Overdrafting the Future, Starting in Naruto

Chapter 25: Turning the Tables!

Now, it was two against two!

Genichi stared at the two men opposite him, his expression still grave. Namiichi Uchiha was the same.

On the other side, Jiekong was in shock, while the Jonin, Siren, was both shocked and enraged. "Bastards!"

Two obvious brats had caused them to suffer such heavy losses. The one in the tiger mask, Genichi, was especially good at hiding his true location. Jiekong hadn't even noticed him when he had cast the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique earlier. As a result, Siren's group had also suffered a great loss, losing four men in an instant.

In total, they had lost eight men, three of whom belonged to the daimyō of the Land of Rivers.

Even so, Siren was now furious to the extreme. "You... are dead!"

Namiichi sneered. "I'm afraid that's not a certainty!"

"Even if we are to die, your companion there will definitely die first!"

Jiekong gritted his teeth. He had now become a liability. It was true; in his injured state, he had no confidence he could block either Namiichi or Genichi. He had fought Namiichi before and knew he was strong; in a one-on-one fight, he was no match. As for Genichi, he looked very young, but his Water Release was absurdly powerful. More than half of their losses had been dealt by him. This kid absolutely could not be underestimated; he knew he couldn't beat him either.

However.

In reality, Genichi was running on fumes. Although the chakra he had used for the initial water clone had been recovered, and using the lake to cast his water jutsu hadn't consumed much chakra, casting the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique twice had taken a significant toll. If he were to cast it again, he would collapse.

In a close-quarters sword fight, he could still put up a struggle. But compared to Namiichi, his swordsmanship likely didn't pose much of a threat to Jiekong. And if Namiichi were to face the Jonin, Siren, alone, he had absolutely no chance of winning. He wouldn't even be able to buy much time.

But even so, he had to act as if he had plenty of strength left.

So, looking at the furious but hesitant Sand Jonin, Genichi targeted Jiekong. "Kill him first!"

As he spoke, he began forming hand seals. Namiichi's gaze also fell on Jiekong.

Jiekong's hair instantly stood on end. He felt as if he were being watched by two venomous snakes.

Siren snorted coldly and shouted, "Jiekong, you retreat first! Leave them to me!"

Jiekong's eyes darted around. He nodded, then leaped back and vanished into the darkness.

With him gone, Siren no longer had to worry about his subordinate. He raised his hand and sent several shuriken flying toward Genichi and Namiichi. The ones aimed at Genichi had explosive tags attached.

Genichi, who had been completely bluffing with the hand seals, immediately leaped back.

Boom!

The explosive tags sent up countless sprays of water.

"Brat, you can't have much chakra left!" Siren charged, heading straight for Genichi.

Genichi quickly retreated again, landing on the shore. Namiichi, meanwhile, rushed forward, throwing a continuous stream of shuriken.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Siren swung his blade, deflecting the shuriken one by one. But just then, Namiichi leaped into the air. With a tug of his teeth, thin steel wires glinted coldly in the moonlight. One by one, the wires crisscrossed through the air, winding towards Siren.

The Uchiha's Manipulating Windmill Triple Blades technique!

At the same time, Namiichi was forming hand seals.

Just then, Siren's ninja blade hummed and began to glow. With a swing, he easily cut through the steel wires, freeing himself from their restraints. However, the next moment, Siren found he couldn't see anything.

"Genjutsu!" Siren was startled and immediately leaped backward.

Boom!

Flames crashed into the water's surface, sending up clouds of steam. Siren had narrowly avoided Namiichi's Dragon Fire Technique.

Pat! Pat! Pat!

The sound of footsteps echoed in his ears. Siren focused his senses, then suddenly swung his blade to block.

Clang!

Sparks flew. Namiichi's attack had been blocked.

On the lakeshore, Genichi was panting heavily. His chakra was almost completely gone. But a Jonin was a Jonin. Even with his vision stolen, he could still react calmly.

Shoving two soldier pills into his mouth, Genichi's pupils suddenly contracted.

The one who had fled, Jiekong, was back.

He stepped onto the surface of the lake. Just as Genichi was about to push his body to its absolute limit and unleash one last water jutsu, a white light flashed, and Jiekong fell.

"Sakumo-sensei!" Genichi was overjoyed.

Immediately after, Siren also died.

"Genichi, are you alright?" Sakumo asked with concern.

Genichi shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Sakumo-sensei, is the mission complete?"

Sakumo shook his head.

Genichi's heart sank. Did he abandon the mission to come back and save us?

Sakumo didn't explain further, shouting, "You two retreat first! I'll cover the rear!"

Genichi gritted his teeth. "Sakumo-sensei, we can still do this."

"If we attack now, we can catch the enemy completely off guard!"

Namiichi immediately added, "I agree with Genichi."

Sakumo frowned. If he chose to complete the mission, then Namiichi and Genichi would have no chance to escape. At that point, all enemy forces would be hunting them. Once he was tied down, Namiichi and Genichi, having just fought a major battle, would have no chance of survival.

Choose to complete the mission, or choose the lives of his comrades?

Sakumo chose the latter without hesitation. "Follow the order!"

Genichi tried to argue. "Sensei, I know you're worried about Namiichi and me, but I think we still have a chance."

"You can create a shadow clone to retreat with us as a decoy, while your real body goes back for the assassination."

"That should be enough to buy time for your real body to return."

"Besides, my stamina is recovering. I can still fight."

"As long as we retreat to where En is, we'll have more time."

Namiichi nodded vigorously. Yes, yes, just like that.

Genichi added, "Second plan: you, sensei, will act as the decoy and draw the enemy away. Namiichi and I will infiltrate and assassinate the daimyō."

"When the enemy sees our squad retreating, their main force will surely give chase, leaving the daimyō's side vulnerable."

The masked Hatake Sakumo looked at Genichi, his eyes full of admiration. He then made his decision. "Then we'll execute the second plan!"

As he spoke, he formed a seal and created two shadow clones. The clones then used the Transformation Jutsu, turning into Genichi and Namiichi. The real Genichi and Namiichi immediately went into hiding. Namiichi hid behind the rock garden, using the Transformation Jutsu to become a rock. Genichi hid in the lake.

Before long, the pursuers arrived. Sakumo immediately began to retreat. And he didn't just flee blindly. The two shadow clones retreated first, with his real body falling back behind them. From time to time, he would turn back and charge, constantly engaging the enemy and leading them further and further away from the daimyō's palace.

Back at the lake, after two groups of pursuing enemies had passed, the real Genichi and Namiichi finally emerged.

"Genichi, you provide backup from here. I'm going for the assassination!" Namiichi said.

Genichi thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

"If you can't succeed, you can lure some of the pursuers back here. We'll take them out, and then go back for the kill."

Namiichi nodded, then leaped away and vanished.

(End of Chapter)