Itachi's Crisis

Ye Yuexin quietly walked to the power switch and flipped it. An electric current instantly surged through the wire mesh surrounding the field.

It was time to act.

Ye Yuexin pulled a dozen wooden stakes from the pouch at his waist.

They were similar to senbon, but thicker and longer.

The moment he entered his throwing-knife mode, Ye Yuexin's aura underwent an instant transformation.

The gentle breeze that had been swirling around him seemed to be sucked away, and everything fell into sudden silence.

It wasn't exactly oppressive, but the Big-Toothed Rabbits that had been ravaging the field all stopped in their tracks.

Each Big-Toothed Rabbit twitched its nose, sniffing rapidly at the air.

Animals possess a keener sense of danger than humans, and it was clear they had sensed something perilous.

But it was too late.

At that very moment, Ye Yuexin's figure in front of the wire mesh flickered slightly.

It looked as if he had moved, yet it also looked as if he hadn't.

The only difference was that only a single wooden stake remained in his hand.

That was the nature of the Little Li Flying Dagger; you might occasionally catch a glimpse of the blade after it was thrown, but by the time you saw it, it had already struck you, just like moonlight falling upon the earth.

In the field, a wooden stake had appeared in the throat of every single one of the dozen Big-Toothed Rabbits.

It was impossible to tell when they had been struck; it was as if the stakes had been growing from their throats all along.

Yet, that single stake was enough to extinguish their lives.

One by one, they collapsed to the ground.

It was at this moment that the Big-Toothed Rabbits' sense of crisis reached its peak.

As Ye Yuexin exited his throwing-knife mode, the rabbits began to leap and scramble frantically.

The wind returned. The wind was back.

Ye Yuexin's figure blurred and vanished. He hadn't fully merged with the wind yet, but it was enough.

Although the wind was not as fast as lightning, it was still something no ordinary ninja could rival.

As gusts of wind swept past, the bodies of the Big-Toothed Rabbits began to fall, each with a uniform bloody hole in its throat as fresh blood sprayed out.

In just over ten seconds, all the Big-Toothed Rabbits had been finished off by the remaining wooden stakes in Ye Yuexin's hand.

Ye Yuexin stood in the field, panting slightly.

Although this self-created Wind-Carrying Footwork consumed little chakra, it was slightly more taxing on his physical stamina.

Looking at the Big-Toothed Rabbits lying on the ground, Ye Yuexin let out a soft sigh of relief.

With this, more than half of the mission was complete. There were surely still some Big-Toothed Rabbits that hadn't emerged, but they would only be a small fraction. Now, he just had to wait for Itachi Uchiha to arrive.

Once he did, the ecological balance here could slowly return to normal.

Glancing at the moonlight, Ye Yuexin prepared to take a rest.

It was still quite early before dawn; he had plenty of time to get some sleep.

However, just as he had taken two steps, a sudden red firework interrupted his progress.

"Damn it." His heart skipped a beat, and he dashed rapidly in the direction of the firework.

This firework was the distress signal Itachi Uchiha had told him about. Itachi had given him one on the way to the mission, which was still in his pouch.

Given Itachi Uchiha's usual habits, he wouldn't set off this firework unless he was in genuine danger.

Since it had appeared now, it was almost certain that an enemy had emerged.

With this, 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: someone must have been meddling.

"Kid, when is your teammate arriving? Don't tell me he just abandoned you like this?" A large man laughed cruelly from the dense forest on the hillside.

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

His backpack had been ripped open and tossed aside, with several mission cards scattered on the dirt.

Judging by the situation, the distress firework hadn't been set off by him, but by the large man nearby, who had used it to lure the enemy.

Seeing that Itachi Uchiha didn't answer, the large man continued, "Your Konoha really is a place that produces geniuses. A brat who just graduated like you actually managed to injure Chunin Tuno."

"Not bad at all. But I hope your companion has the same level of skill as you. Hehehe, hahahaha, my favorite thing is to cruelly kill geniuses." The large man's chuckle slowly turned into a loud laugh.

Behind the large man, another person lay half-reclined, but that person was in even worse shape, bleeding from all over his body with a kunai embedded in his right arm, seemingly having had no time to treat it.

The surrounding ground bore signs of scorching, and there were several puddles of water.

It appeared that a fierce battle had just taken place here.

"Xiaoyan, we're out of time. We need to change positions now. Finish off this brat immediately; you and Tuno follow up slowly. You know the location." A voice suddenly transmitted through the air.

If not for this voice, an ordinary person would never have guessed that in such a dark forest, there were still ninjas lurking in the trees.

The burly man heard this and immediately replied, "I understand, Lord Lin Mu. I will finish off this brat right now and catch up with Tuno." The man kept his tone very low, clearly displaying a standard subordinate relationship.

There was no reply from above; it seemed the person in the trees had already left.

The burly man named Xiaoyan drew the short blade from his leg. He crouched down slowly and let out a strange, mocking laugh. "Brat, we didn't have enough fun today. Tell me, should I cut off your ears first, or gouge out your eyes?"

Itachi Uchiha kept his eyes closed. He did not answer, appearing as if he had resigned himself to his fate.

Seeing that Itachi Uchiha offered no response or expression, the burly man felt a bit bored. He didn't have time to linger, either.

He continued, "Then I'll just gouge out those round eyes of yours first. They'll surely make a wonderful sound when I crush them. Ahahahahaha..." The man had reached a certain level of depravity.

But just as he was laughing wantonly, Itachi Uchiha seized the moment and swept his leg out in an instant.

Thud. The blow was blocked by the burly man's arm. The man clearly possessed extensive combat experience.

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

Itachi Uchiha rolled to the side, taking the opportunity to pick up a kunai stuck in the ground.

He breathed heavily, whether from physical exhaustion or nerves, it was hard to tell.

Seeing that Itachi could still put up a fight, the burly man revealed a slightly excited expression and grinned.

"Brat, you can't imagine the difference between an elite chunin and an ordinary one. I'm not some common trash like Tuno."

He paused, switching his grip on the short blade to a reverse hold, and continued, "In my eyes, you're nothing but a grasshopper."

With that, he charged forward.

The short blade sliced through the air like a meteor, hacking down toward Itachi Uchiha from above.

Itachi Uchiha quickly blocked with his kunai, but the burly man's strength exceeded his expectations.

He quickly shifted from one hand to two to hold the kunai, barely managing to block the strike, but he was left with no chance to dodge the next attack.

He was kicked away by the burly man, flying a long distance.

Under normal circumstances, Itachi Uchiha was a genius, after all. Even if he were outmatched, he could still maneuver and hold his own.

But now, the rhythm of the battle was clearly controlled by the burly man. Combined with the injuries on his body and his nearly depleted chakra, he was forced into such a passive position.