Ambush

Tall, continuous trees stood under the moonlight as Haku and Hideki sprinted rapidly through the forest.

Both were moving at high speed, their expressions showing signs of impatience.

It had only been a few days, yet they were already unable to keep pace with Suifeng and Fushan.

Was this what they called geniuses? Having just graduated from the Ninja Academy, both their chakra reserves and control far exceeded their own.

Not to mention Haku, a mere genin, even Hideki, a chunin, found himself completely unable to keep up.

This was a bandit suppression mission, the squad's first assignment from the village.

Both knew the purpose of this mission; Suifeng needed to see blood, and patrolling within the village clearly wouldn't achieve that effect.

The ninja world was not peaceful, plagued by frequent warfare. Especially now, with the Second Great Ninja War having just ended, even the Fire Power, the strongest nation, faced bandit uprisings everywhere. Ninjas who could not return to their villages for various reasons during the war were forced to wander, and they were clearly not opponents that ordinary soldiers could handle, leaving Konoha's mission requests in a constant state of backlog.

To ordinary people, these were heinous bandits, but to Konoha, it was merely a C-rank mission.

"Stop!"

Suddenly, Fushan and Suifeng up ahead came to a halt. Haku and Hideki's expressions tightened as they simultaneously stopped in their tracks.

"Captain!"

With two soft whistles, Haku and Hideki arrived before Fushan, their faces filled with confusion.

"Something is wrong. Haku, use your perception!"

"Yes!" Haku felt a jolt in his heart. He closed his eyes and raised his hands to form seals, his invisible sensory power spreading outward.

Two breaths later, a look of confusion appeared on his face as he pointed in a certain direction. "Captain, something is wrong over there!"

"I'll go check!"

Hideki vanished in an instant.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Almost the moment Hideki disappeared, over a dozen kunai and shuriken flew out from the direction Haku had indicated.

Not good!

All three vanished from their spots simultaneously.

Poof!

Several kunai struck Hideki's body, and as the white smoke cleared, a wooden stump fell to the ground.

Body Replacement Technique!

"Oh no...!"

"We've been discovered!"

"It's Konoha ninjas, run!"

Several dark shadows scattered throughout the forest.

Squelch!

A kunai sliced through a throat, and blood sprayed out. Hideki reappeared, a cold glint flashing across his face.

"Rock Ninja!" The next second, his figure vanished and reappeared in front of Fushan.

"Indeed, they are Rock Ninja."

Fushan's expression was grim.

They were not far from Konoha, yet they had encountered Rock Ninja; it was clear they had run into an unexpected situation.

Earth Release: Earth-Splitting Palm!

With a thunderous roar, the earth shook, and cracks spread out like a spiderweb.

"Hmph!" Fushan let out a cold snort and leaped up again, flashing to Suifeng's side. At this moment, Suifeng's face was pale as he pulled his kunai from the throat of a Rock Ninja—a chunin.

"Well done!"

"It's alright!" Suifeng rasped. It was his first time killing, and while he didn't vomit as the legends suggested, it didn't feel good either; otherwise, he wouldn't have been injured facing such an opponent.

"You're hurt?!"

"It's nothing, just a small wound!" He took a deep breath and turned his gaze toward the remaining Rock Ninja. Aside from the one entangled with Hideki, another ninja was forcing Haku into a desperate retreat.

Haku was only a genin; although he had awakened his eyes, his strengths lay in genjutsu and sensory ninjutsu. Facing a Rock Ninja chunin, he was barely holding on.

Earth Release: Earth Rising Spear!

Another surge of chakra fluctuated, and countless stone spikes erupted from the ground. Suifeng and Fushan leaped up simultaneously.

"I'll handle the jonin; you take care of the others!"

They were facing a Rock Ninja squad—the same configuration, the same number. Suifeng had already finished off his opponent, and with Fushan and Hideki both tied up with their own, his target was naturally Haku's opponent.

