Ryoma began to quietly observe the surrounding situation.
The Iwa-nin surrounding them numbered roughly twice that of the Iwa-nin transport unit they had just faced, and their strength was clearly greater.
Four jōnin, over a dozen chūnin, and the rest were genin.
The main reason Ryoma and the others had achieved such excellent results earlier was that they had the advantage of a surprise attack.
Ryoma had used his ability to instantly kill one of their jōnin, and Chōza had also succeeded in his surprise attack, heavily wounding another jōnin and killing two chūnin.
This time, however, they were directly facing an enemy force about ten times their own number.
While fleeing, Ryoma had used his Flying Corps soldiers to probe the Iwa-nin's movements, but as the distance gradually closed, the Flying Corps soldiers flying in the air were ultimately discovered by the Iwa-nin.
Several jōnin attacked together and eliminated Ryoma's Flying Corps soldiers.
And when Ryoma summoned new Flying Corps soldiers, intending to repeat the tactic, the Iwa-nin's encirclement had already formed.
As Egawa looked at the four before him, an expression of disbelief involuntarily surfaced in his eyes.
If he hadn't been pursuing Ryoma and the other three since he arrived at the battle site and confirmed that they hadn't split up midway, he would have suspected whether there were other ninja hidden in the shadows, waiting to annihilate them in one fell swoop!
What happened to the promised master of blade arts?
Just this one fat guy and three little brats???
With this setup, how did they wipe out our transport unit?
Were they always this bold?!
Egawa looked at Ryoma and the others, the scar on his face twitching as he revealed a ferocious smile. "Konoha-nin, a fat pig and three little brats actually dared to attack our transport unit. You've really underestimated us!"
"Hand over what you just took, and I might consider letting you die a bit more quickly."
Ryoma and the other three exchanged glances, once again confirming the importance of those scrolls.
Immediately, Chōza shouted at Egawa, "What does Iwagakure mean by this? Are you declaring war on Konoha?!"
Egawa and the surrounding Iwa-nin burst into raucous laughter upon hearing this. Egawa said disdainfully, "Are you really a Konoha jōnin, you fat pig? To ask such an childish question. We're on a mission; killing a few ninja from other villages is the most normal thing in the world!"
"Besides, if war does break out, it's Konoha that should be afraid, not us Iwa-nin!"
At that moment, beneath Ryoma's feet, using the shadow of the forest, a thin sliver of shadow was extending towards Egawa.
Ryoma and the others naturally understood that these Iwa-nin bastards had no intention of letting them return alive, so they certainly wouldn't just wait for death.
The few words Chōza exchanged with Egawa were also meant to draw their attention and provide cover for Ryoma's covert actions.
To see if they could seize an opportunity and make these Iwa-nin bastards suffer another major loss!
Just as Ryoma's shadow was about to reach the shadow beneath Egawa's feet, an Iwa-nin jōnin standing in a tree suddenly shouted, "Watch your feet, Egawa!"
In an instant, that jōnin rapidly threw several shuriken at Ryoma. Hearing this, a fierce glint flashed in Ryoma's eyes. He formed hand seals and roared inwardly, "Shadow Stab Technique!"
In an instant, the shadow that had stretched to Egawa's feet suddenly erupted into numerous spikes, surging towards Egawa.
Warned by his comrade, Egawa's reaction was swift; he instantly vacated his previous position.
But the other Iwa-nin around him weren't so fortunate. The quicker chūnin could barely dodge; those slower had their lower bodies injured. As for the genin, they were directly killed by Ryoma's Shadow Stab Technique.
Almost simultaneously, Chōza charged forward, attacking Egawa and the others.
A furious roar rang out: "I hate being called a fat pig the most! Expansion Technique! Dynamic Marking!!!"
Instructor Chōza once again entered PLUS mode, retracting his head and limbs, spinning wildly. The powerful attack instantly shattered the Iwa-nin's formation, with Egawa being the primary target of the assault.
Beside Ryoma, Asuma drew his chakra blade, sidestepping to shield Ryoma's rear. With a few clangs, he deflected all the shuriken fired by the Iwa-nin jōnin.
Just as that Iwa-nin jōnin was about to take further action, forming hand seals to release a ninjutsu, Kurenai crouched down, her voice ringing out: "Genjutsu, Three Brilliant Blossoms!"
The Iwa-nin jōnin suddenly felt as if countless beautiful petals appeared before his eyes, involuntarily losing focus for a few seconds.
And in those few seconds, Ryoma's Claw Corps soldiers, hidden in the shadows, had already reached this jōnin. Raising their claws, they swung without hesitation at the Iwa-nin jōnin before them.
