Chapter 141: Stalemate
Renjiro Body Flickered toward Kazuki, while his shadow clone Body Flickered toward the other Kirigakure jonin.
Kaito, Hodaka, and Mieko also Body Flickered, leaving only Inuzuka Hoka behind. He was shocked at how quickly the team scattered. He muttered,
"They're just kids—how are they so fast...?"
He and his ninja dog charged at the remaining enemy.
The Kirigakure ninja had only scattered temporarily and intended to regroup immediately.
However, five of them were instantly engaged by Konoha ninja. Seconds later, the last one was also intercepted.
Kazuki's expression turned grim. He didn't want to fight Renjiro.
Kaito Body Flickered toward the ninja furthest from the other Kirigakure operatives. He drew his sword and attacked.
That Kirigakure ninja was Matsuzaki, an elite chunin. Noticing Kaito approaching, and seeing how fast he moved, he couldn't help but frown.
Matsuzaki grabbed a kunai to block the strike while simultaneously retreating.
After several days of conflict with Konoha ninja, escaping had become their top priority.
Normally, he might have underestimated Kaito's strength, but he'd just witnessed him instantly unleash a C-rank technique without any hand seals.
Kaito channeled chakra into his sword. Matsuzaki immediately sensed it! He instantly retreated, showing no intention of engaging directly.
Kaito was surprised his opponent could sense chakra flow.
He swung his sword from a distance. A sharp chakra slash flew toward Matsuzaki.
Matsuzaki was genuinely surprised! He hadn't expected his young opponent to attack from range with a sword. He quickly dodged.
Kaito followed with three more slashes, but Matsuzaki dodged them all!
Each time, his evasion became more precise with minimal movement. Matsuzaki chuckled.
"You're too weak, kid! I've fought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist! Your sword has no effect on me."
Although Matsuzaki sounded arrogant, his mood was actually quite tense. He thought,
This kid is really troublesome! Besides sword slashes, I have to watch out for his Great Breakthrough technique.
Kaito paid little attention to his opponent's taunts. He formed a hand seal, and a dozen Wind Clones appeared.
He carefully observed the clones, focusing on one in particular.
Kaito frowned. First sensing chakra flow, now looking at that specific clone. He's also a sensory-type ninja.
Of the twelve Wind Clones Kaito created, eleven contained only 0.5% of his chakra, while the last held 10%.
Matsuzaki focused his gaze on the clone with the most chakra.
Two weaker Wind Clones charged forward and launched Wind Blast techniques at Matsuzaki.
However, Matsuzaki retreated and formed several hand seals. Six Water Clones appeared around him, each containing 5% of his chakra.
One Water Clone created a water wall to block the wind. Kaito muttered,
"This is going to be annoying."
He and his Wind Clones disappeared into the forest. Matsuzaki was curious about his opponent's retreat.
He extended his sensory field and discovered that Kaito and his clones had surrounded him from all directions but weren't attacking.
His expression turned serious. He analyzed,
This kid is smart. He realized he couldn't defeat me directly and decided to stall for time. Konoha reinforcements might arrive at any moment. I need to create an opening so everyone can escape!
Although his analysis was correct, he didn't grasp Kaito's true intention. Kaito wasn't stalling—he wanted to use this situation to force his opponent to act and reveal a weakness.
After all, unlike the Chunin Exams, Kaito couldn't rely on superior chakra reserves. His opponent's chakra was only slightly less than his own.
Kaito formulated his strategy.
I don't have much advantage in chakra, and I'm at a disadvantage in experience! I need him to give me an opening, otherwise it'll be extremely difficult to defeat him.
Kaito's strategy depended on another critical factor: his teammates couldn't be defeated. Kaito subconsciously didn't worry about this too much—he trusted his teammates' and sensei's abilities.
Matsuzaki analyzed his options.
There are three methods. First, kill this kid—but that would be very difficult. Second, try to leave him behind and regroup with the others for better coordination. Third, send Water Clones to help the others while I keep this kid occupied.
Matsuzaki analyzed for a few seconds and made his decision.
Immediately, he and four Water Clones rushed toward Kaito. The other two Water Clones ran toward an area with only one Wind Clone.
Matsuzaki's Water Clones contained far more chakra than Kaito's Wind Clones, so he was confident they could break through.
Seeing his enemy use this tactic, Kaito smiled. His two Wind Clones used Wind Body Flicker, appearing behind the escaping Water Clones, and launched Great Breakthrough techniques.
The Water Clones were shocked. Both dispersed instantly. Kaito's Wind Clones also dissipated.
Kaito smiled while Matsuzaki's expression grew serious. Unlike shadow clones, elemental clones don't return chakra when dispelled.
In this small probing exchange, Matsuzaki lost ten percent of his chakra, while Kaito only lost one percent!
Kaito's other Wind Clones then Body Flickered, launching Wind Blast techniques at Matsuzaki and his remaining clones.
Meanwhile, Kaito maintained his distance from Matsuzaki.
In the battle, besides Renjiro's shadow clone, Kaito was the only Konoha ninja keeping distance from the enemy. Everyone else fought at close range.
Matsuzaki successfully defended against all attacks but couldn't get close to Kaito. He frowned and decided to try a second tactic.
But the moment he changed direction, Kaito pursued, and his Wind Clones harassed him again.
This forced him to stop and confront Kaito, but Kaito simply retreated, refusing direct engagement. They clashed like this repeatedly.
Matsuzaki's expression turned ugly. Kaito's tactics were infuriating.
He cursed at Kaito loudly, trying to provoke him, but Kaito didn't respond—he continued the same strategy.
However, despite numerous exchanges, Matsuzaki remained uninjured! He never gave Kaito any opening.
Kaito, waiting for an opportunity to strike from distance, frowned. Are all Kirigakure ninja this hard to kill?
Meanwhile, the others were also locked in combat. Renjiro and his students' rapid assault had successfully separated all the Kirigakure ninja.
Having witnessed their teamwork in that brief exchange, the Konoha ninja didn't want them regrouping.
Hodaka's opponent was another elite chunin named Danjuro. Like most Kirigakure ninja, he was an expert in Water Release.
The moment he saw Hodaka's Byakugan, he immediately distanced himself and rapidly formed hand seals. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
Massive waves crashed toward Hodaka. Danjuro thought grimly,
I absolutely cannot fight him at close range. I still remember how my instructor was killed by Hyuga Hizashi during the Third War! Despite my teacher's strength, he was completely helpless after his tenketsu were sealed.
Hodaka immediately dodged, then Body Flickered to close the distance again. Danjuro continued retreating while forming hand seals. "Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!"
Hodaka could have dodged. However, he wanted to fight head-on. He gathered chakra in his palm and blocked the incoming water bullets with Vacuum Palm.
Danjuro was surprised to see such a young Hyuga use this technique. The Vacuum Palm collided with the water bullets.
It pierced straight through and continued toward Danjuro, who immediately dodged.
He continued widening the distance, fighting from long range.
Hodaka tried to close in multiple times, but Danjuro always maintained distance and used mid-range Water Release techniques.
Hodaka could only counter with Earth Release and Vacuum Palm.
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