Chapter 235: Ghost in the Wind (3K+)
Cloud Village Jonin Ayai looked somewhat startled. He gazed at the broken kunai in his hand and his bleeding tiger's mouth, confirming that he had indeed not fallen for a genjutsu just now.
This guy... broke his kunai with his bare body?
He often fought with Iwa忍村 (Rock Village) ninjas and was very familiar with [Earth Release: Hardening Technique]. While that ninjutsu could also harden the body, it was absolutely impossible to achieve this level.
Ayai quickly made a few hidden hand signs towards the darkness, then slowly retreated into the shadows himself.
So-called ninjas are those who can endure all extreme environments and then accomplish their goals.
Directly confronting and fighting the enemy head-on is always the worst strategy.
Bai Cangshu was well aware of all this. Unlike that [Wind Earl] who clearly had decent enhancements but was carelessly assassinated, Bai Cangshu merely glanced at the two people below through the window and immediately noticed the abnormality.
A ninja guarding a woman, yet hiding her inside a house while he stood outside.
This situation is almost a death trap in a one-versus-many ninja battle.
The ninjas in the shadows could easily break through from different directions; a wooden house is practically useless in front of ninjas who can truly use Chakra.
Rather than being used to defend against attacks, the house seemed more like a prop.
A "stage play" prop that shaped the current environment into a tense, confrontational stance.
Bai Cangshu, with his "sharp senses," took two steps out from in front of the woman, spread his hands, and exposed his entire body's weaknesses to the many ninjas hidden in the darkness.
The woman named Pingzhong Hua bit her lip tightly. She utterly loathed this tall ninja, clutching the intelligence soaked in her husband's blood tightly while cautiously surveying her surroundings.
Whoosh!
A whooshing sound attacked. She couldn't react at all, only feeling her vision go dark as a figure already stood in front of her, the shuriken caught between the person's two fingers.
Ayai's pupils contracted. His subordinate ninjas continuously changed positions, and shuriken were constantly shot at the woman, but the suspected Leaf Village reinforcement actually stood still, catching every single shuriken with his bare hands.
That speed and precision, without a doubt, almost made him think he had encountered a ninja from the Uchiha Clan.
He had never heard that such a master had recently appeared in Leaf Village.
He had never seen this kind of guy in previous battles either…
On the other side, Catherine and [Chaos] breathed a sigh of relief. Less than thirty seconds had passed from [Wind Earl]'s brilliant attack to his unexpected assassination.
The death of such a well-known Reincarnator before their eyes still made both of them feel Mental tension.
The [Naruto Derivative World] is indeed one of the most popular mission worlds for Reincarnators, for many reasons.
A complete ability system, convenient channels for learning abilities, frequent mission and event triggers, and the weak defense of plot characters are also beneficial for Reincarnators who rely on technological weapons.
However, despite all these benefits, the [Naruto Derivative World] has not become a score-farming paradise. The reason, naturally, is the high mortality rate hidden in this world, which many Reincarnators tend to overlook.
Many Reincarnators, due to the performance of Naruto and his group in the anime, overlook that ninjas are a profession hidden in the darkness, achieving their goals by any means necessary. While they can indeed unleash powerful ninjutsu, for Reincarnators, the greatest danger in this world is the enemies constantly hidden in the shadows.
Transformation Jutsu, Body Flicker Technique, Clone Jutsu, and various disguise techniques emerge endlessly. Poisoning, explosive tags, traps, and various assassination methods are impossible to guard against.
A slight oversight, and one could easily be assassinated, just like [Wind Earl].
"See, Chaos, this is the easy world you talked about, huh…"
Under Catherine's Mental tension, her Mental power scan maintained a spatial range of forty meters. This intensity allowed her to capture almost all details, while also covering what was beneath the ground.
Although she was mocking [Chaos], she was also mocking herself. When she had just used barrier ninjutsu on the second floor in conjunction with [Chaos] to wreak havoc, she also had the feeling that Reincarnators like them could do whatever they wanted in this world.
But soon, a Jonin tricked them using Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu. The [Wind Earl], who was slightly stronger than her, instantly died, making her tense up as well.
At this moment, Chaos stared unblinkingly at Tao Bai Bai. This guy, rumored to have annihilated the Fifth Element, defeated Baimian, and killed [Flame Demon] and other famous Reincarnators, seemed to be full of weaknesses right now.
But that relaxed and carefree demeanor made his hair stand on end.
His excellent perception could easily sense the feeling emanating from Tao Bai Bai: a sense of self-satisfaction as if he stood at the center, already controlling everyone's lives.
Bai Cangshu looked at the seven or eight shuriken in his hand, having lost novelty for these ninjas' fighting style. The next moment, his hands rapidly flickered as if disappearing.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Whooshing sounds filled the air.
The ninjas hidden in the darkness all felt a jolt in their hearts and quickly dodged.
Bang bang bang, thud…
Some dodged, and the excessively fast shuriken shot into walls and the ground like cannonballs, making explosive sounds. But others, while dodging, were instead pierced through the body by the spinning shuriken.
Bai Cangshu watched this scene and didn't like this type of weapon intentionally designed for spinning. With his body control ability, even without specialization, he could easily hit any target within one hundred meters when throwing weapons barehanded.
However, the spinning characteristic of the shuriken still caused most of his projectiles to deviate, and only two unlucky individuals happened to collide with the rotating, deviating shuriken while dodging, getting pierced through the body.
"Aren't you coming, the one who uses Lightning Release?"
