Hiru and his two companions were still relentlessly pursuing Ryoma and the others.
Takumi Nakamura noticed that Ryoma and his group had suddenly increased their speed considerably and were choosing much more varied routes.
For a moment, it even made Takumi Nakamura suspect that they had already begun to flee in panic, unable to choose the right path.
But even so, the four, including Ryoma, were as slippery as loaches, leading them all the way towards the northeast.
Finally, after a very long chase, Hiru spotted the figures of Ryoma and the others up ahead.
Four figures, one fat man and three kids, were frantically fleeing forward.
Hiru cursed under his breath, "Damn it, what a joke! With this kind of setup, they annihilated two of our platoons?!"
Hiru had already begun to suspect in his heart whether this squad was bait put out by the enemy and that the real enemy forces had long since fled far away!
He glanced doubtfully at Nakamura Takumi beside him.
Nakamura Takumi was also a bit bewildered at this moment.
But as the user of the secret technique, he was very clear that the three of them had been chasing these very people all along, without any change.
"Could it be that we were wrong from the very beginning?"
Takumi Nakamura also began to feel unsure of himself.
At this moment, the hitherto silent Daisuke spoke up, a rare occurrence: "It's them, no mistake. They must have been at the previous battle. I can sense the aura of our slain comrades on them."
Upon hearing this, Hiru had no choice but to believe him.
He knew that Daisuke never spoke unnecessary nonsense,
let alone falsehoods.
Daisuke was extremely proficient in a secret technique called Camouflage Concealment Technique, which allowed his body to become transparent, hiding his presence, making him invisible and imperceptible to the opponent.
Thus, he could attack from the enemy's blind spot and inflict fatal damage instantly.
This also made him very sensitive to things like color and aura.
Daisuke had sensed an extremely thick bloody smell and the taint of the aura from the dead Iwa-nin on the kid running at the very front and the fat man at the back of the group.
It was exactly the same as what Daisuke had sensed at the site of the battle just now.
Hiru suddenly accelerated at this moment. Since the enemy was already in sight, it was simple enough.
Hiru himself was a ninja extremely skilled in swordsmanship.
His own movement speed was very fast.
Coupled with the fact that both he and his teammate Daisuke were naturally cautious individuals,
Hiru habitually prepared to first make full use of his speed advantage to launch a probing attack against the fat man at the rear of the group.
After all, in this group, this fat man was the only Konoha jonin. After gauging his strength, Hiru planned to first deal with this jonin together with Daisuke.
The remaining three kids would naturally not be a threat, especially since they still had another jonin teammate, Takumi Nakamura.
Having thought this through, Hiru's hands began to form hand signs rapidly, and he promptly used his proficient Shadow Clone Technique.
The two shadow clones he split off started pursuing Choza at the back of the group, one from the left and one from the right.
Hiru himself, gripping his ninja sword, instructed Daisuke and Nakamura Takumi, "Daisuke, find a chance to kill that fat man with me later. Takumi, you deal with the three kids. Don't let them get away."
Daisuke and Nakamura Takumi both nodded.
Then, Hiru's main body maintained a clever distance from the group of four, including Ryoma, who were fleeing ahead.
Close enough to launch a quick attack, far enough to fall back and defend with his teammates.
Hiru's two shadow clones also gradually approached Choza, who was at the back of the group.
In an instant, the two shadow clones drew their swords together and slashed at Choza, one from above and one from below.
Choza, at the back of the group, suddenly turned his head back and, seeing the attack launched by Hiru's shadow clones, raised his hands to block, using a long-lost technique, Catching a Blade with Bare Hands!
Unfortunately, Choza only had two hands, and the opponents had two swords.
Even more unfortunately, Choza didn't manage to catch even one.
The sharp ninja swords instantly sank into Choza's neck and abdomen.
Hiru suddenly sensed something was wrong!
These four Konoha ninjas ahead, after experiencing two brutal battles, showed no signs or indications of being injured themselves, aside from the wounds on their bodies and clothes.
They could still run and jump.
Something was wrong, extremely, utterly wrong.
When Hiru saw the Choza, supposedly killed by his shadow clones, gradually turn into a clump of mud and flow onto the ground, his suspicions were further confirmed in his heart.
Hiru cursed angrily, "Damn it, we've been set up!"
At this moment, Nakamura Takumi had already circled in front of Ryoma, and Daisuke had reached Ryoma's side, surrounding Ryoma, along with the remaining "Asuma" and "Kurenai," in a triangular pincer formation.
And what had just been killed by Hiru's shadow clones was, naturally, Ryoma's Earth Clone.
