Ruthless Little Devil

Clang, clang, clang.

Yue and Masada's phantom images clashed instantly.

The sharp blades in their hands struck repeatedly.

Masada was a bit stunned.

He hadn't expected Yue to be so fierce, showing no fear facing him, a Chunin.

He had thought Yue would be intimidated. Even though he had been ambushed and injured earlier, his strength was still not something a mere Genin brat could match.

"This strength!"

What made Masada even more disbelieving was that he pressed down and used Taijutsu.

He was actually fighting Yue to a standstill.

Yue's strength, reaction, and speed were no weaker than his own as an adult; in fact, they were even a bit stronger.

He was like a completely different person compared to when he was at school.

"This brat hid so much? He has such excellent Taijutsu... he clearly didn't focus much on Taijutsu in school. Logically, the physical fitness of students in his batch shouldn't be strong. And also, this brat... seems to have decent combat experience. This aura is nothing like a rookie's."

A thought flashed through Masada's mind, stirring his spirit.

It wasn't just him; the two Grass Ninjas in the distance also sensed something was wrong.

Not only were all of Masada's killing blows with his Kunai blocked by Yue's larger ninja tools, but the peculiar design of the tools and his unpredictable attack methods forced the Chunin Masada to retreat repeatedly.

"That strange thing... is that the ninja tool the Fuma Clan excels at."

One Grass Ninja stared at the weapon in Yue's hand.

"It's impressive that a kid his age can use it so skillfully... not simple at all."

The other chimed in.

The ninja tool Yue was using was something he had practiced diligently at home. It looked like a large blade, but it was connected by a chain in the middle, allowing it to split into two heavy blades. It had been difficult to control before, mainly due to his insufficient physical capabilities, but after his growth in the world of the Bleach, his physical quality had improved significantly, coupled with a mental boost, allowing him to control this weapon well.

It wasn't just his body that had grown stronger, but also the amount of Chakra within him.

The evolution of flesh and spirit naturally led to a surge in energy like Chakra.

Moreover, although the combat methods in the Bleach were different from those of ninjas, these close-quarters combat techniques were ultimately heading towards the same goal... so it wouldn't be that easy for Masada to find his 'opening' and suppress him.

"Damn it!"

A moment later, the Kunai in Masada's hand was knocked away by the spinning blade. He cursed as he narrowly dodged, leaning his body back.

Because the blade at the end of the chain in Yue's hand had suddenly separated, attacking from a peculiar angle with a trajectory similar to a whip.

Fortunately, he dodged in time, or his head would have been cut off.

"You brat, I'm going to kill you!"

He had thought he had Yue cornered, but instead, he was the one looking pathetic. This made Masada immediately lose his composure, roaring with red eyes.

He immediately used the Earth Style: Earth Clone Jutsu.

Yue also formed hand seals at the same time, using the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Earth Style: Earth Clone Jutsu and regular Shadow Clone Jutsu were not on the same level. The most direct manifestation was in the abilities of the clones themselves. One was an illusion, while the other possessed a certain degree of physical attack power.

After all, the opponent was a Chunin. As soon as Masada's clone appeared, it was destroyed by Masada's clone.

Afterward, Masada and his clone turned into two phantom images, attacking from front and back.

The advantage Yue had initially gained with his special ninja tool no longer existed... the blade at one end of the chain was stepped on by the Earth Clone at a crucial moment, while Masada himself, taking advantage of Yue's immobility, circled behind him and thrust his Kunai towards his vital spot.

If this strike had landed, it wouldn't have killed Yue, but it would have at least severely wounded him.

White smoke erupted as Yue dodged using the Substitution Technique.

On the revealed wooden log, an Explosive Tag was burning.

The next second, a massive fireball and smoke exploded, creating quite a spectacle.

Yue flipped and landed from mid-air, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield shrouded in black smoke.

"Did I get him?"

"Heh heh... you don't think a mere Explosive Tag could kill me, do you?"

Abruptly, a familiar cold laugh came from one direction.

"The gap between you and me is too great."

"Earth Style: Earth Release Bullet!"

With a slam, the ground in front of Yue instantly cracked open, turning into large pieces of rubble.

The speed at which the damaged ground extended was incredibly fast.

Yue could barely keep his footing.

"C-rank Ninjutsu!"

Yue's eyes changed.

This was the trickiest part… the opponent's Ninjutsu was on a higher level and more powerful than his own.

His body was engulfed by the splashing stones. Before his back even fully touched the ground, Masada had already darted to the side, kicking his torso away.

Without the satisfying impact of a hit, Yue's figure dissolved in mid-air as he was sent flying.

"Another Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

Masada froze for a moment.

He had attacked with Ninjutsu at high speed, yet Yue had managed to react and perform hand seals in advance?

