Chapter 103: Giving You a Tattoo of Instructions
The door of the wooden cabin flew straight out, crashing onto the ground along with the body of a burly man with a buzz cut.
Immediately after, several more muffled thuds followed.
Three lackeys were kicked out like sandbags, rolling several times on the ground before coming to a stop.
"Boss is mighty!"
"And you still wanted to rebel?"
Several cheers came from inside the house.
A lean young man walked out, dressed in black night-gear with a short sword tucked into his waist.
He flicked his wrists, his gaze sweeping over the fallen lackeys as he let out a cold laugh.
"Just with you lot, you thought you could take my position?"
'His Taijutsu isn't bad, probably Chunin level. In this remote town, he's strong enough to do as he pleases."
Haruko gave this leader a score in his heart.
The lackeys who had been kicked out struggled to get up, their faces filled with resentment.
"Big brother, we just wanted a better life..."
"Shut up!" The leader stepped on the speaker's chest. "Who was it that said they wanted to do big things with me back then? Now you see money and your eyes turn red with greed?"
"But..."
"No buts!" The leader increased the pressure on his foot. "Rules are rules. Ill-gotten gains should be taken with honor and distributed with moderation! This is the creed of the white bird!"
Swish!
A dark shadow flew out from deep within the forest.
It was a black... character?
"What—"
The next second, the leader, who had been so imposing just moments ago, suddenly froze.
His whole body trembled from the effort, his eyes bulging, yet he couldn't move even a single finger.
"This is..." Izumi was stunned.
"A binding-type Ninjutsu." Kakashi's voice came from behind, his tone a few degrees more serious than usual.
Haruko's gaze was already locked onto the person slowly walking out of the forest.
'Oh, isn't that what's-his-name?"
Although he had almost forgotten the name, those tear troughs, those eyes like the Lion Boy, and that signature "Tattoo Technique"—it was definitely the villain from the anime-original plot, Shirō.
He glanced again at the lackeys lying on the ground—a burly man with a buzz cut, a feminine-looking man, a bald one, and a featureless brute.
Weren't they exactly Shirō's lackeys from later on?
The rebellious lackeys looked at each other, a flash of joy in their eyes.
"Boss! You're here!"
"Mhm." Shirō nodded. "Proceed as planned."
"Yes!"
The lackeys immediately lunged at their companions who were still loyal to the leader.
The wooden cabin instantly fell into chaos.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What touching brotherhood. Unfortunately, things like emotions are worthless in the face of power."
Shirō walked up to the immobilized leader and patted his face as if admiring a piece of art.
"More than that, what I really want to know is—where is that Earth cabbage?"
"I don't know what you're talking about! You bastard! I'll..."
The leader gnashed his teeth, yet he still couldn't move.
"It seems you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin."
With a movement of Shirō's hand, the leader's mouth was forcibly shut as if being pinched.
'Interesting, this Word Binding Jutsu. It's mainly Yin Release nature transformation, similar to Kotodama?"
Haruko didn't care at all about these two groups of thieves fighting like dogs; he was focused on analyzing the opponent's ability.
But some people couldn't stand it any longer—
"Stop!"
A feminine shout broke the deadlock.
Inuzuka Hana could no longer hold back and charged forward with her three Ninja Hounds.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
Uchiha Izumi followed closely behind, several shuriken wrapped in flames whistling out to provide support for Hana.
'These two girls have an overflowing sense of justice."
Haruko could only facepalm as he watched.
"Aren't you going to help?" Kakashi's voice came from the side.
"The main player hasn't made a move yet; those small fry are perfect for them to practice on." Haruko pointed at Shirō. "I haven't figured out that guy's technique yet. Acting rashly carries the risk of a total wipeout."
These words weren't entirely an excuse.
Haruko was indeed seriously observing the Word Binding Jutsu—albeit for the purpose of analyzing and stealing it.
This technique of Shirō's was quite broken in the original work; it could control at least dozens of people, and its strength was high enough to control a Jinchuriki who wasn't using a Tailed Beast Cloak.
It might not be useful on a high-end battlefield, but it could be called a god-tier skill for crushing weaklings.
Inside the wooden cabin, the battle had already begun.
The three Gaimarus pounced on the nearest lackeys, while Izumi headed straight for Shirō.
"Konoha headbands? And the Sharingan..."
Looking at the two Konoha Genin who had suddenly burst in, Shirō didn't show much panic; instead, an interested expression appeared on his face.
He licked his lips, his fingers moving rapidly through the air.
"What an unexpected harvest. Since you're here, you might as well stay."
This time, Haruko saw clearly.
Chakra condensed at Shirō's fingertips, constructing the technique circuit as if he were writing.
Izumi tried to step forward to interrupt, but Shirō's speed was faster than she had imagined.
"Word Binding Jutsu: Fire!"
The character for [Fire] formed and then transformed into four fire snakes, forcing Izumi to retreat and dodge.
'This time it was combined with fire-attribute nature transformation... It seems this move has quite a lot of development potential."
Haruko continued to watch calmly from the sidelines.
Having forced Izumi back, Shirō's fingers didn't stop as he continued to write the next character.
Izumi's pupils constricted; her dynamic vision was pushed to the limit as she clearly saw the trajectory of the "character."
Sidestep, roll, leap back—
Izumi's movements were very agile, dodging three "characters" in a row—
"Awoo—"
The character she dodged, however, hit Gaimaru.
It let out a pained yelp, its body instantly stiffening as it fell straight to the ground.
Haruko narrowed his eyes.
'It takes effect upon hitting the body, and it seems to work on Ninja Hounds as well, which means it's not a specialized technique for humans. But..."
Recalling the direction the opponent was aiming—all of them were areas of exposed skin.
"...It seems it must hit the body directly to take effect? Even clothing provides protection?"
Shirō threw out a few more "characters," this time targeting Hana.
Hana dodged left and right with the remaining two Gaimarus, but Shirō's attack angles were becoming increasingly tricky.
The rebellious lackeys had also finished the fight inside the house and were now flanking them.
What was even worse—
The leader controlled by the Word Binding Jutsu stood up like a marionette.
He seemed to be desperately resisting; his movements were very stiff, but his speed wasn't slow.
Chunin-level Taijutsu was quite a bit of pressure for two Genin who had only graduated a year ago.
Furthermore—
"Gaimaru!"
Hana's voice cracked.
The Ninja Hound hit by the Word Binding Jutsu also pounced toward Hana.
Compared to the Chunin-level leader, Gaimaru was almost completely unable to resist the control.
Facing Gaimaru's attacks, which completely discarded defense, Hana could only flee in a panic.
—Ask her to strike her own Ninja Hound? That would be more painful than killing her.
"Haruko!" Kakashi's voice rang out again. "Your teammates are about to reach their limit."
"Sigh... Alright, alright. I've seen enough."
Having played the camper for a long time, Haruko finally stood up slowly.
"Kakashi-sensei, if I one-shot him, would that count as stealing their training opportunity?"
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