Chapter 4: First Battle
"So you might as well stay here."
The Mist ninja slowly raised the hand holding the senbon, as if deciding which part of Chizuki's body to start with.
"Wait."
Among the Mist ninja, one who had remained silent until now spoke in a calm voice.
"What is it, Captain? Why not just kill this brat?"
The Mist ninja licked his lips and asked in confusion.
"We don't know whether this kid has companions. Not far from here is our supply unit. This brat and those Konoha ninja the patrol squad dealt with earlier are both highly suspicious. And then there was that powerful burst of energy and the white light from before. Better to bring him back first and interrogate him slowly."
After speaking, the Mist captain narrowed his eyes slightly, then waved his hand and said indifferently,
"Cripple him. Then take him away."
Hearing him speak as though it were something utterly insignificant, Chizuki clenched his fists tightly and stared at the group of Mist ninja.
Is this really the end?
He gritted his teeth.
I just transmigrated, and I'm already going to die? Since I can't escape anyway, then rather than getting captured, tortured, dragged back to the village known as the "Bloody Mist," and dying miserably… I'd rather fight them to the death! Kill one and I break even. Kill two and I profit!
At that thought, the look in Chizuki's eyes gradually calmed.
But what followed was overflowing killing intent.
He leapt backward, widening the distance between himself and the Mist ninja. In that instant, he pulled a kunai from his ninja pouch and flung it in reverse grip, then swiftly formed hand seals with both hands.
Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Chizuki raised his left hand before his chest, pressed his index and middle fingers to his lips, gathered chakra in his throat, and exhaled in one breath.
A massive fireball shot forward.
The Great Fireball Jutsu was a C-rank ninjutsu. Though its rank wasn't high, it was still regarded as an advanced technique. In Konoha, it was the foundational Fire Release technique of the Uchiha clan. Because of its great power and wide range, many other ninja learned it as well. It was also the only ninjutsu Chizuki had mastered within the Mitarashi clan.
Yet when faced with the roaring flames, the Mist ninja showed no reaction at all. Some of them even sneered.
"Heh heh heh… To be able to use Fire Release like that at such a young age, you must be some kind of genius in Konoha. But geniuses usually meet miserable ends. A turtle in a jar, and you still think you can resist?"
The gray-haired Mist ninja tilted his head and easily dodged the incoming kunai, which lodged firmly into a nearby tree trunk. At the same time, his hands moved just as quickly, forming over a dozen seals in rapid succession.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu."
Compared to Chizuki, the gray-haired Mist ninja was faster and far more forceful in his counterattack. The moment he moved, he used a B-rank ninjutsu—the Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu.
Supported by his powerful chakra, a massive surge of water appeared out of thin air. It rapidly gathered in midair into the shape of a dragon-like torrent and crashed into the incoming fireball.
To unleash such a large-scale Water Dragon Jutsu without any nearby water source was enough to show just how formidable the gray-haired Mist ninja was.
With Water Release's elemental advantage, combined with the immense gap in chakra between them, the powerful torrent instantly tore the fireball apart and continued its course, charging straight at Chizuki.
"Holy crap!"
In an instant, Chizuki was swallowed by the massive wave.
For a moment, the area became a temporary flood.
Not long after, the water receded. Dripping sounds echoed through the forest.
Chizuki was kneeling on one knee, panting heavily. His clothes were completely soaked. Only the trace of red he coughed up showed just how dangerous that attack had been.
"Tch. So you managed to dodge at the last second before it landed. Pretty lucky."
The gray-haired Mist ninja curled his lips in annoyance.
"But this is as far as you go."
As far as I go, huh?
Chizuki lifted his head and let out a cold laugh.
The moment he saw that expression, the gray-haired Mist ninja felt a flicker of unease.
But he found it hard to believe that a mere little genin could possibly have any way to turn things around. As he hesitated, Chizuki's lips moved slightly, almost like a whisper.
"Art… is… an explosion."
"Not good—!"
Boom!
The gray-haired ninja's warning was instantly drowned out by a thunderous blast.
Explosive flames erupted from the tree, and even several nearby Mist ninja who had no time to react were caught in the blast.
The reason was the kunai Chizuki had thrown earlier—wrapped around its handle were two highly destructive explosive tags.
Although the Mitarashi clan could not be considered one of Konoha's great noble clans like the Uchiha or Hyūga, it was not much weaker than the Ino-Shika-Chō alliance. It was only because too many clan members had died during the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars that the family's strength had declined sharply.
Still, a starving camel was bigger than a horse. Thanks to his clan's resources and his own training, Chizuki had graduated first in his class. When he left home, he had been carrying quite a few explosive tags and soldier pills with him.
Just now, Chizuki had first thrown the kunai on the surface to divert attention and set up the Great Fireball Jutsu.
But in truth, the real killing move had always been the kunai from the beginning.
The Great Fireball was the true distraction.
This kind of feint-within-feint, false front concealing the real strike, was exactly the sort of deceptive warfare Chizuki, as a seasoned anime fan, knew all too well.
Of course, he had miscalculated the enemy's counterattack and nearly died from stubbornly eating a Water Dragon head-on. But aside from that mistake, his assault had gone rather well.
"You damned brat! I'll kill you!"
As the smoke cleared, the gray-haired Mist ninja's wretched figure emerged.
Though he was a chūnin, facing two explosive tags detonating at close range had only allowed him to barely escape. The genin beside him, however, had not been so fortunate.
Of the three genin, one had died instantly, while the other two clutched their mangled bodies and wailed in pain.
The Mist captain frowned deeply and said unhappily,
"You're fine fighting enemies head-on on the battlefield, yet you suffer heavy losses against a five- or six-year-old brat. If people like that die, they die for nothing. Enough. Finish this quickly."
"Don't worry, Captain, I will. But although we're supposed to capture him alive… losing an arm or a leg shouldn't matter, right?"
Feeling the burning pain from the scorched wound on his back, the gray-haired Mist ninja grit his teeth, his eyes turning red with fury.
"Do as you like."
As he spoke, the gray-haired Mist ninja pulled back into a cruel smile and began forming seals.
Monkey—Boar—Horse—Snake—...
At that moment, countless wisps of watery mist gathered around him, the area of the fog rapidly expanding. Dense white mist soon sealed off everyone's vision. Even the Mist ninja themselves gradually became unable to see clearly.
At once, a trace of displeasure flashed across the captain's face.
"Tongwu, against a mere child, finishing him quickly would've been enough. Why are you using the Hidden Mist Jutsu?"
His voice rang out, and soon an answer came from within the thick white fog.
The gray-haired Mist ninja, called Tongwu, sounded shocked and terrified as he replied,
"C-Captain… this fog wasn't cast by me."
"What?! Then who did it?"
Hearing that, the Mist captain felt a chill run down his back.
There was no longer time to dwell on confusion. He pushed his chakra sensing to its limit and instantly prepared for battle.
Chizuki, whose vision was also blocked by the white fog, could not help but feel startled.
To deal with me, they're actually using the Mist ninja's trump card—the Silent Killing Technique hidden within the Hidden Mist?
Suddenly, a faint breeze brushed past his ear, as if someone had blown softly beside him.
Then a gentle, delicate voice sounded near him.
"You did well. Leave the rest to me."
"Master~"
***
PS: Try guessing who it is, haha. New book, please add it to your collections~
Also, the Hidden Mist Jutsu can trap Mist ninja too. When Jūzō Biwa and Itachi were being chased by the Mist assassination squad and the Fourth Mizukage, didn't they also use the Hidden Mist Jutsu to escape?