Boom!
Realizing he could no longer keep up the disguise, the Iwagakure ninja facing Uchiha Mikoto and Might Duy released his Transformation Technique.
The illusion peeled away—revealing a young-looking man with pale skin and short golden hair.
"What a pain… Looks like our intel was flawed after all. Your squad captain hides deeper than expected."
Ritsu hadn't imagined that a simple B-rank capture mission—abducting a young Uchiha—would end with them running into a "pretending-to-be-weak" Konoha genin.
"From here on, I won't be holding back."
"Talk big all you like!" Mikoto snapped.
"You could barely handle the two of us working together earlier. Dropping the disguise won't change anything!"
The elegant girl's confidence radiated, though Might Duy beside her looked dead serious—
After all, this man had been matching both of them using only taijutsu.
"If that's what you think…"
Ritsu's hands began forming seals.
"Don't die now."
"My mission target."
With the final seal, eight glowing orbs—each several times larger than a fist—crackled into existence before him.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Orbs!"
"It's Lightning Release!" Mikoto warned sharply. "Duy—move!"
She immediately dashed aside.
Duy prepared to dodge as well—
But when he turned back, he saw the carriage.
And he remembered the slight smirk on the blond man's face earlier.
He froze, then planted himself firmly between the attack and the carriage.
"Duy!!" Mikoto cried out.
He wouldn't budge.
Duy—wearing a light-blue jacket and dark-green trousers—formed a massive "人" silhouette before the vehicle, arms spread wide.
He couldn't use ninjutsu.
He intended to take the attack head-on to protect the client.
"Sorry! I will never drag my comrades down, nor let their first C-rank mission end in failure! THAT… is my ninja way!"
"…Idiotic."
Ritsu clicked his tongue.
He never expected Konoha shinobi to be this foolish—willing to die just to protect their mission objective.
Inside the carriage, Mizutani Shōto trembled.
He knew Konoha ninja were dedicated, but this dedicated?!
The best ninja in the world, indeed…—
Or so he thought, right before everything went wrong again.
A-Jin, supporting his unconscious brother, was staring in shock.
And then—
"Don't even think about it!"
On the side of the carriage, the blonde girl's hands finished forming seals just in time.
As the eight Thunder Orbs shot toward the unmoving Duy—who had already shut his eyes—
A thick earth wall erupted from the ground.
"Earth Release: Earthen Barrier!"
A C-rank earth jutsu—the weaker form of the B-rank Earth Flow Wall.
The Lightning Orbs smashed into it.
The wall cracked—splintered—began to collapse.
The client was moved.
The guards were horrified.
The blonde girl lunged, tackling Duy to the ground—
And then the wall shattered.
What remained of the Lightning Orbs surged forward toward the carriage.
"Wh—"
Mizutani Shōto's face turned ashen.
"I TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID—KONOHA NINJA AREN'T THE BEST AT ALL!!"
He ducked, and the Thunder Orbs struck the carriage walls.
Several charred marks appeared on both the exterior and interior panels.
"HEY! Is this how you protect your client?!" he shouted.
"Your carriage is made of solid wood," Yakushi Nonō said as she got up.
"Wood is a poor conductor. A C-rank Lightning Release like that wouldn't penetrate it."
The two-centimeter-thick earthen barrier—now full of holes—finally lost all support and collapsed into clumps of dirt.
"…There's a scientific explanation for that?"
Mizutani stared at the blackened spots.
Indeed—they were surface burns only.
"I guess I misunderstood."
He glanced at Duy.
"But how come he—who's also a genin—didn't know that?"
Might Duy—the man who trained taijutsu so obsessively he probably forgot basic physics:
"…S-Sorry. I guess I really am the remedial student."
"Tch. Didn't finish them off, but their strength is roughly measured."
Ritsu hadn't intended to kill them or the client—just gauge the genin trio's abilities with ninjutsu.
His green eyes settled on the blonde girl.
She was clearly a support-type ninja—her Earth Release was weak, but her seal speed was fast, and she reacted quickly enough to save the thick-browed idiot.
As for the thick-browed idiot…
No ninjutsu at all.
Probably pure taijutsu trash.
Then he turned to Mikoto—already finishing her seals.
"Looks like the only real threat is— Wait!"
He only realized then—the girl had already completed her jutsu.
Orange-red chakra swelled before her lips.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Kaito's voice echoed in her mind—
'When you see an enemy, finish it quickly. Don't waste time getting distracted.'
BOOM!!!
A roaring wave of flames blasted out, wind surging in every direction.
Naturally, a fire jutsu alone wasn't enough to kill a Kumo elite chūnin.
Ritsu substituted with a log, landing in the grass while continuing his analysis.
"C-rank Great Fireball… the Uchiha signature. Good power and range."
"With a genin's chakra, she can probably do that once.
But she's an Uchiha—two, maybe three shots if she forces it."
"So charging in recklessly won't work. I need a plan.
But seriously—why are Ayei and Wei taking so long to deal with one genin?!"
Meanwhile, in the forest
The two Kumo shinobi stood on separate branches, staring at Kaito—who stood sideways on the tree trunk, calmly walking up to the top using chakra.
"You're Kumo ninja, right?"
"I thought Kumo wasn't participating in the Second Shinobi War.
So why attack us inside Iron Country?"
Ayei's eyes flicked toward the shattered half-tree—cold sweat dripping.
What kind of sword technique could do that?!
But he didn't bother answering.
"You think we'd tell you?"
"Your swordsmanship is impressive, but this is as far as you go."
This place was deep in the woods—no witnesses.
Even the animals had fled from the noise.
Two vs. one—
The advantage was theirs.
Ayei wasn't stupid enough to fight a sword genius with blades.
He began forming seals.
"In the ninja world, swords are only support tools.
Ninja strength lies in ninjutsu."
"So remember this—
I am Ayei of Kumogakure, jōnin, code name Thunder Lion!"
Kaito stared at him expressionlessly, wondering how this stray mutt found the audacity to act cool in front of him.
Ayei finished twelve complex seals, gripping the handles of two short blades on his vest.
"Die!"
"Lightning Release: Thunder Lion's Roar!"
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