Enma, Water Release: Rasengan (Seeking Follow-up and Monthly Votes)

Swish, swish, swish!

Shita Genichi's figure flickered as he advanced along the riverbank.

Suddenly, he came to a halt; not far ahead lay a corpse.

It was an enemy.

Bypassing the body to continue forward, he soon came upon a chaotic battlefield bearing the scorched marks of Fire Release, along with two more corpses.

Shita Genichi did not know how these three fallen enemies compared to the Ice Release ninja he had faced, but to have taken down three men while under assault by seven, Sarutobi Shinnosuke's strength was formidable.

And Sarutobi Shinnosuke was only twelve or thirteen years old.

He was at the Chunin level, but he likely already possessed the strength of a Jonin.

Behind a large boulder.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke gasped for air.

There were four enemies left, and he was nearing his limit.

If he retreated any further, he would reach the mining area.

Genichi is likely held up by a strong enemy, and there is also Sakumo.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke pondered to himself, It seems I have no choice but to fall back into the mining area and execute the second plan.

At that moment, two Mist ninja lunged from the left and right, throwing shuriken simultaneously.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke vanished from his spot in a flash, narrowly dodging the shuriken.

Clang, clang, clang!

Sarutobi Shinnosuke held a Kunai in each hand, parrying the frantic onslaught of the two Mist ninja.

After a dozen exchanges, he let out a muffled grunt as a kick sent him flying, his body tumbling repeatedly across the surface of the river.

Boom, boom, boom!

The river surface erupted.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke vaulted into the air, moving with the agility of a hare, and barely managed to dodge the Mist ninja's attacks as he landed on the bank, slamming his hands onto the ground.

Earth Release-Earth Style Wall!

An earthen wall rose with a thunderous roar as two jets of water slammed into it.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke did not stop, his feet moving rapidly as he retreated.

The four Mist ninja gave chase, advancing in a staggered formation and launching a relentless barrage of attacks, forcing him step by step toward the mining area.

It was not that they hadn't considered leaving some behind to stall Sarutobi Shinnosuke while others bypassed him to sabotage the mine.

But Sarutobi Shinnosuke's strength made them fear doing so.

They had underestimated him before, which had led to heavy losses.

Now, they were determined to finish off the exhausted Sarutobi Shinnosuke at any cost.

Boom!

Fire Release clashed with Water Release, filling the air with steam.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke gritted his teeth and seized the opportunity to retreat once more.

But it wasn't long before he was blocked again, this time surrounded from the front and back.

My chakra is running low...

Sarutobi Shinnosuke panted heavily, then placed his finger into his mouth.

Snap!

Sarutobi Shinnosuke bit his finger open.

Summoning Technique!

The four Mist ninja lunged forward in unison.

Poof!

A massive cloud of smoke billowed up.

The Mist ninja's blades slashed into the smoke, producing the sound of metal striking metal.

"What?"

The expressions of the Mist ninja shifted.

The next moment, the smoke cleared, and a towering ape appeared before their eyes.

The ape held two blades at bay with its arms, while taking the other two strikes directly against its body.

Even so, the blades failed to break its skin.

At this moment, on the shoulder of Enma, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was already powerless: "Enma, I leave it to you!"

"Understood!"

Enma spread his arms, and the two Mist jōnin retreated accordingly.

The other two Mist ninja also immediately leaped back, but Enma instantly caught up to one, sending him flying with a single punch, leaving him silent.

Enma intended to pursue the other Mist ninja who was retreating slowly, but shuriken came flying toward him.

Enma, with his astonishing defense, was naturally unafraid, but these shuriken were aimed directly at Sarutobi Shinnosuke on his shoulder, forcing Enma to abandon the pursuit and dodge.

Just then, Shita Genichi arrived and performed hand seals without hesitation.

Genjutsu, Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!

In an instant, the vision of the three Mist ninja was stripped away.

"Watch out, there are others!"

"It's a Genjutsu!"

The three Mist ninja shouted.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke was overjoyed: "It's Shita Genichi!"

He hurriedly raised his hand to throw shuriken; although they lacked much power, they were enough to distract the three Mist ninja, the whistling sound forcing them to abandon their hand seals and instead use their ninja blades to parry.

