Takeshi reappeared at the spot where his shadow clone had previously fought against Setsuna.
The first thing he did upon landing was to pull out the ninja blade embedded in his body.
With a surge of frustration, he threw the sword aside. Takeshi felt incredibly lucky to have studied medical ninjutsu—otherwise, he might have had to spend the New Year in the Pure Land together with the Three-Tails.
Oh right, Tailed Beasts can revive.
If he wanted to come back, he'd just have to hope some kind soul would resurrect him with Reanimation Jutsu.
Panting heavily, Takeshi used medical ninjutsu to stop his bleeding. Fortunately, Setsuna hadn't coated his blade with poison, allowing Takeshi's condition to gradually improve.
"Damn it, I'm running low on chakra."
Seeing that his wounds had stopped bleeding, Takeshi finally ceased treatment and took the opportunity to sense how much chakra remained in his body.
"Just enough to use Flying Thunder God once. As long as I can get back to Kakashi and the others, I'll be truly safe..."
Struggling to his feet, Takeshi didn't dare rest too long. Glancing at the corpses of Yamanaka Akira and Shimura Ikku on the ground, he spoke with a hint of helplessness.
"Sorry… looks like I won't be able to give you two a proper burial for now."
Just as he was about to concentrate and locate the position of Kakashi's Flying Thunder God kunai, a male voice interrupted him.
"No need. I can take care of collecting your corpses for all of you."
The voice made Takeshi let out a bitter smile. He turned to look at the speaker.
From the shadows emerged a Kirigakure shinobi with long green hair, thick eyebrows, and full lips. A half-smile played on his face, and in his hands were two strange long blades.
Good news—it wasn't the masked man from before.
Bad news—this guy's threat level was even higher than the masked man's.
"So it's you… Kurosuki Raiga, one of the so-called 'Lucky Three.'"
Recognizing the weapons, Takeshi instantly identified the Kirigakure shinobi before him.
"'Lucky Three'?"
Hearing the title for the first time, Kurosuki Raiga looked slightly confused. But judging from Takeshi's tone and expression, he could roughly guess it wasn't meant to be flattering.
"You've got a sharp tongue, brat. Even at death's door you don't forget to act tough. Judging by the corpses on the ground, you're a Konoha ninja too, right?"
Raiga, annoyed by Takeshi's attitude, raised his Lightning Blades, sparks of electricity crackling around them. He was ready to give Takeshi a taste of some electrifying therapy. But before doing so, he offered a choice.
"Those explosions in the distance—are they related to you? And what do these corpses mean? Brat, if your answer satisfies me, I might grant you a quick and painless death."
"Raiga-sama, I think this brat is the White Reaper of Konoha."
Just as Takeshi gathered his last breath, ready to fight back, several more Kirigakure shinobi appeared behind Raiga. One of them immediately recognized Takeshi's identity.
"Hmm?"
Upon hearing his subordinate's words, Raiga ceased channeling chakra and carefully examined Takeshi under the moonlight.
"I see. That face… yeah, no doubt about it. You're the White Reaper."
Though his appearance was battered, his face and body covered with dried blood, the boy's handsome features still showed through. Raiga quickly confirmed his identity.
"Capture him alive!"
Upon confirming who Takeshi was, Raiga instantly changed his objective.
Kirigakure's higher-ups had already issued an order: capture Takeshi alive at all costs. Their aim was to uncover why a Bloodline Limit exclusive to their village had appeared in Konoha.
There are still two smoke bombs left...
Seeing the Kirigakure shinobi charging toward him, Takeshi had no intention of engaging them. He reached for his ninja tool pouch, pulled out his last two smoke bombs, and tossed them.
Thick black smoke shrouded the Kirigakure shinobi's vision. Frowning, Raiga raised his Lightning Blades and summoned lightning to scatter the mist.
"After him!"
Glancing at the bloodstain where Takeshi had just been standing, Raiga narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he was well aware of the self-destruct plan involving the Jinchūriki. But the intense explosion earlier clearly wasn't part of that plan.
Not to mention, Takeshi had sustained heavy injuries—this didn't match the expected pursuit scenario at all.
No word had come from the area where the Tailed Beast was sealed. This silence made Raiga sense a hint of danger.
Just like back then—when that green-suited man had appeared.
That terrifying taijutsu had left a deep psychological and physical scar on him.
"If there aren't any sealing team members nearby… I'll just assume the mission has failed!"
After weighing the risks, Raiga decided to throw the original plan out the window.
He was going to capture this brat alive—no matter what!
...
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Takeshi darted through the forest. At this point, he had no energy to sense the location of the Flying Thunder God kunai.
"I was wrong—I was so wrong… From now on, I swear I'll train Flying Thunder God diligently. No more slacking off."
Even while fleeing for his life, he couldn't help complaining about his own laziness. He blamed himself for not taking his training seriously, leading to today's crisis.
Ducking his head to avoid yet another kunai from behind—he'd lost count of how many—Takeshi reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out a shuriken. He took a deep breath and infused it with wind chakra.
"Wind Style: Shuriken!"
Compared to full-blown ninjutsu, this method was more chakra-efficient and still caused considerable trouble for his pursuers.
To ordinary shinobi without Sharingan, the chakra-infused shuriken looked no different from regular ones.
When the first unlucky fool got his arm severed due to carelessness, the rest of the Kirigakure shinobi finally realized these shuriken weren't so simple. They began widening the distance between themselves and Takeshi.
Seeing that his intimidation worked, Takeshi threw out a few more ordinary, non-enhanced shuriken.
Using this mix of real and fake techniques, Takeshi managed to buy himself a bit more time.
Things were starting to look up.
Until Kurosuki Raiga made his move.
A massive bolt of lightning suddenly descended from above. Takeshi had no time to dodge and was struck directly, falling hard from the tree canopy.
To make matters worse, the moment he fell, a few Kirigakure shinobi—afraid he might not be dead yet—threw several kunai and shuriken, which embedded precisely into his back. Only then did Raiga finally speak up to stop them.
"Idiots! Didn't I say to capture him alive?!"
Though he said that, Raiga clearly had no intention of punishing them. He leisurely walked toward Takeshi, wary of a potential last-ditch attack.
Can't be helped. Takeshi's reputation was indeed formidable, and the psychological trauma from Might Duy still lingered in Raiga's mind.
"Haa... Is this the end...? I never should've gotten greedy for that Isobu, I should've just escaped..."
Watching Raiga approach, Takeshi found himself unable to lift even a single finger.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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