LRAB Chapter 208 Rescue, Battle
Chapter 208 Rescue, Battle
Chapter 208 Rescue, Battle
On a secluded path hidden by a dense forest in the land of rivers, two groups of people are facing off.
To call it a standoff would be an understatement; one side was probably hoping the other hadn't even seen them. But reality wasn't as rosy as they imagined.
As the Kazekage and his group approached step by step, Yangping, Kakashi, and the others could only retreat. It wasn't that they lacked the determination to fight, but rather that they were all at their limit and might not even have the strength to fight to the death.
Meanwhile, Kazekage Rasa was not feeling so good either. He had initially thought it was some famous Konoha ninja who had caused so much trouble for Sunagakure, but when he actually saw them, they turned out to be just a few young children.
The oldest guy here is only thirteen or fourteen years old. Heaven really favors Konoha. Why is it that they are always full of talented people, with geniuses emerging one after another?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but recall the guy who had almost shaken his position as Kazekage not long ago. He was also so young, even younger than the group of people in front of him.
"Do you know Matsushita Taichi, a ninja from Konoha?" As expected of the Kazekage, even though he was thinking of you dying right now, he still maintained his composure on the surface.
Yang Ping and the others looked at each other, not understanding what Feng Ying meant, but they remained extremely vigilant in the face of the enemy's question.
"Oh, it seems the ninjas of Konoha are nothing special, they don't even have the courage to talk to me!" the Kazekage said disdainfully.
This is clearly a provocation, and it works very well on young people, especially those inexperienced ninjas who love to show off. It's a surefire way to get them to cooperate.
Sure enough, Obito, who had just awakened his Sharingan and whose emotions were still unstable, couldn't resist the provocation and blurted out a sentence that no one around him could stop.
"Of course I know him, he's a close friend of ours, the kind of friend we'd risk our lives for!"
"Slap!" Yangping slapped Taiyi on the back of the head, but it was too late. Before Obito could even complain, Rasa had already made a move.
"Oh, that's great. Once we've captured you, I'm sure Matsushita Taichi will find it very interesting."
Obito realized at this point that he had said the wrong thing, not only giving the other party extra information, but also potentially affecting Taichi.
Remorseful, he could only keep his mouth shut and await Yangping's punishment.
At this moment, Kakashi and Rin were already somewhat desperate. Facing the Kazekage, even in their prime, it was unlikely they could escape unscathed, let alone now that they were both exhausted.
All they can think about now is how to die with more dignity, in a way that befits their identity as Konoha ninjas.
Yangping and Saori exchanged a glance, both understanding the meaning in each other's eyes. They had originally intended to escape the pursuit on their own, but they never expected to run into the Kazekage.
It seems we have no choice but to ask Taiyi for help. Although they have been away for a while, they know how powerful Taiyi is now. He has withstood the Kazekage without being defeated. With the addition of the Flying Thunder God Technique, it shouldn't be difficult to take them away from this place.
In this regard, Taiyi's two former teammates had a lot of confidence in him.
Just as the Kazekage waved his hand, signaling the Jonin beside him to take action, Yangping took out a uniquely shaped kunai from his ninja tool pouch. He then infused it with chakra, and the runes on the surface of the kunai flashed by.
Less than two seconds later, Taiyi, dressed in a white coat and holding a short sword, suddenly appeared beside Yangping.
He looked around the scene and the first thing he noticed was the Yangping group, all of whom had multiple injuries. Then he saw the Fengying group, who were already on guard, not far away.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly involuntarily. Good heavens, I have to face the Wind Shadow as soon as I come out. Yang Ping, you really think highly of me!
Reaching into his ninja tool pouch, Taichi took out a bottle of specially made soldier pills and handed it to Yohei beside him, while keeping his eyes fixed on the Kazekage opposite him.
"Isn't it a bit like bullying the young ninjas of Konoha for the Kazekage to stare at them like that?" Taiichi mocked. Regardless of the situation, he wanted to seize the moral high ground first, and also annoy the Kazekage. If he could break his guard, that would be even better.
The Sunagakure members were also shocked. Matsushita Taichi, how did he get here? This is the power of space-time ninjutsu!
Luo Sha looked at the special kunai that Yang Ping had just taken out, and he already had a guess in his mind. It should be because of that kunai that it served as a location.
"Matsushita Taichi, you've got some nerve. You're so calm even when you see me. Do you really think things are the same as they were that night?" Kazekage Rasa wasn't in a hurry at all and just chatted with Taichi.
But where no one could see, a steady stream of chakra was flowing into the ground from his feet, refining and transforming the gold dust.
