Hop — the fishing line under my jacket worked, and the kunai shot into my palm as if born from thin air.
In the next moment, I already stepped forward, forcing him to move aside.
His tanto flashed in his hand, and he lunged forward — a lightning-fast strike at my side.
I raised my kunai to block the blow, and metal met the tanto blade with a loud clang.
At the same moment, sensing the slightest weakness in the opponent's movement, I twisted my wrist, shifting his blade downward and forcing him to retreat.
He didn't waste time — another sharp strike in close combat, the tanto slipping from my control, but I managed to shift and deflect the blows.
His speed was at the Chunin level — too high for an ordinary Genin.
— Wind Element: Weapon Coating! — I whispered as I activated the technique.
A thin strip of barely noticeable light ran along the kunai's blade, and the air around me seemed to vibrate, giving the blade extra sharpness and lightness.
But the next moment he jumped back and froze for a moment, only his hand lying a little strangely on the other, as if he was about to do something but didn't take a step.
While thoughts flew, I tried to understand what was happening.
Maybe throw shurikens...
Suddenly the air filled with a light buzzing — I heard a barely audible sound of wings beating.
My inner instinct screamed, making my hands tense.
— Bee Bomb! — the guy shouted, and at that very moment a loud explosion rang out — bang!
I instantly activated the Body Replacement Technique — my body seemed to dissolve into thin air, leaving only an illusion behind.
The explosion passed nearby, scorching my face with heat and scattering dust and debris around.
When the smoke cleared, I was already standing aside behind a tree, assessing the situation.
What was that? He shouted something about bees? So, he uses bees? — thoughts raced in my head as the guy charged toward me.
How did he find me so fast? — I tried to understand, when I noticed: a swarm of bees was gathering near him. And these were not ordinary bees.
Are they on steroids? — the thought flashed. Palm-sized for an adult, and there were so many... This was something incredible.
What the hell? I don't even remember there was such a clan in Naruto, — I shouted inside, starting to form seals.
The bees filled the air, their buzzing intensified, creating a truly creepy atmosphere on the battlefield.
I need to shrink them, — the thought crossed my mind.
— Great Gust of Wind! — I shouted and directed a powerful airflow.
The wind scattered part of the swarm, freeing space for maneuvering.
But there was no time to retreat — suddenly the guy appeared right next to me, drawing his tanto.
Hop! The strike was instantly blocked by my kunai.
Metal clashed with a loud clang in a lightning-fast collision.
I felt the vibration of the blow run through my arm, but it didn't stop me.
He tried to make a quick strike toward my torso, but I managed to retreat, sliding along the ground, maintaining balance.
I formed the Seal of Concentration and threw the kunai to the side.
At the same time, I activated the Body Flicker Technique for a short distance of two meters — the movement became almost invisible to the eye, as if I dissolved into the air.
His tanto passed by me, cutting only through the space where I had stood a fraction of a second ago.
With my other hand spinning a second kunai, but at that moment he sharply changed the direction of attack — instead of a direct strike, he made a quick lunge to the side.
I only managed to slightly touch his tanto with my kunai, trying to disrupt his rhythm.
He bounced back without losing focus, and I decided to buy time:
— Which clan are you from? — I asked.
— Playing for time? — he smirked. — The Great Kamizuru Clan.
"Great, huh? I've never heard of that before," I thought, blocking another tanto strike with my kunai.
The kunai fell into my other hand and I began spinning it, and at that very moment he made a sharp lunge forward.
I barely had time to raise my kunai to meet the attack — metal clashed with the opponent's blade with a dull clang.
The vibration from the blow ran through my arms, but I felt I held the advantage.
"Almost ready," the thought flashed when I noticed four kunai lying at the edges of my combat zone, waiting for their moment.
In the next moment I sharply kicked the ground.
The air trembled like a taut string.
This was my technique — String of Light Formation.
Light, almost invisible glowing threads spread across the ground, instantly wrapping the space around me.
He froze in place, and I watched as symbols slowly began to spread across his body — thin, glowing lines seemingly absorbing, binding every movement.
— Here is your defeat! — I said, taking a deep breath, feeling chakra start to shimmer inside.
— Are you sure? — his voice was calm, almost too calm.
And at that moment, a hail of a thousand thin, sharp needles struck me.
I sharply tried to retreat, but the needles pierced the air with a dull clang, allowing no step back.
My legs and arms — the most vulnerable spots — were almost completely exposed.
Clothing only partially protected me, the only reliable shields were elbow guards on my arms and protective pads on my legs.
But that was clearly not enough.
— Aaaahhhhh! — I cried out as I already stood behind the tree, but my body began to numb.
A slight burning ran through my limbs — the needles literally pierced the skin, paralyzing muscles.
I clenched my teeth, trying to concentrate and find a way out of the trap, but the pressure grew stronger...