After completing the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, Shita Genichi continued to weave hand seals.

Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!

Water vapor condensed, droplets gathered into a stream, and the water spun rapidly as it rose, then surged toward the three Mist ninja like a flood.

Hearing the sound, the three Mist ninja ignored their lack of vision.

Relying on the visual memory from before they lost their sight, they all leaped into the air.

All three avoided the surging water.

But while they were focused on dodging, Enma seized the opportunity.

Bang!

Before one of them could land, he was sent flying by a punch from Enma.

Shita Genichi followed the flow, leaped up, and condensed a Rasengan in his right hand.

Water Release: Rasengan!

Yes, he had added the nature transformation of Water Release into the Rasengan.

Shita Genichi's target was another Mist jōnin.

This jōnin was in mid-air, and hearing the whistling sound, he swung his blade down, accurately colliding with the Rasengan in Shita Genichi's hand.

The two stalled for a moment in mid-air, the Rasengan shattered, and the vortex of water engulfed the Mist ninja, carrying him from the air until he slammed into a tree trunk with a bang.

Shita Genichi followed like a shadow, delivering a knee strike that hit the Mist ninja's neck with precision.

With a crack, the Mist ninja's head lolled powerlessly to the side.

At this moment, the last Mist ninja finally broke free from the Genjutsu and hurriedly chose to retreat and flee.

"Leave him to me!"

Shita Genichi let out a low shout, leaped up, and performed hand seals with both hands, using the Soldier Mantra.

In an instant, his speed soared, startling Sarutobi Shinnosuke on Enma's shoulder.

Watching him use Water Release against Water Release to easily dispose of the fleeing Mist ninja, even Enma couldn't help but remark: "This brat is quite extraordinary!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded with a smile: "Shita Genichi is indeed very impressive; his Water Release is unique in the village, and there is likely no one more outstanding than him."

Shita Genichi returned and said: "Senior, I'm going to support the others!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded, and just as he was about to speak, a voice came: "No need!"

Swish, swish, swish~~

Hatake Sakumo, Akimichi Dozō, Yamanaka Jing, and Nara Kakuto appeared one after another.

"Teacher!"

Shita Genichi smiled, feeling a sense of relief.

It seemed this time there was no danger despite the close call.

"Shinnosuke, are you alright!"

Akimichi Dozō and the others asked one after another.

Enma turned into a puff of smoke and dispelled the summoning, and Sarutobi Shinnosuke laughed: "I'm fine, just a bit exhausted from chakra consumption."

"Shita Genichi, Langyi is injured, go help him treat his wounds."

Hatake Sakumo said to Shita Genichi.

"Understood!"

Shita Genichi immediately left for the camp outside the mine.

Shita Genichi arrived at Uchiha Namiichi's room to find him lying down with bandages wrapped around his waist.

"Genichi."

Uchiha Namiichi forced a smile: "I'm going to have to trouble you again."

Shita Genichi stepped forward, unwrapped the bandages to take a look, and chuckled: "It's fine, just flesh wounds. Your internal organs weren't damaged."

"We're comrades who entrust our backs to one another; there's no need to be so polite."

"Wait here a moment. I'm going to grab my supplies; your wounds need to be cleaned before I can heal them."

With that, Shita Genichi returned to his own room to retrieve his pack.

On the other side.

No sooner had Shita Genichi's main body left than his shadow clone arrived to rendezvous with Hatake Sakumo and the others, carrying the unconscious Kirigakure ninja.

"Teacher, this guy is a Kekkei Genkai ninja from Kirigakure who uses Ice Release."

Shita Genichi dropped the captive.

"A Kekkei Genkai ninja!"

Nara Kakuto and the others exclaimed in succession.

"This guy..."

After looking at the captive on the ground, Akimichi Dozō said: "He should be a Jonin, right?"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke was secretly astonished: "The Yuki Clan of Kirigakure doesn't have many members. At this age, his strength must be formidable. It's no wonder we were held up by such a powerful enemy earlier."

"To think he could be taken alive—Genichi is becoming more and more surprising."