Outwitting the Rain Ninja

The two Chunin flanked him from both sides, charging straight at Tianyi.

Tianyi spun around in panic and fled toward the prearranged trap.

The two Chunin quickly closed in. Thirty meters, twenty meters, ten meters...

Right here!

Tianyi suddenly accelerated, leaping over what appeared to be an ordinary patch of mud.

The Chunin in the lead followed closely behind, but just as his foot was about to land, his pupils shrank sharply—

There was a tripwire beneath the muddy water!

"Trap!" He came to an abrupt stop and raised a hand to halt his companion.

The two barely stopped at the edge of the trap, warily scanning their surroundings.

Sure enough, aside from that simple tripwire trap, there seemed to be other arrangements nearby...

They did not notice that the instant they stopped, Tianyi had already turned around.

A thread was pinched between the index and middle fingers of his right hand, its other end...

Tied to two flashbangs on a short tree five meters away.

Tianyi closed his eyes, covered his ears, and gave the thread a violent tug.

"Bang, bang—!!!"

A six-million-candela flash and a deafening blast exceeding 170 decibels.

Exploded before the two Chunin! Even though they had been on guard.

They had never expected this kind of attack!

"Ah—my eyes!"

"My ears!"

The two cried out in agony, instantly blinded and deafened.

But the caliber of Chunin showed itself at this moment. Even after losing both sight and hearing.

They instinctively stood back-to-back, Kunai held across their chests in a defensive stance.

Very professional, but that was precisely the stance Tianyi wanted.

He pulled the last grenade from his waist pouch.

He pulled the pin, silently counted two seconds, then... threw it at their feet.

"Boom—!!!"

Their screams came to an abrupt halt.

When the smoke cleared, only two mangled figures remained, sprawled in pools of blood.

The three Rain ninja guarding the Little Sansho Fish.

Almost immediately sensed that something was wrong when the flashes and thunderous explosions rang out.

The Jonin's expression changed slightly. He had not sensed the exact sequence of events.

But the smoke, broken trees, and distance blocked his view.

His keen battlefield instincts and faint chakra perception told him.

The chakra signatures of the two subordinates he had sent out... after the explosion.

Had instantly weakened, then vanished.

"Ito and Sasaki's chakra... has disappeared." His voice was low.

No emotion could be heard in it, but the veins on the back of the hand gripping his Kunai bulged faintly.

"What?!" the younger Chunin beside him cried out.

He instinctively took a step toward the source of the explosion. "They..."

"Dead." The Jonin spat out the word coldly.

His pupils remained locked on the distant smoke that had yet to disperse.

"If you go over there now, you will only add two more corpses.

Or step into his second or third trap. There will be no other outcome."

The other Chunin's eyes reddened, his voice filled with anger.

"But Captain! Are we really just going to..."

"Our mission has only one objective." The Jonin cut him off, his tone firm and decisive.

"Guard the summoned beast and maintain the poisonous mist. As long as the mist continues covering the center of the battlefield.

Leaf Village's casualties will increase with every passing minute. And aside from that Hyuga brat.

We do not know whether there are other reinforcements.

They cannot afford to waste time. They are using these deceitful methods to lure us into splitting up and pick us off one by one.

They probably are not our match head-on, or they would have attacked us directly long ago."

He tilted his head slightly, the corner of his eye sweeping over the Little Sansho Fish still spewing poisonous mist behind him.

The purple-black fog continued pouring toward the main battlefield without end.

"The more anxious he is, the more it proves our tactics are effective.

If he wants to save them, he has to kill Ibuse. But... he cannot get past us."

A cold curve pulled at the Jonin's lips.

"Stay here. Adapt to every change by remaining unchanged... We only need to hold out until every Leaf Village ninja dies in the poisonous mist."

The two Chunin gritted their teeth and forced down their grief and fury.

They tightened their grips on their weapons and returned to their respective defensive positions.

Their gazes vigilantly swept every shadow ahead that might conceal an enemy.

Behind a tree, Tianyi's Byakugan took in the three men's tight defensive formation in the distance.

Just as expected... they didn't fall for it again, he thought.

Their reaction had been within his expectations. A qualified Jonin commander.

When choosing between the mission objective and the lives of his subordinates, especially at such a crucial point that could decide the battle.

Would usually choose the former.

His plan to lure them apart and assassinate them had failed. They had seen through his intentions.

And chosen the safest and most effective strategy: holding their ground.

Time was slipping away second by second.

Nawaki and Moonlight Kaede were still rescuing their companions in the poisonous mist. There was not much time left.

He could not delay any longer.

The Jonin and two Chunin in the distance remained secretly on guard.

Several Kunai tore through the air, their trajectories aimed directly at the three Rain ninja guarding the Little Sansho Fish.

Almost as an instinctive reaction, the two Chunin swung their Kunai.

Accurately knocking aside the Kunai flying toward them.

Following the Kunai was a fist-sized cylindrical metal object thrown through the air.

The Hidden Rain Village Jonin's golden pupils abruptly contracted!

His battle instincts screamed a warning. That strange thing behind them was the true danger!

Without hesitation, he threw a shuriken at it.

He judged that no matter what kind of ninja tool it was, knocking it away first was the safest choice.

However, the metal object exploded in midair.

"Bang!!!"

A six-million-candela flash and a deafening blast exceeding 170 decibels!

"Ah—my eyes!"

"I can't see!"

The two Chunin bore the brunt of it. They had just completed their blocking motion, their eyes still focused on the incoming Kunai.

They had been completely unprepared for this intense flash attack with no chakra fluctuations.

The searing pain and instant blindness made them howl in agony.

They instinctively covered their eyes and staggered backward, their fighting stances completely falling apart.

The Jonin was hit as well! Although he had reacted swiftly and tried to knock away the flashbang.

He was too late. His vision was now a field of blinding white, leaving only vague shadows and piercing tinnitus.

But a Jonin was still a Jonin! The instant his vision was taken, he formed hand seals with both hands—Water Formation Wall!

Though unable to determine where the attack would come from, he could only rely on the direction from which that strange ninja tool had flown earlier.

To use a defensive ninjutsu. Almost at the instant his wall of water rose.

"Whoosh—!!!"

A slender waterline shot toward him at extreme speed! It was Tianyi's Water Release: Waterline Slash!

The Waterline Slash was too fast! The defensive ninjutsu the Jonin cast while blinded was ultimately a fatal fraction too slow!

"Splat!"

The thick water wall was pierced instantly. The waterline continued onward, slicing through the Jonin's left arm where he had been forming seals!

"Urgh—ahhh!!!"

Amid a piercing scream, a whole arm was severed at the shoulder.

Overwhelmed by the agonizing pain, the Jonin staggered backward, his face pale as paper as blood gushed from the stump.

He immediately took bandages from his ninja pouch and tightly bound the wound.

After succeeding, Tianyi immediately hurled a grenade with all his strength.

Through the haze, the Jonin in agony caught the sound of another object cutting through the air.

The intense sense of mortal danger made him disregard his severe injury and activate the Body Flicker Technique with all his strength!

"Rumble—!!!"