Failed Rescue

Duanmu's heart pounded so hard it felt like it was about to burst from his chest. Duanmu knew he absolutely could not hesitate now.

Almost on instinct, he instantly drove the chakra inside him to its limit, kicked off hard, and shot in the opposite direction like an arrow loosed from the string.

"Seize him!" Danzo's hoarse voice was like a viper flicking its tongue, carrying an unquestionable command.

Several black shadows closed in from all directions like ghosts. Their movements were swift and lethal; they were clearly elites who had survived countless life-and-death battles.

Duanmu could even hear the wind of kunai cutting through the air behind him. That sharp whistle made his scalp go numb.

"Damn it!" Duanmu gritted his teeth, forcibly wringing out the potential in his body. In the end, he was only a student at the ninja academy. Even with an adult's soul and chakra control far beyond his peers, those advantages seemed so pale and powerless before an absolute gap in strength.

He suddenly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a kunai that skimmed past his ribs. The kunai sank deep into the tree trunk ahead, its tail still buzzing.

Duanmu did not even have time to celebrate his luck. His footwork shifted again as he used the complicated terrain to constantly circle and weave through it.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A low shout suddenly came from behind him, and immediately after, a fierce current of air surged over like a wave, blowing Duanmu into a stagger and nearly making him lose his balance.

This was a ninjutsu released by a Root ninja. Though its power was not top-tier, in such a narrow environment, it greatly limited his space to dodge.

From the corner of his eye, Duanmu saw a black shadow on his left approaching silently, the short blade in its hand gleaming coldly. His heart hardened. He bit the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to stay clear-headed, while his hands swiftly formed seals.

"Water Release: Water Clone Technique!"

With a splash, a water clone identical to Duanmu emerged from the ground beside him. Without the slightest hesitation, the water clone charged directly toward the dense forest on the right, while Duanmu's real body used the instant when the clone drew attention to drop sharply downward, pressing both hands to the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A low but solid earthen wall rose from the ground behind him, barely blocking several shuriken that followed close after.

"Bang!" The earthen wall was struck by the next wave of attacks, letting out a dull sound as broken stones flew everywhere.

Duanmu did not pause in the slightest. Using the Earth-Style Wall as cover, he darted through the forest like a tanuki, so fast that only afterimages remained. He knew this was only a brief chance to breathe. Those Root ninjas would quickly circle around the earthen wall and catch up.

He had to think of a way! Duanmu's mind raced at high speed, and cold sweat had already soaked his back.

That old bastard Danzo had not made a move himself, clearly because he did not take this "little mouse" seriously. These Root ninjas alone were already enough to make him run for his life.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and his gaze abruptly sharpened. He remembered this area. Not far ahead, there should be a small stream leading toward the training grounds!

That's it! Joy rose in Duanmu's heart, and his speed increased by another notch.

At last, a gurgling stream appeared before his eyes. The water was clear, and the banks were covered with smooth cobblestones. Without hesitation, Duanmu suddenly leaped straight into the icy stream.

"Splash!" Water sprayed everywhere.

The cold stream instantly wrapped around his body, making him shiver, but it also cleared his chaotic mind a little. He did not stop. Using both hands and feet, he desperately swam toward the deeper part of the stream, while attaching a portion of chakra to the surface of his body to form a thin barrier and reduce the resistance of the current.

"He's in the water!" The Root ninjas on the bank discovered his trail, and someone immediately formed seals.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

A water dragon condensed from the stream roared toward Duanmu, its enormous impact making the water churn violently.

Duanmu's expression changed. If that hit him, even if he did not die, he would be badly injured! He suddenly flipped to the side, narrowly avoiding the water dragon's frontal impact, but the huge current stirred up by the dragon still slammed him hard into a rock at the bottom of the stream.

"Cough, cough!" Duanmu choked on several mouthfuls of stream water, and a sharp pain stabbed through his chest. He had clearly hit the rock. But he had no time to care about the pain. Using the cover of the current, his body moved like a fish as he quickly dove downstream.

He knew that in the water, the other side's ninjutsu would be limited in power, and their vision would also be obstructed. This was his only chance to escape. He gathered chakra in his ears and carefully distinguished the movements on the bank and in the water.

