King Stomps Bronze 2/2

Hayato gave himself a pat on the back for his cleverness.

Shimizu Shunsuke asked Hayato, "There's more than one group of enemies. We can see three in front of us, but we don't know what's at the tower. Do you have a battle plan?"

He was testing Hayato.

Hayato thought for a moment. "We go around from the side and avoid the ambush team. Our mission is rescue, so there's no need to bother with the enemies lying in ambush."

"Mm, that's one way." Shimizu Shunsuke nodded, then shook his head. "What if there are enemies lying in wait on the side too?"

Hayato said, "Unlikely. There are two teams stationed in the Death Forest: a research team and a guard team. The research team's combat ability is negligible. The guard team has one jonin leading three genin. If the enemy had the strength to set up multiple ambushes, they might as well just storm the tower directly. They can't be planning to besiege a point and ambush the reinforcements, can they? This is the heartland of the Land of Fire, right outside Konoha. Even if they wanted to court death, this isn't how they'd do it."

"That makes sense." Shimizu Shunsuke asked again, "What if the ambushers abandon the traps and return to support the tower?"

Hayato said, "That's not a problem either. As long as we hold the tower for a while, village reinforcements will arrive, and then we can turn around and hit them. Like I said, the enemy isn't strong. If they were smart enough, they would have abandoned the mission the moment their infiltration failed."

"Mm." Shimizu Shunsuke completely agreed with Hayato's plan, then asked, "Any other options?"

Hayato said, "We attack the ambush team head-on. If the enemies attacking the tower don't want to be surrounded, they'll have no choice but to retreat. Mm, scare the snake by hitting the grass."

Scare the snake by hitting the grass. It was quite a fitting name for the plan.

The enemy was weak. There was no reason to cower, and going out would only damage Konoha's reputation. Shimizu Shunsuke had fought in the Third Shinobi World War and seen grand battles. He had courage and ability. Cowering was simply not an option.

"Mm, we'll fight head-on. You take the one in the pit. I'll handle the other two. Don't let your guard down." As Shimizu Shunsuke spoke, he took out two explosive tags and handed them to Hayato. "Use them sparingly. They're expensive!"

With that, Shimizu Shunsuke crouched low and vanished into the dense forest.

At the same time, Hayato carefully moved closer to the enemy.

Suzuki, a chunin, hid himself behind the grass as best he could—the sort of sneaky bastard who crouched in bushes.

The moment he saw Konoha's distress flare, he had already considered retreating. However, his companion had not given the signal to withdraw.

"That arrogant bastard." Suzuki silently cursed Narita, the jonin leading the team.

Suzuki acknowledged Narita's strength as a jonin, but he truly couldn't stand the man's conceited manner, always showing off his feathers like a peacock. A wandering ninja who sold his strength—and even his soul—for money had no right to be proud.

Second by second, the ominous feeling in Suzuki's heart grew stronger.

He glanced at Kato, the genin not far away. That guy was so nervous his fingers had dug into the tree bark. Suzuki's expression darkened further.

Whoosh!

A kunai suddenly shot out from the bushes.

Clang!

Sparks flew through the air as Kato threw a kunai to intercept it.

The interception succeeded!

Just as Kato revealed a smug smile, a kunai with an explosive tag emerged from the shadows.

Boom!

The explosive tag detonated.

Boom! Boom...

The explosive tag set off the explosive-tag trap. The deafening chain of explosions sent dust billowing through the area, reducing visibility to even worse than the Hidden Mist Technique. But it had no effect whatsoever on the Byakugan.

In an instant, the hunters became the hunted.

"This is bad!" Suzuki's face changed drastically. He saw Kato rise from his hiding place and shouted with bloodshot eyes, "Okada!"

Okada was the genin hidden in the trap, and he and Kato were close friends.

Then the savage look on Kato's face froze, replaced by confusion and pain. He fell from the tree and slammed onto the ground, several senbon needles embedded in his back.

Several senbon needles shot toward Suzuki at once.

He couldn't dodge them. Terror filled Suzuki's face.

Poof!

A log appeared in Suzuki's place, and every senbon needle embedded itself in the wood. Suzuki himself had vanished.

Substitution Technique!

The explosion had not injured Okada. When setting the trap, he had used Earth Release to harden the surrounding soil. However, the shockwave left his chest tight and his ears ringing.

"Earth Release: Mud Clone Technique."

Okada endured the discomfort and rapidly formed hand seals. The jutsu succeeded. A mud clone resembling Okada leaped out, while the real body remained hidden in the pit. That was right—Okada was a pit-dwelling bastard on par with those sneaky bush-dwelling bastards.

The mud clone clutched its chest and coughed, kunai in hand as it warily watched its surroundings.

Its acting was pretty good.

To be fair, Okada's tactics were imaginative—unexpected, even.

Unfortunately, Okada was facing Hayato. Before the Byakugan, everything he did was doomed to be futile, and he was only wasting chakra.

"Oh? Looks like you're not an ordinary genin." Hayato rushed straight in and traded blows with the mud clone.

"Strong, but a little clumsy." After several probing exchanges, Hayato had gained a preliminary understanding of his enemy. If he had used the Gentle Fist from the beginning, the mud clone probably would not have lasted two exchanges.

