Chapter 12: Armament Haki (Seeking fresh flowers and collections)
It was only natural that Tengen's Taijutsu ability was inferior to this Sand ninja.
The most important factor was the physical gap. Tengen was only an eight-year-old child, and the Kekkei Genkai he currently possessed was only the Sharingan. The Sharingan wasn't a Kekkei Genkai that strengthened the body, so his Taijutsu capabilities were limited.
This ninja looked to be around thirty years old, and his strength was probably at the limit of a Chūnin.
Earlier, the Sand ninja hadn't used his full strength, so Tengen could contend with him.
If he used his full strength, Tengen could only passively endure the attacks.
However, Tengen didn't plan to use the Sharingan. He couldn't let others know he possessed the Sharingan because his strength was currently too low.
If it were higher, then it would be a different story.
Moreover, Tengen could handle the Sand ninja's Taijutsu. To catch all three Sand ninjas in one fell swoop would require some thinking.
Two ordinary Chūnin and one peak Chūnin ninja—this wasn't an ordinary lineup.
Of course, if a Jōnin appeared here, they could resolve the battle quickly. The gap between Jōnin and Chūnin was much larger than that between Genin and Chūnin.
Jōnin were the mainstream power of the Naruto World, constituting its backbone.
Bang. Tengen was sent flying again. Watching the Sand ninja attack, Tengen formed seals with his hands and opened his mouth slightly.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique." A blazing fireball erupted from Tengen's mouth. The fireball burned continuously, its high temperature distorting the surrounding grass. The fireball was very large, appearing several meters wide.
The fireball enveloped that Sand ninja directly. However, Tengen didn't show joy. If this Sand ninja were so easily dealt with, he wouldn't deserve the strength he showed earlier.
Because a cold voice came from behind.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough." A fierce wind blew everywhere. A storm as sharp as a knife swept towards Tengen, enveloping him completely.
His whole body was cut into tiny pieces.
However, no blood appeared from the wounds; instead, he turned into logs.
"Body Replacement Technique." The Sand ninja's expression changed slightly. This brat has amazing reactions. If he were a beat slower, he would have been killed by this Ninjutsu.
"Sir, did he leave?" The two Sand ninjas came to the leader and asked.
"He hasn't left; he's nearby," the Sand ninja said slowly. He wasn't a sensory type ninja, but if Tengen had really fled, he would have felt it.
Obviously, when using the Body Replacement Technique, he hid somewhere.
Phew. The Sand ninja took deep breaths slowly, trying to sense that Konoha brat. Fighting fiercely here like this wasn't good; if it attracted the attention of nearby Konoha ninjas, it would be bad.
Although he had carefully selected this location, no one could say for sure whether a Konoha ninja would suddenly appear.
After all, this was next to Konoha Village. Squads returning from missions might notice the changes here.
If caught, there would be no hope of escape.
This Sand ninja was right; Tengen naturally hadn't fled. He was hiding in a large tree not far away. Now Tengen could confirm that this Sand ninja wasn't a sensory type, so there was some time before he would be discovered.
"Should I use the Sharingan?" Tengen's expression condensed. Although the Two-Tomoe Sharingan would increase his strength, it wouldn't be terrifyingly so. It would be easy for the other two Sand ninjas to escape. If there were only one Sand ninja, Tengen naturally wouldn't care.
But now there were three. Tengen was mainly dealing with the strongest one, but if the other two saw their leader die and fled, Tengen might be able to kill one, but there was a high probability the other would escape.
Then the matter of the Two-Tomoe Sharingan would be exposed.
Although he didn't know who these Sand ninjas were, it was better to avoid this if possible.
"Then let's check the Standard Video I just received first." Tengen wanted to see if the newly obtained item could help.
"Hmm, One Piece." Tengen's expression moved slightly. One Piece was also a world with a vast worldview, containing supernatural powers like Devil Fruits. There should be good things.
But Tengen couldn't be sure if this Standard Video would really have good things. After all, it was just a Standard Video, not one of those Full HD or Blu-ray ones, which almost certainly had good things.
"Let's extract and see." Tengen directly extracted from the video. If there was something ready-made that could help, that would be best. If not, Tengen could only do his best.
"Ding, obtained Armament Haki." The mechanical voice rang in Tengen's ear, making him reveal a trace of joy. This was timely rain.
Armament Haki might bring great help to this situation.
On the other side, the Sand ninja who was constantly searching suddenly revealed a cold smile.
Even without being a sensory ninja, he had discovered that brat.
"Kid, go to die." The Sand ninja formed the familiar hand seals from before.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough." A fierce wind-attribute Chakra attack erupted from his mouth like a whirlwind, directly surrounding and rotating around that large tree.
Bang, bang. That tree was cut to pieces by the violent wind blades, turning into chunks that fell to the ground.
The soil and stones on the ground were also churned up.
"Impressive. As expected of a Konoha genius." The Sand ninja looked in a direction where Tengen stood holding a Kunai. He had escaped just in time from the attack earlier.
"But how long can you last?" The Sand ninja rushed over with a Kunai, but Tengen threw several Kunai directly, enveloping the area around the Sand ninja.
Whoosh, whoosh. Seeing the Kunai close at hand, the Sand ninja's expression changed slightly. "Such formidable Kunai throwing technique."
Clang, clang. The Sand ninja knocked the Kunai away. When he continued forward...
He saw the Tengen not far away transform into a puff of smoke and dissipate.
A scream came from his subordinate not far away. The Sand ninja could see Tengen appearing in front of one subordinate, the Kunai in his hand slicing directly across the subordinate's neck.
That subordinate fell to the ground, dead instantly.
"Shadow Clone Technique." The Sand ninja's face was unusually cold. "Damn it."