I Don't Like To Be Lectured

"Gotcha, you Konoha brat!" the Sand ninja who had launched the surprise attack grinned hideously.

His name was Murakami Nakaju, a jonin. Having launched his attack as a sneak strike, he was certain that there was no way this brat could escape.

His ninja blade descended, hacking heavily into Sen Chisato with enough force to cleave a man in two.

"Poof!"

Sen Chisato transformed into a puff of smoke and vanished.

"A Shadow Clone?" Murakami Nakaju froze. "When?"

He had been staring at Sen Chisato the entire time and hadn't noticed him weaving any hand signs at all.

Just then, a scream erupted from the left, followed immediately by a terrifying wave of heat.

It was a massive fireball.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!

Murakami Nakaju reacted with lightning speed to dodge, watching as the fireball grazed past him, engulfed several Sand ninja who were preparing to ambush the Konoha medical ninja, and finally slammed into the forest, exploding violently.

Boom!

A vast stretch of the forest was set ablaze.

Murakami Nakaju turned his head to look at the raging sea of fire, his expression grave.

Is this really the power a Great Fireball Jutsu can achieve?

That massive fireball was nearly several times the size of a standard one.

Moreover, a Great Fireball Jutsu actually managed to burn people to death!

The real question was, where did this brat get so much chakra?

Sen Chisato naturally wasn't about to explain it to him; he continued to swing his blade, reaping the lives of the Sand ninja around him.

Earlier, amidst the chaos, he had used a Shadow Clone and the Transformation Jutsu without anyone noticing, hiding his true self among the Sand ninja while using the clone as bait.

He had long since sensed the Sand ninja who tried to ambush him using his sensory abilities.

He had needed to stay vigilant before, but now that this guy had finally revealed himself, he could relax.

As for Maruboshi Kosuke, he had heard him, of course, but he had no intention of paying him any mind.

Protecting medical ninja? What a waste of time.

As several more Sand ninja fell, the others finally snapped out of their shock and charged at Sen Chisato once more.

But a few flashes of the blade later, several more Sand ninja lay dead.

Having spent five years under Orochimaru, constantly receiving his training and drills, his taijutsu and experience were simply not comparable to that of a chunin.

Although his body and strength were inevitably limited by his age, he was more than capable of handling these people.

A skirmish of this level wasn't even half as dangerous as sparring with Orochimaru!

The Sand ninja realized something was wrong; this brat's taijutsu and swordsmanship were simply too strong. In close-quarters combat, they were no match for him at all.

Consequently, the Sand ninja retreated in unison.

"Don't get close to him! Use shuriken!"

Every Sand ninja drew their shuriken and hurled them at Sen Chisato in a torrential downpour, dense as a swarm of locusts, covering every inch of his body.

An attack with no blind spots!

"You're forcing me to go all out, aren't you!" Sen Chisato felt a bit helpless.

Aside from Wood Style, he didn't have any all-encompassing defensive ninjutsu.

"Fine, if I'm exposed, so be it." Sen Chisato pressed his palms together.

In the end, his life was more important... even though he possessed the trait of seal-less healing, meaning he wouldn't necessarily die even if he were turned into a pincushion, there was no reason to tank the damage with his body if he had other options.

Just then, a figure suddenly landed beside him.

It was the old man, Maruboshi Kosuke!

Seeing that Sen Chisato was in danger, he had risked injury to break out of the Sand ninja's encirclement and reach his side, even abandoning his mission to protect the medical ninja.

Because in his eyes, Sen Chisato was far more important than those medical ninja!

The talent Sen Chisato displayed shone brightly in his sight.

In this moment, he remembered the teachings of the Second Hokage and the "Will of Fire" spoken of by the Third Hokage!

"Where the leaves of Konoha dance, fire shall burn. The fire's light will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout."

Sen Chisato was that new sprout of Konoha; once he grew up, he would become a towering tree supporting the village!

"This old man won't let you harm the future of Konoha!" The moment he landed, Maruboshi Kosuke had already finished his hand signs. "Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"

A ring of water erupted from the ground around them, rapidly expanding and swirling to enclose them both.

