Step, step!Dense footsteps echoed.A large group of bandits, armed to the teeth, blocked the entrance to the cave.
If they were just ordinary bandits, they wouldn't be this vigilant.But these were no ordinary thieves — they were smuggling ninja tools and had rogue ninjas among them. So the moment Akira Sato's team entered the cave, they were immediately noticed.
No wonder Akira had felt something was off earlier.Bandits, by nature, shouldn't behave this "disciplined."
Among the group of bandits were one chunin (middle-ranked ninja) and five genin (junior ninjas) wearing headbands with the symbol of the Hidden Mist — but with a horizontal slash across it, marking them as rogue ninjas.
At first, Akira couldn't understand why these rogue ninjas, having already defected from their villages, still wore their headbands.Later, from Minato Namikaze, he learned:Wearing the slashed headband symbolized their break from the village. Other ninja villages welcomed the sight of rogues, as it undermined rival villages, often improving the rogue's survival prospects.Also, the headband still declared their identity as ninjas — a point of pride for them.
"We'll split the targets: I'll handle the genin; Kakashi, you stall the chunin; Koji, take care of the rest!" Akira ordered his two companions, his voice tight with urgency.Inside, he was nervous — this was his first real fight.
Sparring or mock battles were nothing like this, where the outcome meant not just victory or defeat but life or death.He couldn't help but wonder how other isekai protagonists seemed to perform flawlessly in their first battles.Maybe they were all ex-soldiers or assassins before they crossed over?
"Got it!" x2Both Koji Yamashina and Kakashi acknowledged the plan without argument.By now, after traveling together, they all knew each other's strengths.
Kakashi had the strongest one-on-one combat power — he could hold his own against a chunin.Koji could easily handle regular bandits.That left Akira to deal with the five genin, using his summoned beasts and ninjutsu.
"Konoha ninja, our captain's already gone to take care of your jonin leader. Today, you die here!"The enemy chunin drew his kunai, signaling his group to attack.
Whoosh!But before the enemy could move, a white blur shot out.It was Kakashi.
When it came to speed, Kakashi was frighteningly fast — only his young age limited his full potential. If he were the same age as Akira, his speed would already rival an elite jonin.
Clang!Kakashi's short blade clashed sharply with the chunin's kunai, his ruthless assault leaving the enemy leader no room to breathe.
Meanwhile, the five genin hurled volleys of shuriken at Akira's side.
"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"Koji quickly completed his hand seals, clapping his hands together.Bang!A transparent, concentrated blast of wind shot outward from his palms, deflecting the incoming shuriken effortlessly.That blast could even blow people off their feet — let alone lightweight weapons.
Akira seized the moment Koji created to finish his own jutsu."Summoning Jutsu!"With a sharp shout, he slammed his right hand onto the ground. Tadpole-like black markings spread across the dirt as a puff of white smoke erupted.A massive crow, several meters tall, covered in dark golden feathers, appeared suddenly in the cave.
"What the hell is that?""A summoning beast!""Stay sharp!"
With those shouts, the battle exploded into full chaos.
Caw!The giant crow, Taiichi, lunged forward, talons extended.The cramped cave limited its wingspan, hampering its speed, but its sheer size exerted massive pressure on the enemy.
A rain of kunai flew toward it.Ignoring those aimed at its eyes, Taiichi let the rest bounce harmlessly off its tough dark-gold feathers, which acted like armor, shrugging off the attacks.
Large summoning beasts had the advantage of natural defenses — like the legendary beasts summoned by the Sannin.If they weren't tough enough to survive a battlefield, they'd be useless, retreating after a single volley of ranged attacks.
Of course, compared to the top-tier summons of the three great sage lands, Taiichi still had a long way to go — but it was starting to show potential.In fact, after the natural energy injection Akira had given it earlier, Taiichi had gained far more benefits than Akira himself.Its body had more than doubled in size and was still growing.
This wasn't surprising.In the anime, when Naruto first met Gamakichi, the little toad was still small, but just a few years later, he rivaled his father, Gamabunta, in size.For summoning beasts, natural energy — not genetics or growth rates — was the key to development.
Caw!Taiichi opened its beak and unleashed a barrage of fist-sized fireballs.The effect was similar to the Uchiha clan's C-rank Phoenix Fire Jutsu.
And the power…Boom! Boom!The fireballs exploded, shattering rocks — let alone tearing through human flesh.
"Run!""I don't want to die!""Damn it, don't block the way!"
The ordinary bandits couldn't take it; they turned and fled.No one understood a ninja's overwhelming power better than them.Even a lone genin could slaughter them all, so their retreat was no surprise.
However, the rogue ninjas weren't harmed.They were simply too fast.Slow projectiles had little chance of hitting a nimble ninja — which was why the Great Fireball Jutsu was often called a "mercy technique."Not because it lacked power — even a Kage-level ninja wouldn't withstand its full force — but because landing a hit was the real problem.
Still, that was fine.Akira had summoned Taiichi for crowd control and support, not to single-handedly wipe out the enemy.At the very least, the attack scattered the enemy formation.
Koji seized the chance, darting out of the cave to chase down the fleeing bandits.
That left only Akira and Kakashi inside the cave, facing one chunin and five genin.
Akira needed to finish his targets quickly to assist Kakashi.Taking on five at once — alone — would have been suicide.But with Taiichi's help, it was definitely doable.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"Akira swiftly launched another jutsu.For most genin, a single C-rank jutsu would nearly drain their chakra reserves.That's why Koji, after using his Gale Palm, had gone to chase bandits instead of staying to fight — without chakra, a ninja's combat power wasn't much better than a regular person's.The real difference between ninja and non-ninja was chakra.
Fwoosh!A blazing fireball shot from Akira's mouth like a cannonball.Thanks to Minato's guidance, Akira had made huge strides in both timing and speed, allowing him to use jutsu effectively in battle.Having a strong mentor really made a difference.If Koji had tried learning Gale Palm on his own, it would've taken him months to master — not just two weeks.
The Flame Bullet struck two genin caught off-guard by Taiichi's attacks.Boom!A blast of searing fire engulfed them.
If Akira had used the Great Fireball Jutsu, it probably wouldn't have landed — the speed was too slow.The Flame Bullet, though less powerful, traveled faster and was more likely to hit.
Two C-rank jutsu in a row had drained nearly half of Akira's chakra.Drawing a kunai from his pouch, he prepared for close combat.
Taiichi was holding off as many enemies as it could —but with numbers on their side, two of the remaining genin stayed to stall the giant crow, while one charged straight at Akira.
Close combat was Akira's weakness.Before crossing over, he'd been just a programmer and gaming geek.Hiding in the backline to cast jutsu? No problem.But close-quarters fighting? That was another matter.
Still, just because he lacked talent didn't mean he'd let himself be slaughtered.He had a trump card.
(To be continued)