Jonin Attack (Please Vote, Please Support with Monthly Tickets, Please Donate)

Somewhere within the dense forest.

"Captain, we've checked everything. Just like the intel said, there's only one Genin squad in the convoy." A ninja with a scratched Headband came forward to report. He appeared to be a rogue ninja from Sunagakure.

"Mm, a Konoha Genin squad consists of one Chunin leading three Genin. Taking them out won't be a problem at all." The lead ninja nodded in agreement.

Clearly, he either had forgotten or simply did not know that Konoha also had squads formed by fresh graduates—Genin squads that could potentially be led by a Jonin.

"Should we make our move now, or wait a little longer?" The lead ninja turned to ask the black-robed man beside him, who had remained silent all this time. The man wore a hood and was wrapped up tightly, looking as though he did not want to be seen.

"We can't wait any longer. If we do, they'll get too close to the city." The black-robed man answered firmly, "Move immediately."

"Alright!" The lead ninja wasted no words and gave a signal. Five more ninjas emerged from the surrounding area one after another. After checking their equipment, they headed straight ahead of the caravan to set an ambush. They had clearly prepared in advance and were intimately familiar with the terrain.

The caravan had traveled for another half day. The entire time had been peaceful, completely unlike before, when attacks came every so often.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived. The setting sun still stubbornly clung to the distant horizon, unwilling to disappear completely. Its remaining sliver cast a bleak crimson glow across the land.

Masao Ishihara was directing everyone to choose a spot and set up Camp, and the tension in everyone's minds gradually began to ease.

Traveling had already been exhausting, and they had endured intermittent attacks for most of the day. Everyone was somewhat worn out and eager to rest early.

At that moment, Taiichi, standing atop a carriage and surveying the surroundings, grew tense. It was evening, the time when weary birds returned to their nests, yet the area around them was far too quiet.

Just as Taiichi was about to warn Masao Ishihara to stay alert—

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Five successive explosions erupted from different parts of the caravan. Explosive Tags had been triggered.

Damn it, ninja attack! Taiichi thought.

The caravan was already in utter chaos. The startled packhorses dragged their carriages wildly in every direction. Though the drivers struggled desperately to control them, their efforts achieved little.

The guards' formation was scattered by the rampaging carriages. They were still trying to organize themselves when the enemy gave them no chance.

A large group of bandits rushed out from the surrounding woods, their numbers no fewer than the guards'.

But bandits were still bandits. Relying on their numerical advantage, they could exchange a few blows with the guards, but against Taiichi, they were cut down like vegetables.

Having just dealt with several bandit lackeys around him, Taiichi held his blood-dripping Short Sword and swept his gaze across the battlefield. Though the bandits were numerous, they had only fought the guards to a standstill. Yet the ninjas who should have appeared still had not shown themselves.

This is bad. Saori is in danger. Thinking of one possibility, Taiichi hurriedly created a Shadow Clone to remain behind and assist the guards while his real body rushed toward the center of the convoy.

The distance was only a little over a hundred meters, but the chaotic scene obstructed him so badly that it took Taiichi more than a minute to arrive. Along the way, he also cut down quite a few crazed bandit lackeys.

Sure enough, from afar, Taiichi saw Captain Yamaguchi entangled with three ninjas. They appeared to be one Jonin and two Chunin. Their gritted teeth and vicious expressions made it look as though they were the ones who had been ambushed.

Saori's situation, meanwhile, was far from good. She was being besieged by four Genin. Though she often forced them onto the defensive with tactics of trading her life for theirs, the enemy had the numbers. In just this short time, several wounds had already been carved across her body by Kunai.

At that moment, two of the Genin suddenly retreated and formed hand seals while the other two moved in to entangle Saori at close range. The two who had retreated completed their seals simultaneously, then spat out a series of Wind Blades.

Taiichi's eyes turned red at the sight. Saori was trapped by the other two and unable to escape or dodge, and now the two attackers had seized the perfect moment to send the incoming Wind Blades at her.

