Boom!
The explosion, combined with the fragments of rock, greatly increased both its killing power and its range.
Even though Aoki Tsuki used the Body Flicker Technique and did his best to dodge, several fragments still struck his body.
"Hiss..."
That really hurt. If my back weren't thick and tough, I'd probably have suffered torn muscles and broken bones.
Taking advantage of the opening, Jizō swiftly pressed his advantage.
"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Prison."
Two-meter-high stone pillars quickly rose around Aoki Tsuki, enclosing him on all sides.
Swish, swish, swish...
Jizō's figure flickered from place to place, and he actually stuck an Explosive Tag on every pillar.
He intended to blow Aoki Tsuki to death.
"This is the end. Blow up!"
Aoki Tsuki's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively looked up. "Above!"
There were rock pillars overhead too, but they were also the only ones Jizō hadn't had time to cover with Explosive Tags.
He drew a deep breath, his lungs expanding as Chakra from his dantian rapidly flowed through his meridians to his limbs. He bent his knees slightly, unleashed his strength through his feet, and launched himself upward.
"Breath of Showers: Countercurrent Fang!"
A streak of blue blade light slashed upward from below.
Rainwater was swept up in the current of Chakra around the blade, spinning rapidly into a massive, fang-shaped vortex.
Bang!
Several rock pillars at the top of the Rock Pillar Prison shattered under a single blow, and a figure shot into the sky through the firelight.
"What? He actually cut through my Rock Pillar Prison? It's as hard as steel... How is that possible?!"
Jizō's heart pounded as he realized the intelligence on his target was wildly inaccurate.
Aoki Tsuki's body was now brimming with strength under Rain Breathing: Third Realm, and his mind was in a state of intense excitement.
The state placed a heavy burden on his body, so he needed to end the fight quickly.
With the Body Flicker Technique, he turned into an afterimage and charged at Jizō.
Sensing danger, Jizō hurriedly gathered what little Chakra he had left and put everything into his defense.
"Earth Release: Multiple Earth-Style Wall!"
Three walls rose from the ground in a fan formation. Jizō intended to repeat his earlier trick and attach Explosive Tags to them.
Just then, a flash of blue light swept across his vision.
A blade of highly condensed Chakra cleaved through the solid earth walls and passed straight through Jizō.
"Ugh... What a fast blade!"
Jizō's movements stopped abruptly. His body suddenly split in two, the halves falling in opposite directions.
"Hah... hah... I got you, bastard."
Aoki Tsuki dropped to his knees, panting heavily. That last strike had exhausted all the Chakra in his body.
His body was now engulfed by exhaustion, and his limbs ached.
Looking at the long blade in his hand, shattered because it couldn't withstand the Chakra, he could only throw it away.
"Looks like I need to buy a good sword."
Everything he owned was probably just enough to buy a good sword with improved Chakra conductivity.
After catching his breath, Aoki Tsuki quickly tidied himself up and hurried toward the daimyō's chambers.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw more than a dozen figures locked in battle. The three members of his squad were confronting an Iwagakure ninja with a melancholy expression.
Only Shioame was there from the Shinonome Squad; the others were still nowhere to be seen. As a sensory ninja, Shioame's fighting ability was a little lacking, and his enemy had him on the defensive.
Were Jōnin Shinonome and the others held up? Aoki Tsuki wondered.
"Captain, are you all right?"
When Ryōta, Shinichi, and Mieko saw Aoki Tsuki arrive, they quickly gathered around him.
The three had faithfully carried out the "guerrilla" strategy their captain had given them: signal as soon as they spotted an enemy, then run if the situation called for it.
They would never fight head-on.
"I'm all right. I've just used up a lot of Chakra."
Aoki Tsuki glanced at the approaching enemy and said, "Don't worry about me. Go inside and protect the daimyō. I'll deal with this one."
"Captain, let me fight alongside you," Ryōta volunteered.
As he gained experience on missions, Ryōta gradually realized that a ninja couldn't fear or avoid battle. Only by facing difficulties head-on could he grow quickly.
Aoki Tsuki looked at Ryōta and nodded.
Earlier, the three of them had used every trick they had just to barely hold their opponent back.
Shinichi had ceased to be a threat after using up his rain of Senbon, and Mieko's fighting ability was practically negligible. The two immediately went inside and stood in front of the trembling daimyō.
"How did this guy..." Ryūka looked at Aoki Tsuki, puzzled.
Each of them had been assigned a task before the operation. There was only one explanation for why the target who should have been killed had appeared here.
"Did Jizō get killed by this brat?!"
At the thought, he couldn't help becoming extremely wary.
Jizō, who was even stronger than him, had been killed by Aoki Tsuki alone. He had to be careful.
Aoki Tsuki had used up a great deal of Chakra and needed to recover his stamina, so he wasn't in a hurry to attack either.
Thus, the two sides faced off, each holding a Kunai.
"Are you really ninja from Iwagakure?" Aoki Tsuki asked, making conversation.
"Take a guess..."
"I can't. One moment you're pretending to be Sunagakure ninja, the next you're pretending to be Iwagakure ninja. We in the Land of Rain ought to give you a little golden statue."
"Hmph. Think what you like. All you're doing now is stalling for time."
Ryūka saw straight through Aoki Tsuki's purpose.
Aoki Tsuki didn't panic at all. "Then why don't you attack? Hurry up and kill me."
Ryūka glanced at Ryōta, who stood on guard beside Aoki Tsuki, and came up with an idea. He suddenly rushed at Ryōta.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Almost at the same time, Ryōta and Aoki Tsuki pulled out Shuriken and threw them at Ryūka.
His attack blocked, Ryūka immediately flipped backward to dodge.
