Asuma swung a chakra blade with a punch toward the enemy, but missed. Dodging the counterattack with a swift sidestep, he quickly closed the distance again with agile footwork.
"Are all Konoha shinobi this rude? You really think you can compete in taijutsu with a full-grown adult like me?"
A tall male shinobi—almost the size of someone from the Akimichi Clan—waved his fists the size of sandbags, clearly looking down on Asuma.
"Tch, idiot. All brawn, no brain."
On the other side, one of the enemy jōnin saw through Asuma's attack and inwardly sentenced his teammate to death.
Still, he made no move to help.
It wasn't out of cold-heartedness, but because he and the other two jōnin were currently being held in check—no, overwhelmed—by the Konoha shinobi in the black cloak before them.
"Parasitic insects... So it's the Aburame Clan. As expected, they're a pain."
They had to guard against insect ambushes while dodging thrown ninja tools. The three jōnin were having a hard time.
Fortunately, there was still one more jōnin in their squad. He should be able to help their chūnin allies kill those three damn brats, and then the four of them could join forces to take down the Aburame.
"Arata, speed it up! They're just three brats—you still haven't taken care of them?!"
Swatting a parasitic insect crawling on his hand, the jōnin shouted his teammate's codename in frustration.
"Dammit, why don't you come try fighting this brat yourself!"
Ignoring his teammate's yelling, Arata focused entirely on the countless surrounding ice mirrors.
Takeshi was hiding in one of the mirrors, carefully observing for an opening in the enemy's defenses.
Use Frozen Cloud again? No, the enemy's already seen that move. It won't work a second time...
Better to alter the terrain first.
"Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave!"
Leaning out from an ice mirror, Takeshi inhaled deeply and released a torrent of water that surged toward Arata. Caught off-guard by the sudden large-scale attack, Arata didn't have time to cast a jutsu and was forced to flee in panic.
Two chūnin couldn't dodge in time and were immediately submerged by the wave. Before they could resurface, the biting cold reminded them that they were being frozen into ice statues.
Takeshi used the water to freeze the momentarily submerged enemies in an instant. If he combined this with a massive Exploding Water Shockwave, it could likely wipe out an entire enemy unit.
"This is absurd. How does a kid this age have that much chakra?"
One of Arata's feet was frozen solid. He hurriedly circulated chakra through his body, enduring the skin-peeling pain to rip his leg free before the ice could fully engulf it.
Dragging his blood-soaked leg, the jōnin didn't retreat. Instead, he charged forward, planning to kill Takeshi in the gap right after he used his jutsu.
"You really are too young, brat. Sure, you've got a lot of chakra, but experience is something chakra can't make up for!"
Using a sandstorm to obscure Takeshi's vision, Arata drew his ninja blade and charged, tossing a kunai rigged with an explosive tag in a tricky angle that forced Takeshi to retreat from his ice mirror.
At this range, there's no way you can summon another mirror!
Arata grinned confidently, having already figured out the principles behind the Crystal Ice Mirrors technique after just a brief exchange.
He struck from a blind spot, launching his attack.
As the blade flew at him, Takeshi formed a one-handed seal. In Arata's confused gaze, he vanished right before his eyes.
"What the hell kind of move is that?!"
His strike hit nothing but air. Arata immediately took a defensive stance while scanning for Takeshi's position.
After searching around, he finally spotted Takeshi standing on a treetop near an ice mirror to the west.
That shouldn't be possible... There were no mirrors near him just now. How did he...
There wasn't time to summon another ice mirror—but Flying Thunder God had no such delay.
Glancing at the space-time formula on the ice mirror, Takeshi didn't bother to explain his jutsu mid-fight like in the anime. Instead, he attacked again while Arata was still unsteady.
Controlling numerous pre-formed ice shards, Takeshi launched a flurry of razor-sharp ice petals toward Arata.
For someone like Arata, whose mobility was already limited, this wide-range attack was lethal. He tried to dodge with his wounded leg but was eventually swallowed by the barrage.
Meanwhile, Aburame Tatsuma caught one enemy's opening and dragged him into a swamp of insects.
Not even three could take on Tatsuma together—now that their numbers had dropped to two, the jōnin stood no chance. All they could do was watch helplessly as the parasitic insects devoured them alive.
Asuma infused his chakra blade with Wind Chakra. Using the invisible extension of range, he slashed the throat of the last enemy before him.
Then he turned to look at Obito, the only one who hadn't yet finished his opponent.
Obito was locked in combat with the final enemy. After witnessing all his comrades fall, the enemy's movements grew frantic and disorganized. Eventually, Obito landed a kunai under the man's arm and finished him.
"Hah... It's finally over."
Panting heavily, Obito flopped to the ground.
"Don't let your guard down. What if they've got reinforcements?" Asuma didn't relax. He positioned himself somewhere with good visibility, ready to fend off the next wave.
Takeshi dispelled his Ice Release and freed the two frozen enemies, only to find they had already drowned in the sea of ice.
After confirming that every last enemy was completely dead, Takeshi shrugged and kicked Obito in the butt.
"You were shouting so confidently, but in the end, it was just Fireball plus Taijutsu again? Weren't you training with Jiraiya lately? Didn't learn anything new?"
"Ow! Don't kick my butt! And hey, who says I didn't learn anything? Look at my taijutsu—it's improved a lot, hasn't it?" Obito rolled over and whimpered, holding his butt in protest.
"No enemies detected nearby. Let's take a short break."
Aburame Tatsuma released his parasitic insects to scout a five-kilometer radius. Finding no signs of danger, he retracted them and signaled to the others that it was safe to rest.
"Then I'll leave the watch to you, Asuma."
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Takeshi didn't stand on ceremony and began recovering his chakra.
Despite being the one who used the most ninjutsu, Takeshi's chakra reserves weren't as depleted as one might expect.
That's because, with Tsunade's help, he had successfully learned the Yin Seal—a technique that stores chakra over time. Ever since, he'd developed the habit of storing chakra whenever possible.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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