Border Trial

Not long after the discussion at the training ground ended, Ryuto had just returned to his quarters and taken a sip of water when someone knocked.

He opened the door. It was Mito Uzumaki.

"Let's go." She kept it brief, her expression even more serious than it had been that afternoon. "Northern Outpost No. 3 just sent an emergency request for help. They've encountered an Uchiha squad. Numbers unknown, but their movements are very unusual. They keep probing, attacking and withdrawing, then coming back."

Ryuto wasted no words and grabbed the simple pack by the wall. "My third time?"

"Covered by our agreement." Mito turned and left. "We'll talk on the way."

The two left the Uzumaki Clan grounds and plunged into the northern mountain forest. The sky was growing dark, and the light was even worse beneath the trees.

"Something's wrong this time." Mito moved fast, her voice low. "The outpost reported that this Uchiha squad seems to be making scheduled rounds. They harass them a little, gather some intelligence, then withdraw. Then they come back from another direction. It doesn't look like they're after supplies. More like... they're testing something, or waiting for something."

As he ran, Ryuto spread his ki perception like a net, covering several hundred meters around them. "Waiting for me?"

"Most likely." Mito glanced at him. "You blocked their Sharingan Genjutsu last time. They're bound to adjust their tactics. My guess is that their squad composition has changed. It won't just be genjutsu users this time."

"Whatever they bring is fine." Ryuto flexed his wrists. "A good chance to try something new."

"Something new?"

"Yeah. While I was practicing defense, I worked out a few other things on the side." Ryuto didn't elaborate. "We'll see when we get there."

Mito asked no more questions, only warning him, "Stay alert. There may be more than one squad."

After about half an hour of traveling at full speed, they could already hear faint explosions and the clash of metal ahead.

They crossed a rocky slope. The battlefield lay below, in a relatively open forest clearing.

Seven or eight Uzumaki ninja were locked in fierce combat with six Uchiha ninja. Fire Release and Wind Release flew everywhere, while golden chakra chains and shuriken crisscrossed the air.

Ryuto spotted the difference immediately.

The core of the previous squad had been that genjutsu-using Uchiha.

In this squad, the Uchiha directing things from the rear had powerful chakra fluctuations, but they clearly lacked that "dense and sharp" quality of genjutsu. The two Uchiha beside him, on the other hand, were more solidly built, their movements forceful, their chakra concentrated in their limbs. They were obviously taijutsu specialists.

The other three were conventional ninjutsu users.

"They've changed their lineup," Ryuto told Mito. "One commander, two taijutsu users, three conventional types. No obvious genjutsu specialist."

Mito's gaze sharpened. "So they did adjust. They know genjutsu is less effective against you, so they added taijutsu users to meet you head-on. Ryuto, you..."

Before she could finish, Ryuto had already charged down.

"Hey!" Mito called, with no choice but to follow.

Ryuto had a clear target. He headed straight for the Uchiha who looked like the commander.

Seeing Ryuto charge down, the Uchiha showed no panic. Instead, he sneered and formed hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A thick earthen wall rose with a rumble, blocking Ryuto's path.

At the same time, the two taijutsu-using Uchiha beside him split left and right, circling around either side of the wall at tremendous speed!

"Genjutsu interference could come from any of them! Keep your defenses up!" Mito's voice came from behind. She had already engaged the other Uchiha.

A ki membrane instantly formed around Ryuto's head, its multiple layers providing concentrated protection.

He didn't stop. Facing the earthen wall, he extended his right index finger and furiously compressed ki into its tip.

"Dodon Ray!"

A straight, concentrated beam of golden light shot from his fingertip. With a soft pop, it punched a fist-sized hole straight through the wall, then continued unabated, grazing the commanding Uchiha's shoulder and piercing a large tree behind him.

The commanding Uchiha's expression changed. He clearly hadn't expected such penetrating power.

By then, the two taijutsu-using Uchiha were upon him!

The one on the left punched straight at his face, while the one on the right swept a leg at his lower body.

Ryuto stepped half a pace back, avoiding the sweep, and raised an arm to block the punch.

Bang!

His ki-reinforced arm held firm. The taijutsu-using Uchiha felt as though he had struck an iron pillar, his fist aching fiercely.

Ryuto seized his wrist and pulled him forward, driving his other elbow hard into the man's chest.

"Urgh!" The Uchiha grunted and flew backward.

The other taijutsu-using Uchiha attacked again, this time with a flaming straight punch. "Fire Release: Flame Fist!"

Ryuto didn't block it head-on. Ki burst beneath his feet, instantly shifting him three meters sideways and out of the flames.

He had only just steadied himself when he heard the commanding Uchiha shout, "Combination ninjutsu!"

The three remaining conventional Uchiha immediately formed hand seals in perfect unison.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

The wind fed the flames. Three fire dragons, wrapped in countless small fireballs, came crashing toward Ryuto, filling the air and covering too wide an area to dodge.

"Let's try this!" Ryuto thrust both hands out to his sides. Ki poured from his entire body, instantly forming a pale golden spherical shield that enclosed him completely!

Boom, boom, boom!

Fire dragons, wind blades, and fireballs slammed into the shield, exploding into a sea of flames.

The light was blinding, and the shock waves tore up the surrounding turf.

Several Uzumaki ninja couldn't help looking over.

