Chapter 1: The Dying Reincarnator
Listening to the sound of rain outside the hiding spot, the silent boy, or rather the child, sighed softly.
He looked at the boy who insisted on covering his retreat, touched his right eye that had been gouged out by a rival jonin, and felt a little helpless.
Originally, he was assigned to the same team as Sarutobi Asuma, and he thought he would definitely survive the Ninja World War.
However, when he found out that Kurenai Yuhi was not in the assigned team, but was fighting with one of their classmates, he knew he was too naive.
Death, companions died, teachers died. In just one year, he and Asuma had changed three teammates and two jonin teachers. When Kurenai Yuhi joined the team, he even thought the war was about to end.
But unfortunately, it was not.
The Iwagakure ninja suddenly attacked Mount Kikyo, and had actually arrived at Konoha's doorstep. Their team's original mission was forced to be interrupted, and they were also found by the enemy's hunting team.
Their teacher sacrificed himself to secure a safe place for them. Now, only one person needs to stand out and delay for half a minute, so that the rest of the people can leave through the secret passage opposite.
Although this hidden place has a hidden barrier left by the senior ninja teacher using the Shadow Clone Technique, it will not be discovered if you stay here.
But the opponent's ninja is not a fool, and they are almost searching here.
So someone must be sacrificed.
As for the person...
kurenai has lost most of her chakra to save herself, and even as bait, she will not be of any use.
Asuma's arm is almost disabled, so he is not worth being a bait.
Although Coby can be sure that the boy in front of him is indeed willing to sacrifice himself to save him and kurenai, after all, they have saved each other countless times, but there is no doubt that it is impossible.
"Sometimes, life is beyond our control, Asuma. Just as your life is more important to Konoha than mine, no matter what... Besides, with your injured arm, how can you possibly stall for time?"
Coby, or rather, Murata Kiyotani, rose from the ground, picked up his ninja katana, and made his own decision.
From the start, there was no choice. Asuma was the son of the Hokage. If he died while he returned alive, he would undoubtedly be despised. Sarutobi Hiruzen might not do anything to him, but when Orochimaru was short of test subjects, when Danzo needed cannon fodder, who would they choose?
They could assassinate the Hokage, even allowing Sarutobi Hiruzen to die, but just because they could attack Sarutobi didn't mean others could.
Furthermore, for a member of a military group to watch their leader's son die—who but a true hero would care?
So, picking up his teacher's katana, Coby stood up, taking one last look at Kurenai, who had fainted while trying to save him. The last vestiges of his desire to live vanished.
In this situation, leaving behind a heroic name, and relying on this connection, his younger brother would no longer be sent into danger.
"Don't hesitate! Asuma, don't let the efforts of my teacher and me go to waste!"
Asuma, already bracing himself for death, had no time to stop Coby. The instant Coby spoke, he unleashed his ninjutsu and elbowed Asuma in the face, sending him crashing to the ground.
Then, without hesitation, he charged forward.
The moment he broke free from his teacher's barrier, Coby heard a teasing voice.
"You actually escaped, little mouse? Where are your companions?!"
The moment Coby rushed forward, a dark figure suddenly rushed out and delivered a powerful kick to his right.
Coby heard the sound of wind, but it was too late to intervene. Losing his right eye, he was blinded and sent flying, careening into the bushes.
His small body flew backwards, but in mid-air, Coby still managed to see the pursuers clearly.
Three chunins with a wound to the abdomen and a severed right hand, and a jonin with only minor injuries—that was all his sensei had done.
However, Coby, having been kicked back, quickly pondered.
"Has this location been revealed long ago? They didn't rush to capture us alive... And, before, did they not know Asuma and the others were hiding with me, or were they deliberately luring Asuma and Kurenai? I can only take a gamble..."
Spitting a mouthful of blood in mid-air, Coby instantly rolled to his feet upon landing, dodging the long sword thrusts that followed. His long-standing taijutsu training allowed him to swiftly kick the chunin in front of him the moment he landed. The moment he sent them flying, he pulled his final smoke bomb from his chest and slammed it into the ground, simultaneously unleashing a tsunami.
Tsunamis: Heart Decapitation Technique!
Instantly, Coby grabbed the chunin's feet, wielding the long sword, and pulled him underground. However, he had no time to execute his second attack before the jonin attacked.
A long sword stabbed precisely at his earth escape position. From his position, Coby couldn't see it, but his keen chakra perception allowed him to react instantly. He swiftly leaped from the earth, dodging what the jonin thought was a sure-kill blow. As he emerged from the smoke, he dodged the kunai thrusts from the remaining chunin, his hands quickly forming hand seals.
His chakra was running low, and these were the last two jutsu he could unleash.
So—
Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!
Chakra transformed into a stream of water, spraying from his mouth at the oncoming jonin. Facing the onrushing water, both the jonin and the pursuing chunin quickly dodged the onrushing force, unable to see the hand seals. However, one chunin was accidentally struck by the current and sent flying.
However, this jutsu was only effective for extinguishing fires, so Coby had no intention of killing anyone with it. He used it merely to prepare for the next step!
Water Release: Sprint!
He quickly formed four seals, and the water jetted out by Coby quickly gathered around him, constantly gathering around him, and then quickly rushed towards him, forming three streams of water rushing in different directions.
This was a jutsu he had developed, which was considered a failure. The original use was to gather enough water under the legs to move quickly above the water surface. For him, a water-style ninjutsu, it was undoubtedly a very practical jutsu, but unfortunately, he did not have enough time to develop it, and neither the duration nor the speed were very ideal.