Ayai saw the opponent staring directly at his position, knowing that the opponent had probably used some special ninjutsu that allowed them to see through figures in the darkness.
Moreover, these three surviving individuals seemed to be very skilled in perception; darkness had no effect on them.
In that case…
"Hey, no need to hide anymore, these guys are all sensory-type ninjas."
He spoke directly, his figure flashing as he appeared on the top of the collapsed wooden house. The Cloud Village squad also revealed themselves simultaneously, a total of 6 people. Including Ayai and the two deceased, it was a full three-person squad configuration.
In the street behind Bai Cangshu, closer to Catherine and Chaos, the Iwa忍村 (Rock Village) ninjas, dressed in earth-yellow ninja uniforms, also revealed themselves simultaneously.
"Leaf Village guys, if you leave this woman and that intelligence now, I can decide to let you return."
Ayai spoke, his words hard to discern as true or false, but a ninja squad of over ten people slowly advanced, beginning to exert pressure.
Pingzhong Hua was a little nervous. She looked at the intelligence in her hand, wanting to swallow it, but then immediately thought of the cruelty of ninjas her husband had described before.
She showed a sad expression. Even if she tore the intelligence into pieces and swallowed it, it would most likely still be cut out and pieced together by them.
These were a group of people who had completely extinguished their humanity for the sake of so-called [missions].
Simply because of a piece of information, they quickly massacred hundreds of households.
Whoosh~
A gust of wind swept in, scattering Pingzhong Hua's hair. She instinctively closed her eyes, but then suddenly her hand felt empty.
"You!"
Pingzhong Hua, ignoring the pain in her body, instinctively lunged forward, but the man merely extended his hand and seized her neck, immobilizing her.
Ayai's expression changed. He saw the tall figure who appeared last, dressed in a bizarre pink robe, who now, in front of so many people, brazenly snatched the intelligence from the target he was supposed to protect and began reading it himself.
"You guy, aren't you a Leaf Village ninja?!"
Ninjas would absolutely never look at intelligence they weren't supposed to know.
For ninja villages, often, the importance of [intelligence] far outweighs human lives.
To maintain secrecy, most villages would make the cruelest choices.
Therefore, even if ninjas suffered heavy casualties in battle, many times, they would take their last breath without ever knowing what content the intelligence they desperately fought to protect contained.
Whether it was truly related to the village.
Catherine and [Chaos] also looked startled, not expecting Tao Bai Bai to make such a choice, which would definitely cause Leaf Village's reputation to plummet significantly.
Why would he make such a choice?
Could it be that Tao Bai Bai isn't on the Leaf Village's side?!
In an instant, a somewhat terrifying guess appeared in both Catherine's and [Chaos]'s minds.
Bai Cangshu was somewhat disappointed; the paper contained a cipher.
He threw this so-called intelligence back onto the woman, as if discarding a piece of waste paper.
But in a flash, Bai Cangshu suddenly realized that since these ninjas were so eager to pursue this so-called [intelligence], they must know how to decipher it. His own trial mission was merely to ensure the woman's survival, with no requirements regarding the intelligence itself.
And judging by the simultaneous gathering of Cloud Village and Iwa忍村 (Rock Village) ninja teams, as well as the deployment of Jonin, this intelligence was clearly invaluable.
He changed his plan to kill everyone.
The next moment, Bai Cangshu looked at the ninjas who still hadn't charged, revealing a brutal smile.
He took a deep breath, and the next moment, he lifted his foot and stepped forward.
Ayai also stared expressionlessly at Bai Cangshu's movements. He had already realized this guy's strength, but at the same time, he had prepared a battle plan.
The reason for having everyone surround the opponent was to continuously compress their space until the opponent initiated an attack.
This is the most complete strategy when many people deal with few.
The surrounded party must either attack proactively or allow their protected target to be approached by the enemy.
Whoosh!
Like a sudden gust of wind, Ayai saw the man in the pink robe step into the wind, and his figure vanished.
The next moment, he turned his head and saw a hand appear before his eyes. As his pupils trembled, the instant that hand pressed against his face, his body burst into smoke, transforming into a piece of wooden house debris.
Ayai, having dodged the attack with a Substitute Technique, felt fortunate that the opponent's strike had targeted him. If it had been anyone else, they would surely have been killed. At this moment, while he was being attacked, others should be able to seize…
He turned to look at where the woman was standing, only to find her motionless, still in place. Around her, several individuals dressed in Cloud Village ninja uniforms were being thrown into the sky.
Ayai's pupils sharply contracted. He turned his head back, just in time to see the pink figure emerge from the strong wind…
[Wind God Kick: Catching Wind and Chasing Shadows]!
Bai Cangshu had now mastered the first three forms of Wind God Kick, and his most proficient move was [Catching Wind and Chasing Shadows]. With the enhancement of Wind Demon, he was as swift and eerie as a ghost in the wind.
Ayai formed hand signs with both hands.
Lightning…
Crack, a hand quietly appeared between his own hands, suddenly seizing his wrist. The next moment, a surge of immense force struck, amidst the sound of his wrist shattering.
The other ninjas' screams of agony had only just begun to erupt at this moment.
Bang bang bang bang…
The Cloud Village ninjas were sent flying one by one, crashing into the ruins and leaving large pools of blood.
"This is…"
In the distance, Catherine, Chaos, and the Iwa忍村 (Rock Village) ninjas all watched this scene in horror. In their eyes, Tao Bai Bai seemed to create several afterimages in an instant, and in just one encounter, he instantly sent everyone flying and restrained the Cloud Village Jonin.