Furthermore, although these were the basic Three Basic Jutsu, using them in such a short amount of time required incredibly fine control over Chakra, as well as a significant amount of Chakra.

Just then, a strong gust of wind swept towards him.

Masada dodged consecutively.

It was several Shuriken…

After missing, they landed at his feet.

Masada pinpointed the direction the Shuriken had come from and sprinted towards it.

As soon as he burst out of the dust and smoke, his eyes caught a glimpse of Yue's figure. Another massive shadow appeared in his vision, a terrifying sharp glint less than ten centimeters away from him.

Yue seemed to have predicted his location and timing.

It was the Fuma Clan's signature tool, a Fuma Shuriken!

With its power and sharpness, if it grazed him, he would be cut in half.

This wasn't all. Masada's peripheral vision caught Yue pulling another ninja tool scroll from his backpack. After it materialized, it was thrown like an iron fishing net, preemptively blocking his escape routes. Several fluttering Explosive Tags were attached to the net.

It was clear that Yue had prepared quite a few things for this mission.

Just as Masada dodged the Fuma Shuriken, the iron net descended upon him.

Boom boom boom!

"Ninjutsu, Earth Style: Earth…"

Like a clap of thunder, Masada's voice was drowned out by the explosions.

Yue immediately pulled back to avoid being caught in the blast.

"Where's that brat?"

"He's not dead, is he?"

"I didn't expect it to escalate to this point. We should have intervened much earlier."

The area was now shrouded in black smoke due to the power and aftermath of the explosions, obscuring vision and making it impossible to see the situation clearly.

The two Grass Ninjas could no longer remain calm and quickly entered the field to search.

Yue's gaze pierced through the black smoke, focusing on the center of the detonation zone.

That was where Masada had been standing moments ago.

There, a circular wall of earth had bulged upwards, resembling a small mound.

Clearly, at the last second, Masada had used Ninjutsu to hide within it, avoiding being consumed by the explosions and flames.

"He's still alive…"

Yue's breathing hitched slightly.

The instant his thoughts shifted, a dark figure appeared behind him like a ghost.

His scarlet eyes stared at him.

An uncontrollable killing intent emanated from him.

"My good student… your teacher is truly pleased with your growth."

Covered in dust and with some burn marks on his body, Masada harbored murderous intent.

He spoke sinisterly, then instantly thrust his Kunai towards the back of Yue's head.

According to the mission's requirements, he shouldn't have gone for the kill, but he was clearly enraged now and disregarding everything.

However… his arm, halfway through its swing, stopped in mid-air.

Upon closer inspection, Masada's eyes were wide open as a very small Shuriken was precisely embedded in his throat.

Yue, with his back to Masada, slowly raised his right hand. A very thin steel wire was tied to his finger.

The other end of the wire was connected to the Shuriken that had just killed his teacher.

Puppet Shuriken Technique.

For this technique of using hidden weapons, Yue's inspiration came from Sasuke. However, without the Sharingan, he couldn't achieve such precise control, nor could he control too many Shuriken at once. But if it was just one or two, with diligent practice, it was manageable… After all, as a member of the Fuma Clan, he had a special understanding of ninja tools and relatively suitable conditions for growth.

Since arriving in the Naruto world, Yue had been maximizing his advantages, not letting go of any possibility to arm himself, in order to secure a place in this world.

The more trump cards he had, the more confident he felt.

This was true for his simplified Lion Combo, and it was also true for this hastily executed Puppet Shuriken Technique.

The shuriken he had previously thrown at Masada were all for this one attack.

One steel wire was connected to the shuriken, and another was attached to the target to pinpoint its location, facilitating a swift kill.

Ultimately, those shuriken he threw earlier were never intended to harm Masada in the first place.

Furthermore, by this point in the battle, Masada had already lost too much blood…

The entire progression of the battle had actually been masterminded and deliberately steered by Yue.

"If I hadn't launched a surprise attack first, killing you… wouldn't have been this easy," Yue said calmly, turning around to face his teacher, who could only gasp and spew blood from his throat, unable to make a sound.

After speaking, Yue quickly leaped up, wrapping the threads in his hand around Masada.

Then, he vanished.

Less than a minute later, as the smoke dissipated, two Grass Ninja finally arrived at Yue's previous location.

"The trace is still here; that kid is probably nearby."

One Grass Ninja waved away the smoke, saying coldly.

"Hey."

"What is it?"

"Look."

"This…"

The other suddenly called out to his companion, his voice trembling.

The two looked up, and drops of blood were falling from the sky.

Above them, Masada's corpse hung suspended from a tree trunk like a marionette, swaying slightly.

His neck had already been half severed by the sharp steel wire.

Gulp.

The two Grass Ninja involuntarily swallowed at the same time.

A chill ran down to the soles of their feet.

"He… he was killed…"

And this way of dying…

That brat's methods were exceptionally brutal.