The Iwa-nin transportation unit was advancing toward its destination: the Land of Fire border.
At the very front of the transport column walked a jōnin from Iwagakure named Ishii Ichirō.
He had a robust build, his powerful muscles radiating explosive strength, and he appeared to be the type who excelled at close-quarters taijutsu combat.
He was casually chatting with the two chūnin beside him.
At the very rear of the transport column walked another Iwa-nin jōnin named Nishishibito.
Compared to Ishii Ichirō, his physique was much slimmer, but the sharp glints often flashing from his eyes revealed that he was also a formidable opponent.
At that moment, a chūnin ran up beside Nishishibito and said obsequiously, "Nishishibito-sama, please have something to eat. At our current pace, we have less than half the distance left to the target location. It seems this mission of ours will be completed with ease."
With that, he handed the roasted chicken he was holding to Nishishibito.
Nishishibito did not take the roasted chicken offered by the chūnin, but instead said to him, "Although we have covered more than half the journey, this is precisely when we are most prone to complacency and oversight. Go tell Jōnin Ishii Ichirō up ahead to pay more attention to observing the surroundings. I have a bad feeling about this . . ."
The chūnin responded flatteringly, "Yes, yes, Nishishibito-sama's admonishment is correct. I'll go tell Ishii-jōnin right away."
Having said that, he shoved the roasted chicken at Nishishibito and scurried off to the very front of the column. There, he conveyed Nishishibito's concerns to Ishii Ichirō, who was just then discussing with two chūnin whether to visit a bar to have fun with young ladies after the mission was complete.
After listening, Ishii Ichirō gave a disdainful snort. "Hmph, Nishishibito-jōnin is truly overcautious. Tell him he doesn't need to worry about the situation up front; I can handle it myself. His task is to secure the rear!"
The pitiable chūnin could only force a smile and prepare once again to return to Nishishibito's side, acting as nothing more than a mindless messenger between the two jōnin.
Ishii Ichirō and Nishishibito did not get along very well, mainly because Ishii felt Nishishibito was too pretentious, constantly making a big deal out of everything along the way.
In Ishii Ichirō's view, Nishishibito was merely a junior who had recently been promoted to jōnin, yet he dared to order around a senior like himself during a mission.
If it weren't for Nishishibito having an excellent older brother, he wouldn't dare act so superior!
Thus, throughout this mission, Ishii Ichirō had frequently clashed with Nishishibito, who kept issuing commands as if he were the team leader.
Ishii Ichirō laughed and said to the chūnin around him, "A coward who's afraid of everything should just stay hidden in the village and not come running out on missions. We're already more than halfway there, and the problems he keeps talking about? I still haven't seen any, hahaha."
The surrounding chūnin also laughed in agreement, and one of them added, "Nishishibito-sama is just cautious. He even scolded me earlier just for killing a few snakes. What a 'qualified' team leader~"
What they failed to notice was that, in the trees above the path their column was taking, four pairs of eyes were watching their every move.
Just as the messenger chūnin, who had not yet returned to Nishishibito's side, reached the middle of the column.
A sudden change occurred!
From the front of the column, a shout suddenly rang out: "Dynamic Marking!"
Immediately, an enormously large figure appeared before Ishii Ichirō, who, just a second ago, had been laughing with the chūnin around him, completely off guard.
Chōza directly engulfed Ishii Ichirō and the two chūnin beside him into his own high-speed rotating body, savagely battering all three.
Simultaneously, the voices of Asuma and Kurenai sounded from the middle of the column.
"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"
"Genjutsu: Falling Sakura Vision Technique!"
The Iwa-nin, who hadn't yet realized what was happening, were surrounded by a cloud of high-temperature ash spit from Asuma's mouth. The scorching heat from the ash after it landed caused several Iwa-nin intense pain, and before long, the ash cloud exploded, directly destroying two of the wagons transporting supplies.
Ryōma had once teased Asuma, saying that starting to smoke at such a young age made him a pure delinquent.
Asuma, with an expression suggesting Ryōma just didn't get it, took another puff of his cigarette and said profoundly that this was preparation for his new ninjutsu.
Meanwhile, the ninja caught in Kurenai's genjutsu stood rooted to the spot, soon falling into a deep sleep. Even those fortunate enough not to be caught in Asuma's technique were unhesitatingly killed by the kunai Kurenai threw.
Nishishibito, at the rear of the column, was the first to react. The moment he saw Chōza and the other two charge out, he shouted, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Counterattack immediately!"
He then prepared to dash forward to attack Chōza and help Ishii Ichirō out of his predicament.
Just as Nishishibito made a move to charge and began forming hand seals to release a ninjutsu, he realized with horror that his body was frozen!
A single thought crystallized in his mind: "A Konoha-nin, the Nara clan!!!"
