Desperate Counterattack

Itachi Uchiha suddenly leaped backward, his hands beginning to weave hand seals simultaneously. A practiced eye could tell at once it was the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.

The burly man froze for a split second, clearly not expecting Itachi Uchiha to have enough chakra left to perform a ninjutsu.

His expression stiffened, and he roared, "You're still struggling, brat? It seems you still haven't realized the cruelty of reality..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the attack was already underway.

Although Itachi was still a genin, his speed in weaving hand seals was by no means slow, and since he had started first, the burly man had no time to weave his own seals.

The seals were completed. Itachi Uchiha's chest suddenly swelled, and a massive fireball erupted from his mouth.

This was a Great Fireball fueled by nearly every drop of his remaining chakra, making its power nearly double the usual intensity.

A scorching heat instantly filled the entire space as the fireball surged toward the burly man.

The power of the fireball was indeed enough to kill the man, but its speed was lacking.

This was a common shortcoming of almost all Fire Style techniques: immense power, but a lack of swiftness. Therefore, timing was particularly crucial for Fire Style ninjutsu.

This was also the reason why, in the anime, the Fireball Jutsu rarely ever killed anyone.

The timing this time wasn't ideal, as the burly man had watched Itachi Uchiha weave the seals, giving him ample time to react.

When the fireball came crashing down, the burly man was already prepared, quickly rolling toward a spot where the flames were slightly weaker.

However, he still underestimated the power of the Great Fireball.

Even though he was prepared and had escaped the main radius, the fireball expanded further upon impact.

"Ah!!" In an instant, the burly man's back was scorched by the flames, and he let out a painful howl.

The burning sensation of the flames was excruciating, and the burly man's eyes turned bloodshot. "Damn brat, I'll..."

The roar was suddenly cut short.

A ninja's battle is decided in such an instant.

A look of unimaginable terror appeared on the burly man's face.

Stunned, he slowly lowered his head to look at his own chest. The tip of a kunai protruded from it, and blood from his heart was spraying out.

"Wh-when..." The single sentence seemed to drain all the burly man's strength, and he slowly collapsed to his knees.

Itachi Uchiha stepped out from behind the burly man's shadow.

It turned out that right at the beginning, when Itachi Uchiha had rolled out from under the burly man's feet, he had already created a shadow clone.

Furthermore, he had used the Body Replacement Jutsu combined with the Transformation Jutsu to turn into the mission card on the ground.

He had been waiting for this exact moment. The weak point in the fire he had left was also intentional.

Everything had been planned by Itachi Uchiha. One could truly say it was terrifying.

Itachi Uchiha in combat mode felt like a completely different person from the prideful Itachi in daily life.

With a thud, Itachi Uchiha collapsed to the ground, and his shadow clone vanished instantly.

It seemed his chakra was truly exhausted this time.

However, there was still Tuno left, who hadn't been dealt with.

By now, Tuno had recovered and stood up. He said solemnly, "Brat, you are truly the most outstanding genius I have ever seen."

"I believe that in the future, you will be a renowned existence throughout the entire ninja world."

"But your path ends here. I will absolutely not allow someone like you to grow."

Tuno's injuries were not light, and he shuffled step by step toward Itachi Uchiha. The kunai in his hand was stained with blood—clearly the one he had just pulled from his own arm.

He looked down at Itachi Uchiha on the ground.

With a loud roar, "Die!!" he thrust the blade toward the back of Itachi Uchiha's head. This strike would undoubtedly end Itachi Uchiha's life.

For the first time, Itachi Uchiha's expression finally flickered, and he closed his eyes as if in slow motion.

It was a look of unwillingness. He still had too many wishes left unfulfilled.

His life had only just begun... I hope he didn't see my distress flare; otherwise, I've truly dragged him into this. This was Itachi Uchiha's final inner thought.

Ye Yuexin was a friend he had already come to acknowledge.

"Hey, hey, hey, his path has only just begun. It's your path that has come to an end." A calm voice rang out. Itachi Uchiha snapped his eyes open.

The sparse leaves in the dense forest could not hide the pervasive moonlight. Ye Yuexin appeared as if out of thin air, crouching beside Itachi Uchiha. One hand blocked the kunai Tuno had thrust down. In that moment, it felt as if even the wind swaying the leaves had come to a standstill.

Ye Yuexin gave a light wave of his hand, pushing the heavily injured Tuno away and adding a kick for good measure.

"Why do you keep staring at my handsome face?" Seeing Itachi Uchiha staring at him, Ye Yuexin said with a smile.

This feeling was something only Itachi Uchiha could perceive—the sensation of having survived a brush with death.

After Ye Yuexin arrived, there was that overwhelming feeling of being saved.

"Thank you," Itachi Uchiha said, also smiling.

Those two words contained a great deal.

Seeing Itachi Uchiha's expression, Ye Yuexin clearly felt that something had changed.

Shouldn't a person's growth be a slow process? How did he suddenly get the feeling that Itachi Uchiha had grown up?

"Why are you being so polite with your big brother? You should recover your chakra first." Ye Yuexin said as he helped Itachi Uchiha up.

He then walked over to Tuno's side and tied him up with a rope.

Tuno originally still had a bit of strength left to resist, but he had to go and act tough, pulling the kunai out of his own arm and causing excessive blood loss.

Coupled with that kick from Ye Yuexin, he was now basically unable to move.

His plan must have been to deal with Itachi Uchiha first and then stop the bleeding, but he had failed to account for Ye Yuexin's arrival.

As a result, he had nearly played himself to death.

After a long while, Itachi Uchiha finally began to recover. He only had a small amount of chakra, but it was enough to move around.

Fortunately, Itachi Uchiha only suffered superficial wounds and muscle contusions; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to move in such a short time.

Seeing Itachi Uchiha stand up, Ye Yuexin asked, "How are you feeling?"

Itachi Uchiha took a few more steps and said slowly, "My body can move now." He then came to Ye Yuexin's side.

A simple C-rank mission had undergone such a massive change that no one could have foreseen it.

But since it had happened, they had to get to the bottom of it.

So Ye Yuexin asked, "What just happened? Are these two enemy ninjas?"

Hearing Ye Yuexin's inquiry, Itachi Uchiha replied, "I'm not sure either. They never revealed any information, and their use of ninjutsu was very erratic. It's impossible to judge."

"Then how did you run into them?" Ye Yuexin continued to ask.

"I suddenly discovered an injured jackal in the forest with a shuriken stuck in its abdomen. Then, someone appeared right at that moment."

"It was this Tuno. Someone like him clearly doesn't look like a Konoha ninja, as he has no markings or forehead protector. So, following the disposal theory learned at the Ninja Academy, I went into hiding, intending to capture him."