A Fight to the Death
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Taiichi suddenly ducked, sliding under the Fireball. The scorching Fireball grazed his cheek, making his entire face burn. After passing the caster, Taiichi abruptly turned around, shouting, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
The fire is fueled by the wind, and the wind fuels the fire's power.
The towering flames, accompanied by waves of heat, rushed into the narrow passage, and immediately a series of piercing screams echoed from within.
After unleashing his Ninjutsu, Taiichi grabbed Yohei, who still wanted to check the situation, and fled back without looking back.
A moment later, "Wind Style: Chaotic Airflow"
A powerful whirlwind blew out of the passage, along with the remaining flames and hot air.
Four figures led the way, and the remaining ninjas stepped out of the cave one after another. It was clear that these ninjas were all still shaken.
That brat is so cunning! He actually ambushed a Fire Style ninja at the cave entrance. With this terrain and the addition of Wind Style, it's practically a guaranteed kill.
The Jonin named Hijikata looked back into the passage and felt a pang of heartache. Just like that, eight Chunin had collapsed, and judging by their appearance, they probably wouldn't make it.
"I'm going to kill him!" Green-haired Takagi didn't wait for anyone's reaction and rushed out first, shouting as he left, "Damn Qiantai, aren't you coming after me to atone for your sins!"
"Ah~ Yes~ Yes~" Asata, Qiantai looking uneasy, was overjoyed upon hearing this and followed without hesitation. At this moment, he could easily tell that the two kids had come with him.
Watching Takagi and the other two leave, Hijikata was still not satisfied. "Send four more, and I'll calculate the payment."
As soon as he finished speaking, four more figures rushed out.
Taiichi, who was running ahead, was extremely nervous at this moment, constantly telling Yohei was running beside him, about the situation in the cave. He also kept taking out Kunai and Explosive Tag from his Ninja Tool Pouch, attaching wire to them, and casually shooting them into the surrounding trees to set up simple traps.
When Yohei heard that there were more than thirty enemy ninjas in the cave, including several Jonin, he became uneasy and immediately followed Taiichi, setting up traps along their path.
What follows might be a race against time.
--
Before long, the two running figures heard bursts of explosions behind them, the sounds of Explosive Tag being triggered. "I really hope I can delay them a little longer," Taiichi thought to himself.
However, things didn't go as planned. Of all the Explosive Tag thrown out, only five actually detonated, which probably only slightly slowed down the pursuing ninjas.
As time went on, Taiichi could clearly feel that Yohei's breathing was getting heavier and heavier. Running at such a fast pace, his physical strength was obviously about to reach its limit.
"Yohei, did you remember all the information I just gave you?" Taiichi's voice rang in Yohei's ears.
"Hmm!" The severe physical exhaustion had slowly drained Yohei's mental energy, and he was almost too weak to answer Taiichi's question.
"If we just run like this, none of us will escape. One of the pursuers is definitely the Jonin whose brother I killed, so my first target will naturally be me." Taiichi said each word carefully, making sure Yohei understood.
"I'll stay behind to cover their retreat and delay them for a bit, then see if I can lure them away. You go back to the outpost and bring the intelligence back."
Yohei was shocked by Taiichi's words and almost fell off the tree, but luckily Taiichi caught him.
"Stop talking, save your energy!" Taiichi comforted him. "You run first. Only if you run will I have a chance to escape too. Otherwise, we'll both die."
As Yohei ran, he turned to look at Taiichi's face, which was clearly younger than his own but had an unusually firm expression. A tear unconsciously slid down the corner of his eye.
He knew Taiichi was right; he was a burden at that moment. He had never hated himself as much as he did now, hated himself for not spending more time training, and hated his own weakness.
But he was powerless at that moment, and in the end, Yohei nodded firmly in Taiichi's encouraging gaze.
Taiichi smiled with pleasure when he saw Yohei nod, then stopped and watched Yohei run away quickly.
Seeing Yohei disappear from his sight, Taiichi quickly Hand Seals and unleashed Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet. A surging torrent of fire swept across the direction Yohei had left, and the raging flames erased all traces left by Yohei.
Turning around, Taiichi looked in the direction the enemy had come from, "Now it's time to have some fun with you."
Hand Seals and Shadow Clone Technique "bangs," three Shadow Clone appeared around Taiichi amidst white smoke. They exchanged glances, and without saying a word, each hid behind a different tree, quietly waiting for the enemy to arrive.
After about 10 minutes, Taiichi, who was hiding behind the tree, finally saw the pursuing enemy clearly.
It really is that green-haired ninja whose younger brother died. He even brought five Chunin with him. They really think highly of him.
"Luckily, only a few people came. If a whole large group had come after us, we would have been doomed today," Taiichi.
The group stood in a pentagram formation, spaced far apart from each other. This distance greatly reduced the possibility of being covered by Ninjutsu, but for Taiichi, who was skilled in swordsmanship, they were too spread out.
When the six arrived at the burning forest, they all stopped and looked at the vast sea of fire before them. Takagi said disdainfully, "Thinking they can hide their tracks like this? Dream on."
"The four of you go around from the left, and Qiantai and I will go around from the right. Send a signal when you find any tracks." With that, he prepared to continue on his way.
Just then, two Kunai struck the outermost Chunin, Kunai closely by Taiichi and Yohei.
This Chunin was clearly unaware of Taiichi's strength, and bravely charged forward to meet the sudden attack.
"Boss, so they didn't run away after all. They stayed here to ambush us," shouted the ninja named Qiantai from the side.
"Shut up, get him!" Takagi snapped at his idiotic subordinate, but something felt off.
In the blink of an eye, the Chunin in the combined attack of Taiichi and Yohei. Since he was not Taiichi to begin with, and with Taiichi's premeditated scheme, he was bound to die even faster.
Taiichi stood in front, completely ignoring Kunai Chunin thrust at him by the Chunin, offering no defense and trading his life for the enemy's. After taking a stab himself, he successfully plunged his Short Sword into the enemy's abdomen.
Looking at the Short Sword piercing his abdomen, Nachō Chunin roar, "Are you crazy?"
However, before he could finish speaking, the person in front of him vanished into thin air with a "bang"—it was Shadow Clone.
Before a look of shock could even appear on his face, Yohei, who had attacked from both sides, had already beheaded him with a single blow.
"Pair up, that kid's swordsmanship is amazing." The belated warning finally arrived, but the Chunin could no longer hear it.
The remaining four Chunin paired up to prevent themselves from being replaced by Shadow Clone.
After killing the Chunin, Yohei quickly rushed towards another Chunin, making them a two-person team. Meanwhile, the green-haired Jonin was also charging towards them.
Yohei was using his Taijutsu to Chunin two Chunin, and just as the Jonin was closing in and about to take Yohei Taiichi rushed out from the side and delivered a powerful slash to the green-haired Jonin.
As expected of Jonin calm even when faced with a surprise attack. He raised his kunai Kunai block and then delivered a flying kick.
Taiichi to be trifled with either, and he wasn't about to let him get away with it so easily. He also swept out with his own foot, trying to deflect the flying kick.
However, perhaps he got too caught up in the fight and forgot his identity. He could fight back with the advantage of a long-handled weapon, but in terms of strength alone, he was Jonin, especially since he was a Shadow Clone.
Taiichi was kicked off balance by the green-haired ninja, but fortunately, he stopped worrying about himself, withdrew his sword, turned around, and used his last bit of strength to slash at a Chunin behind him.