In the dim forest, light could barely penetrate, and it was almost impossible to make out figures more than ten steps away.
A black shadow suddenly flashed past. Pfft—the blade pierced flesh.
"First one taken out easily!"
The ash bone in Tōka's palm snapped with a crack, and he shoved away the corpse in front of him.
However, Tōka, hidden in the darkness, failed to notice that the "corpse's" wound had not crumbled into scraps of paper.
Clack, clack, clack!!
The strange sound of mechanical joints moving rang out. A warning surged in Tōka's heart, and he quickly used the Substitution Technique to evade.
With a crack, the substitute log was instantly sliced into two.
"A Puppet Master?!" Tōka felt terrible. Puppet Masters were the enemies he least wanted to face!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
The other two jonin immediately dropped down, joining the humanoid puppet to form a triangular encirclement around Tōka.
"Brat, that strange ninjutsu from earlier was your ability, wasn't it?" The jonin in a headscarf stared coldly at Tōka and asked in a deep voice.
"More or less." Tōka's eyes darted around as he searched for a way out of the encirclement.
"Enough nonsense. Kill him!" the scar-faced jonin barked.
The Puppet Master hiding in the shadows could no longer hold back and was the first to attack.
"Puppet Technique: Poison Rain Needles!"
Clack!
The humanoid puppet opened its mouth, revealing a finger-thick mechanism. Its pitch-black opening glinted with an icy light as it fired rapidly at Tōka.
Countless senbon turned into a rain that shot toward Tōka with sharp whistles.
Every senbon was coated in deadly poison!
For Sunagakure Shinobi Puppet Masters, poison was a required discipline besides Puppet Technique. A Puppet Master who could not make poison was not a qualified Puppet Master.
The Poison Rain Needles descended, blanketing everything in an indiscriminate attack.
"Scatter!" The headscarf jonin's expression changed as he shouted.
The scar-faced jonin moved at the same time, his figure flashing away from where he stood.
Like raindrops, the senbon completely covered the space within ten meters, their shrill rush through the air piercing the ears.
Tōka's body sank as he crossed his arms before his chest. Chakra gathered in his palms, and two sections of hand bone burst through them.
His hands began to dance rapidly, moving so quickly that they formed an impenetrable barrier and blocked every senbon.
For Tōka, who diligently trained in taijutsu, blocking a barrage of senbon was not difficult.
"It's not over yet, brat!" The headscarf jonin's gaze turned cold. He took a deep breath. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The headscarf jonin expelled the compressed air from his chest, creating a whirlwind that swept toward Tōka.
Though Great Breakthrough was only a C-rank ninjutsu, its user was a Sunagakure jonin, so its power could not be underestimated.
Forget a person—even a huge boulder could be blown away.
"One after another. This is getting troublesome!" Feeling the immense wind pressure bearing down on him, Tōka's face darkened. It was already too late to use the Substitution Technique.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough was not especially destructive, but it was incredibly fast.
In the time it took his thoughts to race, the whirlwind had already reached Tōka.
"If that's how it is, then I'll fight you head-on!" Tōka gritted his teeth and glanced at the slug in his clothes. I've got Tsunade's big healer restoring my health. What am I afraid of?!
Thud!
Tōka raised one foot and stomped down hard, chakra surging wildly toward his right foot.
"All-Killing Ash Bones: Earth Spear Stab!"
Pfft! A section of arm-thick ash bone burst from the ground directly in front of the headscarf jonin.
The headscarf jonin had thought Tōka would be swept away by the whirlwind and was about to pursue him. Instead, he charged straight toward the ash bone erupting from the earth.
"Careful! You absolutely cannot touch that thing!" the scar-faced jonin hurriedly warned.
It was not just because Ebizo had repeatedly warned the Sunagakure Shinobi. The scene from the camp earlier still lingered in all three of their minds.
That horrifying bone forest, gray and lifeless within a hundred-meter radius, made their scalps tingle.
Naturally, the headscarf jonin knew this as well. Gritting his teeth, he used every ounce of strength he had to forcibly twist his body and fall to one side.
Suddenly!
"Tch, having three guys gang up on one feels great, huh?"
A mocking voice came from above the headscarf jonin. He looked up in terror, only to see Tōka, who should have been ten steps away, standing right before him.
"How..."
Pfft!
The ash bone pierced him, severing his life force.
Tōka curled his lip disdainfully. "Don't you know the Shadow Clone Technique? I really don't know how you became a Sunagakure jonin."
Tōka did not have much chakra, and just because he normally did not use Shadow Clones did not mean he could not.
