Zetsu and Counter-Zetsu

"Heh, what an interesting little brat. Your strength is decent, but you're just too stupid. I truly feel sorry for those teammates of yours who died in vain."

Facing the boy's exceptionally fierce strength, Heichen remained calm and composed, doing nothing but continuously provoking him.

Scarface and the blond ninja beside Heichen were equally well-versed in this tactic, relentlessly belittling the boy.

"Indeed, I don't know how a brat who only brings trouble to his teammates has survived until today. Being your partner must be a truly painful experience."

In an instant, the already furious boy became even more enraged, his eyes filled with nothing but crazed killing intent.

"Ah—I'm going to kill you all!"

As a bystander, Chiba saw things clearly. Although the boy appeared to have the upper hand on the surface, in reality, Heichen and his companions likely hadn't used their full strength.

They were probably just waiting for the boy to exhaust his stamina or reveal a flaw, playing with him like a cat toying with a mouse before killing him.

On the other side of the battlefield, the fight between Shadow and the other two Konoha ninjas was essentially a mirror image of this one.

The two were constantly surrounding Shadow, yet they were being firmly suppressed by him.

However, there was a difference here.

Judging by the several new wounds that had appeared on these two Konoha ninjas in such a short time, along with their constantly dripping cold sweat, Chiba could tell they were genuinely feeling the pressure.

Suddenly, the situation shifted abruptly. Shadow increased his speed to an incredible degree; while Chiba could barely catch glimpses of his black shadow when they paused before, now he couldn't see anything at all.

"Squelch—"

Accompanied by a clear, dull thud in the air, the fighting between the group came to a halt.

"Heh, how truly weak."

With a sneer of disdain, Shadow exerted a sudden force, pulling his right hand out from the chest of one Konoha ninja and casually digging out a still-beating heart.

The Konoha ninja who had been gutted seemed unable to believe it, blankly wanting to say something, but no words could escape his lips.

"Thud!"

As the corpse hit the ground, Shadow turned his head to look at the remaining Konoha ninja, a cruel smile curling his lips.

"Next, it's your turn."

It wasn't just Chiba who hadn't reacted to what had happened; even the remaining Konoha ninja was caught off guard, staring blankly at his companion's corpse, completely at a loss.

"Squelch—"

Another dull thud, and this Konoha ninja met the same fate of having his heart pierced.

From Chiba's angle, he could even see the heart still pulsing in the hand Shadow had extended from the man's back, along with the savage grin on his face.

So, this is what a ninja battle is. Life and death decided the moment they meet.

However, before Chiba could process his thoughts, the situation on the field shifted once more.

The Konoha ninja, who had seemed completely helpless just moments ago, suddenly raised his head, revealing a similarly savage grin.

"Of course I know I couldn't be your match. The gap in our speed is too great, so..."

As he spoke, a series of eerie squeaking sounds emanated from the Konoha ninja's body.

"That's why I chose this method!"

Shadow seemed to realize something was wrong and hurriedly tried to pull his hand back, only to find in dismay that his hand seemed to be glued to the man's body.

"Heh, it's useless. You should know I'm from the Spider Clan. With this kind of stickiness, you won't be able to pull away in such a short time."

Shadow frowned, but he didn't panic, raising his left hand to strike again.

Although Shadow's blow shattered half of the Konoha ninja's chest, he still couldn't break free.

"Heh, I told you, it's useless."

As he spoke, the Konoha ninja's face began to swell in a grotesque manner.

"Hahahaha! Ah hahahaha! Come with me! Go to hell!"

"Pfft—"

A large mass of unknown substance sprayed from the Konoha ninja's mouth, shooting directly onto Shadow's face.

Shadow didn't even have time to react before half of his body, from head to chest, was corroded away, leaving him frozen in place.

The two stood facing each other in a bizarre posture, no sound remaining, until a long while later when Chiba finally realized: they were truly dead.

This... this...

Chiba couldn't express his astonishment; everything before his eyes exceeded his imagination. Using one's body as bait—the fatal strike and the counter-kill happened in a mere instant.

Compared to the anime he saw in his past life, where fights dragged on for days without a winner, where people talked endlessly with "talk-no-jutsu," and where characters were impossible to kill, this was likely what a true ninja battle looked like.

A complex mix of emotions brewed within Chiba; he couldn't even name the feeling himself, but faintly, he even felt a touch of excitement.

"Damn it, that idiot Shadow, to fall for such a simple trap so easily."

Heichen's expression was ugly now. Seeing victory clearly within his grasp only to lose a man for no reason made him exceptionally irritated.

"Forget it, if he's dead, he's dead."

Since Shadow was already dead, Heichen had nothing left to say.

Pointing a finger at the Konoha youth before him, Heichen commanded, "It is time. Finish him off as quickly as possible."

Immediately, Scarface and the blond-haired man flanked the youth, accelerating at the same time.

Yet, just then, the youth slightly raised his head, his face devoid of emotion, cold and indifferent.

"You're right, it is time."

Watching the anger and killing intent suddenly vanish from the youth's face, Heichen felt an inexplicable chill run through him.

"Retreat—"

Before he could finish, the youth had already formed hand seals, instantly unleashing a ninjutsu.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Before Scar and the blond-haired man could react to the sudden change, the youth had already emerged from the white mist with two shadow clones.

"Konoha Secret Technique: Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

"Sshhh—"

Accompanied by a flash of blade light so brilliant it was dazzling, the sound of sharp steel slicing into flesh rang out clearly.

In an instant, the blond-haired man was hacked into several pieces, while Scar had his legs severed and his abdomen slashed open; both collapsed limply to the ground.

Heichen's expression turned incredibly ugly, his eyes filled with gravity.

"You bastard, you were faking it before."

The youth looked at Heichen, breathing slightly, his face still icy: "Not entirely a facade. My anger was real; I have never wanted to kill someone so desperately, but I understood even better that if I wanted to kill you all, I had to remain calm."

Heichen raised an eyebrow slightly, his expression growing increasingly grave.

"So, it seems I underestimated you."

In the distance, Chiba, who was watching the battle, still hadn't processed what had happened. What was going on? How did this youth suddenly erupt and counter-kill two people?

The situation had shifted far too quickly; in less than three minutes of fighting, two full squads had been reduced to only two men.