Chapter 24: A Thousand Years of Death
He's gone, the black-faced special jōnin thought, a cold dread washing over him. He frantically scanned the area, but there was no trace of Sasuke. It must have been a high-level Body Flicker Technique. A Substitution's escape range isn't that large.
"Sand Ghost, watch out for the leaves! It's a Transformation Technique!" the porcupine-headed jōnin shouted from a distance, but it was already too late.
A few leaves, scattered on the ground behind the special jōnin, were all that marked the area. One of them, seemingly ordinary, was in fact Sasuke. He had already predicted his opponent's prediction and performed a reverse tactical operation.
With a soft puff of smoke, Sasuke canceled the transformation. He was crouched low to the ground, a kunai gripped tightly between both hands in a Tiger seal, directly behind the special jōnin's rear.
"Konohagakure Secret Taijutsu Technique: A Thousand Years of Death!"
He thrust the kunai forward with all his might, aiming it directly at the black-faced Sand ninja's anus.
Schlick!
The kunai slid home with sickening precision, the hilt disappearing completely.
"Ahhh—!"
A blood-curdling, soul-tearing scream ripped through the sky.
The porcupine-headed jōnin, who had been about to finish off Moonlight Ye, suddenly felt his own anus clench. He gasped, a chill running down his spine. That's horrifying. If that Konoha ninja had used the same tactic on him, he would have suffered the same fate. Who would have thought that after a Substitution, someone could use a Transformation to become a single, inconspicuous leaf and launch such a surprise attack? It's better to be beheaded than to die in such agony.
"Ye, fall back! I'll cover you!" Sasuke drew his fish-cutting knife and stood protectively in front of the injured Gekkō, staring down the remaining jōnin.
"Wind Scythe!" The jōnin, realizing the depth of Sasuke's tactical genius, gave him no more time to scheme and attacked with his full strength. A flash of the blade, and a lock of hair from Sasuke's temple was cut clean off. He had almost died on the spot.
He's a jōnin, alright, Sasuke thought, cold sweat beading on his forehead. So strong. Even with five severed fingers, the man's swordsmanship was on a completely different level.
"You're no match for him," Ye said, picking up his longsword with his left hand and stepping in front of Sasuke, his own tenacious Ninja Will flaring. "I'll cover you. You take the others and retreat."
It was clear that Ye, unlike his comrade Kagejirō, possessed the true Will of Fire.
"Then let's fight together!" Sasuke replied. How could he run now? Maru's patrol team was about to arrive. If he fled, his six months of carefully cultivating his "Will of Fire" persona would be exposed as a lie.
The two of them fought a desperate retreat, back towards the river. Another flash of the blade, and this time it sliced across Sasuke's chest, nearly cutting him in half. If not for the water bat interfering at the last second, it wouldn't have been his chest that was cut, but his neck. The tiny summon was sliced in two for its trouble.
"Hiding steel plates in your vest, are you? Hmph! How long can you last?" The jōnin began to gather his strength for a final, decisive blow.
At that moment, Sasuke's heart finally relaxed. Through his sonar, he sensed them. Maru's support had arrived. It's time to show my Will of Fire.
"Ye, fall back! I'll cover you!" he shouted. He stopped fleeing and, with a look of grim determination, ripped seven or eight exploding tags from his pouch and slapped them all over his own body.
"Where Konoha's leaves fly, the fire will never cease!" Sasuke roared, his voice cracking with emotion as he charged the porcupine-headed jōnin, a fearless, suicidal expression on his face.
"Senior!" Ye's eyes filled with tears, deeply moved.
"You want to die together? Keep dreaming!" The jōnin, confident in his victory, threw two kunai, intending to force him back.
"We die together!" Sasuke ignored the flying kunai and continued his charge.
"Captain! No!" Tekudō and the others, watching from the other side of the river, cried out, blaming themselves.
Just as the kunai were about to pierce Sasuke's body, a massive water dragon erupted from the river behind him.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
The dragon easily intercepted the two kunai and continued on, its roaring maw aimed directly at the stunned, porcupine-headed Sand jōnin.