Crazy Kid

Yue descended from the sky, not yet having clashed with Yota.

With a bang.

A rogue ninja, experienced and skilled, swept through the air behind him, using his knee to force him to the ground.

One hand firmly pressed down on Yue's head, a sinister grin on his face, "Too slow... brat."

"Is that so?"

Yue smiled eerily.

Suddenly, he twisted his arm around, grabbing the rogue ninja's arm, and with a forceful twist.

The man's expression shifted slightly, and he used his skill to break free from Yue's counter-hold, instantly retreating.

He looked at the several bruises on his arm, his eyes wide with shock.

A mere boy... where did such formidable strength come from?

Binding Jutsu.

The moment the man leaped away, Yue had already flipped over and rapidly formed hand seals. Before the man could retreat to a safe distance, his body froze, unable to move. However, the Binding Jutsu's crowd control duration was only a few seconds. Firstly, Yue's ninjutsu was still unpracticed, and secondly, there was a gap in their strength.

But a few seconds was enough for Yue.

He revealed a bloodthirsty smile, abandoning Yota behind him, and with a leap, forcefully thrust his kunai towards the man's face.

However, he still failed.

As he approached, Yota had already closed the distance, kicking Yue away with a single blow.

But the rogue ninja broke out in a cold sweat.

Yue's body plummeted several meters away, his entire form like a crouching beast, bent over and half-crawling on the ground.

As soon as he landed, two more enemies appeared behind him, one on the left and one on the right, wielding weapons and sealing off the space.

They slashed at his true body.

Where Yue had been, only a fluttering Fire Cloud Robe remained, the garment torn to shreds by sharp blades.

Yue himself used the cover of the wide Fire Cloud Robe to jump away.

As the Fire Cloud Robe shattered, the two caught a glimpse of a burning Explosive Tag.

The next second, a deafening explosion and soaring fireworks erupted.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Before the residual power of the Explosive Tag had even dissipated, Yota saw Yue clinging to a dilapidated house opposite them like a gecko, skillfully forming hand seals.

He spewed flames from his mouth, once again covering the area affected by the Explosive Tag, engulfing them.

Then, it wasn't over yet.

Yue seized an opening, shifted his position, and formed hand seals again.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

A fierce gust of wind swept out. With the combination of wind and fire, in addition to the inherent power of the wind jutsu, it also amplified the spread and combustion of the flames.

In an instant, not only the gates and walls of the stronghold were engulfed in flames, but the entire street turned into a raging sea of fire.

This was a desolate village, overgrown with weeds and old wooden houses, making it ideal for the fire to spread.

Both of these ninjutsu were C-rank, but the power they unleashed varied depending on the user.

The opponent had a numerical advantage, so Yue's idea was to first change the battlefield environment, obscure their vision, and facilitate his own actions.

His physique gave him an advantage, making it easier to hide.

However, the next second, the flames were cut apart.

A wind blade, almost invisible to the naked eye, tore through the air.

It was Wind Style: Wind Slash, a ninjutsu Yue recognized.

It was just that the speed and range of this ninjutsu were somewhat astonishing.

The small, dilapidated house beneath his feet was instantly pulverized by the wind blade, and his skin was grazed by debris. Although he dodged, as soon as he landed, his peripheral vision caught sight of a black shadow lunging from the side and behind him. Yue had just raised his kunai to parry.

His pupils suddenly dilated.

The world before his eyes began to distort, undergoing bizarre changes.

Illusion Arts!

Among the enemies, there was a ninja proficient in Illusion Arts.

Not good!

One person had already charged forward, and he was caught in Illusion Arts again. This combination technique was executed with exquisite skill.

It formed a deadly posture.

"Brat... this is the end for you!"

The charging attacker let out a cold laugh.

The sound was Yota.

"Illusion Arts works by interfering with an enemy's five senses, disrupting the target's chakra flow, and thus causing them to fall into illusion. All genjutsu that aren't dōjutsu can be broken by disrupting one's own chakra flow. Alternatively, pain can be used to stimulate the nerves... While it can also be broken with sheer strength, I clearly can't reach that level yet."

At this critical moment, Yue's advantage as a transmigrator became apparent. 'Information' flashed through his mind subconsciously.

Without any hesitation, he took a two-pronged approach, biting his tongue while simultaneously disrupting his own chakra.

From Yota's perspective, Yue's body, which had still been trying to resist, froze in place. His arm dropped unnaturally, completely losing its mobility.

"Haha!"

He precisely thrust the kunai into Yue's body, and blood immediately flowed out.

However, just as he let out a laugh.

He was stunned.

It wasn't the feel that was wrong; he had indeed hit Yue. The position was wrong.

He intended to stab Yue's heart, not his side.

