A ninja must never expose their back to an opponent, especially not in front of a master swordsman.
The enemy before Taiichi illustrated this perfectly. Despite being the strongest of the three, he offered the least resistance because of his cowardice.
Taiichi showed no mercy. He ripped his tanto horizontally out of the enemy's chest, splattering blood across the ground.
With the crisis in the medical tent resolved, Taiichi scanned the chaotic battlefield of the outpost. The shouts and screams faded into background noise, unable to distract him.
However, a tangible killing intent pricked his skin, making the hairs on his neck stand up. He traced the source to a Jonin-level enemy currently locked in combat with Captain Yamaguchi.
Target acquired. Too strong for me. Taiichi immediately shifted his focus. He charged towards the densest cluster of Chunin-level bounty hunters.
It was like a tiger diving into a flock of sheep. With his Jonin-level Kenjutsu, dealing with these Chunin mercenaries was like cutting melons.
Taiichi didn't need to fight them head-on. He drifted through the battlefield like a white ghost in his medical garb. Whenever he found a Konoha ninja locked in a stalemate with an enemy, he would appear silently, deliver a killing blow, and vanish before the body hit the ground.
Wherever the White Ghost went, enemies died.
With Taiichi's intervention, more and more Konoha ninja were freed up to join other fights, tipping the scales heavily in Konoha's favor.
Taiichi approached another pair. The Konoha ninja was clearly losing, covered in shallow cuts and bleeding freely. He was desperately defending, completely unaware of his surroundings.
His opponent, however, saw everything. He had watched Taiichi slaughter his comrades like chickens. Now, seeing the White Ghost coming for him, panic set in.
Fear crushed his last bit of resolve. He was a mercenary; he wasn't paid enough to die for an impossible mission.
He kicked the Konoha ninja away to create space, then turned and ran without looking back, fleeing before Taiichi could even reach him.
His flight was the first domino. Seeing someone run, other struggling mercenaries abandoned their fights, either forcing a retreat or taking a hit just to escape.
Taiichi paused, stunned. He hadn't expected them to rout so easily. Clearly, he had overestimated the professional ethics of these bounty hunters.
He scanned the battlefield. With the mercenaries fleeing, Konoha had effectively won.
The two strongest enemy leaders had already bailed the moment the first mercenary ran. The ones still fighting were just cannon fodder who hadn't realized the situation yet. Expecting disorganized mercenaries to cover a retreat was a joke; it was every man for himself.
With the outcome decided, Taiichi regrouped with his Captain to await orders.
Yamaguchi and Commander Chiba were already discussing the next steps. They seemed to finish just as Taiichi arrived.
Before Yamaguchi could speak, Chiba praised him. "Taiichi! I didn't expect your Kenjutsu to be as impressive as your Medical Ninjutsu."
"You flatter me, Commander Chiba," Taiichi replied humbly.
"No, no, you truly have the skill. And I have a mission that requires exactly that skill," Chiba said bluntly.
Taiichi looked at his Captain. Yamaguchi was his direct superior.
Yamaguchi nodded. Taiichi turned back to Chiba. "What is the mission?"
Chiba appreciated the professionalism. "Most of the enemy has fled. We still have a few trapped here. We're going to intentionally let one escape. Your mission is to track him back to their hideout and gather intel."
"Alone?"
"Yohei will go with you. Watch each other's backs," Yamaguchi interjected.
"Understood!" Taiichi accepted immediately.
---
The plan was executed. A Konoha ninja "slipped up," allowing an enemy to break free and flee the outpost. Unbeknownst to him, Taiichi and Yohei were already shadowing him.
The escape of the "survivor" signaled the end. The Konoha forces cleaned up the remaining enemies in minutes.
In the central command tent, Chiba and Yamaguchi listened to the post-battle report.
"—Enemy casualties: 15 dead, 9 escaped. Our casualties: 2 dead, 7 lightly wounded. Everyone else is combat effective. End of report." The Chunin finished.
"Sigh. We still lost people," Chiba sighed.
"It couldn't be helped. We were outnumbered. This result is already excellent. The village won't blame you," Yamaguchi comforted him.
"I'm not worried about the village. I'm worried because those were my men. Dying in a senseless ambush... it leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
"Then let's hope Taiichi and Yohei bring back something useful. We need to find out who's pulling the strings."
---
Outside the outpost, Taiichi and Yohei tailed the fleeing ninja from a distance. They kept far back to avoid detection.
Fortunately, Yohei had his Sharingan. While it wasn't as good as the Byakugan for long-range scouting, in the pitch-black night, it was far superior to normal eyes.
Yohei took point, using his Sharingan to spot the subtle traces left by the fleeing ninja.
The enemy was paranoid. He zigzagged, doubled back, and changed directions multiple times to shake off pursuers.
They tracked him until first light, finally arriving at the entrance of a cave hidden in the mountains.
Watching from a distance, they saw the ninja enter the cave and not come out.
"Can you sneak in?" Taiichi asked Yohei.
Yohei stared at him with wide, innocent eyes that clearly said: Do I look like a stealth specialist to you?
"How about we wait for someone to come out and capture them for interrogation?" Yohei suggested tentatively.
Taiichi facepalmed. "Then why did we let that guy go? We could have just captured him. Grunts won't know anything useful."
"Oh. Right." Yohei nodded, realizing his stupidity.
"I'll handle it," Taiichi said, focusing his attention on his Attribute Panel.
> [Earth Nature Transformation Lv0 (52/100)]
I wanted to train this up naturally, but I guess I have to cheat now.