Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Takeshi avoided stepping into the eerie-looking puddle on the ground and instead appeared directly in front of the enemy ninja who had released the Water Release technique.
"Eightfold Light Wheel!"
The synergy between his unsealed ninjutsu and the Flying Thunder God was displayed at this moment. As a blade of wind swept swiftly across the enemy's body, blood gushed out violently, and the ninja before him was split cleanly in two.
"Are you serious?!"
The enemy commander, his face splattered with blood, was stunned by the brutality of what he'd just witnessed. In that moment, he made the worst possible mistake on the battlefield—he froze.
But Takeshi didn't immediately capitalize on this brief lapse. Instead, upon hearing the exclamation, he threw the Eightfold Light Wheel in the direction of the voice and then blinked back to his previous position.
"Damn it!"
By the time the enemy ninja came to his senses, the Eightfold Light Wheel had already sliced through two ninjas in front of him and was flying straight toward him.
Drawing his ninja sword and channeling chakra into the blade to enhance its durability, he attempted to block the incoming attack.
But he had clearly underestimated the sharpness of the Eightfold Light Wheel. In a flash, both he and his blade were sliced in half, utterly crushing what little morale the enemy ninjas had left.
"For him to do something like that… there's no doubt—he must be a Konoha jōnin!"
Another female ninja stepped up to take command.
"Block his line of sight first!"
"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu."
At her command, the previously scattering troops regrouped, each spewing thick mist from their mouths.
"Among those standing at a distance, one of them is from the Hyūga clan. Go see if he's from the main family!"
Using the cover of the mist, a few ninja were dispatched toward the area where Kosuke and the others were located.
The female ninja had already gathered intelligence on the composition of Konoha squads before coming here. Typically, a single jōnin led the team, accompanied by chūnin and genin.
In other words, of the three people over there, the strongest was likely no more than a chūnin.
"Hidden Mist Technique, huh…"
Takeshi raised an eyebrow. Instead of dispersing the mist with Wind Release as he usually would, he began releasing pure ice-element chakra at full strength.
The intense cold disrupted the enemy's thinking. To their horror, the mist they'd summoned to conceal themselves was now restricting their own movements.
"There's no mistake… this is Ice Release! The enemy is the White Reaper!"
Yanking the ice crystals off her body, the female ninja's face twisted in fear.
This was the very same White Reaper who had turned the battlefield in Kumogakure into a bloodbath. His intel had long since spread across the ninja world—he was infamous for his expertise in large-scale destructive jutsu.
Just as she was about to flee, lifting her foot to run, she found she couldn't move—her feet seemed glued to the ground.
Looking down, she saw that her soles had already been encased in ice, which was now creeping up her calves.
She bent down, unlaced her shoes, intending to run barefoot if necessary—but by then, Takeshi had already completed his hand seals.
This technique was a refined version of Ice Age, flooding the battlefield with a river of razor-sharp ice spikes. Even against a tailed beast, Takeshi had confidence that it would draw serious blood.
Of course, if a tailed beast were really here, he'd rather not test that theory.
The female ninja watched helplessly as ice spikes tore her flesh apart bit by bit. She didn't even get the chance to utter her final words before she was completely buried under the ice, blooming into a spray of blood.
"Shadow Clone: Shuriken Barrage!"
Elsewhere, the enemy ninjas heading toward Kosuke and his group were met with fierce resistance.
A barrage of densely packed shuriken shattered their formation. Even those who dodged the initial onslaught and made it to Kosuke were immediately cut down by the unassuming old man.
By the time Takeshi finished off his targets and turned to assist, only one enemy remained.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! Monsters! All Konoha shinobi are monsters!"
The ninja, unable to comprehend how his team of thirty had been wiped out by just four Konoha shinobi, was mentally collapsing.
He could no longer hold his kunai properly. His legs were trembling uncontrollably. If not for the last shred of reason, he probably would've wet himself on the spot.
"I thought this was going to be a full-scale attack."
Appearing behind the ninja, Takeshi spread his arms with a helpless sigh.
"Eep!"
Startled by the voice behind him, the ninja spun around in terror. Upon seeing the horrific blend of blood and ice behind Takeshi, whatever dam he had left broke, and the stream burst forth.
"Is that really all you've got?"
Effortlessly knocking the kunai from his hand, Takeshi struck him hard on the neck.
This guy didn't seem like much of a tough nut. He might spill something useful under interrogation.
After tying him up and having Tokikan perform a thorough search, Takeshi pinched his nose and performed a summoning in front of the group.
"Summoning Technique."
With a puff of smoke, a massive slug appeared—large enough to swallow a grown man whole.
"Ara, little Takeshi, this is the first time you've summoned me since leaving the Shikkotsu Forest~"
The summoned slug looked delighted. The moment it appeared, it cozied right up to Takeshi.
"You look even cuter than before. Have you been dating someone~?"
It extended its feelers, scanning him from top to bottom, teasing him relentlessly.
"Please stop teasing me, Katsuyu-sama. I'm still just a kid."
Takeshi blushed from the teasing and hurried to the main point.
"Katsuyu-sama, this is a prisoner I captured. Please take him back to the Shikkotsu Forest. When I return to Konoha, I'll summon you again to bring him back."
"Mhm, I get it. You want me to be the delivery service, right? No worries. Tsunade-sama always uses me like that too."
Huh?
That felt… off.
Why did this slug sound so passive-aggressive?
Staring at the slug in suspicion, Takeshi began to suspect it was low-key mocking him.
"Well, anyway, I get the job—just babysit this guy for you, right?"
Seeing Takeshi's suspicious look, the slug quickly changed the subject.
"Yes, that's right—oh, hold on. Sealing Technique:!"
Takeshi suddenly moved, applying a sealing technique to the prisoner.
As the formation completed, the ninja was completely frozen in a transparent ice coffin, entirely stripped of his ability to resist.
"Alright, thank you, Katsuyu-sama!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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