"They are ninjas from the Land of Rice! Kill them!!!" an Iwa-nin Chunin shouted loudly.
However, before the others could react, Ryun rushed forward and cut him down in three moves. With a Body Flicker, he then beheaded another genin.
Ryun's combat experience was now extremely rich, and every move he made was fast, precise, and ruthless. Low-level ninjas who encountered him were basically instantly killed, making his efficiency in eliminating enemies extremely high.
The two four-man squads were quickly reduced to seven casualties, leaving only one elite Chunin.
"Earth Release: Earth Bullet Technique!"
Surprisingly, the remaining elite Chunin did not flee. Instead, with reddened eyes, he used an earth-release jutsu.
Hardened stone pellets shot toward Ryun at high speed.
Ryun leaped high into the air, dodging the stones while rapidly forming hand seals. "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Fireballs rained down from above, densely covering the Chunin.
The Iwa-nin dodged left and right, looking somewhat flustered. Just as he managed to evade all the attacks and was about to catch his breath, he realized the figure in the air had already disappeared.
Sensing killing intent from behind, the Iwa Chunin decisively activated a defensive earth-release jutsu. "Earth Release: Hardening Technique!"
Clang!!!
The ordinary katana striking against flesh actually produced the sound of metal hitting a hard object!
"Huh???"
Ryun's katana failed to pierce the Chunin's heart, only barely breaking the skin. This guy had reinforced his body with an earth-release jutsu.
The Iwa-nin turned and thrust a kunai toward Ryun's temple. Ryun ducked, narrowly avoiding the attack, and slashed upward with his katana.
Slish!!!
The sound of a blade cutting through flesh quietly rang out. The Iwa-nin's eyes widened as he froze in place.
In the next moment, a terrifying line of blood stretched from his right abdomen to his left chest. Even the Hardening Technique could not withstand this lethal strike—because Ryun's katana was wrapped in a strange flicker of lightning!
Lightning countered earth. The elemental advantage directly nullified the Iwa-nin's defensive technique.
After killing the elite Chunin, before Ryun could sheathe his sword, two strange-looking white clay birds swiftly flew toward him.
"This is…"
"Explode!!!"
A sharp shout came from the distance, and the clay birds beside Ryun detonated violently!
Ryun used the Body Flicker Technique to instantly appear on the roof of a nearby house, his black eyes coldly fixed on the two figures in the sky.
He had already sensed someone approaching on a giant clay bird earlier.
"You cowardly bastard must be a ninja from the Land of Rice, right? How dare you kill our Iwa-nin? Aren't you afraid we'll send troops to wipe out your Land of Rice?"
A jounin named Iwa Yū growled angrily.
The two Iwa jounin had arrived first—they were the strongest fighters currently in Mizukawa Town.
"Hmph, you shameless bandits and thieves invade my country, burn, kill, and plunder, and then have the nerve to threaten to destroy a nation…
The ninja world probably can't find a village more despicable than Iwa. You bully the weak, and that old bastard Ōnoki has no sense of justice at all. Aren't you afraid of being condemned by the world?"
Ryun couldn't help but curse. He truly despised Iwa's bandit-like behavior.
"The strong prey on the weak. The fittest survive. The strong deserve everything, while the weak deserve to be trampled. What's the value of justice?"
"Why waste words on him? Just kill him!"
A jounin named Deian interrupted Iwa Yū's lecture.
This man was a member of Iwa's Explosion Corps and was somewhat skilled in using explosive clay.
While Ryun and Iwa Yū were talking earlier, he had secretly molded several clay bombs.
With a flick of his wrist, he released a few ugly birds, which instantly grew several times larger and shot toward Ryun at lightning speed.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Needles!"
Facing the oncoming explosive birds, Ryun calmly threw out lightning-infused needles.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!
Thanks to his sharp eyes and excellent throwing skills, Ryun nailed every single bird with pinpoint accuracy.
"Explode!!!"
Deian roared, but… nothing happened.
His explosive birds had all fizzled out!
"What the hell are you barking about???" Ryun sneered mockingly.
The moment he saw these exploding clay birds, he already knew how to counter them.
"What?! How is this possible?!" Deian exclaimed involuntarily.
At this point, he still didn't realize that the blue needles were actually infused with lightning.
After blocking the attack, Ryun quickly counterattacked. Forming a hand seal, he pulled out a giant shuriken weighing dozens of pounds.
Without hesitation, he hurled it at the two men riding the giant clay bird.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
The giant shuriken split into three mid-flight, significantly expanding its attack range.
However, hitting airborne targets from the ground wasn't easy. Deian controlled the bird to swerve sideways, easily dodging the three shuriken.
"Idiot, you think an attack like this can hit my bird?" Deian sneered, quickly molding more clay to blow up the fool below.
"Behind you!!!" Iwa Yū suddenly shouted.
One of the shuriken that had flown past them abruptly turned and came flying back. Ryun was holding a thin steel wire, controlling the shuriken's trajectory!
Deian hastily maneuvered the bird to dodge. Thanks to Iwa Yū's timely warning, they narrowly avoided the attack.
But before the two jounin could relax, Ryun took a few steps, kicked off the roof, and leaped high into the air, throwing two kunai with explosive tags attached.
The bird was flying at a low altitude, making it easy for Ryun's projectiles to hit.
The kunai struck the belly of the clay bird. With two loud explosions, the white bird disintegrated midair.
However, this attack wasn't enough to kill the two jounin. At the critical moment, Deian created another ugly bird, barely catching Iwa Yū before he could fall.
But due to the rushed timing, the second bird was small and poorly made, with limited carrying capacity. It couldn't support the weight of two people and began descending uncontrollably.
"Dammit! Iwa Yū, you're too fat!" Deian couldn't help but blame his teammate.
"Bastard! It's your damn clay bird that's useless!" Iwa Yū retorted angrily.
This jounin named Deian was far inferior to the prodigy Deidara from the original story in terms of clay-molding speed and skill.
Seeing them descending, Ryun gripped his katana and charged forward with murderous intent.
Using the clay bird as a buffer, Iwa Yū immediately used the Body Flicker Technique, jumping off the bird and landing on a rooftop. Freed from the weight of the "fatty," the ugly bird managed to ascend again.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"