Itachi's Crisis

Ye Yuexin quietly made his way to the power switch and turned it on. In an instant, the current spread through the wire fence surrounding the fields.

It was time to act.

Ye Yuexin pulled more than a dozen wooden slivers from the pouch at his waist.

They were similar to senbon, but thicker and longer.

The moment he entered Flying Dagger Mode, Ye Yuexin's aura changed.

The gentle breeze around him seemed to vanish, and everything fell silent.

The Big-Toothed Rabbits that had been rampaging through the fields stopped, though the air wasn't exactly oppressive.

One by one, they sniffed rapidly, as if searching for something.

Animals had a stronger sense of danger than humans. They had clearly sensed something threatening.

But it was too late.

At that moment, Ye Yuexin's figure by the wire fence flickered slightly.

It seemed as though he had moved, yet also as though he hadn't.

The only difference was that only one wooden sliver remained in his hand.

That was how Little Li's Flying Dagger worked. After the blade was thrown, you might catch a glimpse of it—but by the time you did, it had already landed on you, like moonlight.

A wooden sliver appeared in the throat of each Big-Toothed Rabbit, as well as in Tuno's.

No one knew when they had appeared. It was as if they had always been growing from their throats.

Yet each wooden sliver had ended its victim's life.

One after another, they collapsed to the ground.

At that very moment, the Big-Toothed Rabbits' sense of danger reached its peak.

After Ye Yuexin exited Flying Dagger Mode, the rabbits began leaping about in a frenzy.

The wind was back. The wind had returned.

Ye Yuexin's figure blurred and disappeared as well. He hadn't completely merged with the wind, but it was enough.

The wind wasn't as fast as lightning, but it was still beyond the reach of ordinary ninja.

Gust after gust swept by, and the Big-Toothed Rabbits began to fall. Every one of them had a bloody hole in its throat, spraying blood.

In just a dozen seconds, Ye Yuexin had taken care of all the remaining Big-Toothed Rabbits with the wooden slivers in his hand.

Ye Yuexin stood in the field, breathing slightly hard.

His self-created Wind-Carrying Footwork used little chakra, but it took a bit more stamina.

Looking at the Big-Toothed Rabbits lying on the ground, Ye Yuexin relaxed a little.

The mission was more than halfway complete. There would surely be some Big-Toothed Rabbits left that hadn't come out, but only a few. Now all he had to do was wait for Itachi Uchiha to arrive.

Then the ecological balance here could gradually return to normal.

Ye Yuexin glanced at the moon and decided to get some rest.

It was still a while before dawn. He could easily get some sleep.

But just as he had taken two steps, a red flare suddenly stopped him.

"Damn it." Startled, he immediately sprinted toward the flare.

It was the distress signal Itachi Uchiha had told him about. On the way to the mission, Itachi had given him one too. It was still in his pouch.

Given Itachi Uchiha's usual habits, he wouldn't fire the flare unless he was in real danger.

Since it had appeared now, there was almost certainly an enemy.

With that, the doubts in Ye Yuexin's mind vanished.

He had never been able to figure out why the food chain here had suddenly collapsed. Now it seemed clear that someone had caused it.

"Hey, kid, when's your teammate getting here? Don't tell me he's just abandoned you." A burly man laughed cruelly from the wooded slope.

Itachi Uchiha was covered in wounds. His clothes were tattered, a trickle of blood hung from the corner of his mouth, and he lay miserably on the ground.

The pack on his back had been opened and tossed aside. Several mission cards were scattered on the ground.

From the scene, it was clear that he hadn't fired the distress flare himself. The burly man beside him had sent it up to lure in an enemy.

Seeing that Itachi Uchiha didn't answer, the man continued, "Konoha really is a place that produces geniuses. A kid like you, fresh out of the Academy, actually managed to injure Tuno, a Chunin."

"Not bad. Let's hope your teammate is just as strong as you. Heh heh heh... Hahahaha! I love killing geniuses in the most cruel ways." The burly man's chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh.

Behind him, another man was half-lying on the ground in even worse shape. Blood covered his body, and a Kunai was embedded in his right arm. It seemed he hadn't had time to deal with it.

The surrounding earth showed signs of scorching, and there were several patches of standing water.

It looked like a fierce battle had just taken place.

"Xiaoyan, we're out of time. We need to move to a new location. Finish off this kid at once. You and Tuno can catch up afterward. You know where to go." A voice suddenly called out.

Without that voice, an ordinary person would never have guessed that a ninja was concealed in a tree in the dark woods.

The burly man immediately replied, "Understood, Lord Lin Mu. I'll take care of the kid now, then catch up with you and Tuno." His low tone made it clear that they had a standard superior-subordinate relationship.

There was no reply from above. It seemed the person in the tree had already left.

The burly man, Xiaoyan, drew the short blade strapped to his leg. He slowly crouched down and laughed in that strange way of his. "Kid, that wasn't much fun. Which should I cut off first, your ears or your eyes?"

Itachi Uchiha kept his eyes closed and didn't reply. He seemed to have accepted his fate.

Seeing that Itachi Uchiha showed no reaction, the burly man grew a little bored. He didn't have time to linger, either.

"So I'll start by digging out those round little eyes of yours. Crushing them will make a great sound, don't you think? Ahahahaha!" The man was thoroughly deranged.

But just as he was laughing uproariously, Itachi Uchiha seized his chance and swept out with a kick.

The man blocked it with his arm with a thud. He clearly had plenty of combat experience.

He hadn't let his guard down even while laughing wildly.

Itachi Uchiha rolled aside and picked up a Kunai from the ground.

He gasped for breath, whether from exhaustion or nerves, it was impossible to tell.

Seeing that Itachi could still put up a fight, the burly man grinned excitedly, baring his teeth.

"Kid, you can't imagine the difference between an Elite Chunin and an ordinary Chunin. I'm not some ordinary nobody like Tuno."

He paused and reversed his grip on the short blade, then continued, "You're like a grasshopper to me."

With that, he charged.

The short blade streaked through the air like a shooting star, slashing down at Itachi Uchiha from above.

Itachi Uchiha quickly raised his Kunai to block, but the burly man's strength was far beyond what he had expected.

He had to grip the Kunai with both hands instead of one just to hold him off. But that left him no chance to dodge the next attack.

The burly man kicked him far away.

Under normal circumstances, Itachi Uchiha was a genius, after all. Even if he couldn't win, he should have been able to hold his own.

But the burly man had taken control of the fight's rhythm. On top of that, Itachi was injured and had almost run out of chakra. That was why he was so helpless.