Furthermore, the high-speed water flow generated by the sprinting three seconds before the jutsu is activated will injure the user. After that, the speed will only last half a minute, making it a fairly unsuccessful jutsu.
But—
"Separately! Asuma! Kurenai!"
Coby caught the two massive Fuma shurikens behind him and, under the astonished gazes of the pursuing jonin, roared and flung the two shurikens into the water in different directions.
Then, the two Fuma shurikens quickly transformed in mid-air into the forms of Asuma and Kurenai, swiftly stamping on the sprinting water, which no longer harmed the user.
"Can you escape, brat?"
The earth ninja's jonin roared, swiftly throwing his shuriken at the fleeing figures and making several hand gestures.
Coby quickly turned, harnessing the current beneath his feet and hurling his own shuriken, knocking back the shurikens flying towards Asuma and Kurenai. However, this forced him to confront the opposing jonin. However, the enemy's movements were also rapid. The one-armed jonin, carrying a wounded chunin, rushed towards Asuma, while the other two chunin rushed towards Yuhi Kurenai.
Although the earth ninja's chunin and jonin were no match for Konoha's ninja, Coby, his chakra depleted, knew that this was his doom.
If they hadn't been attacked suddenly, the earth ninja alone would have been unable to deal with them.
He was a water-based ninja proficient in taijutsu. While his chakra wasn't as prodigious as Naruto's, it was still considerable.
Asuma, on the other hand, was a master of ninjutsu, and with Kurenai, skilled in genjutsu, this team, simply based on its composition, was already a rare elite force.
At the very least, if he were in top form, he could single-handedly take out the three Chuunin on the other side.
But alas, there were no ifs on the battlefield.
"Huh... Huh..."
Feeling his shadow clones running further and further away, a breathless smile crossed Coby's face. Even if these people returned, it would be enough for Asuma to lead Kurenai out of the secret passage.
Even if there were unknown forces, without the jounin, one or two chuunin would be no match for Asuma.
My mission is accomplished.
Finally, after playing a joke in his mind that no one else in this world would know, Coby sighed as he looked at the jounin warily watching him.
But, it was hard to accept...
Seeing the smile on his face, the Iwagakure jounin frowned. He felt like he'd been tricked, but he couldn't figure out what had gone wrong. He couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the young man who had tricked them with a transformation jutsu and then sacrificed himself.
Coby was also happy to stall for time. He panted and adjusted his stance, but he felt a sharp pain in his ribs, and his upper body couldn't move properly. He wondered how he had even managed to run.
But now, any delay was a good one.
"I was just wondering how long you can stay here. Even though you've broken through the front line, you wouldn't dare to advance too far, would you?"
Panting, Coby looked at the other party warily. His vision was blurry, but he still tried to appear resolute.
However, the Iwagakure jonin didn't intend to argue with Coby any further. Coby's injuries were beginning to flare up, and his movements were noticeably less agile than before. He drew his long sword and looked at Coby with a puzzled look.
He had seen Coby's strength. While he couldn't compare to him, he was still very formidable. When he was his age, he would have been killed in an instant. Such a genius naturally needed to be killed sooner rather than later!
"What a brilliant brat! You managed to trick us, but that's all you can do... Konoha is such a terrifying village! Even a brat like you possesses such talent." As soon as he finished speaking, he swiftly charged towards Coby, his long sword slashing down swiftly. Coby struggled to block, but his chakra and stamina were no match for the opponent's, so he couldn't block two strikes before his arm was severed.
Without time to scream or hesitate, Coby's eyes lit up with frenzy as he watched the opponent's long sword thrust towards his heart. Instead of dodging the opponent's thrust, he used the opponent's momentum to cling to his body, allowing the sword to pierce his heart.
"What—"
The Iwagakure jonin sensed something was wrong, and at that moment, Coby smiled once again.
For in his left hand, a flaming detonating talisman was burning!
The terrified Iwagakure kicked Coby, whose heart had been pierced, away. He panicked and tried to remove the vest adorned with the detonating tag, but it was too late!
Coby had already activated the detonating tag while speaking to the other party. He hadn't believed he could counterattack from the beginning, so he naturally prepared for a one-for-one fight.
The explosion instantly engulfed the jonin, and Coby closed his eyes. The blood gushing from his chest caused his blood pressure to drop rapidly, and his brain felt dizzy.
However, just as he thought he was heading to the Pure Land, his mind shifted to a strange vision, and the next moment, he saw three figures standing in the darkness.
He instinctively thought they were his deceased relatives from this world, and he almost cried out, "Dad!" But before he could do that, he saw the three figures clearly in the darkness and stopped himself.
Because, despite their different clothing and appearance, the three figures standing in the darkness all had similar, almost identical, faces.
"..."
For a moment, the young man named Murata Kiyotan in this life was at a loss for words.
Memories of his past life were now attacking him furiously, leaving him speechless.
The three people standing in the darkness also spotted him and approached with smiles.
"Hey, new guy, it looks like you've figured it out already,"
Coby nodded. Looking at the other three like him, he already understood most of it.
It was simply the release of his twelve-year-latest cheat code!
He'd learned this tactic from novels, and it had even introduced him to a shameless author. It was a shame the author had switched to fan fiction, leaving him feeling rather irritated.
But now, he simply wanted to make it clear that he didn't care about the reason, the thing, or the author, because he was dying!
"So, does anyone have the ability to regenerate? If not, I'm going to die first."
He extended his remaining left hand and pointed at himself.
In his current state, he was only one step away from death. If the cheat code couldn't save him, even if he were infected with the Duke virus, it would be useless!
And yet—
the three of them shook their heads.
"I really don't have that."