"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Taiichi ducked sharply, sliding under the massive fireball. The searing heat scorched his cheek, making his face burn as if it were on fire. The moment he passed the caster, he whipped around.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Wind fueled the fire, fire rode the wind.
A torrent of flames, magnified by the wind, roared back down the narrow tunnel. Screams of agony echoed instantly from within the cave.
The Jutsu complete, Taiichi grabbed Yohei, who was still trying to peek at the results, and bolted without looking back.
A moment later, a powerful whirlwind blasted out of the tunnel entrance, carrying with it residual flames and superheated air.
From the smoke, four figures emerged first, followed by the surviving ninja. Every single one of them looked shaken.
That little brat is vicious.
Ambushing them with a Fire Style user at the narrow cave entrance, combined with Wind Style? In that terrain, it was a death trap.
Hijikata, the Earth Style Jonin, looked back into the tunnel and felt his heart bleed. In that one attack, eight Chunin were down. Judging by the screams, they weren't getting back up.
"I'm going to kill him." Takagi, the green-haired ninja, didn't wait for the group. He shot out of the cave entrance, shouting back over his shoulder, "Asa! Get your ass out here! Redeem yourself or die!"
"Ah! Yes! Yes!" Asa, who had been trembling in fear, was overjoyed at the chance to live. He sprinted after Takagi without hesitation. By now, even an idiot could tell those two kids had followed him here.
Watching Takagi leave, Hijikata still wasn't reassured. "Four more of you, go with them! I'll cover the extra pay!"
Four more shadows leaped out into the forest.
---
Running ahead, Taiichi was tense. He relayed the situation inside the cave to Yohei as they ran. His hands were busy pulling kunai and explosive tags from his pouch, tying them with wire, and setting hasty traps on the trees they passed.
When Yohei heard there were over thirty enemy ninja, including multiple Jonin, he panicked. He immediately started copying Taiichi, setting his own traps along their escape route.
From here on out, it was a race against death.
Not long after, the sound of explosions—BOOM! BOOM!—echoed behind them. The traps were being triggered.
Please let that slow them down, Taiichi prayed.
But reality was cruel. Out of all the tags they threw, only five detonated. It would barely slow the pursuers down.
As time passed, Taiichi could hear Yohei's breathing getting heavier and heavier. The high-speed sprint was pushing him to his limit.
"Yohei, did you memorize the intel I gave you?" Taiichi asked, his voice cutting through the wind.
"Yeah..." Yohei wheezed. The physical exhaustion was draining his mental focus; he barely had the energy to reply.
"We won't make it if we keep running like this. One of the pursuers is a Jonin whose brother I killed. His primary target is me," Taiichi said clearly, making sure every word registered.
"I'll stay behind to hold them off and try to lure them away. You keep running to the outpost. Get the intel back to Commander Chiba."
Yohei was so shocked he almost fell out of the tree. Taiichi grabbed his arm to steady him.
"Don't argue. Save your breath," Taiichi said calmly. "You run first. Only if you escape do I have a chance to get away later. Otherwise, we both die."
Yohei looked at Taiichi. The boy was younger than him, yet his expression was rock-solid determined. Tears welled up in Yohei's eyes and spilled over.
He knew Taiichi was right. Right now, he was dead weight. He had never hated himself more than in this moment—hated his laziness, hated his weakness.
But he was powerless to change it now. Under Taiichi's encouraging gaze, Yohei nodded fiercely.
Taiichi smiled. He stopped on a branch and watched Yohei sprint away.
Once Yohei was out of sight, Taiichi wove signs rapidly.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A stream of fire swept across the path Yohei had taken, incinerating his scent and tracks.
Taiichi turned to face the direction of the pursuers. "Alright. Time to play."
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Poof! Poof! Poof! Three clones appeared. They exchanged glances and scattered, hiding behind different trees to wait.
---
Ten minutes later, Taiichi saw them.
It was the green-haired ninja, Takagi, leading five Chunin.
They really think highly of me, Taiichi thought. But thank god it's only them. If the whole group had come, I'd be dead for sure.
The six enemies moved in a pentagon formation, spaced far apart to minimize damage from AoE Jutsu. But for Taiichi, a close-range fighter, this spacing was an opportunity. They were too spread out to support each other instantly.
When they reached the burning section of the forest, they stopped. Takagi sneered at the wall of fire. "Thinks he can hide his tracks with this? Dreaming."
"You four, circle left. Asa and I will circle right. Signal if you find tracks."
Just as they moved to split up, two kunai flew at the outermost Chunin on the left flank. Following the kunai were Taiichi and Yohei.
The Chunin didn't know Taiichi's skill level. Seeing a Genin charge him, he engaged confidently.
"Boss! They didn't run! They're ambushing us!" Asa shouted.
"Shut up and attack!" Takagi yelled at his idiot subordinate, sensing something was wrong.
In the blink of an eye, the Chunin clashed with Taiichi and Yohei. He was already weaker than Taiichi, and under a coordinated ambush, he didn't stand a chance.
Taiichi led the charge. He completely ignored the Chunin's defensive thrust, not even attempting to block. He took the kunai stab straight to the gut, trading injury for position, and drove his tanto into the enemy's stomach.
Staring at the blade in his gut, the Chunin roared, "Are you crazy?!"
But before he could finish, the "Taiichi" in front of him exploded into smoke.
Poof.
Shadow Clone.
Before the shock could even register on his face, "Yohei" swung his blade from the side and decapitated him.
"Group up in pairs! That kid's Kenjutsu is dangerous!" The warning came too late for the dead Chunin.
The remaining four Chunin quickly paired up, terrified of being traded by a Shadow Clone.
"Yohei," having killed one, immediately charged another pair. Takagi, the Jonin, rushed toward him to intercept.
Just as Takagi closed in on "Yohei," another Taiichi burst from the shadows, delivering a heavy overhead slash at the Jonin.
Takagi didn't panic. He blocked the slash with a kunai and lashed out with a high kick.
Taiichi tried to sweep the kick aside with his own leg.
But he forgot who he was fighting. In a weapon clash, leverage matters. In a contest of strength? A Genin clone vs. an enraged Jonin? No contest.
Takagi's kick overpowered Taiichi's, knocking him off balance. Realizing he was done for, the clone abandoned defense, spun with his remaining momentum, and slashed at the nearest Chunin behind him before dissipating.