As the greatest cheat technique in the Ninja World, it had also been the first advanced ninjutsu Tōka learned.
"This brat is too strange! No wonder Lord Ebizo repeatedly warned us that we had to kill him in the cradle!" A bead of cold sweat slid down the scar-faced jonin's forehead.
Feeling the terrifying aura of the All-Killing Ash Bones again, the scar-faced jonin actually felt the urge to turn and run.
He would rather face two Konoha jonin than fight Tōka!
Clatter, clatter!~~
The humanoid puppet had no such concerns and charged straight at Tōka.
Buzz!!
A pair of deep, pitch-black pupils suddenly appeared behind the Puppet Master. The endlessly expanding pupils radiated an incomparably sinister aura.
"Gulp..." The Puppet Master hiding in the shadows nervously swallowed.
He knew he had fallen under genjutsu! He just did not know when he had been caught!
The black pupils grew clearer and clearer, while the surrounding outline gradually formed Tōka's shape.
"Release!" The Puppet Master hurriedly formed hand seals, trying to break the genjutsu. In his eyes, Tōka was merely a seven-year-old brat—his genjutsu could not possibly be that powerful!
However...
After the technique was completed, nothing changed.
Those pitch-black pupils still lingered in the depths of his mind.
"What? Can't break it?" Tōka appeared behind the Puppet Master in a flash and sneered. "I hate Puppet Masters that much. How could I not put in some effort?"
This was a genjutsu Tōka had developed specifically to deal with Puppet Masters!
Though the Puppet Master's true body was hidden in the shadows, as long as he wanted to attack Tōka, his gaze would never leave Tōka's body.
"Genjutsu: Bone-Grasping Technique!"
Falling for it was simple. It worked on the principle of a genjutsu trap—as long as the Puppet Master saw Tōka perform the genjutsu's movements, it would activate.
However, this genjutsu specifically targeted Puppet Masters. Others would not be caught even if they saw Tōka perform the movements.
"Actually, breaking this genjutsu is exceptionally simple..."
Tōka's voice grew colder as his palm pressed against the Puppet Master's carotid artery.
"Unfortunately, I'm not going to tell you!"
Pfft!
The ash bone pierced his carotid artery. No blood flowed out. The Puppet Master jonin's vision went dark, and his life force vanished as his body turned into scraps of paper that scattered across the ground.
In a single exchange, only one of the three Sunagakure jonin who had pursued Tōka remained!
"Whew!~~" Tōka let out a long breath, exhaustion he could not conceal appearing on his small face.
"Slug, you should have shared vision, right? I was being chased by three jonin, and you didn't call anyone to help?" Hiding in the shadow of a large tree, Tōka poked the slug in his clothes in displeasure.
Soft and squishy, sticky and slimy.
A slug, just as expected...
So disgusting...
"Tōka, Lady Tsunade said she believed in you." The slug raised its head and looked at Tōka.
It had such a cute voice, yet it was still a slug.
Tōka's mouth twitched. He turned away and stopped looking at it. And Tsunade actually said she believed in him!
Could something like this really be handled by belief alone?
Those were three jonin, not three cabbages!
After grumbling unhappily for a while, Tōka calmed himself and focused once more on the scar-faced jonin.
Among the three Sunagakure jonin, only this one was a true jonin.
The other two were merely at the level of Special Jonin. Otherwise, they could not possibly have fallen for his tricks so easily.
"Although the genjutsu and All-Killing Ash Bones don't consume much chakra, that Shadow Clone took away a full half of my chakra!"
Just thinking about it made Tōka's heart ache.
If he used half his chakra to fire a barrage of bone bullets, it would be like carrying two Gatling guns and sweeping the area for three minutes!
Even steel plates would be blasted through!
Just as Tōka was considering his next move, a fierce gust suddenly struck from behind him.
"Found you, brat!" Though the scar-faced jonin did not want to face Tōka, he had to kill this brat! Even if it cost him his life!
Boom!
A heavy punch, without any flourish.
Dense Wind Release chakra wrapped around his knuckles.
As his fist tore through the air, visible wind blades rose in its wake.
"Nature transformation?!" Tōka sprang backward in alarm and flicked out three bone bullets. He was not trying to hit him, only force him back!
Unexpectedly...
This time, Tōka had miscalculated!
A vicious look appeared on the scar-faced jonin's face, and his eyes were filled with determination.
"Don't look down on me, brat!"
From the moment his companions had been killed instantly, the scar-faced jonin had already made up his mind. Even if he had to die, he would kill this brat!
