Sir, Times Have Changed

Qian Ye sprinted through the woods for his life.

Both his legs ached like hell from overusing chakra.

His lungs burned, and every breath tasted of blood.

The whistle of movement behind him drew closer and closer. The Sunagakure elite clearly had no intention of letting him go.

Several sharp whistles rang out.

Three kunai skimmed Qian Ye's scalp and thunked into the tree trunk ahead.

Wood splinters struck his face, leaving several bloody scratches.

Qian Ye ducked in fright and nearly tripped.

He knew he could never outrun a Sunagakure elite skilled in assassination.

He had to find a way to throw his pursuer off.

As he sprinted, Qian Ye raised his voice and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, buddy back there! What are you even after?"

"Lord Rasa tells you to chase me, and you just do it? Can't you think for yourself?"

"There are tons of supplies back there! Why chase a penniless bastard like me instead of grabbing them?"

"I don't have a single cent on me! Do you get a bonus for killing me?"

The wind howled through the woods, but Qian Ye's grating voice carried remarkably well.

The Sunagakure ninja pursuing him nearly fell off a branch in anger when he heard that.

Was this Hidden Leaf genin out of his mind?

He was about to die, yet he still had the nerve to spout nonsense.

"Shut up, you Hidden Leaf scum! You're dead today!"

The Sunagakure ninja roared and picked up speed.

Qian Ye dared not look back and kept shouting.

"Can't we work something out? Just go back and say you couldn't catch me! I promise I won't tell anyone!"

"We're both just working for a living! Why make things hard for each other?"

"Let me off this once! Think of it as earning yourself some good karma!"

Qian Ye's shameless remarks enraged the Sunagakure ninja.

He rapidly formed hand seals, gathering chakra in his chest.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A violent torrent of air erupted from the Sunagakure ninja's mouth and swept through the woods ahead.

The gale whipped up fallen leaves and stones into an enormous wall of wind that slammed into Qian Ye's back.

Qian Ye felt as though a speeding truck had hit him head-on.

He flew through the air and crashed into the dirt over ten meters away.

He rolled several times before his head struck a thick tree root, making his vision go black.

Every bone in his body felt ready to fall apart, and a sickly metallic taste rose in his throat.

Qian Ye spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and dug his hands into the dirt, trying to get up.

But his chakra had already run dry.

His legs were limp as noodles. He couldn't muster any strength.

I'm screwed.

Qian Ye leaned against the tree root, gasping for breath.

He frantically called out to the Cross-Border Mutual Aid Group in his mind.

[Qian Ye]: "Old Zhao! If you don't send the goods now, your daddy's going to die here!"

[Qian Ye]: "That Sunagakure bastard is practically on top of me! Hurry!"

Zhao Hai's messages immediately popped up in the chat window.

[Zhao Hai]: "Coming, coming! Stop rushing me! I'm prying open crates right now!"

[Zhao Hai]: "I just snuck into the armory and found two heavy hitters! They'll definitely do the job!"

[Zhao Hai]: "The East Blue Marine Branch's best-kept treasures! I'm sending them all over!"

[Zhao Hai]: "Catch them, son!"

The instant Zhao Hai sent that message, the virtual transfer window before Qian Ye flashed white.

A soft ding sounded.

Qian Ye suddenly felt both hands sink under a heavy weight.

A hefty black metal object appeared in his left hand, its blued finish gleaming coldly.

In his right hand appeared a short, thick, dark green launcher. It wasn't long, but its weight dragged his wrist down.

Qian Ye looked down, his eyes widening into circles.

In his left hand was a large-caliber revolver.

In his right was an actual light infantry rocket launcher, already loaded with a gleaming yellow rocket.

Holy shit!

Qian Ye could only marvel inwardly.

Rustling footsteps came from the nearby undergrowth.

The Sunagakure elite slowly emerged from the shadows, carrying a bloodstained ninja sword.

He looked at Qian Ye slumped against the tree root, his face filled with cruel amusement.

"Run. Why aren't you running anymore?"

"You had plenty to say a moment ago, didn't you, you Hidden Leaf trash?"