A split second before impact, Yue had subtly shifted his position.

He had deliberately lured him in.

Yota looked down and saw Yue's clear eyes, and then his bloodshot, reddened eyes, caused by the sudden injury and pain.

It's broken?

The genjutsu from his comrade was broken in an instant?

This brat!

Yota grunted.

He had stabbed Yue, and Yue had also stabbed him.

The difference was that Yue's kunai had pierced his throat.

He was certain Yue would die, and had fallen back into the genjutsu, so... he had lowered his guard when closing the distance.

The main reason was that he could never have imagined Yue could break the genjutsu in such a short time.

"Someone like you really doesn't suit Akatsuki... you're too weak." Yue looked at the disbelieving Yota, blood trickling from his mouth. "Judging someone's strength solely by their appearance and age, and blindly assessing their danger level, is a major taboo in itself."

"I told you... I'd take your head."

Meeting Yota's eyes as he was dying, Yue let out a sinister chuckle.

He slowly twisted the hand that was raised.

Compared to a sword, a sharp weapon like a kunai isn't ideal for cutting.

But with brute force, he forcibly tore Yota's neck apart.

Yota's eyes bulged. Even in his death throes, a sliver of consciousness remained.

Judging by his expression, he seemed to be able to feel the pain of his neck being destroyed.

"This is too much fun... your expression is making me enjoy this..."

The boy before him spoke like a madman, with a touch of pathology.

It was as if he were claiming the spoils he deserved.

However, the battle was still ongoing. Yota was the only one killed so far.

Before Yue could even sever Yota's head, an enemy attacked.

Although Yue quickly pulled out his kunai with his other hand to block, he was still sent flying, and the kunai slipped from his grasp.

But what made the approaching enemy's scalp tingle was... the moment Yue was sent flying, he grabbed Yota's hair and used the momentum to rip off his not-quite-severed head.

The attacker clearly saw this.

Yue rolled several times on the ground, covered in dust.

He staggered to his feet.

One hand held Yota's head.

Having bitten his tongue, his mouth was already full of blood.

With a few whooshing sounds.

The remaining enemies appeared one after another.

Except for one whose ninja attire was burned and had sustained some minor superficial injuries, the other four were unharmed.

This was within Yue's expectations. After all, not only did the opponents have a numerical advantage, but they were also seasoned veterans, all stronger than him based on their power levels.

The five of them didn't quickly finish Yue.

To be honest, the remaining five were all astonished by Yue's performance.

They hadn't taken Yue seriously at first, thinking they could deal with him in a single encounter.

But now... they understood that this kid was different.

"So dangerous!"

Although his strength wasn't quite enough, his crazy personality and the bloodthirsty aura emanating from him made him impossible to underestimate.

"This isn't what Yota said. A newly graduated kid shouldn't have such abnormal combat intuition and sharpness... Even if it's natural, it's impossible! He couldn't have reached this point without training and accumulating experience."

"He's used two C-rank Ninjutsu consecutively and still seems to have energy left... The amount of Chakra and the speed at which he can mobilize it are also not what someone his age should possess."

"For someone like this to appear in a place like the Grass Village... I really can't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

Several people stared at Yue, discussing him.

"Hey..."

Yue flipped a scroll out of his hand and opened it, a sealed longsword now gripped in his hand.

He called out.

After patting Yota's unseeing face, he tossed the body aside.

He stuck out his bloody tongue, his voice manic and wicked, "Seniors... The game isn't over yet, why stop?"

"..."

The few exchanged glances.

Finally, the strongest among the five spoke, "Kid... You're not with Akatsuki, there's no need to fight so desperately. I've changed my mind... I quite admire you. How about it? Want to join us?"

"Honestly, you've surprised us, but you should also understand that if you continue fighting, your fate will be the same as Yota's."

"We really underestimated you... From now on, we won't hold back."

"Trying to defect me?"

Yue laughed.

"Have you made a mistake about something?"

"I'm fighting you... purely because I want to... It has nothing to do with Akatsuki or with you."

With that, Yue stopped dawdling and charged forward.

Taking the initiative.

However, as soon as he moved.

One of the enemies slammed his palm onto the ground, and then, massive stone pillars erupted, attempting to ram into him.

Although Yue dodged them in time, they still sealed him precisely, like a cage.

And another person lunged with a sword.

As this person closed in, their figure gradually blurred, appearing somewhat translucent.

For a moment, it made Yue's vision difficult to track.

Yue's heart stirred. The Ninjutsu he knew was only a part of the ninja world that the original work focused on, and what he understood was through observing the perspectives of various characters, not the entirety of the world. Ninjutsu was originally diverse and varied... His past life memories had an advantage, but they weren't absolute.

