"Y-Yes, thank you, Lord Taichi!"
…
Amid the obese village chief's sycophantic flattery and the villagers' barely concealed relief, Taichi finally left the village with a satisfied smirk...
What he didn't know was—if he had left a day earlier, perhaps he might've survived. But unfortunately, there are no ifs in this world. Ryan was already waiting for him calmly just outside the village.
"So, you've finally come out?"
Sensing Taichi's chakra signature leaving the village, Ryan's lips curled into a cold smile. He immediately began moving in that direction.
The forest path was quiet—eerily so. Even the birds that normally filled the sky were nowhere to be seen. Taichi couldn't help but feel something was off. Instinctively, he heightened his awareness, his senses sweeping the area for any sign of movement.
Perched silently on a thick tree branch, Ryan watched the man in the distance with narrowed eyes. Taichi's skin looked noticeably pale, and though they were too far apart for eye contact, Ryan could sense it—this man had been indulging himself far too often.
Even without visible wounds, a seasoned jōnin shouldn't look like that. Unless he was Orochimaru, that kind of condition could only mean one thing—excessive debauchery.
Without a word, Ryan slipped six kunai from his ninja pouch—three in each hand. The glint of metal shimmered in the dappled sunlight as he locked eyes on his target.
"Shhhk—shhhk—shhhk!!"
The next second, the kunai flew with a terrifying speed, spinning through the air with a faint greenish glow. Each was infused with Ryan's still-developing Wind Release chakra. They whistled violently toward Taichi's throat, temple, chest, and abdomen.
"What the—?!"
Taichi only just caught the sound of something slicing through the air—by then, it was far too late. With no time to dodge, he instinctively threw himself sideways.
"Pfft!"
"Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!!"
The kunai struck.
One tore into his shoulder.
Another grazed his ribs before embedding in a tree.
Others slammed into surrounding trunks with a thundering force, splitting the bark and rattling the forest.
"Dammit!"
Taichi grimaced in pain, his right shoulder bleeding profusely—but he didn't dare pull the kunai out. He knew too well: once it was removed, blood would pour uncontrollably, and his unseen attacker wouldn't give him a moment to stop it.
Eyes narrowed, he stared toward where the kunai had been thrown.
He couldn't see anyone—but he could feel it.
He was being hunted.
"You little brat... you're dead!"
Clenching his teeth against the pain, Taichi growled furiously. Forming hand seals at blistering speed, he roared:
"Wind Style: Gale Blade Slash!!"
A vortex of wind-chakra exploded around him. Countless wind blades screamed through the air, slicing toward the distant trees. Leaves scattered in a frenzy, trees trembled, and a deadly tempest roared forward—straight toward Ryan.
(Seriously, who the hell invented spitting ninjutsu from your mouth? It always felt weird...)
"Whoooosh—!"
But just before the wind blades reached him, Ryan's figure blurred into a streak of purple light—and vanished.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The wind blades exploded across the trees, severing trunks mid-way, sending thick limbs crashing down like thunder.
"No way..."
"Bang!"
Before Taichi could even catch his breath, Ryan reappeared behind him like a phantom. With a cold glint in his eyes, he spun mid-air and delivered a brutal spinning kick.
"WHAM!"
The blow struck Taichi dead center in the spine, sending him flying forward.
But Ryan didn't stop there.
"HAAAH!"
Leaping high, he twisted mid-air and brought his right knee crashing down toward Taichi's skull.
There was no satisfying crunch.
There was no explosion of blood.
Just the eerie sensation of impact without resistance.
"Substitution Jutsu…" Ryan muttered coldly.
Sure enough—
"Poof!"
The "Taichi" he'd struck dissolved into a chunk of log and leaves.
Ryan's hands blurred again, forming seals in an instant. His voice was cold and sharp:
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!!"
Fire chakra surged from his throat, forming a massive sphere of blazing flames that roared through the trees and crashed down toward where the real Taichi was hiding.
"BOOM! BOOM!!"
"Cough—cough!!"
Flames consumed the area, black smoke rising high. Entire trees were reduced to ash, the heat warping the air, firelight crackling ominously.
A charred figure stumbled out of the flames, coughing violently.
"So you're still alive... I guess I underestimated you," Ryan muttered, landing silently on the scorched earth, eyes locked on his battered prey.
Taichi's clothes were burned and tattered, parts of his skin blistered from the heat. He could barely lift his arms, and one side of his face was covered in ash and blood. His gaze trembled when he looked at Ryan—this boy had launched a coordinated, overwhelming attack, as if Taichi was already a corpse.
"W-Who are you?! Why are you trying to kill me?!" Taichi demanded, his voice hoarse and disbelieving.
He couldn't wrap his head around it. How could a mere teenager unleash such a devastating Fire Style technique? Wind was supposed to suppress fire—yet here, his Wind Blade Slash had been neutralized, and a simple Great Fireball had forced him on the run.
Was this brat even human?
Ryan stared at him with contempt.
"Did your brain melt from all that womanizing? You really think I owe you an explanation?"
"You...!"
Taichi's face twisted in anger, but before he could say more—
"Stop stalling. You're not getting away."
In a flash, Ryan's chakra exploded from his feet. With a blur of motion, he charged straight at Taichi like lightning.
"So fast—!"
Taichi's pupils shrank. He instinctively raised his arms to defend.
Too late.
"BAM!"
Ryan dropped low, pressed his palm to the ground, and delivered a brutal sweeping kick. The force shattered Taichi's weak guard, flinging him violently backward—straight into a tree trunk. The fight was far from over.