Every shuriken was blocked outside by the wall of water.

Sen Chisato stared blankly at Maruboshi Kosuke's back, noting the crisscrossing wounds covering the old man's body.

If it weren't for saving him, Maruboshi Kosuke would not have been so severely injured.

Ever since he transmigrated, he had been in a state of constant unease, racking his brains to seek power, even going so far as to throw himself into the arms of Orochimaru.

He only cared about himself and never paid any mind to anyone else.

Because he fancied himself as someone who understood this world, he wouldn't trust even the so-called "Hokage," let alone Orochimaru, with whom he had spent five years.

Yet at this moment, his heart was faintly stirred.

In Konoha, aside from ninjas who only knew how to carry out missions, there were only ambitious schemers; even those who shouted slogans at the top of their lungs did so merely to win over people's hearts.

But there were always some people who, while perhaps stubborn and easily brainwashed, held firmly to their own beliefs, even if those beliefs were ones others had used to beguile them.

As the water wall collapsed, the Suna ninjas seized the perfect opportunity in that instant. Murakami Nakaju lunged out, his ninja blade wrapped in Wind Release chakra, and slashed down toward Maruboshi Kosuke.

The slower Suna ninjas also swarmed in, roaring loudly as if they intended to tear the two of them to pieces.

Maruboshi Kosuke drew the blade from his back, meeting them with a look of grim determination.

But he was too heavily injured; at this moment, he was like an old machine lacking lubricant.

"Tch, getting taught a lesson the moment we leave the village." Sen Chisato lowered his head, looking annoyed, and quickly formed hand seals. "But I don't like being taught a lesson!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

The scattered water flowed back together, transforming into a massive water dragon.

As the water dragon twisted its body, it swept all the surrounding Suna ninjas away. Its towering head opened its maw, snapping down sharply toward the high-leaping Murakami Nakaju.

"This brat!" Watching the water dragon charge at him, Murakami Nakaju felt his scalp tingle.

Big!

It was too big!

Just like the Great Fireball from before, this water dragon was simply twice as thick as a normal one!

Even if he had borrowed someone else's Water Release, this was a land without water; where did this brat get such a massive amount of chakra?

"Wind Release: Gale Blade!" Murakami Nakaju had no time to ponder these things. He shifted his attack, slashing his blade down at the water dragon.

Wind Release chakra spread from his blade, turning into an invisible edge that split the water dragon's head wide open.

The exploding water, however, lost none of its momentum, still engulfing him and slamming him heavily into the ground.

At this moment, Murakami Nakaju was in a wretched state.

He was a Jonin, and the power of his ninjutsu was certainly not weak.

But the Water Release Sen Chisato used was simply too unconventional, weakening his attack.

Sen Chisato looked up to see Maruboshi Kosuke staring at him in astonishment, clearly shocked.

Shocked by Sen Chisato's talent, and shocked by the power of his ninjutsu.

After all, not everyone could master so many ninjutsu at this age.

Even if this child was a disciple of Lord Orochimaru, and even if Lord Orochimaru was willing to teach...

Sen Chisato sighed and said helplessly, "Old man, don't just stand there, hurry up and move!"

"Oh, right!"

Maruboshi Kosuke snapped out of it and immediately charged forward.

Seeing Murakami Nakaju rising to his feet, Maruboshi Kosuke immediately formed hand seals. "Ninja Art: Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

"Poof!"

Smoke billowed as two shadow clones emerged, weaving through the air with the original to close in on Murakami Nakaju at high speed.

Murakami Nakaju stepped back, his expression tense.

He couldn't distinguish the original from the clones.

Danger!

"Tch! Don't think you can take me out with a trick like that. At worst, I'll just cut down the original and the clones together!"

He raised his ninja blade, infused it with chakra, and swung out another Wind Release blade. "Die!"

"Poof! Poof!"

Two puffs of smoke rose as Maruboshi Kosuke's shadow clones shattered one after another, but the original was nowhere to be seen.