"I hope you'll still be saying that in a moment, hehehe~"
The wielder of the Nuibari, Kuriarei Kushimaru, narrowed his eyes coldly.
The long blade slung diagonally across his back, his hands moved in a blur, forming a rapid sequence of hand seals. Thick mist spread across the battlefield.
Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique!
"Scream! Wail! Despair as you await the moment of your death! Watch as your guts spill out, as your comrades fall one after another, as your blood dyes the world red! Isn't it fascinating? You're looking forward to it too, aren't you?"
His twisted, maniacal voice sent shivers down the spines of the Kumogakure shinobi.
Toroi's eyes sharpened. He had planned to buy some time, just enough to magnetize the ground beneath his feet—giving himself a tactical advantage for the coming fight.
But the enemy moved too decisively.
It was clear they knew his methods well and weren't giving him the chance to prepare!
...
A sharp whistling sound sliced through the air from the right.
The wielder of the Shibuki, Munashi Jinpachi, charged with a cruel grin, his sword arcing toward the last Chūnin in Shinno's squad.
Without hesitation, Toroi flicked his hand, sending a flurry of rectangular shuriken toward the attack.
Each one was infused with Magnet Release—if they struck the enemy or their weapon, they would become magnetized. Any subsequent attacks infused with magnetic chakra would be drawn to them, making evasion nearly impossible!
Boom!
A violent explosion rang out as the rectangular shuriken scattered.
From the storage scroll in Toroi's mouth, chakra smoke erupted in quick succession as his hands blurred through movements.
Countless rectangular shuriken spread through the mist like a deadly rain.
Clang! Clang!
Two faint metallic clinks caught Toroi's attention. His eyes flashed with understanding.
Immediately, he produced two massive rectangular shuriken, each half his height, and spun, hurling them toward the enemies he had just marked with magnetic chakra.
Splash!
The targets dissolved into water, revealing them as mere clones.
Yet within the mist, more figures quietly took shape.
"Tch—Mist shinobi. Every last one of them fights like a rat hiding in the dark..."
Shinno muttered under his breath, keeping up the pretense of being fully alert while lazily forming hand seals.
Lightning Release: Spider Web!
He slammed his palm to the ground, sending out a sprawling network of crackling lightning that spread through the mist.
Zzt—!
"Hmph!"
Several muffled groans echoed around them.
Numerous water clones dissipated under the electrical surge.
Nigai and the remaining three Kumogakure Chūnin, who had been poised to strike, unleashed their jutsu toward the sources of light and sound.
But the enemy was just as fast—blocking the attacks before vanishing back into the mist.
One by one, the water clones were destroyed, yet not a single real enemy had been hit.
The next moment, two towering water tornadoes surged from both sides.
Above, multiple chakra signatures flared—sharks formed from water barreling down from above!
Faced with the Mist shinobi's carefully laid ambush, the group had no choice but to evade.
Their formation crumbled under the relentless assault.
...
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
A storm of attacks followed immediately after.
Mist shinobi swarmed them in a brutal, unrelenting offensive.
Shinno rolled forward in a feigned panic, raising his right arm just in time to block a kunai aimed at his throat.
Nigai and another Chūnin, who had dodged in the same direction, rose to their feet, standing back-to-back with Shinno as they quickly formed hand seals.
A burst of Lightning Release forced two approaching enemies to retreat.
But before the crackling electricity could even fade—
Water blades. Senbon. Shuriken. Kunai.
Attacks rained in from all directions, hidden by the thick mist.
With their vision obstructed, they could only scramble to dodge.
Within less than a minute, all three had sustained several injuries.
"Shinno-senpai, what now?"
Nigai abandoned independent thought entirely, throwing the question to Shinno.
Perhaps because of the earlier warning, he now had complete trust in this senior—who, despite being slightly weaker, was far more experienced.
"Wait for my signal. We're breaking through."
Shinno gave Nigai a sideways glance, unimpressed.
This guy was supposed to be a Jōnin?
Did Kumogakure promote people based on strength alone, without considering their brains?
They hadn't just been taking hits. They had been waiting.
Using Toroi's Magnet Release as a looming threat, they had been drawing the enemy's top combatants into position—setting up for their escape.
"Got it!"
Nigai's brain had completely shut down.
He was operating as if he were still a Chūnin—blindly following the orders of the leading Jōnin.
Boom!
A powerful explosion erupted from where Toroi had been fighting.
The countless small rectangular shuriken he had scattered—buried in the ground, lost in the water—suddenly surged, forming a spiraling storm of magnetized blades.
The Mist shinobi attacking them were forced back.
Kuriarei Kushimaru and Munashi Jinpachi, wary of touching the magnetic shuriken with their blades, also retreated slightly.
"Run!"
Shinno gave the order, forming hand seals—Lightning Illusion: Thunder Pillar.
A surge of bright lightning cut through the mist, revealing their position to Toroi.
The moment the words left his mouth, Nigai lunged forward, Lightning Release: Thunder Strike crackling in his hands.
The remaining Chūnin followed close behind.
Toroi, seeing the signal, activated his Magnet Release at full force and sprinted toward Shinno's position.
Seeing this, Kuriarei and Jinpachi moved to intercept—
Kuriarei swung the Nuibari in a deadly arc, aiming for Shinno.
Clang!
Shinno blocked, staggering back deliberately.
Toroi lunged forward, aiming to kick the blade and magnetize it—
A flash of steel.
A blade came swinging down, targeting the airborne Toroi, who had no way to dodge.
His eyes locked onto the weapon—
The Shibuki.
Munashi Jinpachi had thrown the weapon ahead of his own attack!
"Go!"
At the last second, Shinno grabbed Toroi's waist and hurled him toward Nigai's direction.
The Shibuki slammed into the ground.
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed Shinno.
He curled his body tightly, tanking the blast as he tumbled back. Without hesitation, he sprang to his feet—blocking a kunai, twisting to evade a silent water blade.
The two Chūnin who had been trailing Toroi reacted too late—
One took a kunai through the temple, dead before he hit the ground.
The other barely dodged one attack—only for a different Mist shinobi to slash his abdomen. His intestines spilled out as he staggered back.
For a brief moment, the explosion had cleared the mist.
Toroi turned back, intending to help—
"Retreat!"
Shinno's voice was firm.
Toroi clenched his jaw.
Spinning, he unleashed another Magnet Release storm before fleeing after Nigai.
...
Ding—
[You have significantly altered the fate of a supporting character. The worldline has been slightly disrupted. Rewards: Trait Extraction x1, Trait Gift x1.]
Hidden within the sea, merging into the waves with Hydrification Technique, Shinno watched the battle fade.
Hearing the system notification, he blinked.
...Whose fate had changed?
Toroi?
Nigai?
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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