Daisuke looked at Ryoma in front of him, who was using his now scarlet pupils to scrutinize him from head to toe.
A wicked smile also curled at the corner of his mouth.
He increasingly felt that this brat was definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface!
He immediately leaped backward, wanting to conceal his form once again, waiting for a new opportunity to arrive.
But how could Ryoma easily let Daisuke have his wish?
He immediately pressed forward, his hands moving quickly as he continuously swung his blade at Daisuke from various directions.
His speed was so fast that from the outside, one could only see a blur of afterimages!
Daisuke found himself in an even more difficult predicament.
Not only was Ryoma's speed now several levels faster than before, but every strike was both swift and vicious, each blow aimed at vital points, and the power behind them was immense.
Being attacked like this, Daisuke could only retreat, trying to create distance between himself and Ryoma,
while constantly trying to discern Ryoma's killing moves and blocking them with his own blade.
Who would have thought that Ryoma seemed to get more excited as the fight went on, swinging the Shadow katana in his hand, slashing faster and faster.
His scarlet eyes were filled with bloodthirsty killing intent.
Although Ryoma's swordplay lacked form and technique, it couldn't offset the fact that Ryoma was now fast, strong, and aimed every strike at vital points.
It profoundly illustrated the maxim that a sword technique capable of killing is a good sword technique!
For a time, Daisuke could only passively fall into Ryoma's rhythm, constantly being suppressed by him.
Finally, Daisuke seized a small opening in Ryoma's swing, predicted where Ryoma's next strike would land,
and enduring a not-insignificant wound on his arm, he directly retreated, instantly holding his sword horizontally in front of his chest.
Ryoma slashed down without hesitation.
Using the reaction force from the clash of their blades, Daisuke quickly retreated, creating a relatively safe distance from Ryoma.
Ryoma, with his scarlet eyes, gave Daisuke a cold glance, then looked at his own katana, which now had many notches on its blade, and casually tossed the damaged sword into the shadow at his feet.
Then he immediately pulled a brand new Shadow katana from the shadow.
He couldn't help but marvel again, Useful! Loved it!
Daisuke stared at Ryoma before him with a grave expression, then looked at his own ninja sword, now chipped from the parries, silently performed simple and bandaged the wound on his arm before merging once again with his surroundings.
If I can't win, I can't just run away!
Watching Daisuke gradually vanish before his eyes, Ryoma smiled disdainfully.
Kid, you're still too young, You simply don't understand the strength of a disciple of Orochimaru, my friend.
Then, Ryoma quickly formed hand seals and slammed his hand on the ground:
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A familiar cute little rainbow-colored snake appeared at Ryoma's feet, noticeably larger than when Ryoma had first summoned it.
As the smoke cleared, the little snake immediately rushed to Ryoma's feet, nuzzling affectionately against his pants.
Then it looked curiously at Ryoma's current state. Although it could confirm Ryoma was still Ryoma, the little snake felt that the aura around Ryoma had changed considerably.
It had become colder, more devoid of human warmth.
More importantly, even his eyes had turned red.
However, the little snake seemed to prefer Ryoma now, after all, it was a snake itself and didn't particularly like warm places.
Cold-blooded animals prefer things that emit a cold, dark aura.
Like... Orochimaru.
Ryoma placed the little snake on his arm, and whispered to it:
"Little guy, help me find that hidden ninja, and I'll feed you meat when we get back."
Hearing there was a reward, the little snake got excited instantly.
It began to survey the surroundings.
Soon it discovered the concealed Daisuke, flicking its tongue and pointing its head towards Daisuke's location.
Seeing this, Ryoma smiled knowingly.
As he had guessed again, Daisuke's secret technique couldn't control his body temperature.
In front of snakes, his technique was completely useless!
Then, Ryoma pretended to be searching, suddenly struck out, rapidly firing several shuriken towards Daisuke's direction.
Daisuke dodged narrowly, his form exposed once again before Ryoma.
Ryoma instantly pressed forward, wielding his blade in a powerful overhead strike!
Daisuke performed an awkward roll, evading the strike, and immediately activated his camouflage stealth technique again.
The little snake on Ryoma's hand gave the cue once more.
This time, Ryoma directly opened his right hand towards Daisuke's location.
"Ninja Art!...!"
In an instant, several large snakes burst forth from Ryoma's sleeve,
lunging towards Daisuke, snapping their jaws.
Looking at the scene before him, Daisuke's brain nearly short-circuited from smoke.
How was he still pursuing an invisible target?
Did he have the Heaven's Eye?!
For the first time, Daisuke fell into deep suspicion regarding his prized camouflage stealth technique.
Seriously, buddy, I am invisible, right?
He could only hastily form seals and act, dodging Ryoma's swarm of snakes.
"Earth Release:..!"
The now-visible Daisuke slammed his palm onto the ground.
A huge crack appeared and rapidly spread towards Ryoma's feet.
Ryoma reacted quickly, jumping onto a tree.
Dodging Daisuke's ninjutsu, he looked down at Daisuke, who, refusing to accept it, continued his camouflage stealth technique, his scarlet eyes full of mockery.
"This guy sure is stubborn."
Then his hands moved without pause, beginning to form seals rapidly.
This was a technique Orochimaru had taught him before the mission, for him to familiarize himself with. However, due to his insufficient chakra reserves, he hadn't used it yet.
But in this situation, it was most suitable for dealing with Daisuke!
Ryoma completed the hand seals swiftly, then bent over and opened his mouth wide.
Instantly, countless venomous snakes poured out from Ryoma's mouth,
densely packed, charging straight for Daisuke hiding in the shadows.
Seeing himself surrounded by the snake swarm, Daisuke finally understood why his secret technique had been ineffective against Ryoma all along!
With a face full of shock, Daisuke revealed himself and quickly formed seals.
"Earth Release:..!"
Several thick earthen walls instantly rose around Daisuke, tenuously defending against the countless snakes.
Orochimaru would say: This is the importance of knowledge!
Hiru, who was engaged in battle with General Niga in the distance, also noticed Daisuke's situation.
He began to grow anxious.
General Niga's swordsmanship was exquisite, feeling as if it were born solely for killing, even surpassing his own.
Hiru was only able to trade blows evenly with General Niga in swordsmanship, and even occasionally suppress him for a while, by relying on his exceptional speed and various ninjutsu and secret techniques.
As for Nakamura Takumi's situation, it was even tougher than Daisuke's.
His ninjutsu attacks were basically useless against General Samo, and even when he did manage to land a hit on Samo, it seemed like just tickling that massive body.
And one punch from Samo landing on Nakamura Takumi nearly cost Takumi his life.
Takumi was now also using his superior speed compared to Samo to circle around him.
Hiru could clearly see that one of Nakamura Takumi's hands was already bent at an odd angle, obviously crushed by Samo's immense strength.
Samo could make countless mistakes, but Nakamura Takumi only needed to make one more mistake to immediately lose his life!
Hiru understood that this brat from Konoha before him had, by himself, plunged all three of them into a tough battle.
Moreover, Daisuke and Nakamura Takumi were completely suppressed, appearing critically endangered.
And this brat looked like he was barely old enough to have just become a Genin.
What kind of damn talent was this,
And what kind of damn ability was this brat using!
Hiru could already see the scales of victory gradually tipping in Ryoma's favor!
They knew clearly in their hearts, that this mission, was already no different from failure.
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