An Unprovoked Encirclement

What should have been a five-day journey took Chen Tian and Tsunade more than ten days to cover only half the distance.

That alone would have been fine, but one time, when Chen Tian bought food, Tsunade accidentally discovered that he possessed a great deal of wealth. That was when the nightmare began.

Tsunade extorted a full fifty million ryo from him. Not only did she pay off her gambling debts, but she also gained enough capital to keep gambling.

She spent more than half of every day in the casino, leaving barely any time for travel.

However, Chen Tian did not feel particularly bad about it. Fifty million ryo was no big deal to him, so he gave it to her.

Besides, in return, Tsunade taught him ninjutsu whenever she had the time.

Unfortunately, Chen Tian's talent was lacking, and he had not learned a single one. Still, he had luckily picked up a few.

These were his gains from the past ten-odd days.

Medical Ninjutsu—Mystical Palm Technique!

Medical Ninjutsu—Healing Technique!

Medical Ninjutsu—Delicate Illness Extraction Technique!

And, most disgustingly, Always Lose at Gambling!

The first three medical ninjutsu made Chen Tian happy for quite some time and even left Tsunade amazed by his talent.

But Always Lose at Gambling made him sick to his stomach.

When he first acquired Always Lose at Gambling, Chen Tian refused to believe it and challenged Tsunade to gamble with him for half the night.

By the time he left, his eyes had gone completely lifeless. Reality had taught him a brutal lesson.

Throughout that entire half-night, he and Tsunade had tied every single round. Neither of them had won once!

When two people who always lost at gambling met, neither could possibly win.

After discussing it with the system and discovering that it could not be returned, Chen Tian could only helplessly accept the fact.

But an even greater blow soon came knocking: Tsunade insisted on gambling with him several times every day.

Having finally found someone who could not beat her, how could she possibly let him go so easily?

Today, the three humans and one pig arrived in a new town. Tsunade hurried off to the casino, leaving Shizune behind with Chen Tian.

Since they were not in any rush anyway, Chen Tian called for Shizune and planned to take a stroll.

"Shizune, want to go out for a walk?"

"Okay."

Holding the pink pig in her arms, Shizune gently nodded her little head, and the two youngsters headed out together.

The moment they stepped outside, Chen Tian looked around a few times, and his expression darkened. He whispered to Shizune, "Something's wrong. If anything happens later, hide immediately!"

At some point, the street in front of them had become completely deserted.

Yet Chen Tian could clearly feel someone watching him, and that gaze was filled with malice!

Without any sensory ninjutsu, he could only remain where he was and wait for the enemy to reveal themselves.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...!"

The next moment, more than a dozen figures suddenly appeared in the street. Some carried blades, while others were empty-handed.

The only thing they had in common was that every one of them wore a mask, concealing their faces.

"It's this brat. Kill him!"

They did not waste a single word on Chen Tian before charging forward. Some ninja began forming hand seals on the spot, while samurai rushed in with drawn swords.

"Hide!"

Without even turning his head, Chen Tian shouted to Shizune and instantly used the Body Flicker Technique to plunge into the crowd.

There were too many attackers. He could not possibly block all their attacks with defensive ninjutsu alone, so it was better to engage them in close combat.

At least in the crowd, they would hesitate to use high-powered ninjutsu for fear of harming their own people.

The normally absentminded Shizune had yet to understand Chen Tian's words, but when she heard him shout again, she instinctively ran into the inn.

"Lightning Blade!"

With the incredible speed of the Body Flicker Technique combined with the destructive power of Lightning Blade, one person dropped to the ground the instant Chen Tian charged in.

Just as he was about to repeat the move, a blade aura stopped him.

Chen Tian's excessive speed had left the attackers stunned for a moment, resulting in one of them dying.

Seeing Chen Tian rush toward the next person, one of the leading samurai could no longer hold back.

"Secret Sword Art—Iaijutsu Slash!"

A silvery-white blade aura streaked toward Chen Tian like the sharpest cutting machine.

"Substitution Technique!"

With the blade aura less than a meter away, Chen Tian instinctively used the best possible response.

Even so, when he reappeared, a thin line of blood ran from the tip of his nose.

Wiping it away, Chen Tian felt a lingering chill in his heart. If his body had not reacted quickly enough on instinct, he would have been cut in two.

His expression grew even more solemn as he stared intently at the group, silently calculating.

There were twenty-one people in total: thirteen ninja, seven samurai, and one person dressed strangely whose profession he could not identify.

His sudden burst of power had killed one, leaving twenty more.

There were no genin among them. Even the weakest were chunin!

He could not judge the samurai's strength, but there were three jonin among the ninja, roughly at the level of the future Sarutobi Asuma.

"This won't be easy."

With a soft sigh, Chen Tian's gaze sharpened.

The most suitable ninjutsu right now was a Tailed Beast Bomb, but these samurai would never give him the chance to use it.

Besides, once he pulled away, the dozen or so enemy ninja would be free to attack. He might not be able to withstand it.

And then there was... Chen Tian glanced at the person who had yet to make a move, feeling extremely wary.

Fortunately, none of them had gone after Shizune. Otherwise, Chen Tian would not have had time to rescue her.

"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"

Having made up his mind, Chen Tian immediately kicked toward a chunin.

His powerful body and considerable chakra sent a piercing whistle through the air with that kick.

Fighting the samurai of unknown strength in close quarters was obviously unwise. He would deal with all the ninja first, then kite the samurai.

"Secret Sword Art—Iaijutsu Slash!"

"Fire Style—Fire Dragon Technique!"

The instant Chen Tian charged forward, several ninjutsu attacks and blade auras shot toward him.

As those attacks closed in, Chen Tian subtly moved his right hand. The Substitution Technique he had prepared in advance activated instantly.

At the moment the ninjutsu and blade auras struck a cloud of white smoke, Chen Tian had already appeared behind a jonin.

"Lightning Blade!"

Without the slightest hesitation, lightning flickered in his left hand and instantly pierced through the jonin's chest.

"H-How... is that... possible..."

After forcing out his final words, the jonin collapsed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

By then, Chen Tian had already used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the area.

During that time, he had memorized the relative strength of everyone who had attacked. Aside from the first samurai, the others were nothing to fear.

"Now, only you remain!"

Thinking this, Chen Tian inconspicuously glanced once more at the person who had not made a move.

By now, everyone else had attacked. Only that person remained as steady as a mountain.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Just as Chen Tian was thinking, the strangely dressed figure, whose face was entirely concealed, stepped forward.

The moment this person spoke, everyone else immediately stopped fighting and watched quietly.

They could not even be bothered to spare the dead jonin another glance. That attitude made Chen Tian even more cautious.

Then the strangely dressed person said, "From the beginning, you kept watching those chunin, making us think you intended to deal with the weaker ones first. Then, at that moment, you suddenly switched targets and took the opportunity to kill a jonin. Not bad!"

This person laid out Chen Tian's entire line of thinking word by word, looking at him with clear appreciation.

He was right. Chen Tian had taken advantage of their carelessness due to their numerical advantage, as well as the misconception that he was focused on the chunin, to kill a jonin.

It would not be so easy from here on. Now, it would come down to raw strength.