Chapter 83 – Holding the Line
The sudden attack clearly caught the chūnin off guard. Startled and unprepared, he barely managed to raise his weapon to parry.
Seeing Taichi still capable of attacking someone else even while under his pressure, the green-haired Takagi felt utterly humiliated. His grip on the kunai shifted from a forward grip to a reverse one, and he swung down mercilessly toward the fallen Taichi.
But Taichi, lying on the ground, was gambling his life as well. Abandoning his short blade entirely, he threw both hands upward, intent on grabbing Takagi's wrists.
Takagi immediately recognized that reckless, suicidal posture—
Another Shadow Clone.
He cursed inwardly.
"Damn clone users—always playing dirty."
He prepared to pull back—
But before he could—
Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!
From the trees overhead, a storm of fireballs rained down, dozens of flaming projectiles blanketing the area. The ferocity of the barrage looked as though six or seven people were casting the technique together.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions were far more violent than any paper bomb Taichi had laid earlier. The ground itself was plowed apart under the assault.
Taichi's real body, hidden in the treetops, didn't waste a single second. The instant the jutsu landed, he turned and sprinted away—
not even glancing at the results.
When the flames finally subsided, there was no sign of "Yōhei" or "Taichi."
Only two charred corpses remained, still burning.
Two more bounty ninja, dead.
Takagi, who had barely escaped the blast radius, felt his scalp tingle.
If he'd hesitated even a breath earlier, he would have died there too.
The whole exchange happened in the blink of an eye. The remaining two bounty ninja arrived only after the carnage was done, and the sight of two more dead comrades instantly made hesitation bloom in their hearts.
"B-boss… do we still chase…?"
Santai asked tentatively.
"Are you stupid?" Takagi barked. "That brat's at best a special jōnin. If I don't even dare chase him, how the hell am I supposed to show my face in the bounty world?"
Santai shrank back immediately, no longer daring to speak.
"Relax," Takagi continued. "He's been running nonstop and already used three shadow clones. Then he hit us with two large-scale jutsu. His chakra's running out for sure. And earlier, he only got the jump on us with dirty tricks. As long as we stay alert, he won't be able to ambush us again."
The remaining chūnin exchanged looks—the analysis made sense. Their confidence began to recover.
"Move out. We'll catch him. I'll take the lead."
With that, Takagi charged ahead in pursuit.
---
Earlier
When Yōhei felt the blistering heat of the explosion behind him, he couldn't help turning back for one final look.
What he saw was a wall of flames—
a blazing inferno that swallowed the forest, erasing every trace they had left behind.
His chest tightened.
He forced himself not to stop, not to turn around, not to run back to fight beside Taichi. Swallowing the rising guilt, he kept sprinting toward the outpost with everything he had.
He dragged an arm across the corner of his eye, wiping away the wetness that blurred his vision.
When he lifted his head again—
A sharp red gleam flashed through his gaze.
His Sharingan, once a single tomoe, had quietly evolved—
now a two-tomoe Sharingan rotated in his eyes.
He could feel it: the surge of ocular power, the rush of chakra erupting through his body.
But even with this sudden leap in strength, Yōhei didn't allow himself the luxury of turning back.
Not yet.
He tightened his fists, focused on the wind rushing past him, and pushed his newly strengthened body even faster.
Because he understood one thing with absolute clarity—
The only way to save Taichi was to reach the outpost and bring Captain Yamaguchi back.
Alone, he was still far too weak.
The trees on both sides blurred into streaks as they sped past. Yōhei calculated the remaining distance—at least another hour before he could reach the outpost.
"Taichi… you have to hold on."
The thought echoed heavily in his chest.
Meanwhile, Taichi—after unleashing Phoenix Sage Fire—ran without looking back. He had barely taken several steps before a sudden heaviness washed over him.
A shadow clone had dispelled.
Sifting through the returning memories, Taichi confirmed it:
The clone managed to pin down a chūnin before dying.
At least his earlier Fire Release had claimed one definite kill.
A shame that green-haired jōnin was too cautious. The clone never got a grip on his arms. Otherwise—even if he didn't die—wounding him would have been worth the trade.
Feeling how little chakra remained in his body, Taichi made up his mind:
"Fine. If it comes to burning out, then I'll burn you out with me. Let's see who lasts longer."
With that thought, he invested a point into his Physique attribute.
A warm surge swept through his entire body—his drained stamina and chakra rapidly refilling to full.
"Hah! Come on then. Let's play slowly."
He glanced at his system-like status pane, quite satisfied with his overall stats… until—
"…Wait. What?"
His Physique stat, originally at 21, still showed 21.
"Didn't I just increase it?"
The shock almost made him fall out of the tree.
His status panel was his golden cheat—any malfunction could cripple his future.
He steadied his breath and continued running.
No matter what the panel showed, his body did feel stronger, his chakra was restored.
Research could wait—survival could not.
---
Jōnin were jōnin for a reason. Even if most bounty-ninja jōnin were unrefined cannon fodder, they were still far beyond ordinary shinobi.
Sure enough, Taichi soon heard a furious roar gaining from behind:
"Brat! You can't escape! Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I'll carve you into a thousand pieces—for my brother!"
Taichi glanced back.
Fortunately, only the green-haired jōnin had caught up.
Both had been sprinting at full speed, easily outpacing the two chūnin, creating a gap in the pursuing group.
Taichi couldn't resist:
"Sorry, Mister Green-Hat-Uncle! Which one was your brother again? I've killed so many nobodies I really can't keep track!"
A vein throbbed violently on Takagi's forehead.
"You little—!"
Before he could finish, Taichi spun mid-run:
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A roaring serpent of fire tore through the forest straight toward Takagi.
Takagi hadn't expected Taichi to fire back while fleeing.
He reacted a second too late. With no time left to weave hand seals, he had no choice but to dive sideways.
But the jutsu did not stop.
The blazing fire dragon swept with Taichi's turning motion, chasing Takagi's movements, nipping at him with every lunge.
Watching Takagi zigzag desperately to avoid the flames, Taichi didn't press the attack.
Instead—he seized the perfect moment, terminated the technique, and charged in with his short blade.
A clone's strike and the original's were worlds apart.
Takagi had just regained his footing when Taichi descended upon him with a powerful downward slash. Panicked, he barely managed to raise his kunai in time.
CLANG—!
The force of Taichi's blow drove Takagi's kunai back until it was nearly pressed against his own shoulder.
Taichi rotated his wrist and swept horizontally, aiming directly for Takagi's neck.
But Takagi was no amateur.
He pivoted his kunai vertically, allowing Taichi's sweeping momentum to carry him backward, buying himself a sliver of distance—
and the chance to regain balance for the next exchange.