Time Domain... Onefold Speed!

"Fine!" After giving it some thought and realizing Samu Kokaze did not lack for this, Choji gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement.

Samu Kokaze, the subject of their discussion, gazed darkly at the gathered group. He glanced toward a tree by the shore, clenched the slightly melting snowball in his hand, and walked toward the bank.

He looked up at the positions of the two Anbu, then lowered his eyelids.

"Since you trash were too lazy to look even after I warned you, then I'll personally force him into the open. But if any of you get killed or injured afterward, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Slightly turning aside to dodge the snowball Ino threw at him with a sweet laugh, he looked at Choji, who was closest to the target. The tightly packed snowball in his hand flew out at once, shooting toward the upper branches of a tree beside Choji.

The ninja lying atop the tree, concealing his presence, watched the snowball hurtle toward him at high speed, and his expression changed instantly. Dodging would have been easy enough, but the moment he made any movement, the ninja in the tree ahead would immediately discover him.

Yet he could not simply ignore it. Once the snowball struck him, it would inevitably make an unusual sound and expose him all the same.

He had never expected such a simple mission to go wrong. And if even one person here escaped, once his identity within Konoha was exposed, he would undoubtedly die without a burial place.

With that thought, a fierce glint flashed through the dark-skinned man's eyes as he looked down at the group below. His hand moved slightly, and a black kunai without the slightest reflection sprang from his sleeve. Killing intent flickered through his eyes as he looked at the ninja in the tree before him.

With a sharp whistle through the air, the middle-aged ninja who had just been in the tree vanished instantly. The swiftly flying snowball struck the spot where he had been, making a muffled thud.

The Anbu guarding Naruto twitched his ears at the sound, but before he could react, a pitch-black blade slashed toward his neck.

The Anbu's eyes filled with horror as he saw the blade coming, but they were too close. There was no time to form hand seals and use ninjutsu, so he could only barely raise an arm in an attempt to block the weapon.

Slash...

The sound of metal piercing flesh rang out. The raised arm offered no resistance to the specially made kunai. The attacked Anbu only had time to let out a scream before clutching his neck and falling from the tree.

Samu Kokaze had been prepared from the instant he threw the snowball. The moment his opponent struck, deliberate panic appeared on his face, and he ran over to pull Choji, who was closest to the man, away.

Before Choji could ask what was happening, a piercing scream came from the tree, followed by a dull thud from the ground. Seeing the severed corpse with its eyes wide open and unwillingness still visible on its face lying on the ground, Choji's plump body trembled slightly.

"H-how did this happen?!" Choji stared at the suddenly appearing corpse. His throat was dry, as though it were filled with sand.

"Shikamaru! Naruto! Protect Ino and Sakura!" Ignoring Choji's question, Samu Kokaze shouted a warning toward the others the moment the corpse fell.

At the same time, his arm shook slightly, and a palm-length carving knife shot from his sleeve. He assumed a defensive stance and stared tensely at the tree across from him.

Whoosh...

Before the still-stunned group could respond, a black figure abruptly appeared before them. His expression could not be seen beneath his mask. Looking down at the corpse on the ground, anger flashed through his eyes before he said in a deep voice to Samu Kokaze, the only one behind him who remained relatively calm, "Take them and leave quickly. I'll hold him off here!"

Samu Kokaze gave the Anbu a deep look, nodded, then grabbed the dazed Choji and ran toward Naruto and the others.

"Move!" Samu Kokaze snarled at the stunned group.

"Whew..." Startled awake by the shout, Shikamaru let out a long breath. His expression was complicated as he looked at the corpse on the ground, but he did not waste words. He grabbed Ino and Sakura, whose bodies were stiff and trembling, and ran back the way they had come.

As Samu Kokaze ran forward, he saw Naruto still standing in place without moving. His brow tightened, and he shouted, "Run! What are you waiting for?!"

Naruto looked nervous as he stared at the two people confronting each other ahead. "I... I... I want to fight alongside him!"

Even with Samu Kokaze's temperament, those words made him suck in a breath in fury. Resisting the urge to beat Naruto senseless, he grabbed his hand and dragged him forward.

