The Pursuit

"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spear!"

"Swish!"

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

"Splurt!"

Chiba and Yahiko charged at the front. In an instant, they unleashed two jutsu at the shadow not far away.

The Mist Ninja renegade barely had time to react before he was torn to pieces.

"Is that a water clone?"

Just then, an attack suddenly came from behind them.

"Water Stream Technique!"

"Boom!"

Nagato leaped forward, using his shield to block the attack.

Seeing the enemy appear again before them, Chiba, Yahiko, Konan, and the others didn't hesitate. They immediately unleashed several more jutsu in succession.

This was right after Nagato had replenished their chakra before the battle began, so everyone had plenty of firepower to spare.

"Boom!" "Boom, boom!"

Amid the spray of mist kicked up by the Water Style and Earth Style attacks, Chiba and the others lost sight of the enemy again.

Jing Jiu, the Mist Ninja renegade, hid behind a large tree, panting heavily, his face full of disbelief.

At first, he hadn't thought much of the children. He'd even planned out how to torture them to death. But who could have guessed they'd be so strong they seemed like monsters? Not only could they use C-rank jutsu, they could unleash several in a row, and none of them seemed particularly worn out.

A question crept into his mind. Were these really children? He'd seen geniuses before, but when had geniuses started coming in groups?

There was no doubt about it: Jing Jiu was getting nervous.

After cautiously watching Chiba and the others in a mirror for a while, Jing Jiu decided to flee at once.

But just as he was about to sneak away, Nagato spotted him again.

"Over there."

The group immediately closed in on him once more.

Nagato's Rinnegan hadn't yet developed to a high level, but even its basic perception abilities were more than enough to see through this man's hiding place.

"Damn it."

Jing Jiu immediately picked up speed and fled as fast as he could.

His long years on the run had made fleeing second nature to him. Even when he was evenly matched with an opponent, he had no desire to fight to the death. And these children had clearly shown that they were stronger than he was.

However, after running a little over a hundred meters, Jing Jiu suddenly realized something. A cruel smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"So they're just a bunch of rookies."

He'd only suspected it before, but after watching the way they pursued him, he instantly saw through them.

He stopped trying to flee in a straight line. Instead, he casually set a few simple traps and began leading Chiba and the others in circles.

"Boom!"

A flash of fire suddenly exploded beside Chiba and the others, blasting Yahiko and Chiba, who were in front, off their feet.

"Chiba, Yahiko, are you okay?"

Chiba shook his head and clambered to his feet, covered in dirt.

"I'm fine."

Jiraiya had taught them how to spot and set traps, but they clearly weren't skilled enough to quickly detect the traps this man had casually laid.

Nagato had spotted the first and second traps, but he hadn't expected there to be a third.

Nagato's perception was keen, but not keen enough to see through the subtle movements Jing Jiu concealed with the tree and his own body.

Fortunately, the man had placed the traps in relatively secluded spots to keep them hidden. He'd also been short on time, so the traps had little stopping power. Otherwise, the group would have suffered more than just getting covered in dirt.

Nagato looked at them and suddenly said, "Maybe I should go in front. I—"

"No need."

Chiba shook his head. "I said I'd lead the charge."

Yahiko felt the same way as Chiba. "I'm not that fragile."

The group soon resumed the pursuit. At first, they were still getting hurt by little traps now and then, but it didn't take long for them to gradually adjust to the pace of the chase.

Actual combat really was the best training. In just a short while, they'd made tremendous progress.

Jing Jiu, fleeing desperately ahead of them, gradually began to feel the pressure. By now, his crude little traps could barely slow them down.

Chiba and the others were closing the distance, and their jutsu were even reaching him now and then.

"What kind of monsters are these brats? Will their chakra never run out?"

Jing Jiu kept cursing under his breath as he shoved a few blue pills into his mouth. They were unique to the Mist Ninja, a chakra-restoring medicine similar to Konoha's soldier pills. After recovering a little chakra, his speed suddenly picked up again.

And so, the battle turned into a war of attrition.

Chiba and the others hadn't expected that. Fortunately, Nagato could reach over while they were running and replenish their chakra from time to time, allowing them to keep going.

The group chased and fled at a furious pace for over an hour, until the sky gradually began to darken.

Jing Jiu was undeniably baffled. He hadn't seen the children take any medicine or use any kind of support tool, yet it was as if their chakra would never run out.

His original plan had been to exhaust the children's chakra through the prolonged chase. But now, it seemed he was the one about to run out.

They were even using jutsu as they ran! Shouldn't they be using up more chakra than me?

Jing Jiu's eyes were filled with confusion.

It made no sense. Was there some shortcut to training chakra? Even the most talented children shouldn't have this much chakra at their age.

At last, Jing Jiu, who had been fleeing ahead of them, seemed to tire and stopped, panting heavily.

By now, night had completely fallen. The group quickly chased after him.

But just as they sped toward him, a cruel smile suddenly spread across Jing Jiu's face.

"Good thing rookies are rookies. You've already fallen into my trap. With an attack this powerful, there's no way you can dodge it."

As he spoke, Jing Jiu cut a nearly invisible black wire beside him.

"Swish—" "Clack, clack—"

In the dark forest, the sound of steel wires scraping against mechanisms suddenly rang out in a rapid series.