The mud clone only defended and never attacked, following the plan to lure Hayato toward the trap.

Smack!

The mud clone deliberately exposed an opening, and Hayato struck its chest with a palm.

The mud clone turned into a puddle of mud.

"Now's my chance!" Okada's real body leaped out.

Okada's timing was good, but the Byakugan's field of vision was nearly 60 degrees, and Hayato had already been prepared. Thus, the instant Okada jumped out, he saw Hayato standing in a Gentle Fist stance.

His opponent was smiling, and those white pupils looked rather unsettling.

White pupils?!

The Hyuga Clan!

Okada's companions had once mentioned the Hyuga Clan: never fight a Hyuga Clan ninja at close range. Okada had asked then, "What if they get close?" His companion had merely smiled and walked away.

Okada's heart sank bit by bit, but the arrow was on the string and had to be fired.

Retreating would mean dying even faster.

Advancing still offered a sliver of hope.

"Earth Release: Exploding Rock Fist."

Okada's fist was wrapped in a layer of rock, swelling to more than twice its original size. It looked rather intimidating.

But the rock-covered fist was even slower. In Hayato's eyes, it looked like slow motion.

"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms."

The clumsy Okada could not dodge at all. He could only watch helplessly as Hayato showed off.

After thirty-two palms, Okada could no longer move. He caught sight of Kato lying nearby, his fate unknown, and fear gave way to rage. "Kato..."

Hayato slapped him across the face, cutting him off. "What are you talking about? You're the ones who invaded Konoha. What, did Konoha's ninja steal your vegetables and eat your rice or something?"

The light faded from Okada's eyes. "The winner is king, the loser is bandit. Kill me."

Seeing Okada so utterly defeated, Hayato suddenly lost interest. He chopped Okada on the neck with one hand, knocking him unconscious.

On the other side, the battle between Shimizu Shunsuke and Suzuki was still in full swing.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears." Shimizu Shunsuke rapidly formed hand seals.

A cluster of sharp stone spikes burst out of the bushes some distance away.

A figure darted from the shrubbery. It was Suzuki, who had hidden himself after using the Substitution Technique.

The sight of that jutsu made Hayato break out in a cold sweat. If Suzuki had moved even a little slower just now, it would have been a ruined chrysanthemum and wounds all over the ground.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."

Shimizu Shunsuke formed hand seals and spat out a massive fireball.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."

Suzuki pressed his hand to the ground, and an earthen wall rose from the earth, barely blocking the massive fireball.

The fireball crashed into the earthen wall, sending waves of heat rolling outward.

Unable to withstand the force, the earthen wall collapsed with a crash.

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique."

Shimizu Shunsuke gave his opponent no chance to catch his breath and immediately unleashed an even more powerful Fire Release.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Shock Wave."

Suzuki knew that prolonged defense would inevitably lead to failure. Therefore, rather than use Earth Release to defend again, he chose the Water Release: Exploding Water Shock Wave, which balanced offense and defense.

This was how ordinary ninjutsu-type ninja fought: two people flung ninjutsu at each other from afar, with victory depending on who formed hand seals faster, whose jutsu choices were more appropriate, and who had more chakra.

The fights looked spectacular, but they were a little like turn-based games.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage."

Suzuki was halfway through forming his hand seals when he heard a voice behind him.

"Pressure Damage?!" Suzuki was so frightened that his soul nearly left his body. His hand seals broke, and his Exploding Water Shock Wave failed.

Who was it?

Suzuki turned around and saw a gray-haired youth.

The gray-haired youth said with a grin, "Oh dear, it seems I can't use Wind Release. Sorry, sorry."

"Huh?"

Suzuki realized he had been tricked. Then... there was no then. The Dragon Flame Technique instantly swallowed him whole.

Hayato guessed he was probably about seventy or eighty percent done.

Tragic! Tragic! Tragic!

When the flames faded, Suzuki was unexpectedly still alive. At the critical moment, he must have cast Water Release on himself.

He had gone from barbecue to boiled food. Still tragic! Tragic!

One less "tragic" because at least he had survived.

About a minute had passed since the first kunai was thrown. The battle was over.

Hayato had not even sweated a drop. It felt like a king stomping bronze, and he could not get excited at all. Shimizu Shunsuke had used several powerful jutsu and spent half his chakra. He took out a soldier pill and swallowed one.

"Let's go!" Shimizu Shunsuke had no intention of resting.

"What should we do with these three?" Hayato asked. Suzuki and Okada were unconscious, while Kato, who had been struck by senbon needles, had bled all over the ground. The heavy smell of blood could easily attract carnivorous beasts, and the Death Forest lacked nothing more than carnivorous beasts.

"Leave them. The people behind us can deal with them," Shimizu Shunsuke said. "The explosive tags made such a huge commotion that someone will definitely come to investigate. With a ninja's mobility, they'll be here soon."

Hayato had only asked casually, but he immediately regretted it, afraid that Shimizu Shunsuke would leave him behind to guard the prisoners.

Hearing Shimizu Shunsuke say that, Hayato happily followed after him.