Feng Xun vs. the Stone Ninja

"Ding!"

The kunai thrown by the Stone Ninja was knocked away by another kunai flying in from the side before it could reach Yahiko.

The Stone Ninja was clearly stunned by this, but he immediately looked toward where the kunai had come from and warily asked, "Who's there?"

"Want Want Xiao Xiao Su!" A somewhat childish voice came from behind a tree. It was Feng Xun, who had come looking for them.

"Want Want Xiao Xiao Su?" Before the Stone Ninja could react, Feng Xun's small figure stepped out from the shadows beneath the tree.

Red, orange, and blue—the three primary colors minus one. Looks like I was right. These three little guys should be Nagato and the others when they were young.

Feng Xun walked over to the three children. Seeing that none of them had been hurt, he teased the Stone Ninja, "You don't even know the internationally famous Want Want Xiao Xiao Su? Mister, you've fallen behind the times."

Then Feng Xun said to the three children, who were still frozen in place, "How about it? You still have the strength to move, right?"

"Yeah! No problem." Yahiko nodded, then asked, "But who are you? Did you come to save us?"

Who am I? That was a good question...

I used to be your fan. Now I'm the disciple of your teacher's friend. In the future, I'll be the younger brother of your teacher's disciple.

While indulging in his fantasies, Feng Xun struck a cool pose and answered, "Who I am isn't important. What's important is that I'm here to save you."

Well? Was that cool or what? Were you overwhelmed by my sheer awesomeness?

Feng Xun secretly studied the three children, imagining himself being admired by future big bosses. But the reality was...

"Konan, Nagato, are you two okay?"

"I'm fine, but Nagato looks uncomfortable."

"Nagato, what's wrong? Where does it hurt? Did you get injured just now?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. My eyes just feel a little swollen. I was probably too nervous earlier."

Umm... hey, hey, hey! Can't you show a little appreciation toward your savior? I'm under a lot of pressure here!

Seeing that none of the three children paid him any attention, Feng Xun felt a pang of sorrow as he turned back to face the enemy.

Judging from the way the kunai had been thrown and the force behind it, this man did not seem like an ordinary Chunin. He seemed more like a battle-hardened Jōnin. But what was this strange feeling?

Why did he keep feeling as though the man was more like a paper tiger?

Feng Xun did not know where that strange feeling came from, but he knew the enemy was definitely not as simple as he appeared.

Following the principle that whoever struck first gained the advantage, Feng Xun launched the first attack.

As he threw several shuriken, Feng Xun moved, swiftly closing the distance.

The Stone Ninja, who had still been pondering "Want Want Xiao Xiao Su," did not dare let his guard down. Retreating, he formed hand seals and shouted, "Earth Release: Earth-Flow Rampart!"

A two-meter-tall earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking the Stone Ninja from view.

Feng Xun was not discouraged when his shuriken embedded themselves in the Earth-Flow Rampart. Instead, he used the shuriken lodged in the wall as a ladder.

Scramble, scramble, scramble!!!

Clearing the Earth-Flow Rampart, Feng Xun instantly arrived above the Stone Ninja.

The kunai clenched in his hand slashed down without hesitation.

Got him! Feng Xun's face lit up.

Yet the Stone Ninja struck by the kunai suddenly turned into mud.

Before Feng Xun could react, a tremendous force slammed viciously into his back.

Boom!!!

The struck Feng Xun crashed into a tree trunk.

"Cough, cough..." The intense pain made him feel as though his ribs had been broken.

Frowning, Feng Xun got back to his feet, not daring to make another move for the moment.

This guy really was strange. Based on the coordination between his movements and ninjutsu alone, he had the strength of a Jōnin at the very least. But the power of his techniques fell far short of that standard.

If they had possessed a Jōnin's power, he probably would not have been able to stand right now.

Why was that? Feng Xun could not figure it out no matter how hard he thought.

But Feng Xun standing still did not mean his enemy would do the same.

From Feng Xun's series of movements just now, the Stone Ninja had also sensed a hint of danger.

Not daring to slack off in the slightest, the Stone Ninja rapidly formed hand seals again and shouted in a low voice, "Earth Release: Earth-Flow Spears!"

Feeling the ground tremble slightly, Feng Xun hurriedly leaped away. But before he could land again—

The Stone Ninja cast another technique. "Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spears!"

Sharp stone pillars burst out from the ground where Feng Xun was about to land.

Damn it, his hand seals were too fast!

As Feng Xun cursed inwardly, he twisted his body through the air and evaded the Rock Pillar Spears.

Tap!

The instant Feng Xun landed, his body vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already beside Nagato and the others. He said quietly, "Go find Lord Jiraiya, quickly. I don't think I can handle this guy alone."

"But... you'll be in danger by yourself." Konan, a girl who was not much younger than her savior, hesitated as she looked at him.

Feng Xun did not appreciate her concern. Instead, he barked, "If you stay here, I'll be in even greater danger. Go! I'm afraid I can't hold out much longer."

Yahiko gritted his teeth at this. Then, without saying a word, he grabbed Konan and Nagato by the hands and tried to flee.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Seeing Nagato and the other two trying to escape, the Stone Ninja ignored Feng Xun and chased after them instead.

Although Feng Xun did not know why, he hurried after him.

What was wrong with this guy? Why was he so obsessed with these three little kids?

Seeing Minato and the other two about to be caught, Feng Xun felt anxious, along with a faint sense of sadness.

Damn it, nothing happened before I came. Why did trouble start the moment I showed up? Could this be the butterfly effect?

(Fine, eight years without watching Naruto. It was understandable to forget a few unimportant plot points.)

Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!

The Stone Ninja spat out a muddy rock wall, blocking Yahiko and the others' path of retreat.

Yahiko hurriedly stopped. Just as he was about to tell Nagato and Konan to run first, he saw Feng Xun in the distance gesture for him to stall for time.

"?" Though he did not understand what Feng Xun intended to do, Yahiko still stood in front of Nagato and the others and bravely asked, "Why exactly are you chasing us? We shouldn't know you."

"You don't need to know that. You only need to know that I came here to kill you." The Stone Ninja's face was as expressionless as a corpse's.

Behind him, Feng Xun saw that Yahiko had temporarily drawn the man's attention.

He took a deep breath and slowly gathered the energy within his body into both hands.

Unlike the Kamehameha he had unleashed before, Feng Xun's charging this time did not create the slightest disturbance. Even the glow of the energy wave was extremely faint, as though a single puff of breath could extinguish it.

Since normal attacks can't hit you, I'll use some abnormal methods instead.