"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
As Ryun turned around, several swift small fireballs shot directly toward the two pursuing Rain ninja jonin.
"Water Style..."
Jonin Ameru intended to use a Water Style jutsu for defense and counterattack, but the next moment, he realized the attack was too fast—he didn't even have time to form hand seals.
The other jonin decisively shoved him aside with force and immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to evade.
Seeing both of them dodge the fireballs, Ryun wasn't discouraged. Gripping his chakra blade, he charged straight at the Rain jonin named Ametaka.
The enemy's weapon was just an ordinary kunai, so Ryun planned to exploit the advantage of his superior weapon to catch him off guard.
"Be careful of that brat's blade!!"
Seeing the kid rushing toward Ametaka, Ameru hurriedly shouted a warning.
However, his words couldn't match Ryun's Body Flicker speed. When the enemy attacked, Ametaka instinctively raised his kunai to block without thinking.
With a crisp clang, the chakra blade infused with Chidori's lightning chakra instantly sliced through the kunai and then slashed directly into Ametaka's shoulder.
Since the kunai had absorbed most of the blade's force, it didn't cleave him in half. Instead, the blade got stuck in his shoulder bone.
Seeing that the slash wasn't fatal, Ryun immediately unleashed Chidori Current at full power. A surge of lightning chakra traveled through the chakra blade and into Ametaka's body, making him vomit blood on the spot.
This Rain jonin named Ametaka was a tough man. Even as his body convulsed from the electrocution, he stubbornly used his remaining willpower to grab the back of the chakra blade.
He clearly intended to create an opening for the other jonin, Ameru, to attack.
Ryun wanted to kick him away, but the next moment, several deadly glints shot toward him. Forced to abandon the chakra blade, he leaped back to evade the incoming senbon.
While mid-air, he drew a dagger from his leg and, relying on the Three Tomoe Sharingan's sharp perception, deflected all the lethal poison needles that others would find impossible to dodge.
Just as Ryun landed safely after blocking the senbon, a kunai tied with an explosive tag landed right at his feet.
BOOM!!!
A violent explosion erupted, and the flames instantly engulfed his slender figure.
"Is it over?" Ameru muttered as he watched the explosion.
The next second, a charred log, blasted high into the air by the explosion's shockwave, fell to the ground with a thud.
"Lightning Style: Falling Thunder Jutsu!"
Ryun ignored the fully combat-ready Ameru and instead used a jutsu to attack the heavily injured Ametaka.
Ametaka had taken a slash to the shoulder and was paralyzed by Chidori Current—now was the perfect chance to finish him off.
This was called "Strike while the iron is hot!"
As the lightning from above was about to strike, Ametaka, who had been sitting on the ground, quickly formed a hand seal.
The lightning struck, but a teru teru bōzu doll took the hit in his place.
"Substitution Jutsu, huh..."
Panting heavily, Ryun watched as Ametaka, having narrowly escaped death, collapsed weakly in the distance, his face as pale as paper, clearly exhausted.
Jonin were no pushovers—they weren't so easy to kill.
From the frontlines until now, his stamina had been severely drained, and he was somewhat at his limit.
Unfortunately, the enemies had arrived too suddenly, leaving him no time to replenish the kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags he had exhausted in the previous battle. His means of attack were noticeably reduced.
Glancing at the chakra blade lying not far away, Ryun immediately tossed a smoke bomb to the ground, concealing himself while also disrupting Ameru's assault.
Ameru paused his charge, unwilling to recklessly plunge into the purple smoke to attack. Instead, he stood outside and quickly formed hand seals.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
As he finished the seals, a massive water dragon roared as it surged into the purple smoke.
The next moment, a figure was struck head-on by the water dragon and sent flying out of the smoke.
Seeing his success, Ameru couldn't help but smirk.
But before he could celebrate, another figure shot out of the smoke-covered area. Ryun, wielding a dagger, charged straight at the injured Ametaka.
At the same time, the figure that had been struck by the water dragon exploded into smoke.
It was a Shadow Clone!
"Not good!!"
Realizing Ryun's intent to prioritize killing the wounded, Ameru's expression changed. Without hesitation, he gave chase.
However, as soon as he took off, another Ryun burst out of the smoke, sprinting toward the discarded chakra blade.
Retrieving the blade was his real goal—attacking Ametaka was just a diversion. But even if Ameru knew it was a feint, he had no choice but to save his comrade.
Soon, the shadow clone holding the dagger was slashed into smoke, while Ryun simultaneously bent down to pick up the chakra blade.
But the moment he grabbed it, a faint hiss sounded, and he caught a whiff of a dangerous smell.
The next instant, a violent explosion swallowed him whole.
"Heh..."
Ametaka let out a cold laugh as he watched the explosion in the distance.
The reason he hadn't taken the blade earlier was that he had deliberately set an explosive tag trap to lure Ryun into retrieving it.
Now, he had finally succeeded in killing that troublesome brat!
Whether due to the explosion or something else, the chakra blade flew in an arc before landing inside the purple smoke.
"Hah, that blade is mine now!"
Ameru laughed loudly and ran over to grab the chakra blade.
That blade was no ordinary weapon—a single explosive tag wouldn't be enough to destroy it.
Just as Ameru excitedly rushed forward, the purple smoke gradually dissipated over time, revealing a familiar slender figure.
Ameru abruptly stopped in his tracks. Both he and Ametaka widened their eyes in disbelief at the sight of the monstrous young boy still holding the chakra blade.
Ryun hadn't been killed by the explosive tag. Out of caution, the one who had gone to retrieve the blade earlier was still his shadow clone.
Though the Rain jonin abandoning the blade and fleeing had seemed like a hasty decision, Ryun found it suspicious and didn't believe a jonin would be so careless.
So he stayed vigilant, preferring to send another shadow clone rather than risk his real body.
Had he foolishly gone to retrieve the blade himself, he would've shared the same fate as Nawaki—experiencing an identical death...