Buzz!!
Even more violent chakra erupted. The scar-faced jonin squeezed it out from every part of his body, gathering all his strength into the heavy punch of his right hand.
Pfft, pfft, pfft!!
The three bone bullets struck true and embedded themselves in the scar-faced jonin's body.
At the same moment, that terrifying heavy punch slammed mercilessly into Tōka.
Bang!!!
Tōka felt a horrifying force strike his chest, as though a heavily armored tank had run over him. Four ribs snapped instantly.
The broken bones pressed against his heart, and he opened his mouth and coughed up blood mixed with chunks of flesh.
"Tōka!" The slug cried out in alarm and quickly activated its healing technique, its body glowing as it rapidly repaired Tōka's injuries...
Tōka's body traced a blood-red arc through the air, scattering blood across the ground.
Then, with a crash, he smashed into a massive tree trunk. His body bent backward around it before rebounding violently and falling to the ground.
"Cough! Cough..." Tōka's face turned dark purple as he remembered the scar-faced jonin's eyes before death.
Calm. Satisfied. As though he did not feel even the slightest fear of death.
That guy... was a real ninja!
And a real lunatic too!
"Tōka, don't move!" Seeing Tōka struggle to rise, the slug hurriedly said, "Let me set your ribs first."
With the All-Killing Ash Bones, Tōka's physical defenses were nearly unmatched.
Though he looked delicate and slender, he was absolutely an incredibly powerful tank.
Otherwise, Tōka could never have become Gai's sparring partner.
However, against a jonin's desperate strike reinforced with Wind Release nature transformation chakra, Tōka's chest had instantly caved in.
"They're all insane!" Tōka cursed inwardly, but he did not dare move again. Even the slightest motion hurt so much that he gasped.
Fortunately, though his injuries were serious, they were not fatal, and the slug deserved much of the credit.
Still, this forest was not safe either. Tōka could almost hear kunai clashing not far away.
"Tōka, don't worry. Lady Tsunade already knows about your situation and is sending an elite team over." The slug seemed to see through Tōka's concerns.
Tōka blinked to show that he understood.
However, he did not really trust that so-called elite team. Who knew how long it would take them to arrive?
Only when his life was in his own hands would it be truly safe.
Tōka's eyes darted around as he vigilantly watched his surroundings.
"How long before I can move?" Feeling the pressure in his chest lessen and his breathing become smoother, Tōka asked.
"Don't rush, Tōka. Your injuries are severe. It will take at least ten minutes." The slug would not lie, and this was already its fastest speed.
Tōka's face sank at those words.
Ten minutes?
He could die who knew how many times on a battlefield in ten minutes!
And that was only until he could move, not until he could fight again!
"No, ten minutes is too long. The Sunagakure Shinobi might find me at any moment." Tōka shook his head. It would have been fine normally, but this was a battlefield!
"Slug, heal my ribs first, then stop the pain."
Tōka wanted to regain mobility as quickly as possible. He could also use the Mystical Palm Technique together with the slug to treat his internal injuries.
With his ribs broken, Tōka did not dare move recklessly, afraid that the bones would puncture his internal organs. Even moving a finger made cold sweat pour down his face.
At the very least, he could place both hands on his chest. Using the Mystical Palm Technique together with the slug would speed things up considerably.
"Tōka, are you planning to treat yourself?" As Tsunade's summoned beast, the slug naturally knew Tōka's basic information.
"Yeah." Tōka nodded.
"Okay, I'll hurry..." As the slug finished speaking, the glow all over her body grew even brighter.
Tōka suddenly felt a warm sensation spread through his chest...
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
The sound of wind blowing through the trees came from the forest, leaves rubbing together with their distinctive rustling.
Suddenly!!
The slug that was setting Tōka's ribs became alert. Her entire body swelled up, expanding by a full size like a balloon.
"Who's there?!" Tōka shot a sharp glare in that direction, only to see four dark figures dart through the forest straight toward him.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
The four dark figures landed, surrounding Tōka in the middle.
"Don't worry, we're here to protect you!" said one bearded ninja with an innocuous expression.
A trace of doubt flashed through Tōka's eyes. Since when had Konoha's ninja been this efficient?
Hadn't Tsunade only just sent an elite squad over?
As he spoke, the bearded ninja approached with a smiling face.
But the slug perched on Tōka's ribs suddenly attacked, spraying a stream of highly corrosive acid from her mouth directly at the bearded ninja.
"Tōka, they weren't sent by Lady Tsunade!"
Before you continue