Defeating the Elite Ninja

After speaking, Amada and Kakashi quickly adjusted their states, locking their gazes tightly onto Yalan.

Yalan was heavily injured and his condition had clearly declined, but he was a Jonin after all, possessing a wealth of combat experience.

He knew that engaging in close-quarters combat with Amada and Kakashi at this moment would be unwise, so he quickly began weaving hand seals.

Seeing this, Amada felt a tightening in his chest and immediately said to Kakashi:

"He's going to use ninjutsu, don't let him create distance!"

Competing in ninjutsu against a Jonin was definitely not the outcome they wanted.

Kakashi naturally understood this as well, and his figure surged rapidly toward Yalan.

At the same time, Amada leaped into the air, quickly pulling countless shuriken from his ninja tool pouch and firing them toward Yalan.

The shuriken whistled through the air, heading straight for Yalan in an attempt to interrupt his hand seals.

However, Yalan's sealing speed was faster; almost the moment Amada made his move, he had already completed his ninjutsu.

He let out a low shout: "Lightning Style: Lightning Senbon!"

In an instant, lightning chakra condensed into countless tiny bolts of electricity, shooting toward Amada like a dense swarm of a thousand needles.

Yalan considered Amada, a ninja of the Uchiha clan, to be the greater nuisance and decided he had to be dealt with first.

The shuriken fired by Amada collided with some of the lightning needles, creating a crackling sound and barely neutralizing a portion of the attack.

However, the remaining needles continued to rain down upon him like a storm.

Just then, a massive earthen wall suddenly rose from the ground, blocking the space between Amada and Yalan.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" Kakashi's voice came from the side.

Lightning overcomes earth, and the Earth Wall still appeared fragile in the face of Yalan's lightning ninjutsu.

The lightning light sliced through the wall like a blade, sending chunks of earth flying in all directions.

However, this brief obstruction was enough.

Amada quickly adjusted his posture and landed steadily on the ground.

Just as Yalan prepared to weave seals again, an unusual sound suddenly came from beneath his feet.

He looked down to see Kakashi's hand reaching out from the ground, attempting to grab his ankle.

Yalan snorted coldly and leaped up quickly, evading Kakashi's sneak attack.

However, he had only just jumped into the air.

Amada's hands had already finished weaving seals:

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A wave of scorching heat descended from above as a massive fireball smashed down toward him, the intense flames causing the surrounding air to distort.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Yalan's eyes as the lightning chakra on his body erupted, forming a suit of lightning armor.

He intended to take the hit head-on.

"BOOM--!"

The fireball slammed heavily into Yalan, sending flames scattering and filling the area with smoke and dust.

A scorching shockwave swept through the surroundings.

As the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, Yalan's figure reappeared in their line of sight.

His clothes were scorched and blackened, but protected by the lightning armor, his body had not sustained any significant damage.

Yalan sneered:

"Is that all you've got?"

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than Kakashi's figure appeared right beside him.

With no other choice, Yalan was forced to continue the close-quarters struggle.

The two moved so fast they were almost a blur, their short blades and kunai constantly clashing, sending sparks flying.

During one intense exchange, Kakashi suddenly held his short blade horizontally before Yalan's eyes.

Yalan didn't react in time, his mind filled with confusion over the purpose of Kakashi's action.

Yet, in that very instant, the blade's surface reflected a pair of scarlet Sharingan, which stared straight into his vision.

Yalan's consciousness was instantly locked tight by those Sharingan, his gaze unable to pull away.

A bizarre sensation welled up in his heart, and countless negative thoughts began to surface in his mind:

A piece of trash like me is just wasting air by living... I shouldn't have been born at all... In my next life, please let me be a snail, forever tucked away in my shell, never having to face this world again...

Yalan's legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees as tears uncontrollably welled up from his eyes.

However, this state only lasted for a brief moment.

Yalan gritted his teeth, using every ounce of his willpower to break free from the genjutsu.

However, by the time he lifted his head, it was already too late.

A flash of cold light streaked by; Yalan felt a chill across his neck, and his consciousness gradually sank into eternal darkness.

His body collapsed limply to the ground as blood gushed from his neck, staining the earth red.

Kakashi looked coldly at Yalan's corpse, flicking his short blade to shake the droplets of blood from the edge onto the ground.

Amada sat slumped on the ground, the Sharingan in his eyes slowly fading, replaced by a web of bloodshot veins.

His breathing was ragged and his forehead was drenched in cold sweat; the effort of fully unleashing the ocular technique Frenzy had exhausted all his ocular power.

He raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, feeling a sense of relief wash over him.

Kakashi walked over to Amada's side and looked down at him:

"Can you still stand?"

Amada nodded and struggled to push himself up to his feet:

"No problem, just a heavy drain on my chakra. I'll be fine after a short rest."

Kakashi said nothing more, simply sheathing his short blade in silence.

On the other side, Asuma and the others had also finished their battle.

Facing two Cloud Village chunin, the four of them had spent some effort, but thanks to their seamless coordination, they ultimately eliminated the enemies.

Once the battle ended, they did not pause for a moment, immediately continuing on their way.

They had only one thought in mind—to get the intelligence back to the village as quickly as possible.

Only then could they provide timely support to Amada and Kakashi.

"Faster, we need to go faster!"

Asuma's eyes were filled with anxiety.

He knew that the enemies Amada and Kakashi were facing were jonin, and their situation was far more perilous than theirs.

Obito, usually boisterous, appeared unusually silent at this moment.

His heart was heavy with self-reproach:

If only I were stronger, they wouldn't have to face that kind of enemy alone...

Although Kurenai and Rin said nothing, they prayed in their hearts that Amada and Kakashi would remain safe and sound.

Just as they were pushing forward at full speed, two familiar figures suddenly appeared in the woods ahead.

Asuma squinted, and his heart leaped with joy—the newcomers were none other than Konoha's renowned jonin, Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi.

"Inoichi-senpai! Choza-senpai!"

Asuma shouted, his voice laced with urgency.

Hearing the call, Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi stopped in their tracks and turned to look at Asuma and the others.

Inoichi asked:

"Asuma? Why are you all here? What happened?"

Asuma quickly gave a brief explanation of the situation:

"We were escorting intelligence back to the village when we were pursued by Cloud Village ninjas. Amada and Kakashi stayed behind to cover our retreat. The enemy is a jonin, and the situation is critical! They need reinforcements!"

Inoichi and Choza exchanged a glance, their expressions turning grave.

Choza said in a deep voice:

"Continue escorting the intelligence back to the village; leave this to us. We will head out immediately to support Amada and Kakashi."

Inoichi nodded, adding:

"Rest assured, with us here, they will be fine."

Hearing the promise from the two jonin, Asuma and the others finally let out a sigh of relief.

Obito couldn't help but say:

"Inoichi-senpai, Choza-senpai, please, you must save Amada and Kakashi!"

The figures of Inoichi and Choza vanished, speeding rapidly in the direction of Amada and Kakashi.