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Three days later, just as expected, the third wave of ninja showed up. And just like that Chūnin had said, there was one Jōnin and five Chūnin. Looks like this whole situation finally caught the attention of the higher-ups in Mihua Village.
Kai was the first to rush out, going straight for the Jōnin. Lee was right behind him. The master and student combo instantly launched a flurry of punches and kicks. Neji followed soon after, and it quickly became a three-on-five fight—Kai took on the Jōnin, while Neji and Lee each handled two Chūnin.
One of the Chūnin stayed back, trying to interfere with Kai's fight.
"TenTen, stay and guard the cave," Akio ordered, then dashed off to join the fight. Only Shikajiu and TenTen were left in the cave.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Akio formed hand signs while running, and a blast of wind sent the interfering Chūnin flying.
"Nice one, Akio!" Kai shouted, landing a kick on the Jōnin that sent him flying, then giving Akio a big thumbs up.
"No big deal." Akio grinned and charged toward the Chūnin to fight.
Even though Lee and Neji were both strong—definitely above average Genin—it was still tough dealing with two Chūnin each. Akio had to finish his guy quickly so he could go help them.
"Rasengan!"The Chūnin had just gotten back on his feet when a Rasengan slammed right into his face. Blood sprayed everywhere. His skull nearly cracked open. This wasn't like the anime—when you hit someone with a high-speed spinning Rasengan in real life, it'll peel their face right off.
"Aaagh!!"The Chūnin flew back, crashed into a tree, and didn't move again.
"Shikajiu-sensei, aren't you gonna help?" TenTen asked while watching the fight from inside.
"They've got it handled," Shikajiu replied with a smile, not looking the least bit worried.
"Lee, I'll help you!" Akio called out. The Chūnin he'd been fighting wasn't getting up anytime soon, so he rushed over to help Lee. Neji seemed to be holding his own, but Lee was clearly struggling against two opponents at once.
"No need!" Lee was still smiling as he clashed with both Chūnin. "Leaf Whirlwind!"He planted his hands on the ground and spun his legs in a whirlwind kick that knocked both enemies back.
"I'm just getting into the groove here!" Lee landed, one arm behind his back, the other held out in front of him as he faced the two Chūnin.
"What about Neji?" Akio looked over."Rotation!"Neji spun just in time to deflect a barrage of kunai. He'd already figured out how to use Rotation on his own by now.
"I'm good too. Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms!"Neji hit one of the Chūnin with thirty-two rapid strikes, sending him staggering back. The other Chūnin didn't dare jump in after seeing that.
"Well, okay then." Akio nodded, then turned to glance back at the cave. Something about Shikajiu was weird. He hadn't lifted a finger during the fight and was smiling a lot more than usual.
Akio couldn't shake the strange vibe.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"Kai spun in midair and launched a kick at the Jōnin.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"The Jōnin leapt back and fired a massive fireball at Kai, but Kai's spinning kick blew right through it like it was nothing.
That really shocked the Jōnin. He hadn't expected someone to kick a Fireball Jutsu apart with pure taijutsu.
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"Before he could recover, Kai was already in his face. One kick landed square on his jaw, sending him flying in a bloody arc through the air.
"Dynamic Entry: Forward Curve!"Before the guy even hit the ground, Kai chased him down with another kick—
Boom!
The Jōnin slammed into a tree, eyes blank, barely conscious.
"Don't even bother struggling. Kai-sensei hasn't even gotten serious yet," Akio said with a grin. He walked over and tied the guy up nice and tight with some rope.
"Man, that was too quick. I didn't even get to enjoy the fight," Kai said with a sigh. These small-country ninja were way too weak.
That comment made Akio's heart skip for some reason, but he didn't think much of it. He dragged the tied-up Jōnin back into the cave.
"Shadow of the Dancing Leaf!"Lee had already taken out one of his opponents. Now he flashed toward the other at blinding speed, kicked him into the air, and landed a solid hit that knocked both enemies out cold.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!"Neji unleashed a rapid barrage of strikes and sent both Chūnin flying. They coughed up blood before collapsing unconscious.
"That's all five taken care of." Akio smiled. "Hey, are you seriously a Jōnin? You're pretty weak," he said, squatting beside the tied-up Jōnin.
The guy looked middle-aged. He gave Akio a quick glance but didn't say anything. That kid had taken out a Chūnin in just two moves. Were all Konoha ninja this terrifying?
"Lee, come help deal with the bodies," Neji called, dragging two corpses over.
"On it!" Lee grabbed two more by the legs and picked up the one Akio had taken out, then the two of them walked off toward the cliffside.
"What are you Konoha ninja doing here, anyway?" the Jōnin asked as Kai walked back over.
"Just doing our mission," Kai replied casually.
"Mission?" The Jōnin was stunned. What kind of mission involved killing so many ninja from the Land of Filling?
"Well, your two countries are at war, right? Our job is to stop the war. S-rank mission." Akio smiled at him.
"You're just… telling me your mission like that?" The Jōnin was even more confused now. Shouldn't something like that be classified?
"Well, you're gonna die anyway. Doesn't really matter if you know," Akio said with a sly grin, eyes half-closed.
The smile on that kid's face made the Jōnin shiver. Why was this kid so damn scary?
This kid...Shikajiu stood behind Akio, quietly repeating the words to himself. That creepy smile Akio gave the Chūnin earlier came back to mind, and something about him just felt... off.
Soon, Lee and Neji returned. The captured Jōnin was also dragged to the back. When he saw Yamashina, Mihime, and the two other captured Chūnin back there, his face instantly went pale.
But as Akio and the others were walking back into the cave, several shadowy figures emerged from the trees nearby.
"Konoha ninja, huh? I knew something fishy was going on here," said a middle-aged man in front, with two masked ninja behind him.
"Go back and get reinforcements. I'll guard the entrance. We'll wipe them out," the man ordered.
"Yes," one of the masked ninja responded, and then vanished.
"....."