Even while fighting his opponent, Nakagawa Ichirō kept part of his attention on Yechen. Seeing him kill two Chunin cleanly and decisively gave him a shock.
Only a month had passed, and the kid had grown stronger again. Before, he had needed to exchange a few blows with a Chunin. Now, he killed them instantly.
Give him a little more time, and even I, his teacher, might be no match for him.
Remembering that Yechen still had trump cards he had yet to use, Nakagawa Ichirō smiled bitterly. Having such an outstanding student did not seem entirely good, either. It left his teacher with no sense of accomplishment.
After killing the two Chunin, Yechen prepared to intercept and kill a third.
Just then, a faint whistle cut through the air ahead. Yechen instinctively raised his arm and slashed with his Kunai.
Then came a clang!
Yechen easily knocked the incoming Kunai away.
Yechen looked up and saw an Iwagakure Jonin break away from the Jonin battle and rush toward him.
Clearly, the Iwagakure Jonin had noticed what was happening here. They already outnumbered Konoha's Jonin, so they could spare one without losing their advantage.
If they ignored the other two battlefields, all the Chunin and Genin they had brought would likely die. Even if they completed their mission, they would have a hard time explaining that when they returned.
Yechen's gaze sharpened as he inwardly cursed their lack of fair play. Beat the younger ones, and the older ones came running.
Couldn't you wait a little longer? I still have four more fish to kill!
Yechen was not afraid of the approaching Iwagakure Jonin. At most, he would be a Special Jōnin. Konoha's Jonin would never let a truly powerful Jonin slip through.
They must have assessed the situation among the Chunin before making that decision.
What Yechen really cared about, however, was the other four Iwagakure Chunin. He had planned to finish them all off together, but that plan had now fallen through.
Seeing this, several Konoha Chunin moved to Yechen's side. Even if their opponent was only a Special Jōnin, his combat strength could not be underestimated. None of them stood a chance against him alone.
"Finish off the remaining four Rock Ninja as quickly as you can," Yechen said gravely.
"Can you handle him alone?"
One of the Konoha Chunin sounded worried.
"Then let's switch. You handle him, and I'll finish off the other four."
Yechen's words startled them. They were just about to agree when he spoke again.
"Get moving already! Finish them off, then come back and help. What good does standing around do?"
Yechen was neither being arrogant nor giving up on earning evolution points. The approaching Special Jōnin was no ordinary opponent. Judging by his aura alone, his basic combat strength should have reached the limits of a Chunin. With a few special tricks added in, he would be no weaker than a Jonin.
With that thought, Yechen gave the man a thumbs-up, then slowly turned it downward and grinned.
"Follow me if you've got the guts."
Yechen used the Void Flash Evasion Technique, appearing five meters away in the blink of an eye before racing toward the rear of the battlefield.
Fujiwara Jicang gave a savage grin. Yechen had been his target all along, and after such a provocation, he chased after him without hesitation.
"What should we do?" one Konoha Chunin asked, still worried about Yechen.
"Do what he said. Finish off those four Rock Ninja as quickly as possible, then go help him."
The others nodded and quickly joined the battle.
With one fleeing and the other pursuing, the two soon left the fighting far behind.
As Yechen ran, he suddenly felt several sharp gusts behind him. He activated the Void Flash Shield Technique, shifting five meters away. Several Shuriken embedded themselves in the tree trunk where he had just been.
Yechen focused his gaze and saw an Explosive Tag fluttering from a Shuriken.
Not good! He activated the Void Flash Shield Technique again, blinking several times before barely escaping the blast's aftermath.
Crimson flames swept across several meters. The shock wave from the Explosive Tag expanded visibly outward, making the branches in the forest creak and rattle.
A moment later, a figure staggered out of the smoke. In the next instant, a Kunai shot toward him, struck his shoulder, and pinned him to a tree trunk.
The figure let out a scream, seemingly badly wounded.
Fujiwara Jicang slowly emerged from the shadows. Watching Yechen struggle, a smile gradually spread across his face.
I thought this little brat from Konoha was something special. Who knew that was all he had? What a disappointment!
Just as he was about to end this boring fight, the Yechen pinned to the tree vanished into a cloud of white smoke with a pop.
"Shadow Clone!" Fujiwara Jicang exclaimed.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Three whistles came from his left.
Without time to think, Fujiwara Jicang drew his Kunai and swung it from side to side, knocking away the incoming Shuriken. At the same time, he hurtled backward and slammed hard into a tree trunk.
Crack!
The trunk snapped.
Fujiwara Jicang's right hand trembled slightly around his Kunai. He was shaken. Who had thrown those Shuriken? Why were they so terrifying? With the force they carried, he would probably have died already if he were merely an ordinary Chunin.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Another three whistles rang out.
Three Shuriken spun toward him from different directions, each shimmering with a faint white light-the power of Yechen's Space Compression.
His strength had reached 3,500 jin. Combined with his Space Compression ability, each Shuriken carried the power of seven rotations. At seven times their normal speed, even the space around them trembled.
Fujiwara Jicang's gaze tightened, his heart quaking. Those three Shuriken were like death's scythes, coming to reap his life.
He immediately used the Body Flicker Technique, narrowly escaping his position.
Crack, crack, crack!
Boom!
The entire tree was sliced into several sections by the Shuriken. The instant they struck the ground, a thunderous crash erupted.
In a distant treetop, Fujiwara Jicang was utterly horrified. Shuriken with such destructive power-could a Kage Level fighter have arrived?
He was already thinking of retreating!
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