Bang!
Seeing that he could no longer keep up the disguise, the "Iwa ninja" standing before Uchiha Mikoto and Might Dai directly dispelled his Transformation Technique.
What appeared before them was a young-looking man with fair skin and blond hair.
"How troublesome. Even the intel can be wrong," Ritsu said coldly. "Your team leader really hid himself well."
He hadn't expected that what was supposed to be a simple B-rank mission to capture an Uchiha ninja would run into a Konoha genin who was clearly pretending to be weak.
"Next, my attacks won't be as gentle as before."
"Stop talking big!"
"Just now, you were already struggling against the two of us working together. What difference does dispelling your transformation make?!"
The graceful young girl stood tall, her face brimming with confidence. Beside her, Might Dai's expression had turned serious—earlier, this man hadn't even used ninjutsu, yet had fought the two of them evenly using only taijutsu…
"Believe whatever you want."
Ritsu began forming hand seals.
"Next, don't die."
"My mission target."
With the final seal completed, eight spheres of crackling yellow lightning—each two to three times the size of a fist—appeared before the blond man.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!"
"It's Lightning Release!"
Uchiha Mikoto shouted to Might Dai beside her.
"Move!"
Mikoto immediately dodged. Might Dai was just about to leap away as well, but when he turned his head and saw the carriage, he recalled the wicked smile the blond man had shown earlier.
A large, human-shaped silhouette spread itself out in front of the carriage.
"Dai!"
Mikoto turned back and saw Dai standing unmoving at the side of the carriage. Unable to use ninjutsu, he clearly intended to block the attack head-on and protect the client.
"Sorry! I absolutely refuse to drag my comrades down and let our very first C-rank mission end in failure! This is my ninja way!"
"How foolish," Ritsu sneered. He hadn't expected Konoha ninja to be this stupid—willing to sacrifice their lives just to protect a mission target.
Inside the carriage, Mizutani Shōto's heart trembled at the sight. He knew Konoha ninja were dedicated, but this was a bit too much—Konoha ninja really are the best, he thought.
At the front of the carriage, A-Jin—who was supporting his injured brother—stared in shock.
And then—
"Don't even think about it!"
At the side of the carriage, the blond girl's hands flew through seals without slowing in the slightest. Just as the eight yellow lightning spheres were about to strike the tightly shut eyes of Might Dai, a fairly thick earthen wall erupted from the ground in front of him.
"Earth Release: Barrier Technique!"
This was a C-rank Earth Release technique, a lower-tier version of the B-rank Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall.
As the earthen wall—unable to hold for more than a few seconds—was about to be pierced, with the client moved to tears and the guards utterly shocked, the blond girl collapsed onto Might Dai after exhausting her chakra.
In the next instant, the wealthy merchant near the window stiffened in horror as the wall shattered completely and the remaining lightning chakra spheres shot straight through.
"F***—!"
"I take back what I said about Konoha ninja being the best!"
Mizutani Shōto quickly crouched down. The lightning spheres struck the wooden carriage, leaving several charred black marks both inside and out.
"You bastard! Is this how you protect your client?!" he shouted.
"The carriage is made of solid wood," Yakushi Nono said calmly as she climbed back up. "Wood conducts electricity poorly, and the power of that C-rank Lightning Release isn't enough to pierce it."
Beside them, the two-centimeter-thick earthen wall—now riddled with holes and no longer supported by chakra—finally collapsed with a roar, crumbling into dirt.
"Uh… so that's how it works."
Mizutani Shōto examined the scorched areas inside the carriage. They were indeed only surface burns. His mouth twitched.
"Looks like I misunderstood you."
"But Mr. Dai is also a genin, right? How come he didn't know this?"
Might Dai—who trained taijutsu every day and had forgotten basic theory along the way:
"..."
I'm sorry for being a poor student.
"Tch. Didn't finish them off, huh. But I've basically figured out their strength," Ritsu muttered. His earlier attack hadn't been meant to kill them or the client—he was simply testing the genin team's capabilities.
Ritsu's green eyes swept over the blond girl. She was clearly a support-type ninja. Though her Earth Release had been weak, her hand seal speed was fast—fast enough to save that idiot with the thick eyebrows.
As for the thick-browed man, from start to finish he hadn't used a single ninjutsu.
Probably just a useless taijutsu-only ninja.
Turning his gaze, Ritsu's green eyes reflected the image of the Uchiha girl forming hand seals.
"Looks like the only one I really need to deal with is—wait!"
Only then did he realize that her seals were already complete. An orange-red glow flickered before the girl's lips.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
In Mikoto's mind echoed Baixing's words from that night:
When you encounter an enemy, finish them cleanly. Don't get distracted fooling around.
Boom!!!
Explosive flames surged outward, whipping up violent gusts of scorching wind. A technique famous for not actually killing people, the Great Fireball naturally failed to take down this elite Cloud ninja so easily.
Ritsu reappeared in the grass using the Substitution Technique, calmly resuming his analysis.
"C-rank Great Fireball. The Uchiha clan's signature technique. That power and range are impressive."
"But with a genin's chakra reserves, that level of fire release can only be used once. Still, she's an Uchiha—most likely she can manage two or three times…"
"In other words, charging in head-on before draining her chakra is a bad idea. I need a plan."
"And where the hell are Captain A-Ye Yi and Vee? Why are they taking so long to deal with a single genin?!"
...
In the forest, the two Cloud ninja stood on separate trees, looking ahead at Baixing—who was moving sideways up a tree trunk using chakra on his feet, then stepping onto the branch and standing upright.
"You're Cloud ninja, aren't you?"
"I remember Kumogakure didn't participate in the Second Shinobi World War. So why attack us inside the Land of Iron?"
A-Ye Yi glanced at the half-collapsed tree nearby, cold sweat beading on his forehead. What kind of ninjutsu–taijutsu hybrid is this? How can it be this strong?
But in response to Baixing's question, A-Ye Yi offered no explanation.
"You really think we'd tell you?"
"Even if your swordsmanship is strong, this is as far as you go!"
This area was completely deserted—no civilians, no animals. Everything had fled after the sound of the tree collapsing.
So—
Two versus one. The advantage is mine.
A-Ye Yi had no intention of crossing blades with a swordsman like this. His hands flew into seals.
"In the ninja world, swords are merely auxiliary tools. A ninja's true core strength is still ninjutsu."
"So, Konoha's swordsmanship genius—remember the name of this Cloud jōnin!"
"A-Ye Yi. Codename: Thunder Lion!"
Baixing watched calmly as this unknown stray dog postured dramatically in front of him.
After completing twelve complex hand seals, A-Ye Yi grasped the hilts of the twin short blades hanging at his waist.
"Die!"
"Lightning Release: Thunder Lion Wild Roar!"
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