He pushed off the ground with his toes, his body vanishing in an instant, and by the next moment, he had appeared beside Haku.

Konoha Whirlwind!

Bang!

Moving at high speed, Haku's opponent had no time to react before Suifeng kicked him flying. The next moment, Suifeng's figure vanished again, catching up to the Rock Ninja as he hurtled backward, a kunai descending to send blood spraying everywhere.

But in the next instant, a puff of white smoke erupted, and a log fell to the ground.

Though the clash between the two sides had not lasted long, Suifeng had already discovered the weakness of these Rock Ninja: high defense but slow speed.

This was one of the defining characteristics of the Rock Ninja.

Relying on Earth Release, these Rock Ninja possessed extremely high defensive capabilities. This defense boosted their survivability and bought them time to perform techniques during battle. Against an average opponent, even if the enemy's speed surpassed theirs, it was difficult to take their lives in a single strike. This was the very reason why Kakashi had chosen to develop the Chidori line of ninjutsu.

He was the archetype of speed-based combat, yet often, he lacked the means to deliver a lethal blow; even with a kunai, he could not guarantee a kill in one hit.

Just as Suifeng was experiencing now, his kunai had almost grazed his opponent's throat, yet it felt as if he had struck a layer of stone film. Even with added force, he had only managed to break a shallow layer and draw a bit of blood, giving his opponent enough time to weave hand seals and perform the Body Replacement Technique before Suifeng could strike a second time.

He had escaped with his life.

Through his Sharingan, Suifeng watched with his own eyes as a dark shadow hit the ground and, as if sinking into water, the entire person submerged into the earth.

Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage!

"Hmph, these Rock Ninja certainly have plenty of tricks. Haku, are you alright?!"

"I am fine, just a minor injury!"

Haku said, still shaken, "Suifeng, thank you. If it weren't for you just now, I would have...!"

"Look out!"

Before the words could fade, Suifeng's expression shifted, and he stepped in front of him.

Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique

A fist the size of a washbasin, composed entirely of solid rock, appeared before him.

Iron Body!

Suifeng clenched his fists, arms bent forward, bracing himself.

BOOM!!

Amidst a deafening roar and rising dust, Suifeng was sent sliding straight back for over ten meters, his feet carving two deep furrows into the ground.

"That's not enough power!!"

Before his backward momentum had even ceased, Suifeng slammed his right foot into the ground behind him and vaulted into the air. Two kunai flew out, and simultaneously, he rushed toward his opponent, hands weaving seals.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Earth Release: Earth Style Wall

Clang! Clang!!

The two kunai were blocked by the rising earthen wall, but by then, Suifeng's Great Fireball Technique was already complete.

Golden-red light flickered as a fireball the size of a washbasin slammed fiercely into the wall.

"BOOM!!"

With a thunderous crash, the earthen wall, which was a full two feet thick, was instantly smashed through by the fireball.

This...

The Rock Ninja behind the wall clearly had not expected the power of a Great Fireball to be so immense.

The defense had been breached with such ferocity that he had been entirely confident in his Earth Style Wall, especially against a technique like the Great Fireball, which was notorious for never actually killing anyone.

At that moment, he was standing behind the wall, hands frantically weaving seals as a massive amount of chakra surged forth, intending to hit Suifeng with a major technique. He had no time to dodge and was instantly struck square in the face by the fireball.

To be precise, that was no fireball—it was a Lava Release sphere!

One shot, one kill!

This, this, this...

Never mind the unlucky Rock Ninja; Haku, who had witnessed everything, and the Rock Ninja Jonin who had been entangled with Fushan were both stunned.

Great Fireball?

You're telling me this is the Great Fireball that never kills anyone?

This isn't a fireball, you idiot, this is a lava sphere.

"Lava Release?! Have I fallen under a genjutsu?"

"Foolish thing, to dare lose focus in front of me!"

A kunai flashed, and blood sprayed into the air.