The supply raid in progress (3)

Sure enough, the instant he dodged aside, a long blade slashed through the spot where he had just stood.

The wielder of that blade was none other than Chihane.

"You can see me? Where's Mahiru? How did you get here?"

Taiseki was startled. Chihane had actually spotted him. His Ninja Art: Camouflage Concealment let him change color in sunlight like a chameleon, rendering him invisible.

Yet Chihane had just detected him while he was invisible and nearly killed him. How could he not be shocked-and even a little afraid?

Only then did he realize that Chihane had been fighting Mahiru. If Chihane was here now, didn't that mean Mahiru was dead? But how was that possible? Mahiru was an Elite Jonin every bit as strong as he was. How could he have been taken down so quickly?

"Go take care of your wounds. Leave him to me!"

"Hmph! Of course me being here means he's dead."

Chihane first spoke softly to Uchiha Izumi, telling him to tend to his wounds off to the side. He pulled out a roll of bandages and tossed it to Uchiha Izumi, then turned to Taiseki and spoke coldly.

"Impossible! How could you have killed Mahiru?"

Taiseki voiced his doubts, his tone full of disbelief.

But the moment he finished speaking, he turned and fled toward the Iwa Shinobi camp at full speed.

Indeed, seeing Chihane here had already convinced him that Mahiru had died at Chihane's hands. Since Mahiru's strength was comparable to his own, that meant he was no match for Chihane either. He planned to retreat to the Iwa Shinobi camp as quickly as possible, then ask Kitsuchi to deal with Chihane.

They were already close to the Iwa Shinobi camp. At full speed, he could reach it in less than ten minutes.

"Young people these days have no sense of fair play!"

Seeing Taiseki flee without the slightest dignity befitting an expert, Chihane sighed. Then he activated the Eight Gates of Death and Lightning Release Chakra Mode, pushing his speed to its limit as he gave chase.

Off to the side, Uchiha Izumi stared at Chihane as he nearly vanished from sight, his eyes filled with shock. He could hardly believe this boy was so powerful. But before his shock had even faded, his strength gave out, and he collapsed.

He was completely unable to fight anymore. Had Chihane arrived a little later, he would have died from blood loss even if Taiseki hadn't killed him. All he could do now was force his sluggish body to move and bandage his wounds. No one had time to look after him.

Chihane's Lightning Release Chakra Mode had been developed specifically to increase his speed. Though it couldn't compare to actual lightning, it wasn't something just any Jonin could easily outrun-not even an Elite Jonin!

Chihane soon caught up with Taiseki and blocked his path. Seeing Chihane ahead of him, Taiseki knew escape was impossible. He could only fight head-on, so he stopped.

"Go on, run! Keep running! Why'd you stop? Run!"

Chihane finally understood why the villains in the novels he had read in his previous life always launched into lengthy speeches at critical moments, even when they could have finished off their opponents quickly.

Getting a few words in at a moment like this really did feel amazing!

But he also knew Uchiha Fugaku might not be a match for Kakkō. Every extra moment left room for something to go wrong!

So as soon as he finished speaking, he drew his long blade and charged straight at Taiseki.

"Ninja Art: Camouflage Concealment!"

Although Chihane had already seen through this Ninjutsu once, Taiseki still clung to the hope that it had only been a fluke. He used Camouflage Concealment again. After all, it and Taijutsu were his specialties. What else could he do?

His figure quickly disappeared from Chihane's sight.

But even without using his eyes,

Chihane could sense his presence through Observation Haki alone! Taiseki had simply run into the worst possible opponent. Neither his Swordsmanship nor his unique Ninja Art had any effect on Chihane.

In the world of One Piece, Admiral Fujitora Issho could live just like an ordinary person by relying entirely on Observation Haki, even after blinding himself. Though Chihane's Observation Haki was nowhere near Issho's level yet, sensing this inferior form of invisibility was still easy.

"Three-Sword Style: Tiger Hunt!"

With his speed pushed to its limit, Chihane streaked past Taiseki like a bolt of blue lightning. Without even looking back, he raced toward the original battlefield.

Left behind, Taiseki stood motionless, his expression blank. Suddenly, blood began spurting from his body, and wounds resembling tiger stripes gradually appeared across him. Finally, he fell face-first to the ground.

Chihane soon doubled back. He had remembered that he still didn't know whether Taiseki was carrying the Iwa Shinobi's supply scroll. If he was, their mission would be all but complete.

Chihane quickly searched Taiseki's entire body. Aside from three hundred ryo, all he found were a few Explosive Tags.

"So poor! And you call yourself an Elite Jonin?"

Looking at the three hundred ryo and the few Explosive Tags in his hands, Chihane couldn't help addressing Taiseki's corpse with disdain.

It couldn't be helped. Though the Hatake Clan was a clan, it consisted of only Chihane and Kakashi. They had no other businesses, yet still had to cover the costs of both boys' Swordsmanship and Taijutsu training. The two had survived on the village's survivor benefits and the last of the money White Fang had left behind.

Then he cut off Taiseki's head and raced back the way he had come.

Meanwhile, the battle elsewhere continued.

Uchiha Fugaku stood facing Kakkō, panting heavily. The countless wounds covering his body, contrasted with Kakkō's unscathed appearance, made it clear that his defeat was only a matter of time.

Shortly after Chihane left, Kakkō realized he couldn't subdue Uchiha Fugaku with Genjutsu. He released it and chose to settle the fight with Ninjutsu instead.

"Earth Release: Fissure Earth Palm!"

Kakkō swiftly formed hand seals, then pressed his right hand toward the ground. The earth beneath Uchiha Fugaku immediately split open. He lost his balance and fell toward the fissure.

Bang!

At that dangerous moment, Uchiha Fugaku rapidly formed hand seals. He suddenly turned into a rock, while his real body appeared behind Kakkō. Sure enough, no Elite Jonin was easy to deal with.

When he saw Kakkō forming hand seals, he had recognized that a large-scale Ninjutsu was coming and prepared a countermeasure.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Having used the Substitution Technique to get behind Kakkō, Uchiha Fugaku formed hand seals in front of his body and drew a deep breath. Holding two crossed fingers to his mouth, he spat out a massive ball of flame that surged straight toward Kakkō's exposed back.