Escape

"I'll report this to Lord Hokage when we get back. For now, let's just escape." Yamaki Atsushi, a man of action, didn't dwell on it. He could think about problems while running; now was not the time to waste.

"Chirp chirp—" The three of them fled again, accompanied by the sounds of thunder and the cries of falcons, looking utterly disheveled.

Xing Ran kept his eyes on the pursuers behind them, wanting to see how these people had discovered their group. His gaze pierced through a hundred meters of dense forest, allowing him to clearly see several ninjas dressed as Stone Ninjas arriving at the spot where they had rested earlier.

The forehead protectors on these individuals had been scratched, clearly indicating they were rogue ninjas. Xing Ran didn't care if they were rogue Stone Ninjas or not; he was more concerned with their next moves. As long as he could determine how they had tracked them, he could devise countermeasures to escape.

Suddenly, Xing Ran noticed that among the six people, one who was slightly thin and small kept staring at the sky. He was forming hand seals, likely activating some ninjutsu. Although the others weren't looking at this strange individual, their formation suggested they were subtly protecting him.

The sky! Could it be?

"Hey, kid from the Yamanaka Family, I heard your clan's secret technique includes the Mind Body Switch Technique, which can control distant enemies. I wonder if it works on birds?" Just as Xing Ran was about to hint to his teammates that their whereabouts had likely been discovered by birds in the sky, Yamaki Atsushi had already spoken to Xing Ran first.

"You noticed too?" Xing Ran was a bit surprised. This thick-lipped guy actually had some skills, discovering the problem even earlier than him, the one with the cheat.

"In such terrible thunderstorm weather, that falcon has flown over our heads three times already. Don't underestimate Konoha's elite dark... ninjas." As Yamaki Atsushi spoke, he also looked at Xing Ran. He hadn't expected this kid, who was said to have no combat experience in the intel, to be so perceptive and think of the same thing.

However, surprise aside, the problem still needed to be solved. Yamaki Atsushi had no good way to deal with the falcon in the sky, and Junpei was even less reliable, still somewhat exhausted. Thus, following Yamaki Atsushi, Junpei also turned his gaze to Xing Ran, hoping he could use a secret technique to control the falcon and resolve the trouble.

"The Mind Body Switch Technique has too many restrictions. Not to mention that falcon is constantly flying erratically, and the distance alone is beyond my current reach. However, I have a way to take down this falcon." Xing Ran's words caused the other two to be greatly disappointed, but the latter half made their eyes light up.

There were thousands of bizarre ninjutsu. Except for a few geniuses, most people specialized in one direction. After becoming Chunin, most people were experts in their own fields. For example, Junpei's Water Release and Yamaki Atsushi's Earth Style. Everyone had their own specialty, and complementing each other was the original intention of forming a small team.

Xing Ran's statement that he possessed an anti-air capability that others lacked filled his companions, who were in a predicament, with joy.

There was no time to waste; the enemy would soon catch up again. Xing Ran took out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch and quickly calculated the target's trajectory while staring at the falcon in the sky.

With underdeveloped super vision and super brainpower far inferior to that in the manga, Xing Ran easily captured the target's movement trajectory.

Swish, swish, swish!

His hands moved like blurs.

Several kunai were thrown by Xing Ran, clashing in the air with a ding-ding-dang sound. Then, three kunai flew hundreds of meters, forming a pincer movement towards the falcon in the sky.

The kunai, which should have been unable to reach the falcon, suddenly changed direction, leaving the ninja bird no time to react. It narrowly dodged one kunai but was pierced by the remaining two almost simultaneously. It lost its life before even hitting the ground.

A normal ninja's kunai throwing distance wouldn't be very far, reaching only about a hundred meters with chakra-enhanced arm strength. However, doing so was completely meaningless because, during the time the kunai traveled, the enemy could easily evade or block it. To hit a target before it could react, the attack range usually needed to be controlled within 30 meters.

Of course, this only applied to ordinary ninjas. For figures like the Fourth and Second Hokage, their Flying Thunder God Technique combined with kunai throwing was an exception.

Xing Ran's kunai throwing, combined with chakra and arm strength, could easily send them hundreds of meters. However, to hit such a agile target, just being able to throw far wasn't enough; some necessary techniques were still required, otherwise, it couldn't be called an anti-air method.

Of course, there was a simpler method: flying up and killing the target at close range. But Xing Ran would absolutely not do such a thing. Not to mention exposing his ability to fly for such a minor issue, his current flight ability was only enough for slow hovering, which couldn't achieve the desired result at all.

"Amazing Shuriken Throwing Art. You must have spent a lot of time practicing," Junpei said with a big smile, praising Xing Ran as he watched the ninja bird falcon fall from the sky.

"It was alright. I didn't practice for long," Xing Ran replied truthfully. He had only spent less than half a morning.

However, the other two took Xing Ran's words as modesty. The most famous Shuriken Throwing Art in Konoha was the Uchiha Style Shuriken Throwing Art of the Uchiha Family, but that technique also relied heavily on the visual prowess of the Sharingan. For an ordinary person, being able to throw straight and hit a distant target was already considered an expert in Shuriken Throwing Art. Looking at how many powerful figures there were in Konoha, when facing an actual enemy, how many would actually use shuriken as their primary offensive method?

The trio's subsequent escape was very smooth. With Xing Ran's super sight and hearing, they reached their maximum speed, quickly bypassed the group of six rogue ninjas, and without alerting the border guards of the Land of Fire, they left a coded signal for nearby allies, informing them of the encounter with unknown hostile forces. They then quickly entered the Land of Grass.

As the lights of myriad homes began to glow, the three entered a market town, the closest one between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire.

The market was called Aicao Market. It was originally a place for traveling merchants to gather and rest. Later, as more merchants came to rest there, it gradually became a semi-official market.

Aicao Market was now an official city in the Land of Grass, but it was still small in scale, like a market. It wasn't large but was very lively. Apart from hot springs, most of the necessities for travel could be found here.

"Cheers!"

In a oden stall in Aicao Market, three men dressed as Konoha ninjas were celebrating their escape from the pursuit of a Jonin squad. They were Xing Ran and his companions.

To be continued. Thanks to book friends Feng Erdan, Guo Qie Hao, Si Si 420, Tang Mi De Pikachu, and Wo Shi Da Jiang You De for their recommendation tickets.