Ninja Combat

"Boom!"

A deafening roar erupted, and a deep crater was instantly blasted into the ground.

Chiba had no way of reacting to what had just occurred.

He only felt his body grow light, and amidst a dizzying blur, he was whisked away from the spot, reappearing a great distance away.

The only difference was that the coat he had been wearing, which was covered in Explosive Tag, was gone.

"Tsk tsk, that really is some impressive speed."

Heichen emerged from the shadows with two subordinates in tow.

Looking at the dense array of hidden weapons littering the ground, Chiba realized that in that brief instant, the two sides had clashed more times than he could count.

The sheer density of the projectiles spoke volumes about the attack frequency of Heichen and his men.

Yet, it was clear that the youth before him possessed extraordinary strength; he had managed to dodge every single attack with ease while carrying Chiba along.

Chiba was quite knowledgeable about the Hokage world, and there was no doubt that this youth was a genius.

And likely not just an ordinary genius at that. Heichen was a Jonin, and for the youth to remain so composed meant he was certainly no simple character.

Furthermore, from the youth's actions just now, Chiba could tell he was a good person.

But that wasn't what mattered right now; what mattered was that he still hadn't broken free from his control.

Though he wanted to say something, Chiba could not control his own body at all.

On the surface, Chiba still maintained that timid appearance, making it impossible for anyone to notice anything amiss.

The youth casually channeled chakra into Chiba's body, circulating it once, but found nothing unusual.

Tossing Chiba gently behind him, the youth cast a cold glare at Heichen and his men.

"Using civilians as bait—isn't that a bit too despicable?"

"Despicable? You call me despicable? Hahahaha!"

Heichen couldn't help but sneer.

"You must be a brat who just stepped onto the battlefield to say something so naive. Do you even understand what a ninja is?"

"You bastard." The youth glared at Heichen in fury, the killing intent in his eyes nearly solidifying.

It was clear that Heichen's lack of principles had completely ignited his rage.

Heichen stared back at the youth just as intensely, his own eyes filled with unbridled murderous intent.

"To achieve one's goals by any means necessary, even at the cost of one's life—that is what a true ninja is. A naive brat like you doesn't understand anything."

As he spoke, Heichen and the youth simultaneously gripped their weapons, the battle poised to erupt at any second.

Meanwhile, as the youth and Heichen stood in a standoff, a girl in the youth's squad, who appeared to be a medical ninja, pulled out a bandage to wrap Chiba's wound.

"Th-thank you."

Chiba offered his thanks timidly.

The girl smiled gently but said nothing.

The warm smile vanished in an instant, and she quickly turned her head, watching the hostile ninjas opposite them with equal vigilance.

Suddenly, however, the vigilance on the girl's face turned into sheer terror.

A thin black line silently extended from behind Chiba, lightly slicing across the girl's throat.

"Hiss—"

Chiba could even clearly see a streak of blood drifting through the air.

The youth sensed the anomaly behind him, turned his head slightly, and froze in place.

"Hotaru?"

From Chiba's angle, he could see the look of utter bewilderment on the youth's face.

Time seemed to stand still, and the youth's expression was filled with confusion.

Soon, that confusion transformed into rage.

"Aaaaaah—"

In that instant, through the youth's eyes, Chiba could clearly feel his grief and indignation, the agony of having nowhere to vent his overflowing hatred.

Chiba could slightly empathize with the feeling of causing a close comrade's death due to one's own negligence.

Yet, seeing the cold gaze the youth directed at him, Chiba couldn't help but shudder.

"Heh, this is the consequence of your foolish actions. If it weren't for you, your companion wouldn't have died. You killed her with your own hands."

Heichen continued to taunt him.

As a bystander, Chiba could clearly hear that Heichen's intention was to provoke the youth, but Chiba had no way to offer any warning.

At this moment, the Shadow had already left his body, but for some reason, he still couldn't move a muscle.

Watching Shadow standing beside Chiba, the other two teammates of the youth were equally filled with disbelief.

"How is this possible?"

One teammate with six arms said blankly.

"I clearly didn't sense even a tiny bit of chakra!"

"Heh, there are many things you haven't thought of yet."

Without another word, Shadow continued to charge toward the other two, and with Chiba's vision, he couldn't see what was happening at all.

The speed of these people was undoubtedly too fast for Chiba; in Chiba's eyes, these people were practically teleporting.

In an instant, Shadow appeared on the other side and clashed with the two of them.

"Ahhhhh!"

"I'm going to kill you, kill you!"

On the other side, the youth had clearly gone mad.

He charged toward the three people opposite him, disregarding everything.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

In an instant, the youth suppressed the three people opposite him; looking at it from this perspective, the youth was indeed a genius.

One could see the youth constantly attacking the vital points of the three with exquisite swordsmanship, while occasionally using small-scale ninjutsu and genjutsu to suppress the opponents.

For a time, the three opposite him seemed to have no power to put up a decent resistance, and could only continue to defend silently.

Not far from Chiba's side, the youth's two teammates were being firmly pinned in place by Shadow.

Even though the battle between the two sides was exceptionally intense, Chiba could clearly feel as if the whole world had gone quiet.

The battle between the two sides had scared away all the surrounding animals, and apart from the sounds of their fighting, only a faint sound of wind remained on the field.

"Whoosh—"

A faint sound of wind rose melodiously, as if accompanying this battle.

For some reason, Chiba suddenly let go of his fear and instead began to focus on appreciating the battle before him.

Several black shadows constantly appeared and disappeared, clashing with a clang in the air for a while before quickly vanishing back into place.

Occasionally, there were sudden flashes of fire and suddenly protruding earth spikes.

Various kunai and shuriken appeared on the ground for no reason, and before long, the surrounding ground was completely covered in them.

Is this... the battle of a ninja?

Chiba should feel fortunate; if it weren't for the fact that the two sides were some distance away at the moment, and the ninjas' hidden weapons were exceptionally precise, Chiba would have already died in the aftermath of the battle.

But even if he didn't die now, Chiba didn't know where he should go.

If Heichen's side won, he would undoubtedly continue to face the miserable fate of becoming a human bomb.

However, if the youth's side won, he might not necessarily fare any better; from the looks they had just given him, Chiba could feel a thick resentment, and whether they would let him go was unknown.

Knowing that it might already be a hopeless situation, Chiba felt slightly dejected, but since the outcome was already destined, Chiba could only accept it silently.

Is this the consequence of having no power?

Being left to be slaughtered, completely unable to control one's own destiny.

Just like now, life and death are not in one's own hands.

Never before had Chiba longed for power as much as he did now.

Silently watching the battlefield before him, Chiba secretly made a vow.

If I can survive, I will learn ninjutsu no matter what, and take complete control of my own destiny.