Chunin? Take One Out First

"Hm?" A shuriken shot out, forcing the Mist ninja who had launched the sneak attack back several steps. As he retreated, the blade in his hand swung out and split the shuriken apart.

"You're an interesting brat."

"Tazuna! Qingchuan Tianming!" Kakashi Hatake called out worriedly.

"You should worry about yourself." The two Mist ninja in front of Kakashi Hatake laughed and attacked at the same time.

The assault of two chunin was not to be underestimated.

"Tianming!" Naruto Uzumaki was about to rush over to help.

"Where do you think you're going?" A human figure emerged from the puddle ahead. Another Mist ninja snorted and said to his companion, "You can handle Tazuna and that brat, right?"

"Of course."

The Mist ninja facing Tianming replied casually.

What difficulty was there in dealing with a genin?

"Damn it!" Sasuke Uchiha growled as he tried to break through, only to be blocked by the Mist ninja before him.

"Are you looking down on me?"

The four rogue Mist ninja who had come to ambush Tazuna were all at the chunin level. From this alone, it was clear just how badly their employer wanted Tazuna dead.

After all, the Land of Waves was an island nation, and bridges were of utmost importance. Controlling the bridge was equivalent to controlling the entire country.

And the best way to prevent control of the bridge was to get rid of the bridge builder.

"Let's go together," Kiba Inuzuka said directly. "Looks like he won't let us help Qingchuan Tianming."

"Exactly what I was thinking." Naruto Uzumaki cracked his knuckles.

As a support-type fighter, Hinata Hyuga immediately activated her Byakugan. The world before her instantly changed. "The enemy's chakra is extremely powerful."

Dense swarms of insects flew out from within Shino Aburame's loose robes.

Sasuke Uchiha stepped forward and stood at the front alongside Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki.

"Five genin? It seems you have no idea about the gap between chunin and genin." The Mist ninja responsible for separating the battlefield instantly became interested. "I've heard Konoha ninja are all strong. I hope you won't disappoint me."

"When this great me knocks you flat, you won't be talking so big." Kiba Inuzuka dropped down, crouching on all fours like a wild beast. "Four Legs Technique!"

"Akamaru, let's go!"

The instant Kiba Inuzuka finished speaking after using the Four Legs Technique, he shot forward like a sharp sword. Akamaru howled and followed close behind.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Great Fireball Technique!"

Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha attacked at the same time.

Team 7 and Team 8 had never worked together before. Once the fight began, they relied purely on brute force.

Not far away, Tianming watched the battle beside him with some concern.

"Brat, shouldn't you be in the most danger right now? What makes you think you can afford to be distracted while facing a chunin?" The long-haired Mist ninja let out a vicious laugh. Then, he instantly appeared behind Tianming through the mist and struck out with his palm.

"You talk too much." Tianming raised a hand and used chakra to shove Tazuna out of the mist. At the same time, the shuriken in his other hand shot forward.

Clang!

The shuriken did not pierce through the long-haired Mist ninja's arm. Instead, it was completely clamped in place by his chakra.

"Shadow Clone Technique," Tianming muttered. More than a dozen clones appeared around the Mist ninja and attacked simultaneously.

"Instant-cast ninjutsu?" The long-haired Mist ninja had no choice but to pull back. Tianming's counterattack had clearly made him wary. Whether it was his earlier use of chakra, his taijutsu reaction speed, or the Shadow Clone Technique, all of it was astonishing.

"Do you ever shut up?" Tianming said coldly.

"Interesting. It seems you're the strongest among Konoha's genin this time. But I still need to show you the difference between chunin and genin." The long-haired Mist ninja laughed wildly and pulled out the scroll from behind his back.

The scroll opened, and its seal was released!

A sky full of ninja tools instantly emerged from the scroll and shot outward.

A ninja tool scroll had terrifying killing power. It sealed a certain number of ninja tools within the scroll, making it an extremely vicious killing move.

Even at this critical moment, Tianming did not feel any sense of danger. He even glanced over at Naruto's side of the battlefield.

Sure enough, the genin from the two teams, who lacked all coordination, were still no match for a chunin.

Not only had they failed to gain any advantage, they had fallen into a disadvantageous position.

"You've ignored me for the second time! Die!" The long-haired Mist ninja, ignored once again, flew into a rage. He drew his greatsword, appeared behind Tianming, and swung it down at his head.

Tianming turned his gaze back. The barrage of ninja tools and the chunin's attack from behind came at him simultaneously.

"Lightning Cutter!"

At the critical moment, a fierce flash of lightning roared forth and tore across the battlefield!

In that instant, the massive lightning chakra pierced through the long-haired chunin's chest first.

Splat!

The dense swarm of ninja tools naturally struck his body as well.

This sudden change immediately affected the battle between Kakashi Hatake and the two teams.

"What?"

The first to react were the two Mist ninja surrounding Kakashi Hatake. Together, they had restrained Kakashi Hatake, and killing him was only a matter of time. Yet at that moment, their companion responsible for killing Tazuna had been instantly taken out?