When Zi Yu's squad arrived, the enemy village's ninjas changed their minds.
In an instant, four of them charged toward the surrounded Konoha Anbu, while six rushed at Li Yu's squad.
A jōnin and an elite Chunin immediately formed Hand Seals.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
Two flames shot straight toward the squad.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Yan Xing and Shui Qi formed Hand Seals and each used a defensive jutsu.
The flames crashed against the earth wall, scattering sparks, and hit the water wall, sending steam billowing.
More than a dozen shuriken flew after the flames toward Li Yu's squad.
They all drew the blades from their backs.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Yue Ying immediately stepped in front of Li Yu and blocked several shuriken for him, then pulled him along as they leaped aside to dodge.
"Thwip! Thwip!"
A shuriken stuck in each of Yue Ying's shoulder and thigh.
Li Yu's heart tightened. What just happened? It was my first time seeing a battle, and I suddenly froze. I even had a woman stand in front of me to protect me.
The enemy's attack immediately scattered Li Yu and the others.
A jōnin and an elite Chunin went straight for the squad leader, Yan Xing, and pinned him down.
An elite Chunin immediately attacked Shui Qi.
Three Chunin formed a triangular formation, running as they formed Hand Seals.
Suddenly, Yue Ying stepped into position, gripping her sword hilt with both hands as she stood in front of Li Yu, ready to block the next attack.
Li Yu could see how tense Yue Ying was, yet she still dared to stand right in front and face the three enemies.
Li Yu, a man from the twentieth century, watched the shuriken flying straight toward him, meeting the enemies' intense gazes and murderous intent for the first time.
It was like watching a horror movie: entering a supposedly haunted school building alone didn't seem too frightening. But if you really had to experience it firsthand, could you still laugh it off?
Until now, he had relied on instinct to dodge during direct encounters. Watching Yue Ying's back now, he felt pretty pathetic.
A surge of heat rushed to his head, and his eyes sharpened.
Taking advantage of his mask, Li Yu instantly activated his Sharingan. He spread his feet, bent his knees, and arched his back like a bow. He held a kunai in his right hand in front of his chest, while his left hand reached into his ninja tool pouch.
Li Yu himself hadn't noticed that his Sharingan had already become a pair of two-tomoe eyes.
Li Yu instantly flung more than a dozen shuriken at the three men.
The three Chunin each dodged to the side, completing their Hand Seals.
"Earth Release: Rock Bullet!"
The three men opened their mouths and spat out a continuous barrage of stone cannons. The rocks doubled in size as they flew through the air.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
A barrage of rocks shot straight at them.
Li Yu formed Hand Seals.
"Wood Release: Wood Pillar Prison!"
In an instant, a row of wooden pillars curved up from the ground, forming an arched barrier to protect Yue Ying and Li Yu.
Li Yu formed Hand Seals again, crossing his hands in front of him.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
It was a weaker version of Deep Forest Emergence, the Wood Release jutsu the First had used against the Third Hokage while under the Impure World Reincarnation.
The ground split open, and a mass of thick trees burst out and grew rapidly, winding toward the three Chunin.
Although the three ninjas immediately stopped, branches and vines quickly tangled them up and began absorbing their chakra.
"Nani? It's Wood Release!"
"How could Konoha Village still have a Wood Release ninja?"
The other skirmishes saw the commotion and stopped fighting. Both sides gathered together.
"It's actually Wood Release!"
"Wood Release!"
"The First's Wood Release!"
The battle had just left two Konoha Anbu ninjas injured again and unable to fight.
Konoha had six ninjas left, while the enemy village had seven.
One of the enemy jōnin, who specialized in Lightning Release, saw that the situation was turning against them. He turned and fled with the intelligence, leaving the other six ninjas behind 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 a Great Fireball surged forward in three streams of fire.
"Earth Release: Multiple Earth-Style Walls!"
Four earth walls rose from the ground, blocking the flames.
Li Yu used his Sharingan to successfully copy the jutsu used by both sides.
"Fighting with the Sharingan is just too satisfying!"
He noticed Shui Qi forming Hand Seals nearby as wind-natured chakra gathered.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Li Yu was itching to try it, so he immediately used the Great Fireball he had just learned.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The fire caught the wind, growing larger and stronger as it surged toward the enemy village's ninjas once more.
"Boom!"
The blast sent several ninjas flying from behind the earth wall, leaving them injured to varying degrees.
The Konoha ninjas followed up with a volley of shuriken and kunai, successfully killing two injured Chunin.
The Konoha Anbu charged together and engaged the four remaining ninjas in close combat.
Seeing that they had the numbers on their side, Li Yu immediately used Healing Jutsu and the Mystical Palm Technique on the injured Konoha Anbu: one was seriously wounded, while two were unable to fight.
He helped bandage their wounds and stabilize their conditions.
When he turned around, he saw Yue Ying standing beside him.
Li Yu asked,
"Yue Ying, how's the battle going?"
"It's already over. The squad leader and two Anbu jōnin have gone after the ninja who escaped."
The ninja who specialized in Lightning Release was fleeing at full speed, heading straight for Li Yu's ambush site.
"Just in time."
He quickly formed Hand Seals, crossing and pressing his hands together.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Several thick vines burst out of the ground and swiftly reached toward the Lightning Release ninja from the side.
"Wood Release again? Did they catch up so quickly?"
The Lightning Release ninja used Lightning Release to stimulate his cells, swiftly dodging the vines as he cut some of them apart with his Ninja Blade.
Li Yu thought, His speed and reflexes are incredible.
He was about to escape the vines' reach.
"Boom! Boom!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
An Explosive Tag trap blasted him back. The vines behind him immediately caught up and wrapped around his body.
They bound him tightly, leaving only his head exposed.
The jutsu's apparent activation was actually just vines working together with the Sharingan to lure the enemy into the trap himself.
Otherwise, with Lightning Release speed, catching someone who really wanted to escape would have been difficult.
Li Yu found the intelligence scroll on the ninja, then crossed his legs, rested his hands behind his head, and lay back on a nearby vine, waiting for the Anbu to return.
Through his connection to the trees, he sensed three people approaching quickly.
It wasn't long before he saw Yan Xing, one of the three.
"Squad leader, you're finally here!"
"Zi Yu, what are you doing here? Weren't you treating the wounded?"
"Squad leader, my clone came here to see if I could pick up any stragglers."
He handed the mission scroll to the squad leader. Seeing their injuries, he used what little chakra he had left to treat the three Anbu jōnin.
After finishing the treatment, he lowered the ninja who had been bound and knocked unconscious by Wood Release.
"Squad leader, my Wood Clone has almost run out of chakra."
Li Yu's Wood Clone then dispelled, turning into a section of wood.
"A Wood Release Clone!"
The Anbu looked at him with envy and awe.
"The First's Wood Release really is incredible."
"An actual clone is a higher-level technique than a Shadow Clone."