"Can that man stop him?" After running a few steps while being dragged along, Choji recovered somewhat and asked.

"He can't stop him, but holding him back for a while shouldn't be a problem," Samu Kokaze replied without looking back as he ran.

"Why?!" Choji could not help asking.

"Look ahead yourself," Samu Kokaze said in a low voice.

"What?" Choji's pupils abruptly contracted at those words. His body shook as he saw a figure appear ahead.

Letting go of Choji and Naruto's hands, Samu Kokaze looked toward Shikamaru and the others, who had stopped ahead. He walked over and asked, "What is the most powerful ninjutsu you can use right now?"

"Heh!" Shikamaru, who usually acted as though nothing mattered, had cold sweat beading on his forehead. A biting gust of wind made him shudder. "None of the ninjutsu I've learned will have any effect on him."

"Whew..." Samu Kokaze softly exhaled, rubbed his aching head, and muttered, "Good thing I didn't factor your strength into the calculations."

"What did you say?" Shikamaru had not heard clearly and could not help asking.

"Nothing!" Samu Kokaze shook his head, his expression grave as he looked at the figure standing ahead.

He strode forward and stopped around five meters from the other man. Looking at his dark-skinned face, he said in a deep voice, "I'm your target, right? Let them go. If you really kill everyone here, do you think you can escape Konoha's pursuit?"

"Fū!"

The group behind him cried out upon hearing Samu Kokaze's words. Naruto, who had been trembling in fear, looked especially furious. If Shikamaru beside him had not grabbed him, he would have already rushed forward.

A teasing glint flashed through the middle-aged ninja's eyes as he looked at the small figure before him. "What makes you think you're my target?"

"So you intend to leave us all here." Samu Kokaze sighed faintly. Seeing the mockery in the man's eyes, he understood his intentions. All the Nanobugs in his body began flowing at high speed, silver light flashing repeatedly in his eyes as he said calmly, "Time Domain, onefold speed."

As his words fell, the Nanobugs in Samu Kokaze's body began altering his internal physiology.

Time slowed in his eyes, while his own speed remained as usual. Feeling the energy in his body rapidly draining away, he frowned slightly. Three minutes? Enough.

Whoosh...

A sharp tearing sound rang out. The small figure vanished instantly, his right hand gripping the carving knife as it slashed toward the neck of the middle-aged ninja, who was stunned by his sudden burst of speed.

Time Domain was an ability Samu Kokaze had developed himself with the Nano Core. Its inspiration came from an anime in his previous life about fighting over the Holy Grail. However, unlike the time acceleration achieved through magecraft in that anime, Time Domain primarily relied on the Nanobugs' processing power and the enhancement of key parts of his body to extend the flow of time in his perception.

Since obtaining the Nano Core, he had used his self-created Nano Training Method during his training. By now, his physical strength was not much weaker than Rock Lee's just after graduating from the Ninja Academy.

Moreover, through the Nanobugs' complete control over his body, Samu Kokaze could fully unleash every ounce of strength within it, allowing him to reach the state Rock Lee achieved after opening the First Gate.

With such a powerful body, Samu Kokaze naturally did not want his strength to have any shortcomings. If his talent for ninjutsu was rated a ten, then his talent for taijutsu was no worse. However, taijutsu training was not something that could be mastered as quickly as ninjutsu.

"Time Domain!"

It was an ability Samu Kokaze had developed to instantly elevate his taijutsu, much like the Eight Gates Formation developed by Guy's father.

However, compared with the side effects of the Eight Gates Formation, Time Domain was vastly superior.

Only the first three gates of the Eight Gates Formation were safe. Opening the fourth gate would cause permanent damage to the body. Time Domain was different. When activated, aside from requiring more Nanobugs and higher-quality energy as the multiplier increased, it had no other restrictions and caused no bodily harm.

With the number of Nanobugs currently in Samu Kokaze's body, he could activate the Twofold Time Domain at most. But because all his chakra was being supplied to the Nanobugs, he could currently only maintain the Onefold Time Domain for three minutes. The low-grade bodily energy within him simply could not support the activation of the Twofold Time Domain.