Crisis

Pfft!!! The tachi tore through the clothing on Miao's left arm, and blood sprayed from the skin beneath. Damn it! Is my body unable to keep up with the speed? Miao thought inwardly, but his reaction was not slow at all. With a sharp motion, he hurled the kunai in his right hand straight at the Anbu's face.

The Anbu's expression changed, but he did not panic. He tilted his head slightly and dodged the kunai. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Miao rapidly retreated while forming hand seals at a rate of five per second: Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger. In about a second, the seals were complete. "Fire Style—Great Fireball Technique!!!!!"

"Boom!!!!!" A massive fireball burst from Miao's mouth as he retreated, hurtling toward that dark part.

"Water Style—Great Water Ball Technique!!!!!" That dark part was no slouch either. Just as the fireball reached him, the water vapor in the air rapidly condensed before him, forming a massive water ball that spun as it slammed into the fireball.

"Bang!!!!!!!" The fireball and water ball collided and exploded at once. Thick white mist immediately spread across the snowfield, blocking the line of sight. However, this was no trouble for Miao.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan, giving off an eerie red light, flickered in and out of view within the white mist. Though the Sharingan did not possess the Byakugan's penetrating ability, and even the Mangekyō Sharingan could not compare to the Byakugan in pure reconnaissance, both the Sharingan and Byakugan could see the Chakra within another person's body. This mist was not the Hidden Mist Technique, so it could not conceal the opponent's Chakra.

A faint Sound of Breaking Air suddenly came from behind him. Though it was extremely slight, Miao sensed it instantly.

"Behind me!!!!" Miao's gaze did not change in the slightest. The Black Magatama in his Sharingan began to spin as Chakra instantly gathered in his palm, forming a blue Light Ball.

Without even looking, Miao spun around like lightning. At the same time, he fiercely drove the Rasengan in his hand behind him. "Bang!!!!" The Rasengan struck a body—it was that dark part's body. "Aah!!!!" That dark part screamed as his eye sockets gradually rolled white.

"Hmm?" Miao's eyes narrowed slightly. "No, that's not right!!! This is..." The Kirigakure Ninja he had struck suddenly turned into a puddle of water and fell to the ground.

"Water Clone!!!!" Miao's expression changed in alarm. "Pfft!!!!" Blood sprayed as a tachi instantly pierced Miao's heart. "W-what!!!" Miao stared blankly at the cold-light gleaming tachi protruding from his chest.

The mist before him gradually twisted, and that dark part's figure slowly emerged. With a Cold Smile hanging at the Corner of the Mouth, he looked disdainfully at the stunned Miao. "A brat is still a brat. I only had to expose a slight opening, and you took the bait. You can go to hell now!!" As he spoke, he continuously twisted the hand holding the tachi, intending to completely shred Miao's heart.

Miao, whose eyes had been dull only moments ago, suddenly looked at that dark part with a Cold Smile and mocked, "You're the foolish one!" "What!!!" Seeing Miao's expression, that dark part suddenly had an extremely bad feeling.

Miao's body, pierced through the heart, slowly vanished into the air. The tachi and the blood on the ground disappeared as well, as though none of it had ever happened.

"T-this is Genjutsu!!!" The Anbu suddenly realized it, but it was already too late. "Pfft!!!" A sharp kunai viciously pierced his heart from behind.

The light gradually faded from the Anbu's eyes, and his body slowly collapsed onto the ground. Blood flowed from him at once, staining the pure white snowfield red once more.

But Miao was not doing well either. He knelt on one knee, gasping for Heavy Breathing. His Chakra was nearly exhausted. He had used the Rasengan twice, the Great Fireball Technique twice, Shadow Clone twice, kept the Sharingan active the entire time, and cast Genjutsu. Even with the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan, it was becoming too much for him. After all, he was only Nine Years Old. Still, it seemed he had underestimated his Chakra Amount—it had already surpassed that of an ordinary Chunin and was approaching the level of a Jonin.

"Damn it!!!!" Miao panted, unwilling to accept it. This was not the time to rest. If he had no Chakra left now, then let alone joining the battle, he would not even have the strength to run. He would only drag his father down.

"I have to recover my Chakra immediately!!!" With that thought, Miao immediately sat down and began to Refine Chakra. He did not need to recover completely, but he needed at least enough Self-Preservation Ability.

A violent explosion suddenly rang out. Miao abruptly looked into the distance. Smoke billowed, and the flames from the explosion shot into the sky. The other side's two Anbu were covered in wounds and half-kneeling on the ground, having nearly lost their ability to fight.

Meanwhile, Miao's father, Hayato, had not a trace of Color of Blood in his face. Blood had somehow begun to run from the Corner of the Mouth as well. His Sharingan had closed, and his entire body swayed unsteadily. Clearly, he had overexerted himself.

Seeing Hayato's condition, Miao's expression immediately changed. He knew his father's body was weak and that he could not endure high-intensity combat for long, but he had not expected it to be even worse than he imagined. Just how severe were Father's injuries back then?

"Cough!!!!" Hayato's expression changed. He then violently spat out a large mouthful of blood and dropped to one knee, gasping as he coughed continuously. The agonizing pain in his chest tore through his Nerves.

"Damn it!! It's been too long since I last fought. I can't adapt to this pace at all, and my Chakra is nearly depleted. My injuries have flared up too. We should retreat first!!" Hayato trembled as he wiped the blood from the Corner of the Mouth.

A Strong Wind suddenly rushed toward them. Feeling the disturbance, both Miao and Hayato's expressions changed. More than a dozen Black Shadows were rapidly approaching from the Woods not far from the village.

"This is bad!!!"

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