Chapter 46 – Assault of the Jōnin
Deep within the dense forest…
"Captain, reconnaissance complete. Just as the intel said—only a single Genin squad among them."
The report came from a shinobi with a scratched forehead protector—clearly a rogue from Sunagakure.
The leader gave a satisfied nod.
"Hm. In Konoha, a Genin team usually means one Chūnin leading three Genin. Taking them down will be easy."
What he failed to recall—or perhaps never knew—was that some Konoha squads of new graduates were led not by a Chūnin, but by a Jōnin.
"Do we move now, or wait a little longer?" the leader asked, turning to the cloaked figure at his side. The man was shrouded in black, hood pulled low, his face hidden, his very presence steeped in secrecy.
"We can't wait," the hooded figure said coldly. "Any longer and they'll be too close to the city. Strike now."
"Good." The leader wasted no more words. With a hand signal, five more shinobi emerged from the shadows. They adjusted their gear and slipped into position ahead of the caravan—clearly, they'd scouted the terrain long beforehand.
---
The caravan pressed on.
For half a day, the road was peaceful—eerily so. Not a single ambush broke the calm, unlike the constant harassment of the past few days.
By dusk, the setting sun hung stubbornly on the horizon, staining the land with a blood-red afterglow.
Ishihara Masao began directing the guards to prepare camp. Exhausted faces lit up with relief—after hours of marching and fending off attacks, everyone longed for rest.
But standing atop one of the wagons, Taichi's expression grew taut. It was too quiet. At this hour, even the forest should have been alive with the sound of birds returning to roost.
Something was wrong.
Just as Taichi turned to warn Ishihara—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Five explosions ripped through the caravan, detonated explosive tags shaking the ground.
"Damn it—shinobi!" Taichi's heart sank.
Chaos erupted instantly. Horses panicked, carriages careened wildly despite the drivers' desperate attempts to rein them in. The guards' formation shattered, scattered by stampeding wagons. And the enemy wasted no time.
From the treeline, a horde of bandits surged forward, easily outnumbering the caravan's guards.
But bandits were still bandits. Against trained shinobi, they were fodder. Taichi cut through them with ruthless precision—every swing of his bloodied blade dropped another foe.
Yet as he dispatched enemy after enemy, a chilling realization hit him: not a single enemy shinobi had revealed themselves.
"Not good… Saori!"
Leaving a shadow clone behind to help the guards, Taichi's real body raced toward the heart of the caravan. The hundred-meter dash felt endless, every step blocked by frenzied bandits and overturned carts. It took him over a minute, his blade felling foe after foe as he forced his way through.
And then he saw it—
Captain Yamaguchi locked in combat with three enemy shinobi: one Jōnin and two Chūnin. Their twisted, snarling faces made it look as though they were the victims of ambush.
Saori, meanwhile, was in dire straits. Four Genin surrounded her. She fought recklessly, forcing them back with exchanges that risked her own life, but the numbers were against her. Already, kunai slashes marked her arms and legs, blood soaking through her clothes.
Then, two of her assailants abruptly disengaged and began weaving hand seals, while the other two pressed in to tie her down.
The seals finished. Twin mouths opened—
Wind Release: Slashing Storm!
From a distance, Taichi's eyes went red. Saori couldn't break free. The wind blades were already tearing through the air toward her—perfectly timed, perfectly lethal.
Without hesitation, Taichi pushed his chakra to the limit. His hands flew through the signs—
Water Release: Great Water Prison Wall!
A towering wall of water surged up around Saori, encasing her in a swirling torrent. The spinning currents caught and deflected the deadly wind blades, shielding her in the nick of time.
Saori finally drew a shaky breath, her heart still reeling from the brush with death. She looked toward Taichi, her eyes filled with gratitude.
The four Genin who had retreated were just as shaken—but by Taichi's jutsu. None of them had ever seen a technique like that. For a moment, they thought a high-level shinobi had arrived. But once they saw it was only a kid, their fear eased.
One moved to intercept Taichi, while the other three closed in on Saori again, determined to finish her quickly.
But Taichi had no intention of letting them. With a flicker of speed, he vanished from sight—
and reappeared beside the unlucky Genin, his short blade flashing across the throat. Without pausing for even a second, he charged straight toward Saori.
The dying Genin collapsed, eyes wide in disbelief. We're both Genin… how can the difference be this vast?
"Damn it!"
The rogue leader silently cursed the intel officer's entire bloodline.
A "mere Genin squad," the report had said. But the captain was clearly a Jōnin—an elite Jōnin at that. And the supposed Genin? That girl was already dangerous enough… and this boy who just arrived was no weaker than a Chūnin.
"Sakata, Okamoto—deal with that brat! I'll hold off the Jōnin!" the leader barked to the two Chūnin.
Captain Yamaguchi saw the pair trying to break away to target Taichi, and moved to stop them—only for the leader's furious, suicidal assault to block his path.
Taichi, facing the two rushing Chūnin, showed not a hint of fear. His hands blurred through seals as he charged forward.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!
A barrage of fireballs erupted, filling the air in a dense, indiscriminate storm. The technique wasn't elegant, but it was overwhelming, forcing the two Chūnin to deal with it head-on.
And in that instant, while their vision was blocked by fire, Taichi created two shadow clones.
When the flames cleared, the Chūnin suddenly found themselves facing not one Taichi—but three.
One clone lunged and locked weapons with a Chūnin, forcing him into close combat. The other clone flanked alongside Taichi's real body as they bore down on the second.
Steel clashed in a blur. The clone deliberately intercepted a kunai strike head-on—buying just enough time.
Sliding low, Taichi slipped past the Chūnin's guard. His blade thrust upward, sliding cleanly into the man's chest.
Poof.
The shadow clone dispersed into smoke.
Thud.
The Chūnin hit the ground, dead before he realized what had happened.
One kill in a heartbeat.
The remaining Chūnin recoiled in shock, hastily retreating to put distance between himself and the clones.
For Taichi, whose taijutsu already surpassed the Chūnin level, even his shadow clones could fight them on near-equal terms.
As he prepared to press the attack and finish the second Chūnin—
"Retreat!" the enemy Jōnin roared.
Instantly, the surviving Chūnin and three Genin dropped smoke bombs and vanished into the confusion, fleeing without hesitation. The rogue leader himself didn't even bother with parting threats—he too disappeared once his men were safe.
"Captain! I'm here! Saori, hang on!"
A shout rang out—Yōhei had finally broken through from the rear of the caravan.
Not only Taichi, but Yōhei as well had finished his fight and rushed to reinforce.
From that point, the outcome was decided. With both Taichi and Yōhei joining the fray, the guards quickly regained control. They pushed hard, cutting down bandits in droves until barely a handful survived.
This time, the guards showed no mercy. Even the fleeing bandits were hunted down relentlessly until not a single figure remained in sight.
After the battle, Taichi and Yōhei regrouped, walking back toward the center of camp. Yōhei's face was pale yet flushed with excitement as he chattered about the fight at the rear.
And in his crimson eyes—two tomoe slowly rotated, glimmering with newfound power.
Unknowingly, in the midst of battle, Yōhei had awakened the Sharingan.