Wood Release's First Display

The arrival of Zi Yu's squad caused the enemy village ninjas to change their minds.

In an instant, four of them charged toward the surrounded Konoha Anbu, while six rushed toward Li Yu's squad.

A jonin and an elite chunin immediately formed hand seals.

"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

Two fireballs surged straight toward the team.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"

Yan Xing and Shui Qi formed seals, each deploying their defensive ninjutsu.

The fireballs slammed into the earth wall, sending sparks flying, and collided with the water wall, causing steam to billow.

A dozen shuriken and kunai followed the fireballs, flying straight at Li Yu's squad.

Everyone drew the blades from their backs.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Yue Ying immediately stepped in front of Li Yu, blocking several shuriken for him before grabbing him and leaping away to dodge.

Squelch.

A shuriken embedded itself into both Yue Ying's shoulder and thigh.

Li Yu's heart tightened. What just happened? I saw combat for the first time and just froze up, needing a woman to stand in front and protect me.

The enemy's maneuver immediately scattered Li Yu and his team.

One jonin and one elite chunin went straight up to engage the captain, Yan Xing.

An elite chunin immediately attacked Shui Qi.

Three chunin formed a triangular formation, weaving hand seals as they ran.

Suddenly, Yue Ying took a stance, gripping her sword hilt with both hands as she stood before Li Yu, preparing to block the incoming attack.

Li Yu could see Yue Ying's tension, yet she still dared to stand at the front, facing the three enemies head-on.

As someone from the 21st century, Li Yu watched the shuriken flying toward him, facing the enemies' murderous glares and lethal intent for the first time.

It was like watching a horror movie; entering a haunted school building alone didn't seem that scary, but if you actually experienced it yourself, could you really just laugh it off?

His previous encounters had been based on instinctive dodging, but now, looking at Yue Ying's back, he felt pathetic.

A surge of hot blood rushed to his head, and his gaze turned sharp.

Under the cover of his mask, Li Yu instantly activated his Sharingan. He spread his feet, bent his knees into a crouch, held a kunai in his right hand against his chest, and reached into his ninja tool pouch with his left.

Li Yu didn't even realize that his eyes had transformed into a pair of two-tomoe Sharingan.

Li Yu instantly flung a dozen shuriken toward the three men.

The three chunin dodged to the side, their hand seals completed.

"Earth Style: Rock Bullet!"

The three opened their mouths, spitting out a barrage of stone projectiles that doubled in size mid-air.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A massive wave of stones shot toward them.

Li Yu formed hand seals.

"Wood Release: Wood Pillar Prison!"

In an instant, a row of wooden pillars erupted from the ground, curving to form an arched wall to protect Yue Ying and Li Yu.

Li Yu formed seals again, crossing his hands in a cross shape.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

It was a low-tier version of the Deep Forest Emergence that the First Hokage, reanimated by the Impure World Reincarnation, had used against the Third Hokage.

The ground shattered rapidly as massive, thick trees burst from the earth, growing swiftly and coiling toward the three chunin.

Although the three ninjas stopped in their tracks, they were quickly bound by the branches and vines, which began to drain their chakra.

"Nani? It's Wood Release!"

"How could there still be a Wood Release ninja in Konoha?"

Seeing the massive commotion, the other skirmishes paused, and both sides regrouped.

"It's actually Wood Release!"

"Wood Release..."

"Lord First's Wood Release!"

The recent fighting had left two Konoha Anbu ninjas wounded, rendering them unable to continue the battle.

Konoha had six ninjas remaining, while the enemy village still had seven.

One of the jonin, who excelled in Lightning Release, saw that the situation had turned dire. He grabbed the intelligence scroll and turned to flee, leaving the remaining six ninjas to cover his retreat.

"Not good, we can't let him get away!"

Three Anbu ninjas quickly formed hand seals.

"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Two flame bullets and one great fireball surged forward in three distinct waves of fire.

"Earth Release: Multiple Earth-Style Wall!"

Four earthen walls rose from the ground, blocking the flames.

Li Yu, utilizing his Sharingan, successfully copied the ninjutsu used by both sides.

The Sharingan really makes fighting so satisfying.

He caught sight of Shui Qi nearby forming hand seals, wind-natured chakra gathering in his palms.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Li Yu's hands itched, and he immediately unleashed the Great Fireball he had just learned.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The fire caught the wind, creating an even larger, more powerful inferno that surged once more toward the enemy ninjas' earthen walls.

BOOM!

The blast sent the ninjas behind the walls flying, all of them sustaining varying degrees of injury.

The Konoha ninjas followed up with a barrage of shuriken and kunai, successfully killing two of the wounded chunin.

The Konoha Anbu charged forward, engaging the remaining four ninjas in close-quarters combat.

Seeing that they had the numerical advantage, Li Yu immediately moved to the injured Konoha Anbu ninjas on the ground—one severely wounded and two incapacitated—and cast Healing Jutsu and Mystical Palm Technique.

He bandaged them and stabilized their conditions.

When he turned back, he found Yue Ying already standing by his side.

Li Yu asked, "Yue Ying, how is the battle going?"

"It just ended. The captain and two Anbu jonin have already gone to pursue the fleeing ninja."

At that moment, the Lightning Release specialist was sprinting at high speed, heading straight toward Li Yu's ambush point.

"Perfect timing."

Li Yu's hands moved in a blur of seals before he crossed them in a cross-seal.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Several thick vines burst from the ground, rapidly lashing out from the side toward the Lightning Release ninja.

"Wood Release again? How did they catch up so fast?"

The Lightning Release ninja stimulated his cells with lightning chakra, nimbly dodging the entangling vines while using his ninja blade to hack through those that got too close.

His speed and reflexes are incredible, Li Yu thought to himself.

The ninja was just about to break free from the vines.

BOOM! BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Explosive Tag traps blasted him back, and the trailing vines instantly caught up, wrapping tightly around his body.

He was bound securely, with only his head left exposed.

In truth, the activation of the ninjutsu had merely been a ruse; he had used the vine tentacles in coordination with his Sharingan to lure the enemy into the traps. Otherwise, given the speed of a Lightning Release user, he would have been nearly impossible to catch had he truly tried to run.

Li Yu retrieved the intelligence scroll from the ninja, then crossed his legs, rested his hands behind his head, and reclined on the nearby vines to wait for the Anbu to rendezvous.

Through his connection to the trees, he sensed three people approaching rapidly.

It wasn't long before he saw Yan Xing among the three.

"Captain, you've finally arrived."

"Zi Yu, what are you doing here? Weren't you treating the wounded?"

"Captain, my clone was just here to see if there were any stragglers to pick up."

He handed the mission scroll to the captain. Seeing their injuries, he used his remaining chakra to cast medical ninjutsu, helping the three Anbu jonin recover.

After finishing the treatment, he lowered the ninja who had been bound and knocked unconscious by the Wood Release.

"Captain, my Wood Clone's chakra is running low."

Li Yu's Wood Clone dispelled, transforming into a log.

"Wood Release Clone."

The Anbu ninjas cast looks of envy and awe his way.

"Lord First's Wood Release is truly remarkable."

"A physical clone is far more advanced than a Shadow Clone."