Sure enough, the Root ninjas on the bank did not rashly enter the water. They only pursued rapidly along the shore while continuously throwing shuriken and kunai into the stream.

Duanmu gritted his teeth, endured the pain in his chest, and desperately dove downward. The stream was not deep, and he could even feel the ripples caused by shuriken slicing through the water above his head.

As he swam, he quickly planned his route in his mind. This stream would eventually flow into a river at the edge of the village. If he could enter that river, the current would be faster and the area broader, and his hope of escape would be much greater.

But before that, he had to shake off these Root ninjas clinging to him like maggots in the bone.

Suddenly, he sensed an abnormal fluctuation in the current ahead. Alarm bells rang in Duanmu's heart. He abruptly stopped swimming, his body floating in the water like a fallen leaf, while he gathered chakra in both eyes and tried to see the situation ahead clearly.

Just then, a powerful suction came from the front. The stream began to rotate, forming a small whirlpool. Duanmu inwardly cursed. This was Water Release ninjutsu! Someone had blocked his path downstream!

He immediately turned around, wanting to double back upstream, but the pursuers behind him had already closed in. Several kunai shot toward his back with the sound of breaking water. He was caught from both sides! Duanmu's heart sank to the bottom.

Was he really going to die here today? He could not accept that! He had transmigrated into this world, not to become the sacrifice of some conspiracy!

A fierce will to survive stimulated Duanmu's potential. He immediately formed seals. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

Duanmu suddenly opened his mouth, combining the chakra inside him with the water in his mouth and spraying out a surging stream. This stream was not a direct attack. Instead, it cleverly used the recoil of the water flow to drive his body violently backward. At the same time, his hands rapidly formed seals. "Wind Release: Turbulent Air Dance!"

A rotating current of air formed in his palm, and he immediately slammed it down into the stream beneath him. The air current and stream water stirred against each other, producing large amounts of bubbles and chaotic currents that instantly blurred the surrounding water. This was the method he had come up with in his desperation, using a combination of Water Release and Wind Release to create chaos and interfere with the enemy's vision and perception.

Using this brief cover, Duanmu shot upstream like an arrow loosed from the string. He could feel the suction of the whirlpool behind him weakening. Clearly, the other side had not expected him to suddenly pull a move like this.

"Don't even think about escaping!" a Root ninja on the bank roared, and several figures pounced over again.

Duanmu gritted his teeth and swam upstream with all his strength. His lungs had already begun to burn, and his chakra consumption was enormous, but he did not dare relax in the slightest. Just as he was about to rush out of this chaotic stretch of water, a black shadow appeared in front of him like a ghost. The short blade in its hand gleamed with a cold, dim light as it stabbed straight for his throat.

Duanmu's pupils contracted sharply. At the critical moment between life and death, he almost instinctively twisted his body hard to the side. The short blade scraped across his shoulder, bringing up a string of blood droplets that dyed the surrounding stream red. The intense pain made his vision go black, but he forced down the dizziness. His right hand gathered the last of his chakra and slammed hard into the Root ninja's chest.

"Rasengan!"

Although this Rasengan was far weaker than it would have been at full power because it had been hastily gathered and he did not have enough chakra, the close-range eruption still caught the Root ninja off guard. There was only a muffled "thud" as the ninja's chest seemed to be struck by a heavy hammer. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body limply sank toward the bottom.

Duanmu did not pause in the slightest. Using the force of the recoil, his body surged upward again and finally broke through the surface. He took a deep breath, and fresh air poured into his lungs, letting him recover slightly. But he did not dare stop. Using both hands and feet, he desperately swam toward the bank.

The moment he got ashore, he ignored the fact that he was soaked through and ignored the wound on his shoulder. He circulated chakra again and sprinted madly toward the edge of the village. Behind him, the Root ninjas' furious roars and hurried footsteps chased after him like death warrants.

Duanmu knew this life-or-death pursuit was far from over. He had to shake them off as soon as possible, or if Danzo personally caught up, the consequences would be unimaginable.

There was only one thought in his mind: survive! For the coming future, he had to survive!