anxiety rose in his heart.

His hands formed seals in rapid succession, moving faster than he ever had before.

I have to... make it in time!!

Earth Release: Flowing River Earth!

Jonin Miyano roared, unleashing a massive surge of chakra.

Beneath Tōka's feet, a large patch of ground transformed into liquid and flowed into the distance like a mudslide.

Pfft!

A cloud of white smoke rose...

"Damn it, another Clone Technique?!" Jonin Miyano's face darkened like the bottom of a pot as he cursed through clenched teeth.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... This time, it was the Shadow Clone Technique!~" Tōka's voice drifted lightly into his ear. "A mere clone can't use genjutsu, you know."

He had used half his chakra to deal with the male ninja providing ranged support.

Now, it was one-on-one!

"So fast! When did he appear?!" A chill shot from Jonin Miyano's back to the back of his head, and he nearly bit his tongue!

Tōka stretched out one small hand and pointed at Jonin Miyano's cheek.

Chakra surged and gathered at his fingertip.

Crack, crack, crack...

His finger trembled like a noodle, and the bones within it grew, breaking through the flesh and revealing a corner.

All-Killing Ash Bones: Bone Bullet!

Wind Release: Sand Dust!

Just as Tōka fired the ash bone, a terrifying storm suddenly rose from the ground.

Tōka instantly felt as though his body no longer belonged to him, as if an invisible giant hand had lifted him into the sky.

Seeing this, Jonin Miyano used the Body Flicker Technique to evade.

Rat—Tiger—Dog—Ox—Rabbit—Tiger

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Jonin Miyano spat out several small fireballs in quick succession. At the same time, he flipped his palm, and a stack of shuriken fell into his hand.

His body spun sharply as he hurled the shuriken in his hand.

The small fireballs and shuriken combined like little phoenixes dancing through the air.

Empowered by the Wind Release, the flames on the shuriken surged dramatically.

Puff, puff, puff!!

Tōka was suspended in midair with nowhere to brace himself, so he could only raise both hands in front of him to shield his vital areas.

Sharp Shuriken and blazing Phoenix Sage Fire all struck his body.

Bang!!

Tōka's body crashed into the water like a falling plane, trailing a plume of black smoke.

"Did I get him?" Jōnin Miyano wiped the sweat from his brow. Fighting a mere brat had actually made him nervous.

Underwater, Tōka's entire body had been burned black as charcoal. It hurt, and he looked utterly miserable.

But it was not fatal, because his secret technique differed from ordinary ones. He could use ash bones to form a protective layer beneath his skin.

"Hiss... It really does hurt!" Chakra gathered in Tōka's hands, and as the Mystical Palm Technique passed over the burns, fresh flesh regrew in the blink of an eye.

Tōka held his breath underwater and pondered, I'm running low on chakra!

After repeatedly using All-Killing Ash Bones, along with the Mystical Palm Technique to heal his injuries—

Tōka, who only had the chakra reserves of a genin to begin with, was starting to find things troublesome.

Then I'll use my final strike to end this battle!

The thought flashed through his mind. Tōka narrowed his eyes slightly, having already made his decision.

Splash!!

A dark figure burst out of the water. Chakra gathered beneath Tōka's feet as he stood atop the surface.

"Attacking Ash Bones..."

"Bone Rain Scatter!"

Tōka stretched out his arm, palm facing the sky. The bones in his arm extended with a series of cracking sounds.

Whoosh, whoosh!!

Four sections of finger bones shot through the air and rose into the sky.

The gray bones suddenly shattered, turning into countless rice-grain-sized ash bones... (To be continued)