Another Iwa-nin jōnin nearby reacted swiftly, quickly forming hand seals, then pressing both hands to the ground, he shouted, "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Just as the jōnin caught in Kurenai's genjutsu was about to be flayed alive by the Claw Corps soldiers, he was suddenly lifted up by a large stone slab that flipped up from the ground.
At that moment, the jōnin also broke Kurenai's genjutsu, and many of the Claw Corps soldiers' attacks missed.
However, one sharp soldier still seized the opportunity. While the jōnin, still reeling from the genjutsu, hadn't yet reacted, a single claw strike severed his right foot!
The Iwa-nin jōnin who had broken the genjutsu suddenly felt an intense, searing pain erupt from his right foot, and immediately let out a agonized howl.
"Ahhh! My foot!!!"
In an instant, the battle had begun!
The remaining Claw Corps soldiers surged to attack the surrounding Iwa-nin. Simultaneously, the Night Bat Corps in the sky began firing concentrated light waves at the Iwa-nin on the ground.
The Iwa-nin, now recovered, started counterattacking the Shadow Corps that had emerged from nowhere.
The Iwa-nin jōnin who had just released his ninjutsu, while eliminating an attacking Claw soldier with a kunai, immediately turned back, formed hand seals, and fired an earth spear into the sky, destroying several Flying Corps soldiers who dodged too slowly.
He inwardly marveled, "Is this that kid's ability? How bizarre. He can approach us silently without being detected. Is this some new secret technique, or perhaps... a Kekkei Genkai?!"
"No, I must kill that brat here!"
Having decided this, he dodged attacks from the remaining Flying Corps and charged towards Ryoma.
The other Iwa-nin also simultaneously launched their assault at Ryoma and the other two.
At this moment, Ryoma stood in front of Kurenai, who was already somewhat exhausted, and expanded his Shadow Domain.
The shadow beneath his feet gradually spread, and from the shadows around him, various types of Shadow soldiers rose up, encircling Ryoma and the other two for protection.
Ryoma looked at Kurenai, who was crouched on the ground, sweating profusely, and asked, "How is it, Kurenai? Can you still fight?"
Kurenai struggled to her feet and showed Ryoma a smile. "Don't worry about me, Ryoma. I can manage. It's just that using genjutsu on that jōnin took a lot out of me. You should go help the others, don't mind me!"
Ryoma gave a noncommittal smile. "Don't be silly, Kurenai. We're comrades. Besides, crippling one of their jōnin? You deserve the most credit for that!"
With that said, he left several Giant Corps and Claw Corps soldiers behind and actively charged towards the Iwa-nin jōnin.
Nearby, Asuma, while dodging enemy ninjutsu and shuriken attacks, infused his chakra blade, spinning and weaving back and forth, constantly shouting "Whirlwind Fist" as he attacked the opposing Iwa-nin.
There it is! Arena Love Boy!
The summoned Shadow soldiers each sought out their own prey.
You think you have numbers?
I have so many people I can't even hear what you're yelling anymore!
The battle on Chōza's side had also reached a fever pitch. From time to time, loud crashes and the sounds of various ninjutsu being employed echoed through the area; the battle there was equally fierce.
Egawa's ability to be the captain of this Iwa-nin unit naturally meant he possessed considerable strength.
Coupled with coordination from another jōnin, and the fact that most of the Iwa-nin chūnin were concentrated here aiming to quickly kill Chōza, the most troublesome jōnin,
they thought the other few brats would be more than enough for the remaining two jōnin and the rest of the Iwa-nin.
For a time, Chōza found himself on the defensive, suppressed.
Meanwhile, Ryoma had engaged in close combat with the charging Iwa-nin jōnin and was struggling to fend off his attacks. Suddenly, a voice filled with hatred rang out: "Die, you damn brat! Earth Release: Earth-Style Spear!"
The jōnin whose right foot had been severed by the Shadow soldier was glaring at Ryoma with eyes full of rancor, forming hand seals to unleash his ninjutsu.
On his right leg, a hastily treated wound and a temporary prosthetic formed from Earth Release were clearly visible.
In an instant, Ryoma was caught between two fronts.
Asuma was also surrounded and attacked by two or three chūnin, a horrifying gash on his arm already visible down to the bone. He was struggling just to defend himself and was in no position to help others.
Kurenai, along with the Shadow Corps soldiers, was dealing with the Iwa-nin, her pale, small face becoming even more conspicuous.
In an instant, the balance of the battle tilted sharply in favor of the Iwa-nin.
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