However, back in the cave, Ryoma had stripped off the clothes of Choza, Asuma, and Kurenai and put them on his Earth Clones.
Because Ryoma couldn't be sure exactly what method the tracking Iwa-nin behind them were using to find their location. To be safe, Ryoma didn't hesitate to strip off their clothes while simultaneously gifting them three sets of Shadow Corps ninja attire.
As it turned out, regardless of whether it was through aura or the method of smelling blood on them,
Ryoma had bet correctly!
He had successfully led the three, Hiru, in a completely opposite direction.
Hiru looked at the "Asuma" and "Kurenai" in the area, which were gradually turning to mud, then looked at Ryoma, who was surrounded by the three of them in the middle, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration.
He said to Ryoma, "Konoha brat, I have to admit you've successfully deceived me and my teammates, and achieved the effect of leading us away. Honestly, I'm starting to admire you a little. To possess such courage and strategy at your age."
Then, Hiru drew the ninja sword from his back, pointed it at Ryoma, and said:
"But unfortunately, you'll still die here. I believe someone capable of doing this would never reveal the direction your teammates fled. Don't bother resisting. I'll give you a quick death."
Ryoma looked at the three, Hiru, in front of him and calculated secretly,
"Three jonin, huh? They really think highly of me."
Seeing Ryoma's silent demeanor, Hiru gave Daisuke and Nakamura Takumi a look, signaling them to attack together in a moment, ensuring a one-hit kill on Ryoma.
Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit; Hiru understood this principle best.
Moreover, who knew how many of their Iwa-nin's lives this brat might have taken.
Getting caught off guard and suffering a setback was something Hiru could not tolerate.
Hiru crouched, gathering strength, and asked Ryoma, "Brat, I actually kind of admire you. Being able to make such a choice in this situation, I have to say you're an excellent comrade. But your ending is only death! Tell me your name, and remember, the one who kills you is Iwa-nin Hiru!"
Hearing Hiru's words, Ryoma was suddenly stunned.
This name... hmm... sounded a bit familiar.
Wasn't this the jonin from the Iwa-nin side during the Kannabi Bridge battle back then?
He was the one who wounded Kakashi after he became a jonin, and Obito 'died' at the hands of his teammates.
Later, he was killed by Minato-sensei.
At this moment, a bold idea suddenly popped into Ryoma's mind.
"If I kill this guy here, wouldn't the outcome of the Kannabi Bridge battle be changed?"
He then flashed a smile at Hiru and said, "Don't you know there's a saying: villains die from talking too much? Also, remember my name, Nara Ryoma. This is also the name of the one who will kill you."
Hiru's gaze instantly turned cold, and his tone became even icier.
"What an unpleasant brat!"
As he finished speaking, Hiru transformed into a blur, and together with his two shadow clones, instantly charged at Ryoma.
After Daisuke and Nakamura Takumi saw Hiru make his move,
Daisuke's body gradually became transparent, merging into the tree behind him.
Nakamura Takumi also began forming hand seals, ensuring he could deliver a killing blow to Ryoma!
Hiru was fast, so fast that Ryoma could only barely catch three blurs.
Daisuke's presence in the shadows had completely vanished, leaving Ryoma with no idea where he was hiding.
Nakamura Takumi was also watching menacingly from behind.
Ryoma then unfolded his Shadow Domain,
the shadow beneath his feet began to spread in all directions.
Seeing this, Hiru's eyes flashed with surprise. "What kind of technique is this?"
But his movements didn't stop; he quickly swung his sword and slashed at Ryoma.
Nakamura Takumi's ninjutsu was also completed, with no holding back, he instantly activated it:
"Earth Release, Earth Dragon!"
A large amount of earth and rock formed an earth dragon with astonishing momentum, lunging at Ryoma with fangs bared and claws outstretched.
Ryoma, however, was not flustered in the slightest. His calm voice rang out: "Emerge! General Niga! General Samo!"
In front of Ryoma, a figure in grey-white armor, with pink skin and disheveled dark green hair, materialized instantly. He drew the samurai sword at his waist and met the attacking Hiru head-on. His scarlet eyes revealed a deep, murderous intent.
Surprise filled Hiru's eyes as he was sent flying by a tremendous force.
"What is this thing?!"
Behind Ryoma, a colossal figure, four or five meters tall and radiating overwhelming pressure, appeared. Wearing cyan-blue armor, it roared directly, grabbed the ferocious, biting earth dragon with its bare hands, and tore it apart in one go, sending rocks flying everywhere.
Ryoma stood between the two generals, staring intently at Hiru in front of him, and spoke in a calm voice.
"It's not really certain who will kill whom yet. The battle has only just begun!"
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━