For example, he didn't recognize this blurry figure technique he was seeing now.

It wasn't a simple invisibility jutsu, nor was it an advanced Ninjutsu like the Hiding With Camouflage Technique... Combined with incredible speed, its power was bound to be terrifying.

And so it was.

An invisible blade of light directly struck Yue's body.

It was only after the blade cut into his skin and he felt the pain that he reacted quickly.

He could thank his training in Bleach for this kind of 'unconscious, instinctive' reaction.

However, while he could react to one strike, he couldn't guarantee he could evade every single blow.

Moreover, this reaction came at the cost of injury.

Blood splattered from the wound on his abdomen.

Yue only had time to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, attempting to use clones to mitigate the disadvantage, but such a low-level technique was almost useless in this situation.

His opponents weren't just one person.

This was the most fatal aspect.

In the brief exchange, Yue had already sustained several gaping wounds.

Just as he was struggling, a chain shot out from the darkness, instantly wrapping around his waist and spreading to his limbs, locking his feet.

Then, it hoisted him into the air.

All of this, though it seemed long, actually took less than half a minute from when Yue made his move until he was trapped.

Being able to fight to this extent was already his limit.

The strength of these five was not comparable to people like Masada or Muramasa, mainly because they had all operated on the battlefield for years, and being rogue ninjas, they were all ruthless individuals. Yue should be grateful to the Akatsuki members guarding the village; even with Yota, the mole, setting the trap, several Akatsuki members had likely eliminated some opponents, including more formidable characters.

Otherwise, if he had faced more people, or even stronger individuals... Yue wouldn't have lasted this long.

Severely injured and exhausted.

A dead end...

It was all over.

But... Yue smiled.

The one holding the blade finally revealed his clear form, charging forward with a cold expression, ready to end his life.

"Let's die together."

Yue suddenly spoke.

From the beginning, he never thought he could defeat the six of them.

That was unrealistic.

But... he had his own way.

Entering the fray himself, using himself as the lure.

Explosive Tags were a good thing; as long as there were enough of them, their power would be astonishing.

In this short span of less than a minute, Yue's analysis of the battle's progression had not stopped. He had already predicted his own fate when one of the opponents used Earth Style to try and trap him. Yue had already come up with the optimal combat plan.

A narrow combat arena... limited space, and the power of the Explosive Tags would become even more concentrated.

Although the enemy had gotten serious... they still made a mistake.

They said they wouldn't underestimate him, but deep down, they still held an arrogant sense of superiority.

It was hard to change.

The enemy's focus was on killing him as an individual, while he had been using his blood to conceal the location of the Explosive Tags.

It's worth mentioning here that there are many types of Explosive Tags.

For example, regular Explosive Tags, or the more powerful square paper Explosive Tags, and even Oil Paper Explosive Tags that are resistant to blood contamination, and so on.

The more special the Explosive Tag, the greater its power, and the more expensive it would be.

This kind of item was not something an ordinary ninja could afford to use.

But Fuma Ryoma, Yue's father, ever since he settled in Grass Village... had used almost all his earnings on ninja tools and Explosive Tags. The reserves in his home's storeroom were a clear indication of this. There was only one reason for such dedication.

To train Yue.

Even Fuma Ryoma himself was reluctant to use special Explosive Tags.

For an ordinary ninja, especially in a situation like Grass Village, coupled with the current turmoil in the ninja world, Fuma Ryoma knew very well how difficult it would be for his child to survive. How much effort it would take to cultivate him into someone capable.

For an ordinary ninja to turn their fortunes around, to establish themselves in the village... it was impossible without capital.

This was the only thing he could do for Yue.

This time, when he took the mission and knew he was coming to the Land of Rain, Yue had brought out all his family's savings, out of apprehension for the situation here.

Although the quantity wasn't much, it should be enough to blow up a few guys who weren't that monstrously strong.

After hearing the boy madly utter the words "Let's die together," the man with the blade suddenly reacted.

"You!"

He shouted in anger.

Because in some areas around his body, there were already signs of firelight leaking out.

It was Explosive Tags, and not ordinary ones at that.

It was too late!

The swordsman gained a new understanding of Yue's madness; he was going for mutual destruction!

He had made a miscalculation.

A single Explosive Tag was very expensive, let alone a special one.

How could a freshly graduated kid possibly have this much money.

But he couldn't dwell on the issue anymore.

Because... in the next second.

The flames engulfed everything.

All the stone pillars shattered...

"3."

"2."

"1."

Yue had been counting in his heart, and when he reached 1, he immediately closed his eyes.

Naturally, he wasn't going to sacrifice himself for nothing.

He had his biggest trump card.

It was also his bug as a transmigrator.

The only means to turn the tide.

This... was his killer move!