Using Half-Finished Ninjutsu

"Hah, ptui."

Bieshu Feifan spat at Uchiha Ji's retreating back, then peeled the Explosive Tags off his body and put them away.

Only then did he head back the way he had come.

Going back was out of the question, at least not like this.

Unless everyone carrying out this raid died.

But that was unlikely. At the very least, the Jōnin leading them had a good chance of escaping.

Right now, though, this was no time to think about how to return.

Bieshu Feifan activated his Byakugan to check whether his surroundings were safe.

He would wait until their battle was over.

The instant Bieshu Feifan activated his Byakugan, his heart sank.

A black bug rested on his right shoulder.

"That Chunin from the Aburame Clan!"

Bieshu Feifan swore, then instinctively slapped the bug dead.

The Aburame Chunin, who was quietly following the main group forward, suddenly shuddered.

"What's wrong?"

The Jōnin leading the team keenly noticed something amiss.

The Aburame Chunin immediately returned to normal, his voice flat.

"One of my bugs died. The one I left behind to watch that Genin."

The Jōnin frowned.

"The Explosive Tags didn't go off. It probably wasn't the Stone Ninja."

Uchiha Ji also spoke up, a rare occurrence.

"He must be awake. He was pretending to be under my genjutsu earlier. There's something wrong with him."

Before anyone else could speak, Shimura Daio seemed to seize on something and hurriedly blurted out his words.

"Sirs, as far as I know, he has fairly strong resistance to genjutsu, and Chunin Ji didn't go hard on him."

"That's possible."

Uchiha Ji nodded.

Shimura Daio wasn't trying to help Uchiha Ji save face. He simply didn't want to follow them and become cannon fodder.

"We can't abandon our comrades. I request permission to go get Bieshu Feifan."

At those words, everyone glanced at Shimura Daio.

Shimura Daio's scalp prickled, but he steeled himself and said:

"He's my comrade. My clan uncle, the Shimura Hokage Advisor, would never allow me to abandon a comrade."

Silence lingered for a while.

Only then did the Jōnin relent.

"Bring him over to support us."

"Yes, sir."

Shimura Daio perked up instantly, as though he had been pumped full of stimulants.

The Aburame Chunin also spoke up.

"Ask him why he killed my bug."

Only after Shimura Daio left did the Aburame Chunin speak to the Jōnin.

"That Bieshu Feifan doesn't seem to be suffering any aftereffects from the genjutsu, and his awakening was far too conveniently timed."

The Jōnin didn't care at all.

"Just a little cunning. We'll deal with it after this mission. Send a few more bugs over. If he does anything unusual, kill him outright."

"Yes, sir."

As the Aburame Chunin answered, he released several dark green bugs, which swiftly flew behind them.

They vanished into the night in the blink of an eye.

By then, Bieshu Feifan had already covered some distance. Using his Byakugan to observe his surroundings, he had successfully avoided the Stone Ninja patrols and was once again approaching the Land of Rain's border.

Then Bieshu Feifan widened his eyes, looking for an Iwagakure Genin to take as a trophy.

Fleeing without cause was a major taboo, and Bieshu Feifan didn't want to betray Konoha just yet.

Then Bieshu Feifan saw a dozen or so bugs trying to approach him.

Bieshu Feifan frowned. Ordinary bugs would never move in such perfect unison, let alone try to approach a human.

That Aburame Chunin again.

Just as Bieshu Feifan was considering how to deal with them, a voice drifted out of nowhere.

"There really is something off about you."

They spoke?

Bieshu Feifan startled.

That voice had come from the bugs.

As the voice faded, the dozen or so bugs instantly split apart. Within a breath, they had become a dense swarm, then assembled into a person.

The newcomer wore a black robe, his head hidden beneath a hood.

Most conspicuously, he wore sunglasses even in the darkness.

The Aburame Clan.

Bieshu Feifan's Byakugan saw it all clearly.

But Bieshu Feifan didn't understand. Why was someone from the Aburame Clan here?

His appearance didn't match the one who had gone to raid the Iwagakure camp earlier, either.

As this Aburame Clan member appeared, Bieshu Feifan instinctively felt uneasy. He drew a Kunai and braced himself.

Judging from the fact that this Aburame Shinobi could keep up with him, Bieshu Feifan felt that turning around and running wasn't his best option.

"I saw you. You avoided several Iwagakure patrol squads in a row. You're certainly no worthless civilian Genin. What secret are you hiding?"

