Konoha's Tag-System Ninja

Shūichi Hoshita didn't bother with the enemies on either side. Instead, he dashed forward to join forces with Uchiha Shisui, swiftly slashing the throat of the enemy who was fighting Shisui.

The two of them then unleashed their chakra without hesitation, propelling themselves forward with the Body Flicker Technique to its maximum potential.

This was Shisui's specialty, and his speed was faster than Shūichi's. Within seconds, he caught up with two enemies, and the sounds of clashing metal rang out through the forest.

Shūichi was a bit slower, and when he intercepted two enemies, he wielded a kunai in his left hand, the Totsuka Chakra Blade in his right, and had a senbon clutched between his teeth.

"Brat, get lost!"

"You're in the way! Die!"

The enemies, dressed as rogue ninjas, snarled with twisted expressions, brandishing their swords as they charged at Shūichi.

Shūichi also surged forward, and in his eyes, the movements of the two enemies seemed to slow down.

Clang!

Squelch!

"Ah, my eyes!"

Three sounds rang out almost simultaneously. Shūichi dodged one attack, blocked another with his kunai, and at the same time, his Totsuka Blade slashed open one enemy's throat while the senbon he spat out pierced the eye of the other.

With a quick follow-up strike, Shūichi turned and continued his pursuit.

At the same time, he swallowed another military ration pill and grabbed another senbon to hold between his teeth.

For most people, consuming a solider pill during battle wouldn't have much effect.

But Shūichi had the "Strong and Sturdy" Tag, which doubled his body's recovery ability, giving him an astonishingly fast digestion rate.

By sparing no effort with his stamina and chakra, Shūichi soon caught sight of the enemy ahead.

Meanwhile, the group ahead, led by Shindō Masaru, was surprised.

A kid, a Konoha genin, had actually caught up?

Though they weren't elite ninja from a major village, but rather part of one of the many small ninja organizations in the Land of Rain, they were still quite experienced.

Judging by Shūichi's age, he likely just graduated.

A Konoha prodigy?

The thought flashed through Shindō Masaru's mind before he ordered, "Leave two to hold off the kid. The rest of you, speed up!"

"Yes, sir!"

The five ninja at the rear followed the order. Two of them immediately halted, turning to face Shūichi.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Shuriken and kunai sliced through the air.

Shūichi easily deflected them, and just as he was about to engage in close combat, he spat out the senbon from his mouth.

"Don't underestimate me, kid!"

The bearded enemy sneered, tilting his head to dodge the senbon.

But then, Shūichi's mouth suddenly shot out a stream of fire.

Fire Release: Flame Bullet!

At such close range, and with no warning signs, Shūichi Hoshita had no free hands to form hand signs, making it impossible to anticipate a jutsu. The bearded enemy barely had time to react before a flame bullet blasted into his face, sending him flying without even a chance to scream.

The other enemy was initially shocked, then delighted. Seizing the opportunity, he lunged forward, swinging his blade at Shūichi. He believed that this swift strike, honed over ten years, was something the boy couldn't possibly dodge.

However, in Shūichi's eyes, the attack seemed slow.

He ducked, using his arms to support himself on the ground, and kicked out with both legs, striking the enemy squarely in the abdomen and sending him flying.

Shūichi then flipped back onto his feet, already hurling the kunai in his left hand.

This enemy was tough, though; despite the pain, he managed to swing his sword and deflect the kunai. As he hit the ground, he rolled several times before springing back up.

But at that moment, Shūichi was upon him. His small frame plunged into the enemy's chest, stabbing rapidly with the Totsuka Blade in his hand, slicing upward to disembowel him.

The enemy fell to the ground, and Shūichi used his body to propel himself forward, not stopping for a moment to continue his pursuit. The enemy's blood was warm, its metallic scent filling the air.

Shūichi didn't bother wiping the blood splattered on his face. He grabbed a new senbon to hold between his teeth and readied another kunai in his left hand.

At that moment, Uchiha Shisui caught up and quickly passed Shūichi.

By the time Shūichi reached them, Shisui had already intercepted Shindō Masaru and his four men, but he was being pushed back under their combined assault, with two wounds already on his body.

Shūichi immediately threw the kunai in his hand, aiming directly at Shindō Masaru, the strongest of the group.

Then, with a quick movement, he pulled three shuriken from his pouch and threw them while spitting out a stream of flames that ignited the shuriken.

Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!

Shindō Masaru easily dodged Shūichi's kunai, unaffected as he continued his attack on Shisui.

However, the other three enemies had to dodge Shūichi's Phoenix Flower Jutsu.

Though Shūichi wasn't skilled in flashy ninja tool techniques, his talent in using them had doubled, and with his dynamic vision, his accuracy had greatly improved.

Even though the attacks ultimately missed, Shisui was freed from the encirclement.

Seeing this, Shindō Masaru immediately retreated.

Shūichi joined Shisui, standing side by side as they caught their breath. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Shisui shook his head. "Just minor injuries!"

Shindō Masaru's gaze fell on Shūichi, thinking to himself, "It looks like this brat is running low on stamina. I'll take him out first!"

"No, I'll take both of these brats out!"

Whoosh!

Shindō Masaru flicked a shuriken at Shūichi and shouted, "Attack!"

The three enemies charged forward. Shindō Masaru saw Shisui forming hand signs and immediately realized he was preparing to release a Fire Release jutsu. He quickly planted his sword into the ground and formed hand signs as well.

Water Release: Water Formation Wall!

A water barrier appeared in front of the three advancing ninjas.

However, Shisui seemed to hesitate for a moment, and the Great Fireball Technique didn't come out.

"Cunning brat!"

Realizing he had been tricked into wasting a jutsu, Shindō Masaru was furious. But just as he was about to drop the water barrier, Shūichi quickly threw three ninja tools in succession.

The first was a shuriken, the second a hand grenade, and the third a kunai.

The three projectiles were lined up almost perfectly, so the shuriken and the hand grenade passed through the water barrier without losing much speed.

"Smart brat, but this trick won't work on me!"

Shindō Masaru sneered internally.

The kid probably thought that forcing him to drop the Water Release would allow the Uchiha brat to use his Fire Release.

But that was underestimating him!

Maintaining the Water Release, Shindō Masaru kicked the sword in front of him. The sword flew up, accurately hitting the kunai and deflecting it.

The shuriken, having lost momentum after passing through the water, fell to the ground before reaching him.

Across from him, a smile crept onto Shūichi's face. "Retreat!"

Both Shūichi and Shisui swiftly hid behind a tree.

The next moment, the hand grenade exploded mid-air, flames erupting as countless tiny iron beads shot out in all directions.

Pfft pfft pfft...

The closest, Shindō Masaru, had his head blown apart, and the water barrier collapsed instantly.

The other three enemies, still unaware of what had happened, were pierced by the steel balls from behind.

(End of Chapter)

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