Just then, Aoki Tsuki and Ryōta vanished from where they stood, both using the Body Flicker Technique.
One on the left, one on the right.
"V-Slash!"
They had practiced this combination attack many times in private.
Clang...
At the critical moment, Ryūka blocked the attack with a Kunai in each hand, but the tremendous impact sent him flying backward.
His opponents gave him no time to catch his breath. They pursued him closely, switching positions as their figures crossed and attacking again.
Ryūka hurriedly flung out Shuriken to intercept them.
He was trying to disrupt the rhythm of their attack while buying himself time to use a technique.
Seeing this, Aoki Tsuki and Ryōta had no choice but to pause their assault.
"Captain, this guy used Fire Release earlier," Ryōta hurriedly warned.
"Fire Release?"
Aoki Tsuki glanced up at the rain pouring from the sky. The Land of Rain was extremely unfriendly to Fire Release ninja, and Ryūka had clearly been driven to desperation.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Technique!"
Before the imposing fire dragon could reach them, it shrank by a third, and great clouds of white steam rose into the air.
Aoki Tsuki and Ryōta easily dodged it and quickly closed in on Ryūka.
The move Ryūka had pinned his hopes on failed to produce the desired effect, and he couldn't help cursing.
"Damn this Land of Rain...!"
There was no time for him to vent his frustration. Aoki Tsuki and Ryōta had already joined forces and attacked.
In a Taijutsu melee, Ryūka had no advantage at all against two opponents.
Aoki Tsuki's Taijutsu was no worse than his, while Ryōta kept harassing him and drawing his attention.
Within a few exchanges, Kunai had opened wounds of various sizes across his body.
As if realizing he couldn't escape, Ryūka suddenly tore open his clothes, revealing Explosive Tags covering his body. He charged recklessly at Ryōta, shouting in rage:
"You little brat, I'll take you down with me!"
The person he hated most was apparently not Aoki Tsuki, who had severely wounded him, but Ryōta, the Genin who had disrupted him.
Countless rays of yellow light shone from beneath his clothes, making him look like a golden man.
Ryōta was stunned by the sudden suicidal move. His legs trembled, and he instinctively backed away several steps.
"Get out of the way!"
Aoki Tsuki shouted and rushed over at top speed, seemingly intending to intercept him.
Yet after taking only a few steps, he abruptly released Chakra through his legs and fled in the opposite direction.
"Hmph, you fell for it... Huh..."
Ryūka suddenly turned, intending to collide head-on with Aoki Tsuki, only to see his retreating back.
By then, Ryōta had also come to his senses and hurriedly darted away.
Only Ryūka's furious roar remained behind: "Bastards!!"
It was soon drowned out by a violent explosion.
Aoki Tsuki and Ryōta exchanged a glance, both shaken by the close call.
"Captain, the enemies this time were terrifying. They weren't afraid of death at all," Ryōta said, still shaken.
He had thought Ryūka really was coming for him, but it turned out he had never been the target.
Thank goodness it wasn't me. I nearly died.
Ryōta quietly counted himself lucky. Being a captain really wasn't easy; he lacked the ability to compete with an enemy in acting during a fight like that.
Aoki Tsuki patted Ryōta on the shoulder and comforted him. "You'll get used to it. That's what ninja are like."
Ninja were cunning!
In the months since Ryōta and Shinichi had joined his squad, they had been through quite a few battles, big and small. Most had gone their way, with danger but no real harm.
It wasn't because they were particularly strong or lucky, but because he rarely took the squad into danger.
"By the way, I haven't asked you yet. What's your Ninja Way?"
"Ninja Way?"
Ryōta was clearly unfamiliar with the term. He shook his head blankly. "I've never thought about anything like that..."
Ordinary Genin had only one goal that mattered most: doing their best to stay alive.
"All right. Think about it when you have time. Let's get back to fighting."
With that, Aoki Tsuki turned his attention to the area nearby and saw that Shioame had nearly been beaten into the ground by his opponent, with several cuts across his body.
Seeing that Aoki Tsuki was free, Shioame hurriedly called for help. "Come help me!"
This was no time to dwell on past unpleasantness. Aoki Tsuki hurried over to assist him, and Ryōta joined the fight immediately afterward.
The enemy under siege was clearly no longer calm.
By then, the Yotaka Squad had also suffered casualties: one dead and one severely wounded.
But they had also killed one of their opponents. It had to be said that anyone who served as a daimyō's Guardian Ninja was a formidable character.
Beep!!!
A piercing whistle sounded from the perimeter.
The enemies who were fighting exchanged glances and quickly fled, leaving only a few corpses and a devastated battlefield behind.
"Whew... Those guys are finally gone."
Shioame could no longer hold on and collapsed, but he didn't forget to say to Aoki Tsuki, "You really saved me back there. Thank you!"
If Aoki Tsuki and Ryōta hadn't stepped in to help hold the enemy off at the end, he would have been dead for sure.
"Don't mention it. We're comrades, so of course we should look out for each other," Aoki Tsuki replied.
"That's right. We're comrades."
Among ninja, strength spoke for itself. Show enough of it, and recognition from others would naturally follow.
As they spoke, Jōnin Shinonome entered the courtyard with two squad members. His face was grim, and all three were covered in mud. Judging by their appearance, they had just been through a hard fight as well.
Only when he saw the daimyō emerge from the room under Mieko and Shinichi's protection did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Lord daimyō, are you all right?"
Seeing that the enemy had retreated, the daimyō relaxed, and his expression grew much calmer.
"I'm fine, thanks to all you brave warriors risking your lives to protect me. You will each be rewarded later."
Hearing this, the others' expressions improved somewhat, especially those of the Yotaka Squad.