Chapter 84 – Counterattack (Double-Length Chapter)
Seeing the green-haired ninja retreat, Taichi naturally refused to give him any breathing room.
He surged forward, leaping in with an upward slash aimed straight at Takagi's groin, forcing him to stumble back repeatedly. The attack flowed seamlessly into sweeping horizontal cuts from both sides, attempting to break through his guard.
But Takagi had already regained his composure.
With a single kunai, his defense became airtight—left block, right parry—every one of Taichi's strikes dissolved into nothing.
After only a brief exchange, Taichi realized he had chosen the wrong approach.
This green-haired jōnin was clearly a taijutsu-oriented fighter.
Right now, he was only on the back foot because he hadn't fully recovered yet. Once he adapted to Taichi's rhythm, this kind of close-quarters blade fighting would get Taichi killed in seconds.
Not to mention—
He still had two chūnin who hadn't caught up yet.
And, as fate would have it, the moment Taichi thought of them, the figures of the two chūnin appeared in the corner of his vision, charging toward the battlefield.
No more hesitation.
Taichi immediately invested another point into One-Handed Hand Seals.
[One-Handed Hand Seals Lv1 (78/100)]
A flood of knowledge and muscle memory surged through his mind—flowing into his limbs, merging with instinct. What he had already been close to mastering snapped fully into place, and then some.
Maintaining aggressive pressure, Taichi subtly adjusted his position, maneuvering so that Takagi's back faced the approaching chūnin.
His right hand continued rapid, forceful slashes to keep Takagi's attention locked on him—
While his left hand quietly formed seals.
Another heavy downward strike aimed at Takagi's face.
This time, Takagi blocked it effortlessly. He had fully adapted now.
He had already seen Santai and the others arriving. Just a moment longer, and he could counterattack—tear this brat apart piece by piece.
Then—
A sudden chill crawled up Takagi's spine.
His danger sense exploded.
Every hair on his body stood on end—
the instinctive warning of imminent death.
Without thinking, Takagi retreated hard, following pure instinct.
And in that exact instant, Taichi—who had still been swinging his blade a moment ago—vomited a torrent of fireballs from his mouth.
"Damn it—it's that move again!"
"When did he form the seals? I didn't notice at all!"
Then realization struck.
Single-handed seals…?
Faced with a map-clearing barrage of fire, Takagi could only retreat at full speed, desperately trying to escape the blast radius.
Santai and the other chūnin, who had just been rushing in to assist, saw Takagi suddenly pull back—
—and were immediately met by a sky-filling wave of fireballs screaming toward them.
Any thought of finishing Taichi vanished.
Survival came first.
But they had already charged too close, and their reactions lagged by a fraction of a second.
By the time Takagi sprinted past them in retreat, they barely managed to turn and run.
Too late.
The explosions detonated behind them. Though only clipped by the shockwaves, the impact alone was enough to send both chūnin vomiting blood as they crashed to the ground.
When the dust settled, Takagi rushed back to check on them.
Seeing that they were only lightly injured, he finally exhaled.
Still—
These repeated ambushes had left scars on his nerves.
That brat might be weaker than him overall, but his methods were endless—every exchange caught him off guard.
And now—
The battlefield was empty again.
Takagi's temple throbbed violently.
"Are you dead?" he snapped.
"If not, get up and keep chasing! Or do you think I won't kill you myself?!"
The two chūnin struggled on the ground for a long moment, failing to rise.
Takagi's veins bulged.
"Hurry up! Or I'll do it myself!"
A jōnin's threat carried weight.
They forced themselves upright through the pain.
But precious time had already been lost.
Takagi no longer waited. He took off alone, sprinting after Taichi.
The remaining two exchanged helpless looks before following—
clearly slower than before.
---
Taichi, fleeing at full speed, had no idea what was happening behind him.
He hoped the green-haired jōnin stayed furious.
As long as rage clouded his judgment, the distance between them would keep growing—and Taichi could last longer.
Maybe even—
With his chakra reserves restored, Taichi didn't hesitate to create another shadow clone, leaving it hidden along the route while the real body continued fleeing.
The clone immediately used Earth Release: Underground Hiding, sinking into the soil.
It waited.
Five full minutes passed before it sensed a powerful presence rushing overhead.
The jōnin had gone past.
Only after confirming he was far enough away did the clone emerge, slipping back into the trees.
Soon after, it sensed two more figures approaching.
Their condition was clearly poor—their pursuit half-hearted, their speed uneven.
As they passed beneath the clone's hiding place—
Taichi struck.
Steel flashed as he dropped down, blade aimed at one of them.
The sudden rush of displaced air alerted both chūnin. They spun around—
—and froze.
"It's him?!"
Wasn't this kid being chased by Takagi-sama?!
Before they could process it, Taichi's short blade was already upon them.
Santai barely regained his composure in time, parrying the blade with his kunai at the very last instant.
Knowing how dangerous this child was, he didn't even think about counterattacking—
he simply defended, desperately, focusing only on survival.
