Yu Ye's words left Might Dai momentarily stunned.
Why did it feel like this kid was even more confident than he was?!
Was this what they called a newborn calf unafraid of the tiger?
"Oh, right," Yu Ye added calmly, his gaze flickering toward the charging enemies. "The guy leading them over there should be a jōnin."
At this moment, all the shinobi escorting the distant merchant caravan had already begun to move—including their captain.
After all, they weren't sure how many people were tailing them. Out of caution, they chose to act together.
"Jōnin?!"
Might Dai froze, anxiety flashing across his face.
When Yu Ye said they'd kill them all, Dai had actually shared the same thought.
But now there was a jōnin too!
He wasn't afraid of a jōnin.
However, facing one jōnin leading a squad of elite chūnin, he couldn't stop everyone at once.
At best, he could hold back most of them.
He was confident that if he unleashed the Eight Gates, he could eventually wipe them all out—but he couldn't do it instantly.
If even a single enemy slipped through, Yu Ye would be in danger.
This was bad. Really bad.
At this moment, Yu Ye seemed more like a burden—but instead of resentment, Might Dai was filled with guilt.
If he'd known he couldn't fully protect Yu Ye, he should never have brought him along.
The enemy closed in rapidly, forming a formation that faintly resembled an encirclement.
The distance shrank. Dai's tension rose.
Then—
Yu Ye suddenly stood up.
He stood up?!
Might Dai's eyes went wide in shock.
Wasn't that directly exposing himself to the enemy?!
"Can you hold that jōnin?" Yu Ye asked.
"…Yes."
Still stunned, Might Dai nodded instinctively.
"Good. Leave the rest to me."
A faint curve appeared at the corner of Yu Ye's mouth.
The next instant—
Whoosh!!
Yu Ye's figure flickered, and he shot straight toward the nearest enemy shinobi!
"What?! Wait—!!"
Might Dai hadn't even had time to react.
Startled out of his wits, he immediately opened the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates, charging forward in an attempt to intercept Yu Ye.
What was he doing?!
Those were all elite shinobi!
Charging in like that—Yu Ye was still a child! Too reckless!
Boom!!!
The power unleashed by the Fifth Gate shook the battlefield, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Even the captain of this elite unit narrowed his eyes.
"That technique…"
"Only two Leaf shinobi?"
"But this one's dangerous. Everyone, attack together!"
Without hesitation, they made their decision and rushed toward Might Dai as one.
"Get out of my way!!"
Violent chakra surged from Dai's body. His speed nearly turned him into an afterimage.
Wherever he passed, the elite chūnin couldn't stop him at all.
But—
That jōnin could.
Boom!!
In an instant, Might Dai collided with the enemy jōnin.
What shocked Dai was that the moment his punch landed, the jōnin's body turned into flowing water.
"A Water Clone? No—wait!"
After transforming into water, the jōnin didn't disperse. Instead, the water surged toward Dai, launching a high-pressure water assault.
This finally exposed the true origin of this elite unit.
Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village).
Their captain was a shinobi of the Hōzuki Clan.
And the technique he used—
Water Transformation Technique (Hydrification Jutsu).
On the other side, seeing their captain hold off Might Dai, the remaining shinobi shifted their attention to Yu Ye.
"There's another one—a little brat."
"A kid like that is on a mission?"
"Heh. That guy's clearly protecting the kid. If we kill the brat, he'll lose his composure."
The elite chūnin all revealed cruel grins.
Might Dai was terrifying—but Yu Ye looked like easy prey.
Killing the kid would disrupt Dai's mindset and help their captain.
Decision made, they charged straight at Yu Ye.
Seeing this, Might Dai grew even more anxious.
In desperation, he opened the Sixth Gate.
But the Kirigakure jōnin, Hōzuki Mugetsu, refused to give ground. Water Release techniques erupted violently, torrents of water roaring as they tightly bound Dai in place.
Though Dai held the upper hand, he couldn't break through in a short time.
Just as he was about to forcefully open the Seventh Gate, ignoring all consequences—
The corner of his eye caught sight of Yu Ye's battlefield.
And he froze.
That scene was nothing like he had imagined.
Instead—
Two bodies lay collapsed before Yu Ye.
In that brief span of time, two elite chūnin had already been killed by Yu Ye!
Might Dai's eyes widened in disbelief.
Though in the Eight Gates state his eyes were already bulging, that didn't diminish the shock in his heart.
Two elite chūnin—killed instantly!
Even a jōnin wouldn't be able to do that so quickly!
Yu Ye was just a kid.
A genin.
It was almost inconceivable.
Hōzuki Mugetsu, the captain of the Kirigakure unit, was equally shaken.
That kid fighting alongside Might Dai…
Was this strong?!
His expression darkened.
He'd thought Konoha had only sent two scouts.
But neither of them was ordinary.
In the distance—
Nearly unrecognizable corpses lay at Yu Ye's feet, crushed by overwhelming shockwaves.
Seven elite chūnin remained.
Every one of them wore a look of horror.
"Damn it… that brat…"
"He instantly killed Momochi… what kind of power was that?!"
"Careful—he's coming again!!"
Boom!!
Yu Ye suddenly appeared before one of them.
A kunai rested lightly in his hand as he casually swept it downward.
It looked ordinary.
Yet an aura of terror radiated from the blade.
The elite chūnin felt his heart lurch. Without hesitation, he swung his sword up to block.
"Block it! I have to block it!!"
He had personally witnessed Yu Ye killing two comrades with his fists.
Fear of that omnidirectional shockwave filled his mind.
And so—
He ignored the kunai.
That mistake cost him his life.
Even if he hadn't ignored it, the result would've been the same.
Anyone below jōnin level—anyone who couldn't use chakra flow—was incapable of withstanding Yu Ye's power.
That seemingly simple kunai strike contained strength on par with an A-rank ninjutsu.
This—
Was Shockwave Slash.
Shhk!!
In an instant, the kunai cut through him like rotting wood, cleaving straight down from the head.
There was no resistance.
The sword shattered uselessly, unable to slow the shockwave even slightly.
The shinobi was split clean in two.
Blood sprayed across the ground.
Like hellish flowers blooming upon the battlefield.
Bloody.
Demonic.
Terrifying.
"Th-this… what is this power?! What's wrong with that kunai?!"
Even though they were all elite chūnin—
After Yu Ye killed three in succession, terror finally took hold.
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