The flames dispersed and the smoke cleared.

Ryuto stood where he had been. The spherical shield flickered slightly, then shattered with a snap and vanished.

His face was a little pale, and he took a breath.

It had held, but the shield was like a pump. That single use had nearly drained a third of his remaining ki.

Way too much mana!

"A defensive ninjutsu? No, he didn't form any hand seals..." The commanding Uchiha's expression turned thoroughly grave. He made a quick hand signal. "Retreat!"

The six Uchiha ninja showed no inclination to keep fighting. They immediately fell back, fleeing deeper into the forest.

"Do we pursue?" an Uzumaki ninja asked Mito.

Mito looked at Ryuto.

Ryuto gritted his teeth. "After them! Something's wrong with the direction they're taking. They're too orderly!"

He kept feeling that their retreat was a little too "cooperative."

The two pursued them into the forest with several Uzumaki ninja.

After chasing them for roughly two or three hundred meters and passing through thick bushes, they suddenly emerged into an open area.

Then Ryuto's ki perception began screaming warnings!

"Shit! An ambush!"

He had barely spoken when another six Uchiha ninja appeared simultaneously ahead and on both sides!

Together with the six who had just retreated, twelve of them had surrounded the group completely.

"We fell for it!" an Uzumaki ninja exclaimed.

The commanding Uchiha stood outside the encirclement, staring coldly at Ryuto. "You followed us after all. We've gathered just about enough data on your speed, your defensive methods, and that penetrating attack. Now, how about a taste of being attacked from all sides?"

"Protect Mr. Ryuto!" The Uzumaki ninja immediately formed up.

Ryuto's mind raced.

Twelve opponents, at least two of them taijutsu specialists. The commander's strength was unknown, and the others didn't look weak either.

A head-on fight would definitely put them at a disadvantage.

He drew a deep breath and poured ki furiously into his legs.

"Follow me! We're breaking out!"

Before he finished speaking, he became a golden afterimage. Rather than moving in a straight line, he zigzagged at tremendous speed, hurtling toward what looked like the weakest point on the left side of the encirclement!

"Stop him!" the commanding Uchiha shouted.

The three Uchiha on the left immediately formed hand seals to unleash ninjutsu.

But Ryuto was too fast. Before their jutsu had fully taken shape, he was already in front of them!

"Get out of my way!"

His ki-covered fist sent one flying. He twisted aside to dodge a kunai, then kicked another away.

A gap tore open in the encirclement.

"Go!" Ryuto shouted to Mito and the Uzumaki ninja behind him.

Mito reacted instantly. Her Adamantine Sealing Chains lashed out, wrapped around an Uchiha trying to fill the gap, and dragged him to the ground.

The group charged through the opening and ran toward the edge of the forest without looking back.

Furious shouts from the Uchiha ninja rang out behind them, but they didn't pursue far.

Only when they could no longer hear any movement behind them did the group stop, leaning against a large rock to catch their breath.

"Damn it. They played us," an Uzumaki ninja cursed.

Mito looked at Ryuto. His face was still a little pale. That burst of high-speed movement, combined with the cost of maintaining the shield, had left his ki nearly depleted.

"They were clearly after you," Mito said. "Changing their lineup was to test your response to taijutsu users. The combination ninjutsu was to force out your defensive methods. The ambush was to see how you'd break out and what choices you'd make when surrounded. They're systematically collecting all your combat data."

Ryuto wiped the sweat from his face. "I noticed. It's like having someone record your gameplay and study it."

Mito didn't understand what "record your gameplay" meant, but she grasped his general meaning. "You'd best stay on the clan grounds for now, or conceal your movements if you go out. With this data, what they bring next time might be a killing move designed specifically for your weaknesses."

Ryuto shook his head.

"Hiding won't help," he said. "They want to gather data and study me. Then I'll let them study all they like."

Mito frowned. "What do you mean?"

"They want to see what moves I have and how I use them, right?" Ryuto tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Then I'll 'show' them some more. But I'll decide what's real and what's fake, which moves use little ki, and which ones are bluffs."

He paused. "Besides, always reacting to their moves is too stifling. I need to get out there myself and disrupt their rhythm. They want to set traps for me? Then I'll raid their outposts. Let's see who cracks first."

Mito watched him in silence for several seconds.

"That's very risky."

"But better than waiting until they've figured me out completely, then getting killed one day by a tailor-made trap," Ryuto said.

Mito finally nodded. "We'll discuss it properly when we get back. You need to recover, and you also need to... refine those two moves from earlier. That shield costs too much. It's impractical."

"I know." As Ryuto regulated his breathing, he was already turning ideas over in his head.

The shield worked well, but it used too much ki.

High-speed movement was effective for breaking out, too, but simply running wasn't enough.

What if I could combine the two?

For example, forming a thin but tough layer of flowing ki armor over my body the instant I moved at high speed, without the spherical shield's all-around coverage, protecting only against frontal impacts?

Or shrinking the shield to protect only my vital points, then combining it with high-speed movement for short-range charging attacks?

I'll have to think it over properly when I get back.

After a short rest, the group started back.

Ryuto walked in the middle of the group, with no room left in his head for the danger they had just faced. He was entirely occupied with devising new ways to use the shield and his speed.

The Uchiha wanted to study me?

Sure.

Let's see who comes up with a new version that gives the other side a headache first.