Encountering an Attack 2

As an enormous torrent of water sprayed from the ninja's mouth, the area was instantly flooded. As for Li Yi's Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Jutsu, well, it had already been put out.

Standing on the water, Li Yi wondered how to make his escape. Fighting the enemy wasn't a wise choice. After all, he still wasn't technically a ninja, so he naturally needed to find some Konoha ninja to help him.

Seeing that Li Yi seemed ready to slip away, the ninja smiled. His hands quickly formed Hand Seals, and soon he pressed them against the water. Countless currents immediately spread across its surface.

Li Yi cursed under his breath. Damn, the guy could even combine techniques? He was probably nearly a jonin.

Just then, the current had already reached Li Yi's feet and instantly traveled up his body.

But at that moment, Li Yi turned into a puff of smoke and disappeared.

The ninja froze for a moment, then chuckled and flung the Kunai in his hand toward the depths of the forest.

Meanwhile, Li Yi was running for his life. It might have looked like he'd dispelled a Shadow Clone Technique earlier, but in reality, the moment he sensed the attack, he'd created a clone. The one he dispelled was the clone, leaving the Shadow Clone to take his place while he made his escape.

He'd done it all to confuse the enemy, making him think Li Yi had created only one clone and that this one was the real body. The other guy had indeed fallen for it. Unfortunately, his opponent was too strong and had taken out Li Yi's Shadow Clone in just a few seconds.

Sensing the Kunai behind him, Li Yi dodged several steps to the side. When the Kunai was about to reach him, his pupils contracted. Damn, there was an Explosive Tag attached to it! Li Yi nearly lost his composure. The guy was trying to blow him up!

He immediately drew a Kunai and threw it, knocking the incoming one off course. Only then did the explosion sound. By that point, Li Yi had already taken cover behind a tree, and the blast's shockwave didn't reach him. But the ninja had already caught up.

"Kid, you can't get away!" The voice drifted over. Li Yi steeled himself, drew Ryujin Jakka, and shouted, "Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

In an instant, Li Yi leaped into the air and became three figures. Too bad it wasn't nighttime; otherwise, the technique would have been even more powerful.

The ninja sneered. A Kunai appeared in his hand, and with a swing of his arm, he blocked Li Yi's attack.

Li Yi's expression darkened. His opponent was a skilled fighter, and a Taijutsu expert at that. He wasn't just good at Taijutsu; his Ninjutsu was impressive too. Damn, he was definitely a jonin.

Li Yi seemed to be in trouble.

Still, he wouldn't surrender until the very last moment. After his Dance of the Crescent Moon was blocked, Li Yi swung his arms and instantly unleashed Konoha Style: Willow!

In the ninja's eyes, Li Yi seemed to transform into a willow tree, with countless branches spreading out to ensnare him. His body seemed unable to move.

But a jonin was still a jonin. In an instant, the ninja broke free of Li Yi's illusion and used the opening to slash at Li Yi's neck with his Kunai.

Li Yi was shocked. As he hurriedly retreated, he cast another illusion.

That jonin was like an illusion's natural enemy. Li Yi's weak technique wasn't even good enough to make him itch; it hadn't slowed his opponent down in the slightest.

Li Yi panicked. Was this really that bad? Had he run into such a powerful spy?

Just as the unknown jonin was about to catch him, Li Yi turned around. His Hand Seals were already complete. He took a deep breath and said, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A huge fireball appeared and instantly swallowed the jonin.

Li Yi froze. What the hell? Could the Great Fireball Technique actually kill someone?

He soon cursed under his breath. What was with this jonin? He was a clone too! Where was the real one?

Li Yi hadn't even noticed when the guy had made the clone. Just as he'd thought, there was no way the Great Fireball Technique could kill someone.

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!" At that moment, a thick fog spread everywhere. Li Yi gave a bitter smile. What had he done to deserve this? He'd even made the guy use Kirigakure's signature technique. Was this bastard telling him he was a spy from Kirigakure?

Without Wind Style, destroying the Hidden Mist Technique was impossible. And Li Yi didn't have any suitable Sensory Ninjutsu either. In the mist, he was like a blind man. Li Yi didn't know what to say. And where were the Konoha ninja? It had been so long! He wasn't going to last much longer.

"Kid, die!" The voice seemed to come from every direction. Li Yi's scalp prickled. When he'd watched the anime, he'd thought, What's the big deal? What kind of stupid Silent Killing Technique is that? But now that he was really in the middle of it, he finally understood. Anime was just anime—it had seriously misled him. No wonder Zabuza had been so unbothered. In the end, he'd just been unlucky enough to run into the elite ninja Kakashi, and even then, the fight had been evenly matched. One wrong move, and Kakashi could have been the one to fall to Zabuza.

Of course, as always, giving up without a fight wasn't Li Yi's style. He quickly formed Hand Seals and shouted, "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Technique!"

It was a C-rank technique, but Li Yi couldn't afford to be picky. It had one advantage: it could release a fire dragon to attack the opponent. Of course, he'd made a few changes to it.

In Li Yi's view, the Fire Style: Fire Dragon Technique could also be used defensively.

Having the fire dragon circle around him could at least count as a defense.

At the very least, faced with an attack, Li Yi felt this Fire Style: Fire Dragon Technique could help him. If the jonin insisted on killing him, he'd get hurt too.

Sure enough, after the fire dragon circled around him, Li Yi felt someone leap backward. Then the figure disappeared into the thick mist.

Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief, but this wasn't the time to let his guard down. He quickly formed Hand Seals again, this time for the Great Fireball Technique.

He chose this technique because it used relatively little chakra.

Seeing Li Yi form the Hand Seals, the jonin scoffed, "Great Fireball Technique? You think you can use that against me?"

Li Yi ignored him. Even when the jonin spoke, his voice drifted around, so Li Yi couldn't pinpoint his position. Taking a deep breath, Li Yi spewed the Great Fireball Technique into the sky. Surely someone would notice this enormous firework.

This was Li Yi's way of saving himself. If no one noticed, there was nothing he could do. At least he'd tried. He'd already used every trick he had in this fight.