You Are Merely a Weakling

Yang Xing felt a surge of vigilance and immediately scanned the positions of the two people nearby.

Hmm, Anko was right beside him; given that girl's alertness, nothing should happen to her.

Rin Nohara was on a boat not far away; it seemed he would need to keep a closer eye on her.

"Teacher, there seems to be something in the water."

"Idol, don't touch it!"

At that moment, an impulsive shout shattered the silence.

A fool from Anko's group, seemingly curious about the illusion on the water, reached out a hand. With a splash, a tentacle suddenly erupted, binding the guy's arm before anyone around could react.

The unlucky fellow was dragged straight into the water with a loud splash.

Aside from a spray of lake water, the lake returned to a deathly stillness.

Only a few stunned ninjas remained on the boats.

Even Yang Xing hadn't reacted in time, but he was certain that the guy was beyond saving.

"That idiot. If this continues, we'll all be wiped out." The female jonin clearly realized that sitting still was a death sentence; there was definitely something hidden within the illusions of this lake.

It might even be a powerful summoning beast.

They were completely surrounded by a pack of them.

"Damn it, I don't care about this illusion! Someone died right in front of me! Hey, you bastard Earth Ninja, come out if you have the guts!" Obito, his head hot with rage, was the first to step out.

The single-celled organism stood on the boat, shouting at the surroundings.

Then, the anomaly occurred. The water surface rippled, and with a sudden burst of spray, a giant python-like summoning beast surged from the lake, lunging toward Obito.

"Watch out!" Kakashi's expression changed. He was faster than thought, leaping up and shooting forward, his Kunai stabbing out fiercely.

Unfortunately, there was more than one summoning beast in this lake.

As Kakashi hung in mid-air, the water stirred again, and a massive, eel-like monster lunged straight up at him.

"Kakashi!"

Obito and Rin Nohara couldn't help but scream, for Kakashi had been coiled by the eel and dragged directly into the lake. It looked grim for him.

"Kakashi, please don't let anything happen to you. No, staying here is useless." Seeing Kakashi dragged under, the female jonin could no longer sit still. She instructed Yang Xing and the others before swiftly diving into the lake herself: "You lot, look after the weaker ones. I'm going to see how that guy is doing. Remember, don't follow me."

Water Style ninjutsu allowed one to breathe underwater, though not for long.

At this moment, fewer than five people remained on the two boats.

This made the others nervous. Even Anko, looking grave, moved extremely close to Yang Xing. She understood clearly that if the jonin teacher and Kakashi both died, only Yang Xing could save her.

Because compared to those two, Yang Xing was the strongest.

Yang Xing's expression was highly tense; the current illusion did not allow for any distraction, and it was particularly difficult to suppress the urge to use his Sharingan.

Relying on his own perception, Yang Xing scanned the surroundings. Perhaps due to the Sharingan, his perception had indeed sharpened significantly, and he clearly saw a massive black shadow swimming through the lake.

As Yang Xing's eyes widened in shock, he didn't hesitate to shout to Rin Nohara and Obito: "Hey, abandon those boats! Get over here, quickly!"

"Huh? Why should I listen to you?" For some reason, Obito looked at Yang Xing with a hint of hostility.

[ ]

This left Yang Xing confused; he didn't recall provoking this guy.

Seeing that the guy was still giving him attitude, he decided not to bother with him and looked at Rin Nohara again. To his surprise, the usually kind-hearted Rin hesitated when she saw Obito refusing to move.

"Hey, Rin, jump over here."

"But..." Seeing that Obito wasn't moving, Rin remained still.

Yang Xing grew annoyed. His face darkened as he stared at the stubborn Obito: "Do you want to die?"

"Huh?" Obito's expression soured, looking genuinely angry: "Let me tell you, I won't die. At the very least, I won't die before you do. And I'll tell you seriously, I'm stronger than you. I'll protect Rin well—better than you ever could."

His gaze was filled with hostility as he glared at Yang Xing.

"Hey, why is this brat so annoying? You think you can protect this girl? Look at yourself..." Anko was irritated and wanted to step forward to beat him, but Yang Xing held her back, which only left her feeling more stifled: "Yang Xing, what are you doing? Let me teach this brat a lesson."

Yang Xing didn't speak, just stared calmly at Obito. It was clear Obito wasn't finished yet.

This kid, it seemed, was truly angry at him.

"Yang Xing, you're just a weak, arrogant brat. If it weren't for the Konoha ninjas, if it weren't for your teacher, you would never have been able to join our team." Pointing at Yang Xing, Obito shouted, venting all the resentment in his heart.

Slap!

A sharp, ringing slap left Yang Xing stunned. He watched as Rin Nohara lowered her face, her body trembling with anger. Touching her cheek, Obito clearly realized he had said the wrong thing.

He lowered his head in shame.

Instead, Yang Xing laughed. Faced with Obito's words, he offered a slight smile, and what he said left both of them stunned: "Yeah, if it weren't for my teacher, I wouldn't have gotten in, I wouldn't have met you guys, I wouldn't have become stronger, and I wouldn't have 'stolen' your Rin? Is that what you wanted to say?"

"I..." Although unconvinced, Obito gritted his teeth and didn't continue.

"Fine, I understand. You mean you don't like the sight of me. Well, I'll tell you clearly, I like the sight of you even less." Yang Xing's gaze was sharp, a look that didn't match his age, as he stared straight at Obito, his tone low: "But if you die, Rin will definitely be sad. So, brat, you'd better thank Rin."

As soon as he finished speaking, while Obito was still in a daze...

Rin Nohara's cheeks flushed slightly.

Yang Xing leaped up, jumping into mid-air under the astonished gazes of everyone on the boat.

Using a Clone Technique, Yang Xing used the clone's shoulder as a springboard, launching himself into the clouds like a rocket.

His hands formed seals right there in the air, and he unleashed a ninjutsu not far from the two small boats.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

As Yang Xing opened his mouth, the massive fireball immediately stunned everyone's eyes.

What shocked them even more was the power of the fireball; it was like the work of a master craftsman, crashing into the water and erupting into a towering column of spray.

Splash! Boom!

Amidst the water spray, the corpses of several large summoning beasts rained down like a downpour, pattering and thudding as they fell onto the surface of the water, left to drift as floating carcasses.

Obito was stunned.

Rin Nohara was stunned.

Only Anko had flushed cheeks, her pretty face filled with excitement.

"Yang Xing, do it again! Just blow all these things to death!" she shouted, unable to contain her excitement.