The Sunagakure ninja advanced step by step, twirling his ninja sword.

He didn't consider Qian Ye a threat at all.

A civilian genin with no chakra left was nothing but meat on the chopping block.

He also noticed the two strange lumps of metal that had appeared in Qian Ye's hands.

No chakra fluctuations.

No sign of any explosive tags.

They looked like two pieces of scrap metal, probably some exotic weapons the brat had picked up somewhere.

"You think two pieces of scrap will save your life?"

The Sunagakure ninja snorted.

"You Hidden Leaf people are getting more pathetic by the day."

Qian Ye gripped the revolver with both hands.

Imitating the cowboys in the Westerns from his previous life, he lowered the muzzle slightly, then slowly raised it.

He pulled the hammer back hard with his thumb.

Click.

The crisp metallic sound seemed especially piercing at that moment.

Qian Ye looked at the Sunagakure ninja nearby and forced an ugly smile.

"Scrap?"

"Buddy, times have changed."

Without hesitation, Qian Ye pulled the trigger.

Bang!

A deafening report exploded through the quiet woods.

A dazzling flash of flame burst from the muzzle.

The Sunagakure ninja had no time to register what had happened.

All he saw was a flash from that black lump of metal, followed by an excruciating pain in his right thigh.

A large-caliber lead bullet punched through his thigh muscle, spraying blood.

The Sunagakure ninja screamed, lost his balance, and dropped to one knee.

He stared in terror at his thigh as blood poured from it.

What kind of concealed weapon was this?

"You... what the hell are you holding?"

The Sunagakure ninja clutched his wound, panic entering his voice for the first time.

Gritting his teeth, Qian Ye clumsily spun the revolver between his fingers.

He had meant to put it away with a cowboy's flair, but nearly flung it out of his hand instead.

He hurriedly caught it, set it beside him, and hoisted the dark green launcher with both hands.

The thing was seriously heavy, pressing painfully against Qian Ye's shoulder.

He braced the launcher on his right shoulder and centered the sights on the Sunagakure ninja on the ground.

"Something good to send you on your way."

The Sunagakure ninja felt a threat of death unlike anything he had ever experienced.

That dark, hollow metal tube radiated a danger that made his skin crawl.

Ignoring his wounded thigh, he forced himself to stand through the agony and rapidly formed hand seals.

He had to kill this freakish brat!

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"

Qian Ye gave him no chance to unleash his jutsu.

His index finger squeezed the firing trigger hard.

Boom!

A long jet of flame erupted from the rear of the launcher, and the tremendous recoil knocked Qian Ye onto the ground.

Trailing thick white smoke, a rocket laden with death streaked through the short gap between the trees.

It struck the Sunagakure ninja square in the chest.

BOOM!!!

An earth-shattering explosion thundered through the woods.

Blinding flames shot skyward, and a violent shock wave snapped the surrounding trees in half for more than ten meters.

Dirt, wood fragments, and severed limbs flew everywhere.

The heat of the explosion ignited the surrounding bushes, sending thick smoke billowing upward.

The blast hurled Qian Ye several meters away, leaving him covered in dirt and ash.

He lay facedown on the ground, his ears ringing so loudly that he couldn't hear anything else.

Only after a long while did Qian Ye manage to struggle to his feet.

He brushed the dirt off himself and craned his neck to look toward the center of the explosion.

It had become an enormous, deep, blackened crater.

Not a single intact bone remained of that arrogant Sunagakure elite.

The rocket had given him a send-off through sheer firepower.

Qian Ye stared openmouthed at the devastation before him and couldn't help swallowing.

"That thing Old Zhao sent really packs a fucking punch."

Qian Ye silently gave Zhao Hai a thumbs-up in his mind.

He dared not linger. That explosion was bound to draw other Sunagakure ninja.

Qian Ye picked up the revolver from the ground and hastily stuffed it into his Ninja Tool Pouch.

The launcher was empty and too heavy to carry, so he kicked it straight into the nearby bushes.

Once that was done, Qian Ye checked his bearings and, dragging his aching legs, continued racing toward No. 3 Outpost.