Naruto: The Teaching System - 245

Chapter 245: Bastard! Is He from Konoha or Iwagakure?

"Chase him!"

"You Konoha bastard! I'll kill you!"

In the dense forest, dozens of Sunagakure shinobi were hot on the heels of the figure ahead, leaping between trees with practiced precision.

The bald man at the front, sporting a thick beard, glared furiously at the figure ahead. His fingers moved rapidly, condensing chakra in his mouth and compressing it into invisible blades before spitting them out toward the constantly leaping figure.

"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"

Several invisible blades shot out at high speed, shattering countless giant trees along the way, sending them crashing down with thunderous force.

The pursuing Sunagakure shinobi stopped, watching the dust cloud explode before them.

"Satetsu-sama, did we get him?" One of the Sunagakure chūnin asked, his voice trembling.

The bald leader Satetsu didn't respond, only sensing everything around him. If that Konoha shinobi could be dealt with so easily, they wouldn't have chased him this far.

"No! Scatter!"

Satetsu's pupils contracted violently as if sensing something, then he roared.

Hundreds of Earth Release spears burst from the ground. Several Sunagakure chūnin who couldn't dodge in time were instantly pierced through the heart. Even in death, their eyes still held expressions of disbelief.

Satetsu ignored the dead chūnin, forming hand seals toward where the Earth Release spears appeared, releasing a barrage of sharp Wind Release cutting jutsu. There was no prediction of the landing point—it covered the entire area.

The other two jōnin charged forward while simultaneously ordering the chūnin and genin behind them to scatter, forming a fan-shaped encirclement.

In the dust, Sawada dodged sideways, avoiding the Wind Release blade shot at him, then formed a seal and slammed it on the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

Several thick Earth Release walls instantly rose from the ground, surrounding Sawada. Immediately after came countless sounds of shuriken and the heat waves of explosive tags. The massive shockwave shattered the Earth Release walls around Sawada. In the flying dust, a blade flickering with an eerie blue light broke through the air, slashing down.

Sawada flipped his kunai, blocking the attack, then instead of retreating, moved forward to close the distance.

A cold light flashed across the kunai. The chūnin watched in disbelief as blood gushed from his neck, splashing onto his face. He fell to the ground, lifeless.

"Got you! Wind Release: Sickle Weasel Technique!"

The Sunagakure jōnin following close behind spotted Sawada's figure and immediately drew the fan from his back, swinging it fiercely toward Sawada's position. A hurricane with slashing properties tore through the air, attacking violently.

Sawada glanced at the Sunagakure chūnin around him who hadn't retreated yet. These guys really don't care about their own people's lives.

The hurricane struck the ground directly, sweeping the surrounding giant trees and the Sunagakure chūnin who couldn't escape into the hurricane's attack range. Several Sunagakure chūnin were torn apart, blood misting through the air.

The Sunagakure jōnin who successfully attacked frowned instead—Sawada's figure had vanished. Just as he searched for Sawada, another jōnin rushing from the side immediately unfurled a scroll. A figure at extreme speed deployed before his eyes.

"Secret Technique: Puppet Manipulation: Black Ant!"

The next moment, scorching flames blasted onto the puppet. The intense heat made even the Sunagakure jōnin protected by the puppet sweat. That was close!

"Good reaction," Sawada said, slowly walking out from the dust. He looked at the Sunagakure squad that had completely surrounded him. Three jōnin and dozens of chūnin and genin.

Looks like I've been too unrestrained lately—actually making Sunagakure send so many people to hunt me down. But Asuma should be able to use this opportunity to thoroughly investigate their rear supply lines.

"Hmph! Konoha shinobi, let's see you try to run now!" Satetsu's voice came, full of cold satisfaction.

Sawada glanced sideways with a smile. "Did I ever say I was running?"

Huh?

Satetsu froze, then fury burned through him. He swept his hand. "Attack!"

The other two jōnin also immediately launched their assault. This time, all three would strike together.

The puppeteer who had just protected another shinobi came forward first. A bizarrely massive puppet covered in blades and mechanisms, emitting ear-piercing metallic screeches, charged toward Sawada's position.

Just as it approached, the puppet's mouth opened, spewing a cloud of purple poisonous smoke.

Sawada narrowed his eyes, held his breath, condensed chakra in his right hand, and swung fiercely at the puppet.

The enormous impact sent shockwaves scattering in all directions. In an instant, the specially made puppet shattered completely.

The jōnin controlling the puppet looked utterly disbelieving—that was a reinforced puppet! To think Sawada destroyed it with one punch. He bit down hard, made his decision, and detonated the poison fog devices on the puppet fragments.

The poison fog spread instantly. Satetsu immediately formed seals. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A strong gale enveloped the poison fog ahead, then blew it all toward Sawada. The Sunagakure chūnin forming the encirclement outside threw kunai and shuriken, determined to finish Sawada.

Sawada rapidly formed seals, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings. After completing the seals, his whole body dove into the ground. The poison fog instantly enveloped the area, and countless shuriken and kunai missed their target, embedding deeply into the earth.

"Underground!" The jōnin who had been controlling the puppet cried out.

On the other side, the previously motionless jōnin reacted immediately, forming seals and shooting dense high-pressure air bullets toward where Sawada had just disappeared.

In an instant, the ground became pockmarked with craters, but Sawada's figure was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it! Is this guy from Konoha or Iwagakure?!" Satetsu punched the ground and roared.

Sawada had been using Earth Release jutsu from the start—slippery as an eel, impossible to pin down!

"Take a guess," a voice suddenly sounded behind Satetsu, immediately followed by a devastating jutsu.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"

A massive flame, so scorching that even the air distorted, instantly swept over. The target was all the Sunagakure chūnin and three jōnin in the area.

"Ahhhhh—!"

The Sunagakure chūnin forming the encirclement couldn't dodge at all and were swallowed by the sea of fire, their screams rising one after another. Then they turned to charcoal and sank into the flames, the sand and stone becoming molten lava from the intense heat.

The three Sunagakure jōnin retreated rapidly, barely dodging the fire waves with Wind Release jutsu.

"Huff—huff—"

Satetsu was completely disheveled. He'd been caught by the Great Fireball first, and now his whole body bore traces of burns. Looking at Sawada's figure standing in the sea of fire, his expression turned ice-cold.

In just an instant, the dozens of chūnin he'd brought had been almost completely annihilated.