The unexpected attack caught the Chunin completely off guard. In his panic, he could barely manage a desperate block.
Seeing Taiichi still attacking others even under his pressure, Takagi, the green-haired Jonin, felt humiliated. He flipped his kunai into a reverse grip and stabbed down viciously at the fallen Taiichi.
The "Taiichi" on the ground fought with the desperation of a cornered beast. He abandoned his tanto and lunged upward with both hands, trying to grab Takagi's wrists.
Seeing this reckless, suicidal move, Takagi realized instantly: It's another Shadow Clone.
Damn these clone users. Their tactics are filthy.
Cursing internally, Takagi tried to jump back.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Just as the melee was entangled, a barrage of fireballs rained down from a nearby tree. It wasn't just a few; the sheer volume looked like six or seven people casting at once.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions were far more violent than the earlier paper bombs. The entire area was carpet-bombed into oblivion.
Up in the tree, the real Taiichi turned and ran without checking the results.
When the smoke cleared, there was no "Yohei" and no "Taiichi." Only two charred corpses remained burning on the ground. Another two bounty hunters were dead.
Takagi stood at the edge of the blast zone, shaken. If he had reacted a second later, he would be dead too.
The skirmish had started and ended in the blink of an eye. The other two surviving bounty hunters finally caught up. Seeing two more comrades dead in seconds, their morale wavered.
"Boss... should we still chase?" Asa asked, his voice trembling.
"Are you an idiot?! That kid is a Special Jonin at best! If I let him go after this, how will I ever show my face in the bounty hunter circles again?!" Takagi exploded, screaming at him.
Asa shrank back, terrified into silence.
"Relax," Takagi said, trying to calm himself and his men. "He's been running constantly. He just used three Shadow Clones and two large-scale AoE Jutsu. His chakra must be running dry. He only caught us off guard with dirty tricks. As long as we stay alert for ambushes, he's done."
The remaining Chunin nodded, finding logic in Takagi's analysis. Confidence returned.
"Let's go. I'll take point." Takagi rallied them for one last push.
---
A few minutes earlier.
Running away, Yohei felt the heat of the roaring flames behind him. He looked back. A wall of fire blocked his vision and erased his trail.
He swallowed his regret and the urge to turn back and fight alongside Taiichi. He forced himself to keep running toward the outpost.
He wiped tears from his eyes. When he looked up again, the crimson of his Sharingan flashed. The single tomoe in his eyes had quietly split into two.
Feeling the surge in visual prowess and chakra, Yohei knew his Sharingan had evolved. But he suppressed the urge to turn back. He used the newfound power to push his speed even higher.
He knew his only real contribution now was to bring Captain Yamaguchi back to save Taiichi. He was still too weak to fight.
Trees blurred past him. He calculated the distance—about an hour to the outpost.
Hold on, Taiichi. Please hold on.
---
Back in the forest, Taiichi felt a sudden mental thud as he ran. The Shadow Clone's memories returned.
Analyzing the memories, he confirmed that the clone had pinned down one Chunin before vanishing. That meant the firebombing had definitely claimed at least one victim.
Pity the green-haired guy was too alert. If the clone had grabbed his hands, I could have at least injured him.
Feeling his depleted chakra reserves, Taiichi gritted his teeth. Fine. I'll play the stamina game. Let's see who lasts longer.
He opened his Panel and dumped a point into Constitution.
Instantly, a warm current flooded his body. His exhaustion vanished. His chakra and stamina refilled completely.
"Haha. Alright then. Let's dance."
He glanced at his stats, satisfied.
"Wait... what?"
He looked closer. His Constitution was still at 21.
"Didn't I just add a point?" The shock almost made him fall out of the tree. His Panel was his lifeline. If it was broken, his future was in jeopardy.
He calmed himself down. Regardless of the number, the restorative effect had worked. He felt full of energy. The bug could be investigated later. Survival first.
A Jonin was still a Jonin, even a bounty hunter one. Not long after Taiichi resumed running, he heard Takagi's hateful voice behind him.
"You can't run forever, kid! I'll chase you to the ends of the earth! I'm going to cut you into a thousand pieces for my brother!"
Taiichi glanced back. Only Takagi was keeping up. The full sprint had separated the Jonin from his Chunin subordinates.
"Sorry, Green Hat! Which one was your brother? I've killed so many nameless trash mobs, I lose track!" Taiichi taunted.
Takagi's veins bulged on his forehead. "You little piece of—"
Before he could finish, Taiichi spun around mid-air.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A roaring dragon of fire charged straight at Takagi.
Takagi hadn't expected a counterattack. His reaction was a beat slow. Too late for hand signs, he dove sideways to dodge.
But Taiichi sustained the Jutsu, sweeping his head to make the fire dragon chase Takagi.
Seeing the Jonin dodge left and right, narrowly avoiding the flames each time, Taiichi saw his opening. He cut the Jutsu, drew his fresh tanto, and lunged.
This time, it was the real body attacking. The power behind the strike was on a completely different level from the Shadow Clone.
Takagi, still off-balance from dodging, barely managed to bring his kunai up to block.
CLANG!
Taiichi's downward slash hammered the kunai. The force was immense, driving the kunai down until it pressed against Takagi's own shoulder.
Taiichi didn't stop. He pivoted the blade, turning the vertical smash into a horizontal slice aimed at Takagi's neck.
Takagi wasn't a novice. He braced the kunai with one hand and used the force of Taiichi's slash to launch himself backward, creating distance to reset.