At that moment, Ryōma's shadow had already stretched to Nishishibito's feet, doing its utmost to control Nishishibito's body. Although Ryōma's abilities had greatly improved, controlling a jōnin still placed considerable strain on him.
Nishishibito's mind raced; he realized that this Nara ninja's Shadow Imitation Technique was not completely unshakeable—merely controlling him temporarily already seemed to be this ninja's limit.
Nishishibito was confident that within seconds, he could break Ryōma's Shadow Imitation Technique and turn the tables on him!
A thought flashed through Nishishibito's mind: "Troublesome Konoha-nin! I'll definitely kill you in a moment!"
He immediately began struggling against Ryōma's Shadow Imitation Technique.
However, Ryōma was no ordinary Nara!
A few seconds are enough for me to kill you ten thousand times!
The instant Ryōma seized control of Nishishibito, two Claw Corps soldiers, their hands equipped with sharp steel claws as hard as blades, emerged from the shadows—one to Nishishibito's left, one to his right.
Without hesitation, they swung at Nishishibito's head.
Nishishibito had just finished his internal monologue and was preparing to counterattack Ryōma when he saw a headless torso standing before him.
"Who is that? How can it still be standing without a head?"
"It hurts... ah, that's my own body."
His head spun through the air and rolled to the ground. As he stared at Ryōma's face, Nishishibito's eyes widened in unwillingness, and his final thought flashed through his mind.
"To be killed by such a young brat . . ."
Ryōma had achieved his first jōnin kill!
At that moment, Chōza also concluded his initial assault. The two chūnin were directly killed by Dynamic Marking and returned to their homeland.
Ishii Ichirō, thanks to his robust physique and reflexes, had barely managed to withstand a Dynamic Marking blow, albeit injured. He had just struggled to his feet when he witnessed the unbelievable scene before him.
Nishishibito's head flew into the air—killed by some Konoha brat using some unknown secret technique!
Ishii Ichirō cursed under his breath, "Damn brat!"
Chōza shouted to Ryōma, "Nice one, Ryōma!"
Then he yelled, "Super Expansion jutsu!" and transformed once more into a giant, launching another attack on Ishii Ichirō.
Watching the remaining Iwa-nin in the area gradually regain their senses, Ryōma signaled Asuma and Kurenai to launch a fierce offensive.
Asuma, alone against one chūnin and several genin, was gradually being pushed into a disadvantage. Kurenai, too, was struggling to hold her ground all around.
Two chūnin near Ryōma, along with several genin, also snapped out of it and began forming hand seals to release ninjutsu against him.
Without a moment's hesitation, Ryōma deployed his Shadow Domain.
Domain Expansion!
He summoned dozens of Claw Corps soldiers and Giant Corps soldiers, sending them charging at the remaining Iwa-nin.
Seeing this sight, some Iwa-nin froze on the spot.
A swarm of oddly shaped black-clad ninja soldiers, their scarlet eyes gleaming, outnumbered them several times over. The giant shadows, fearlessly enduring ninjutsu, charged right up to them, simply to let the claw-covered shadows land a strike—utterly disregarding their own survival.
And as Ryōma, with his Shadow Domain, stormed into the midst of these Iwa-nin, they realized the nightmare had only just begun!
The Shadow Soldiers began to appear and disappear unpredictably.
One Iwa-nin, dodging here and there, was tripped by a hand suddenly extending from the ground, whereupon Shadow Soldiers swarmed him and hacked him to death with their blades!
A trembling Iwa-nin genin looked at Ryōma, his eyes filled with terror. "What kind of ability is this?! He's a demon! He's not human! He's summoning devils!"
Ryōma helplessly sent this Iwa-nin, who was perhaps already unhinged, back to his homeland.
"Why resort to name-calling?"
There was no helping it—for Iwa-nin encountering Ryōma's abilities for the first time, the psychological shock was immense!
Under the gang beating by Ryōma's Shadow forces, every single Iwa-nin was killed without exception.
The last one barely holding on, Ishii Ichirō, had his head twisted askew by a single punch from Akimichi Chōza.
Even in death, he could not understand how one jōnin leading three genin had managed to annihilate their entire unit.
And that brat called Ryōma—his abilities were so bizarre; despite being so young, he had taken out most of their side!
Overcome with unwillingness, he collapsed to the ground.
Quickly handling the aftermath,
(Blow up everything that can be blown up~)
Ryōma and his three companions swiftly fled the scene.
Because the Flying Corps soldier Ryōma had stationed in the sky for surveillance informed him that a group of even stronger individuals was rapidly heading toward the location where they had fought.
Ryōma and the others sped swiftly through the forest.
They raced toward the Land of Fire border at maximum speed.
Excitement was written plainly on the faces of Ryōma and his two companions.
Hitting and running, this is fucking thrilling!!!
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