The second chūnin recovered quickly and joined the fight.
Sensing their extremely conservative tactics, the clone immediately understood—
They were afraid.
Afraid of his endless tricks.
And Taichi was more than happy to let that fear work in his favor.
As long as these two were tied up here, the real Taichi's situation improved dramatically.
---
The real Taichi continued running.
Time passed—and something felt off.
He still hadn't received the feedback of a clone dispersing.
After a moment's thought, he understood.
Good.
If the clone was holding two chūnin in place, that was perfect.
Without hesitation, Taichi kept running.
With the earlier stat boost, his stamina was still abundant. He ran for over half an hour more.
Finally, he sensed pursuit again.
Before they came into view, Taichi formed seals and created yet another shadow clone.
This one didn't stop.
It sprinted ahead of him, fleeing into the distance.
The real Taichi stopped.
Turned.
And waited—
breathing heavily.
Takagi emerged, spotting the boy standing there, gasping.
His eyes burned with hatred.
"Brat. I thought you were good at running. Why stop now?"
Panting, Taichi still smirked.
"Green-Hat Uncle, why are you so obsessed with me? I don't even know which random nobody your brother was. Maybe you got the wrong guy?"
"You filthy-mouthed brat—!" Takagi roared.
"I'll rip that mouth off your face!"
Without even catching his breath, he charged.
Taichi smiled faintly.
And raised his blade to meet him.
Steel clashed again and again.
As expected, in a direct confrontation, Taichi was still outmatched.
The moment they exchanged blows, he was pushed onto the defensive.
Takagi exploited every advantage of the kunai—shorter reach, faster thrusts—pressing closer and closer, striking relentlessly at Taichi's head, neck, and heart.
Taichi's strength simply wasn't enough.
Forced backward, his defensive circle shrank rapidly. His short blade barely held the line.
And as always—
Prolonged defense led to mistakes.
Blood soon began to stain Taichi's clothes.
Another straight thrust came stabbing toward him. Taichi barely managed to knock it aside, but Takagi clearly felt the weakening force behind the block. The kunai still scraped past Taichi's left hand, carving another wound into his arm.
"Brat, how much longer do you think you can hold on?"
Seeing his attack land again, the green-haired Takagi couldn't help but sneer.
Taichi glanced at the fresh cuts spreading across his body and said nothing. Seizing the brief moment while Takagi was talking, he tried to form hand seals to release a jutsu.
"Haha—like I'd let you."
Takagi immediately saw through his intent. Without hesitation, he lunged forward, the icy gleam of his kunai slicing straight toward Taichi's throat.
Taichi raised his blade to block. Sparks exploded as steel collided with steel. Using the opening, Takagi slipped inside Taichi's guard, his free hand clenching into a fist and slamming straight into Taichi's chest.
Taichi could only cross his arms to brace. The punch crashed into the arm holding his blade, nearly knocking the short sword from his grip.
Taking advantage of the recoil, Takagi twisted his body forward with a feral grin, driving his left elbow hard into Taichi's right ribs.
Crack.
The sound of bone fracturing rang out clearly.
Taichi staggered back, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. In the same instant, Takagi charged again, elbow raised like a spear, launching a brutal heart-piercing strike straight at Taichi's chest.
Having barely regained his balance, Taichi could only cross his arms again to block.
Boom!
The impact sent him flying.
"Now die, you little bastard!"
Takagi gave him no time to recover, sprinting toward where Taichi landed, intent on delivering the finishing blow.
Using the momentum of his fall, Taichi rolled and sprang to his feet. Feeling his arm trembling so badly he could barely hold his weapon, he didn't hesitate—he turned and ran, weaving through the forest and vanishing among the trees.
"Run! Let's see how long you can keep running!"
Takagi's triumphant laughter echoed behind him, the joy of imminent revenge filling his voice.
He followed the trail without slowing.
This time, the pursuit was effortless.
Barely a hundred meters later, Takagi saw Taichi ahead—collapsed on one knee, body shaking, curled in on itself like someone on the verge of death.
Takagi felt no doubt.
That elbow strike had clearly shattered Taichi's ribs. Internal bleeding was almost guaranteed by now.
A savage grin spread across his face. Revenge surged through him as he raised his kunai and drove it straight toward Taichi's back.
At that moment, the kneeling Taichi seemed to sense something. He struggled to turn his head, staring at the kunai closing in—
Then suddenly, he grinned.
"You fell for it."
---
Outpost:
After more than an hour of frantic sprinting, Yōhei finally reached the outpost. After hurried verification, he burst inside without pause.
Ignoring the shocked looks around him, he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Captain Yamaguchi—help! Hurry!"
In an instant, the already small camp erupted into chaos as everyone rushed out, unsure what had happened.
Yamaguchi emerged from his tent as well. When he saw that only Yōhei had returned, his heart sank. A terrible premonition washed over him.
He strode up, grabbed Yōhei before he could speak, and dragged him straight into the central command tent.
"Explain. What happened?" Yamaguchi demanded.
