First Battle

Ye Yuexin moved rapidly toward the east, keeping strictly to the forest. This was exactly how he had honed his movement techniques.

Therefore, he wove through the branches at high speed, his footwork shifting fluidly.

It was like being on a train; tree after tree blurred past him.

Deep down, Ye Yuexin was on high alert. He still didn't know the enemy's speed.

If they changed their plans and waited ahead for Tuno and the others, wouldn't he be walking right into their trap?

He had to be extremely careful; in this dense forest, it was far too easy to hide.

After all, he wasn't invincible yet, and he couldn't afford the slightest carelessness.

Beyond the ridge lay a valley. The valley was littered with gravel and almost entirely devoid of trees.

He had to cross it as quickly as possible.

But just as Ye Yuexin stepped over a massive boulder, several shuriken suddenly whistled in from unexpected angles.

They glinted with a cold, sinister light, aiming straight for his head, chest, and lower abdomen.

In mid-air, Ye Yuexin's body twisted and contorted sharply. He dodged the shuriken with uncanny precision, barely grazing past them.

Even though he had evaded the attack, he broke out in a cold sweat. The angles of those shuriken had been truly vicious.

That was the nature of rogue ninjas; lacking a deep foundation in ninjutsu, they poured all their time and experience into honing their combat skills.

If it had been a ninja from another village, they might have used a Substitution Jutsu or other techniques to escape, but even a slight delay in hand seals could have resulted in a grievous injury or death.

After Ye Yuexin landed, a figure as thin as a bamboo pole emerged from a pile of rubble to his right.

"Lord Lin Mu's caution was indeed justified. That pervert Xiaoyan didn't carry out Lord Lin Mu's orders immediately. Since you're the one who arrived first, it seems Xiaoyan must have been taken care of by you lot."

"Good. I hated that pervert Xiaoyan anyway. As a token of my gratitude, I'll try to make your end a peaceful one."

Bamboo Pole Man seemed quite confident in his own strength.

And rightfully so. At six years old, Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha were incredibly deceptive in appearance.

They looked exactly like green, inexperienced youths. Especially Ye Yuexin, who had dared to pursue them alone without knowing the enemy's strength—in Bamboo Pole Man's eyes, it was a death wish.

However, even while holding him in contempt, Bamboo Pole Man—as an experienced rogue ninja—remained vigilant in his actions.

He struck instantly, launching five shuriken that flew toward Ye Yuexin with almost no blind spots.

Ye Yuexin dodged quickly using his footwork, but his right hand moved toward his throwing knives.

Little Li's Flying Dagger was never drawn lightly. Even when facing injury, he would not unsheathe it unless the timing was perfect.

Because to draw the blade meant death. That was an indisputable fact, and Ye Yuexin was no exception.

It seemed Bamboo Pole Man was also a master of shuriken, or perhaps a ninja who specialized in ninja tools.

Seeing Ye Yuexin dodge the attack, Bamboo Pole Man swiped at the scroll on his waist, and dozens of kunai and shuriken suddenly appeared.

With a powerful swing, he launched them at Ye Yuexin, controlling every angle with precision.

It appeared Bamboo Pole Man had put a great deal of effort into his weaponry. An ordinary ninja would have been forced to use ninjutsu to defend against such a volume of projectiles.

But for Ye Yuexin, who was well-versed in this art, while the angles of these hidden weapons were decent, their force and speed were far from sufficient.

Shifting his footwork, he gracefully dodged every single attack.

He then charged toward Bamboo Pole Man; this battle would likely be Ye Yuexin's first true combat experience.

Forced into the state required for his throwing knives, Ye Yuexin's heart became exceptionally calm.

His movement was ethereal, the wind stirred around him, and he closed the distance to Bamboo Pole Man in an instant.

Seeing Ye Yuexin's speed, Bamboo Pole Man was startled. He leaped backward, trying to create distance, not forgetting to throw a few kunai as he did so.

To an experienced rogue ninja like Bamboo Pole Man, Ye Yuexin, with such speed, must be a close-combat type ninja.

After all, as far as he could tell, Ye Yuexin hadn't used a single ninjutsu yet. This confirmed Bamboo Pole Man's assessment of him.

Thus, the battle plan Bamboo Pole Man formulated was to attack from a distance.

But he had clearly underestimated Ye Yuexin. The kunai did nothing to hinder Ye Yuexin's pace.

In the blink of an eye, he was upon Bamboo Pole Man.

Then, he suddenly accelerated again, delivering a swift, sweeping kick from above toward Bamboo Pole Man's head.

This attack filled Bamboo Pole Man with sheer terror.

Ye Yuexin's performance had already exceeded his understanding.

He had never seen anyone accelerate in mid-air without any point of leverage.

It was too late to defend. Both of them were in the air, with nothing to push off of.

Bamboo Pole Man could only twist his head with all his might, trying to avoid a direct hit to the skull.

It had some effect.

Ye Yuexin's foot grazed Bamboo Pole Man's ear before slamming into his shoulder. With a deafening "thud" and unimaginable force, Bamboo Pole Man was smashed violently into the ground.

This attempt to act cool had been slapped down with exceptional speed.

Ye Yuexin had never undergone specialized training to increase his raw strength, so his actual physical power wasn't particularly great.

However, hadn't someone once said, "Speed is power"?

That single kick, bolstered by Ye Yuexin's speed, had instantly left Bamboo Pole Man severely injured.

As expected of an experienced rogue ninja, Bamboo Pole Man didn't hesitate for a second after hitting the ground; he spat out a mouthful of blood and immediately rolled to his feet.

But how could Ye Yuexin give him a chance to recover? The moment Bamboo Pole Man rose, Ye Yuexin used his wind-attribute chakra for propulsion, appearing behind him in a flash and knocking him unconscious with a sharp chop to the neck.

After Bamboo Pole Man collapsed, Ye Yuexin panted heavily. His chakra reserves were still somewhat lacking.

Although his footwork didn't consume much chakra, the extreme application of wind-attribute chakra in such a short span had still drained a third of his total reserves.

Furthermore, the greatest toll was on his stamina. His legs were beginning to ache and swell, feeling as heavy as lead.

Given Ye Yuexin's current strength, if measured purely by chakra volume, he was still at the level of an elite genin.

However, combat was a different matter entirely. While chakra volume was significant, a ninja's combat prowess could not be determined solely by it.

Take the Yellow Flash, who was just beginning to make a name for himself. After graduating from the ninja academy, hadn't he single-handedly tracked down and rescued the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki?

His strength in fighting a Hidden Cloud Village squad alone was far superior to Ye Yuexin's current level.

After resting for a short while, Ye Yuexin felt he had recovered enough. He tied Bamboo Pole Man to a rock and continued his pursuit.

[New book released... I suggest adding it to your library and letting it grow before reading. I need your support... Thank you, everyone.] I would like to express my sincere gratitude to "Daijia Dashao" and "Yuchan Xiaming" for their consistent support.

I'm off today, so there will be another chapter tonight. Thank you.