Bieshu Feifan didn't answer. Instead, he watched the approaching Aburame Shinobi with a grave look.

"And who are you? Hiding yourself like that. Why are you in my path?"

"Heh, ignorant fool. I've been following you all along. Abandoning your mission and fleeing without permission-I can consider that deserting the village."

Bieshu Feifan was startled by those words.

"You're that Aburame Chunin? So this is what you look like."

Once his surprise passed, Bieshu Feifan immediately made up his mind. It seemed he could no longer stay in Konoha.

But before leaving, he still had to deal with the trouble in front of him.

"The Aburame really are a pain. But a mere clone like you can't stop me."

With that, Bieshu Feifan activated his Sharingan, but his eyes showed no change.

He hurled his Kunai straight at the Aburame Chunin's face.

"Oh, decent speed. If I'd sent a clone, you might really have gotten away."

The Aburame Chunin muttered as he swiftly formed several Hand Seals.

The instant the Kunai shot toward him, his body dispersed into a sky full of bugs.

The Kunai, sparks trailing from its rear, struck a tree trunk.

Boom!

Bieshu Feifan had wasted an Explosive Tag and a Kunai.

But Bieshu Feifan had read the Aburame Chunin's lips.

It's his real body!

As Bieshu Feifan reeled in shock, something whistled through the air behind him.

Bieshu Feifan abruptly drew another Kunai, spun around, and put all his strength into it.

Clang!

The two Kunai slammed together.

The Sharingan's perception truly was extraordinary.

"Not a slow reaction."

Behind him was the Aburame Chunin's arm, holding a Kunai, while the rest of his body gradually formed from the swarm.

"But you're a little weak."

As the Aburame Chunin applied force, Bieshu Feifan was sent flying.

Bieshu Feifan dissipated the force in midair and landed steadily.

Then the Aburame Chunin's Kunai was at his throat again.

"That was a fine move to absorb the impact, too."

Even as he attacked, the Aburame Chunin couldn't resist offering praise.

Bieshu Feifan's pupils dilated. He watched the other man's Kunai approach his throat, but his frail body couldn't react in time.

Clang, shhk.

Bieshu Feifan failed to deflect the blow completely, and a wound deep enough to expose bone was cut into his right shoulder.

Pain struck. Bieshu Feifan reflexively retreated, only to immediately take a kick to his abdomen.

"Agh!"

Bieshu Feifan spat out a mouthful of blood and slammed heavily into the ground, his entire body twitching.

Seeing that the outcome was decided, the Aburame Chunin shook his head.

"With your reactions and practical combat ability, you could have become a competent Genin someday. A pity you chose to be a deserter."

With that, the Aburame Chunin aimed his Kunai at Bieshu Feifan and threw it, intending to end his life.

Yet just as the Kunai was about to strike, Bieshu Feifan suddenly sprang up.

While dodging the Kunai, his hands swiftly formed seals.

Ram, snake, tiger.

Then Bieshu Feifan split off a milky-white humanoid mass, which charged at the Aburame Chunin, while he himself swiftly ran into the distance.

The Aburame Chunin shook his head again at the sight.

"You can't even use the Clone Technique properly."

With a flicker, the Aburame Chunin passed Bieshu Feifan's rather disgusting white clone and instantly appeared above Bieshu Feifan's head.

"Die, deserter."

Holding his Kunai, the Aburame Chunin plunged it into Bieshu Feifan's head.

Then Bieshu Feifan shattered at the touch.

The Aburame Chunin was suddenly shocked.

"This is the clone!"

Boom!

The Explosive Tag hidden inside the clone detonated at that very moment.

The Aburame Chunin was instantly blown to pieces, without even time to scream.

Once the blast's shock waves had passed, Bieshu Feifan's white clone, which had been thrown clear, finally climbed off the ground. By then, it had returned to Bieshu Feifan's original appearance.

With the Byakugan's observation and the Sharingan's perception, the careless Aburame Chunin had met his downfall.

This was Bieshu Feifan's strongest killing move at present: using his half-finished Clone Technique and Transformation Technique to disguise his real body as a shoddy clone.

Then he used an Explosive Tag to kill the enemy.

The Aburame Chunin had been too confident and had looked down on Bieshu Feifan completely.

After checking several times with his Byakugan, he confirmed that the Aburame Chunin really was dead.

Only then did Bieshu Feifan collapse. The wound in his right shoulder and the pain in his abdomen were both a little more than he could bear.