Across from them, Chiba, the jōnin, fixed Yōhei with a sharp stare.
"We followed the fleeing enemy ninja… all the way to a mountain cave—"
As Yōhei spoke, both Yamaguchi and Chiba realized the gravity of the situation. This was clearly a premeditated border harassment operation, designed to whittle down Konoha's manpower and destabilize its defenses.
"I'll notify the village immediately and issue warnings to nearby outposts," Chiba said decisively.
"No—Captain, please!" Yōhei grabbed Yamaguchi's sleeve desperately.
"You have to go save Taichi! If we're late, he'll die!"
"Enough, Yōhei—calm down!" Yamaguchi barked.
Then he turned to Chiba.
"He's right. How many people can we still spare for a rescue?"
Chiba thought briefly.
"Most of the outpost fought last night, and many are injured. But one or two more should still be possible."
Stepping outside, he called out, "Yukiya! Yuta! Get over here!"
Two ninjas who had been carrying supplies immediately dropped what they were doing and ran over.
"Chiba-sama, what do you need?" they asked in unison.
"Come with me."
Back inside the tent, Chiba said,
"Captain Yamaguchi, these two brothers are among our best. Let them accompany you."
He then turned to them.
"Taichi carried critical intelligence back and is now being hunted. You'll assist Captain Yamaguchi in the rescue."
"Yes!"
Both answered instantly.
"Sir, don't worry," Yukiya said solemnly.
"Taichi was the one who treated our wounds. We'll give everything we have."
Chiba nodded, then warned Yamaguchi,
"Proceed carefully. Yōhei's intelligence indicates a large enemy force."
"I will," Yamaguchi replied, leading the group out.
Outside, Yōhei hurried after him.
"Captain—shouldn't we bring Saori too? More people means more strength!"
Yamaguchi shot him a look like he was an idiot.
"We're rescuing someone. If you weren't our guide, I wouldn't even bring you."
Yōhei flushed—but then snapped open his Sharingan, glaring back.
"Captain, I've awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan. I won't hold you back."
That stunned even Yukiya and Yuta. An eleven- or twelve-year-old with two tomoe was undeniably talented.
"…Fine. You won't be dead weight," Yamaguchi said, then accelerated.
---
Back in the Forest
Staring at the kunai inches from his heart, Taichi sneered again.
"You really fell for it."
Takagi's instincts screamed danger, but it was too late.
The kunai pierced straight through Taichi's back—
Puff.
White smoke exploded.
In its place remained a deep-blue sphere of water.
The shadow clone had shielded it beneath its body.
The water sphere began to churn violently, as if something within was about to erupt.
Takagi's blood ran cold.
He leapt backward at unprecedented speed, hands flying through seals faster than ever before.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
The instant his seals completed, the sphere detonated.
Countless water arrows blasted outward in every direction—
Water Release: Frenzied Water Dance, a jutsu Taichi had only recently completed.
Because it was newly developed, Taichi needed a shadow clone to pre-compress and stabilize the water mass in advance.
And now—
The result was devastating.
Takagi's Water Wall lasted only a single breath before shattering. With no defense left, he poured chakra into his arms, shielding his head and vital points as best he could.
Thud—thud—thud—thud—thud.
At least five water arrows pierced him.
When the storm ended, Taichi emerged from behind a tree fifty meters away.
The ground was riddled with holes—
even the tree Taichi hid behind had been grazed.
As for Takagi—
He couldn't even stand.
Blood poured from multiple puncture wounds as his body swayed.
"…Figures," Takagi rasped.
"Anyone who uses clones… their hearts are always black."
"You're badly injured too," he sneered weakly.
"Broken bones… internal bleeding, right?"
"How about we stop here?"
Taichi smiled mockingly.
"Green-Hat Uncle, you're right—we're both badly hurt. Look—my arm's broken."
He lifted his limp left arm, snapped earlier by Takagi's elbow strike.
Hope bloomed on Takagi's face—
Then froze.
Taichi calmly reset the bone himself.
Then, with one hand, he formed seals.
A soft glow flared—Mystical Palm Technique—and he pressed his hand to the injury.
"You—you know medical ninjutsu too?!"
Takagi finally broke.
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his legs gave out.
"Yeah," Taichi said lightly.
"I study a lot. I know a bit of everything. Hope you don't mind."
"Oh—right," Taichi added suddenly.
"You're still waiting for your two subordinates, aren't you?"
Takagi looked up instinctively.
"I held them off with a single clone for over half an hour," Taichi said cheerfully.
"Even now, they'll need another half hour to get here."
Takagi's body trembled violently.
Already bleeding out, already terrified—his vision finally went black.
Taichi didn't rush.
He healed himself calmly.
After all, there were still two chūnin left.
Only after finishing his treatment did Taichi raise his blade to deliver the final blow.
Just as the blade descended—
Takagi suddenly twisted upright, slamming his palm into the ground and lunging forward.
The blade pierced his abdomen—
At the same time, Takagi's kunai pierced straight through Taichi's heart.