Kosuke Maruboshi

The young ninja carrying Li Yi was actually on guard against him as well. Throughout this stretch of the journey, he noticed Li Yi made no suspicious moves, which eased his mind slightly. Besides, the special seal on the scroll meant there shouldn't be any mistake.

Suddenly, the young ninja leaped away violently. Several shuriken appeared exactly where he had been running. Li Yi's eyes narrowed slightly as he cursed inwardly. These ninjas truly loved to strike from the shadows. So much for thinking he could make it to the Konoha camp; heh, this was already the second assassination attempt on this trip.

The young ninja looked cautiously in one direction. Two ninjas slowly emerged from that side; their skin was dark but filled with explosive power, and their golden hair was quite distinctive.

"Heh, a Konoha ninja, and carrying a commoner at that. It seems this commoner is quite valuable!" one of them, wearing a Cloud Village headband, chuckled in a low voice.

It was as if Li Yi and the young ninja were already trapped in their palms.

"I recognize him. He seems to be a Konoha genin, Kosuke Maruboshi. Be careful; the Second Hokage once taught him ninjutsu, so he likely isn't simple," the other Cloud ninja said, suddenly drawing his blade.

"Oh, it's him. We just received intelligence that he's killed quite a few of our comrades!" The Cloud ninja's expression turned serious, his hands gripping several kunai, ready to throw them at any moment.

Li Yi heard this and looked at the young ninja carrying him in surprise. It was actually Kosuke Maruboshi, that eternal genin who possessed formidable strength.

Kosuke Maruboshi was clearly very young at this moment, and it was unclear if he possessed the immense strength he would later be known for.

Kosuke Maruboshi didn't intend to speak, keeping his cold gaze fixed on the two Cloud ninjas.

"Swish, swish!" The Cloud ninjas launched their attack. The kunai in their hands were thrown directly, and mid-air, several more shuriken suddenly appeared, striking the kunai. Instantly, the kunai changed their trajectories, but their target remained the same: Kosuke Maruboshi and the Li Yi on his back.

This level of shuriken-throwing technique existed in every village; it wasn't exclusive to the Uchiha.

Kosuke Maruboshi knew that while he could dodge such a technique, Li Yi would be in trouble. Carrying someone on his back significantly hindered his movement, but if he put Li Yi down, Li Yi would surely die.

With no other choice, Kosuke Maruboshi formed hand seals. His movements were rapid, and just as the kunai arrived, a water vortex rose up around them, enveloping both him and Li Yi. The kunai struck the vortex and fell away, swept up into the air by the swirling water.

Kosuke Maruboshi's hands never stopped moving as he whispered, "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

The water that had just formed the vortex instantly transformed into a water dragon, roaring as it charged toward the two Cloud ninjas.

Watching these ninjutsu from such close range, Li Yi was secretly stunned. Is this what ninjutsu is? It's so cool, and the power looks immense—completely different from the animation. The pressure exerted by this tangible water dragon rising before his eyes was significant.

One had to remember, this was only a B-rank ninjutsu. Even if it had been refined by the Second Hokage to be slightly stronger than a standard B-rank, its power was still limited. Thinking of those S-rank ninjutsu, Li Yi felt his heart surge with excitement. He wondered if he could become a ninja himself.

"Heh, the Second Hokage's Water Formation Wall and Water Dragon Bullet—truly impressive. Unfortunately, it's not enough to deal with us!" The Cloud ninja sneered as both of them leaped backward, dodging the water dragon's assault.

However, Kosuke Maruboshi did not release his hand seals; it was clear the Water Dragon Bullet hadn't ended yet.

Sure enough, after the water dragon struck the ground, it seemed to dissolve into countless streams of water. The two Cloud ninjas laughed, one of them charging rapidly toward Li Yi and his companion, while the other began forming seals on the spot.

Yet, at that very moment, a massive dragon head suddenly erupted from the water on the ground, instantly biting into the charging Cloud ninja. Blood splattered everywhere. Kosuke Maruboshi breathed a slight sigh of relief, his complexion improving.

The Cloud ninja who was forming seals turned pale, but his hands didn't slow down for a second. A bolt of lightning surged across the ground toward them.

"Lightning Style: Earth Flash!"

Having absorbed a fair amount of that Cloud ninja's chakra, Kosuke Maruboshi had recovered some of his own. He jumped directly onto a nearby tree, narrowly dodging the lightning technique.

Li Yi secretly cheered. This eternal genin, Kosuke Maruboshi, was truly capable. Look at that—one of the Cloud ninjas had already met his end, and the other would likely follow soon.

However, Li Yi was clearly happy too soon. A muffled sound came from beside him; Kosuke Maruboshi had already turned and used his long sword to parry the opponent's blade. That was where the sound had come from.

Li Yi hadn't even realized how the opponent had suddenly appeared right there.

But those details no longer mattered. Kosuke Maruboshi blocked the strike, but the momentum sent him flying backward, crashing into a large tree. Because Li Yi was on his back, he was knocked senseless by the impact.

If not for Kosuke Maruboshi bracing himself and remembering that Li Yi was still on his back, that single blow would have been enough to make Li Yi cough up blood.

"Are you alright?" Kosuke Maruboshi asked.

Li Yi held onto Kosuke Maruboshi tightly and shook his head, saying, "Focus on the fight, I'm fine."

At this moment, Li Yi truly didn't want to distract Kosuke Maruboshi; the consequence of a distraction would be his own misfortune.

He, Li Yi, had just transmigrated into the Naruto world and didn't want to meet his end so soon.

Especially since the Second Hokage had already promised to let him go to Konoha.

As long as he survived this encounter and reached the Konoha camp to deliver the scroll, he figured that the current Konoha wouldn't resort to killing him to silence him. They would surely arrange for a commoner like him to stay in Konoha, giving him plenty of time to develop.

After all, he had never heard of Konoha being destroyed during the time Pain came to "carry rice."

With the power of the Mera Mera no Mi he had consumed, he wouldn't lack the strength to protect himself in the future. Not to mention, he still had his ultimate weapon, Ryujin Jakka.

Kosuke Maruboshi nodded. Although he could have easily abandoned Li Yi and taken the scroll to the Konoha camp, this was the Second Hokage's promise; he naturally wouldn't stand by and watch Li Yi die.

In reality, Li Yi should be grateful that he had run into Kosuke Maruboshi. Had it been any other Konoha ninja, they might have just taken the scroll and left. A kinder one might have brought him along, but if they encountered an attack, the probability of them prioritizing the delivery of the scroll over Li Yi's life would be quite high.