Taiichi no longer cared about the chakra consumption. He swiftly formed hand seals. Water Style: Great Water Prison Technique.

A Water Wall rapidly formed around Saori, protecting her firmly in its center. The swiftly rotating water current also blocked the incoming Wind Blades.

Only then did Saori recover from the despair of being on the brink of death. Her eyes, as she looked at Taiichi, were filled with gratitude.

The four Genin who had backed away were also startled by the technique. They had never seen anything like it and thought a powerful expert had arrived. But upon seeing that the newcomer was just a kid, they relaxed.

One of the four split off to stop Taiichi, while the other three prepared to continue besieging Saori, intending to kill her as quickly as possible.

Taiichi did not care who they had sent. Facing the approaching Genin, he used Body Flicker to flash to his side, then smoothly slashed his Short Sword across the man's throat. Without wasting even a second, he continued charging toward Saori.

Even as he fell, the Genin's face remained full of disbelief. How could they both be Genin, yet differ so greatly in strength?

Damn it. The rogue ninja leader had already cursed the intelligence operatives' ancestors eighteen generations over.

They had said it was a Genin squad, yet its captain was a Jonin—and an Elite Jonin at that. They had said the members were Genin, but setting aside that little girl's strength, even this kid who had just arrived was no weaker than a Chunin.

"Sakata, Okamoto, you two go deal with that newly arrived kid. I'll hold this Jonin back first," the rogue ninja leader ordered the two Chunin responsible for providing interference.

Captain Yamaguchi saw the two Chunin trying to leave the battle and besiege Taiichi. Just as he was about to stop them, the rogue ninja leader interrupted him with a barrage of reckless attacks.

Taiichi showed no fear as he watched the two Chunin charge at him. As he rushed forward, he began forming hand seals. Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire. Fireballs filled the sky, disregarding any formation as they bombarded the two Chunin in a dense barrage.

Using the fireballs to block their vision, Taiichi created two more Shadow Clones.

When the two Chunin had just dealt with the fireballs, they found themselves facing more than one Taiichi.

Taiichi sent one Shadow Clone to entangle one Chunin, while the other clone joined his real body in dealing with the second Chunin.

In the time it took to speak, the two sides collided.

Relying on its nature as a clone, Taiichi's Shadow Clone fiercely stepped forward to block the Kunai swung by the Chunin. Taiichi himself slid to the side of the Chunin and, concealed by the clone, quietly plunged his blade into the man's chest.

Poof. The sound of the Shadow Clone dispersing.

Thud. The sound of the Chunin collapsing.

Taiichi killed one Chunin in a flash, frightening the other Chunin badly. He hurriedly retreated, widening the distance between himself and the Shadow Clone.

For the current Taiichi, his taijutsu, which was a full level above that of a Chunin, gave his Shadow Clones the ability to fight Chunin head-on.

Just as Taiichi, having dealt with one Chunin, was about to charge at the other, he heard the enemy Jonin shout, "Retreat!"

The Chunin and three Genin did not hesitate. After throwing several smoke bombs, they used the crowd as cover and retreated one after another. Once the rogue ninja leader saw that his subordinates had all safely withdrawn, he decisively retreated as well without even leaving behind a threat.

"Captain, I'm here! Saori, hang on!" Yohei's shout came from afar.

It turned out that Taiichi was not the only one to defeat a Chunin. Yohei had also rushed over from the rear of the convoy.

The remaining battle held no surprises. With Taiichi and Yohei joining in, the guards quickly stabilized the situation and, in one powerful push, slaughtered most of the bandits.

This time, the guards showed no mercy. They continued pursuing even the fleeing bandits until they vanished from sight.

After driving back the bandits, Taiichi and Yohei no longer bothered with those who had escaped. The two met up and headed toward the center of the Camp. Along the way, Yohei's pale face was full of excitement as he kept talking about the battle at the rear of the convoy.

Within each of his scarlet eyes, a tomoe slowly revolved. Yohei had awakened his eyes during the battle just now. So excited was he that even now, he had not noticed the change in himself.