Chapter 52: Instantly Eliminating Two Opponents
Although Nan had seen some combat scenes from Han's memories, this was truly his first real battle.
Unlike previous sparring sessions with villagers, this was a genuine life-and-death fight. Besides nervousness, Nan felt more excitement.
At last, he could test his true strength in actual combat and see the results of all his recent efforts.
Even if he ultimately couldn't win, he could always activate the Mangekyō Sharingan and crush them all with Susanoo.
After devising his battle plan, Nan's first goal was to separate the enemy; the eight enemies together could cover each other, making it difficult to handle.
He needed to break their formation, targeting the one with the weakest chakra signature.
That was probably the weakest Sand ninja assigned this mission, who was also furthest from the two Sand Jonin.
Breaking through starting from him would be easiest.
Having chosen his target, Nan took two smoke bombs from his ninja tool pouch and threw them at his feet.
A loud bang echoed as thick smoke enveloped him.
The Sand ninja saw Nan disappear and prepared for an attack but had varying reactions.
The two Jonin team leaders reacted fastest, pulling back and readying their weapons to strike the moment Nan appeared.
The six lower-ranked ninja were slower to respond, especially the one Nan targeted as weakest.
Thinking Nan had launched an attack, the target shielded his eyes for a moment.
By the time he reacted, Nan, flashing with electric light, had already appeared in front of him.
The Sand ninja was shocked and tried to counterattack but was ignored as Nan swiftly passed by and fled into the distance.
"Alert! He's running—chase him quickly!" The two leaders immediately ordered pursuit.
Nan looked back at the eight Sand ninja, already executing his plan.
He created three shadow clones, making four bodies in total, each running in a different direction.
Ideally, he would use eight clones to split all eight enemies, but his chakra was limited and speed not his forte; to create enough distance rapidly, he had to use Divine Speed.
Beyond three clones, his sustaining ability would weaken and clones lacked enough chakra for Divine Speed, risking being caught by the Jonin.
Now with four Divine Speed users, Nan led far ahead; neither the six lower-ranked ninja nor the two Jonin could catch them.
One anxious Sand Chunin asked a leader, "What do we do? He split into clones and runs so fast we can't catch him!"
The experienced Jonin calmly replied, "He made four clones, which each don't have much chakra and won't last long at this speed.
We'll split into pairs to chase. Once his chakra runs out, his speed and fighting ability will drop.
Even if we confront his original body, two people should be enough."
Taking the leader's advice, the Sand ninja divided into groups: two Jonin each with two lower-ranked ninja, and the remaining four Chunin paired to chase Nan and his clones.
Sensing the chakra signatures had split into four groups of two, Nan felt confident his plan succeeded.
"They don't fear their two-pair groups encountering my original and getting wiped out—I guess they still underestimate me."
Under the clones' lead, the eight enemies gradually split apart and distances grew.
Nan's original body glanced back to see two Sand Chunin unfortunate enough to pursue him.
As the distance grew, Nan deliberately slowed, letting the two chase close.
Seeing his speed decrease, the two Sand Chunin assumed he was exhausted and chakra-drained.
Excited, they quickened pace to finish him off.
They viewed this mission to eliminate Nan as very important, with high rewards promised.
They never imagined the possibility of losing; how could two Chunin lose to a six-year-old from Konoha?
Reality was harsh.
Once the two caught up, Nan stopped and turned to face them, a teasing smile on his face.
Without noticing his expression, they thought him truly depleted and rushed to strike.
The one in front, skilled in ninjutsu, used a wind-style technique to break through toward Nan.
The one behind quickly threw several poison-coated Senbon needles.
Senbon travel faster than wind, so the needles arrived first.
But Nan wasn't hurt by such trivial attacks; electric light flared briefly over his body.
He lightly sidestepped the Senbon, forming hand seals, and shouted, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Nan's fire-style clashed with the Sand ninja's wind-style.
Nan's fire jutsu was already at Jonin level when he left the village and had improved since.
Since fire beats wind, his fireball intensified, absorbing the wind chakra and blazing fiercely.
It charged directly at the Sand ninja.
Surprised by Nan's powerful fire style, the Sand ninja was too slow to form new seals.
Moving slower to cast the jutsu, evading was impossible now.
He could only scream in terror and pain before being hit by the fireball.
Though normally not lethal, the huge disparity in strength made it a killing move.
When the flames died, the Sand ninja lay burned and blackened, smelling of roasted meat, barely breathing and near death.
The other Sand ninja was stunned, having just thrown his weapons when his partner fell.
His gaze turned fearful.
This six-year-old was no longer a mere child but a monster wearing human skin.
Understanding this must be the real Nan as his partner was down, and he was no match.
He scrambled to send a signal flare for reinforcements.
But it was too late.
Only as he produced the flare did the electric-charged Nan appear before him, moving even faster.
He realized Nan's stamina had not weakened; the earlier acts were a ruse to lure them in.
This was his last thought before Nan's heavily charged fist struck his chest.
This attack merged Divine Speed's speed and newfound Superhuman Strength Fist's power, creating a synergistic effect greater than the sum of its parts.
The Sand ninja was sent flying over ten meters, his chest caves in, killing him instantly.
(End of chapter)