Taiyi's senses were incredibly sharp; he noticed the movement the moment Fengying Luosha made a move. "It seems Lord Fengying isn't so confident after all! Otherwise, why would he resort to such underhanded tactics?"
As he spoke, he slashed at the ground between the two sides with his sword. A flash of fiery sword energy appeared, and under Taiyi's control, it blasted a crater about half a meter deep into the ground, from which a large amount of golden sand splashed out.
His action startled both sides, who thought he was about to make a move. But after seeing the gold dust that had been blasted out, they realized what he meant.
Luo Sha's expression was naturally not good. His little scheme had been discovered, which contrasted sharply with his words just now. It was as if Taiyi had slapped his face repeatedly.
But Rosa proved to be a seasoned politician, managing his expression perfectly in a matter of moments, leaving no trace of his true feelings.
"Of course, you have to go all out in a battle, what else is there to say?" Kazekage said calmly, not taking the recent minor setback to heart at all. "But you, Matsushita Taichi, have you thought about how you want to die?"
"Who can say for sure who will live and who will die?" Taichi brandished his sword, his words sharp and assertive. "Who knows, Sunagakure might start choosing their Fifth Kazekage tomorrow!"
"You sharp-tongued brat, it seems the underworld is the most suitable place for you!" After saying this, Luo Sha stopped waiting, clearly indicating that the gold dust had been fully accumulated.
Taiichi stopped arguing. Rasa was stalling for time, and so was he. Although Yohei and Kakashi had been replenished with Taiichi's ration pills, they still needed time to recover. Otherwise, they would have no way to protect themselves against the four people from Sunagakure due to their lack of chakra.
From underground, a large amount of gold dust shot into the sky, forming a gold dust curtain that blotted out the sun. Taiyi, watching from the ground, was sweating profusely. He himself was not afraid, but the range of this attack was simply too wide.
Taiyi formed a hand seal and created two shadow clones to look after Yangping and Kakashi.
However, his actions clearly provoked Luo Sha, reminding him of that unpleasant past.
With a wave of his hands, he sent countless gold dust particles flying down towards the crowd behind Taiyi.
"You guys retreat first!"
Taiyi gave an order, without forming any hand seals, and simply took a deep breath and exhaled.
A huge, bright golden fireball went straight at it, instantly burning a huge hole in the sky full of gold dust.
"Haha, it seems you haven't learned your lesson yet, Kazekage. That trick won't work on me."
Taiichi provoked with his words, but he didn't slow down at all, constantly dashing forward with his Body Flicker, wanting to close the distance and launch an attack. He wasn't stupid; he wouldn't even consider exchanging blows with Magnet Release from a distance unless his Earth Release had also reached Level 11.
"Arrogant brat, you managed to get close last time, and now you really think you're my match!"
Rasa scoffed, watching Taiyi approach relentlessly. He quickly formed hand seals and unleashed Magnet Release: Golden Sand Waves.
Instantly, the scattered gold dust gathered in large quantities, like waves crashing against Taiyi in layers, seemingly forcing him away and forcing him to circle around Luosha endlessly.
With this distance between them, the four Sand Village ninjas began launching ranged attacks on Taiichi.
In an instant, wind blades, flames, and lightning balls all came crashing down on Taiyi.
Taiyi, however, was quite disdainful of this. "You want to gang up on me? You must still be dreaming!"
He took out four kunai with his left hand and casually threw them towards the four Jonin. Then he took out four more kunai and threw them towards the Kazekage.
When Rasa saw Taichi take out that unusual kunai, he became extremely vigilant. Just as he was about to warn his subordinates, Taichi, who was surrounded by ninjutsu, suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind a Sand Village Jonin.
He thrust his short sword downwards, feeling the blade pierce his flesh. But Taiichi sighed inwardly. He was not Minato after all. The Flying Thunder God Technique was in his hands, but at least before, he could not wield it as smoothly as Minato.
The Sand Ninja was only stabbed in the left arm, failing to achieve a fatal blow. This was not only because his mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique was inferior to Minato's, but also because his reaction speed was not as fast as Minato's.
But Taiichi was not discouraged. The Flying Thunder God Technique was Minato's most important technique, but it was only one of his many techniques.
The short sword pierced the opponent's arm and slashed outwards, almost severing the Jonin's entire left arm. That wasn't all; with a single breath, Tai sent bursts of Phoenix Flame directly towards the Jonin.
Already injured, and with the distance so close, the Jonin didn't even have time to dodge before being struck by several Phoenix Flames. In the blink of an eye, the bright golden flames took his breath away.
It sounds like a long story, but it actually happened in the blink of an eye. By the time the Kazekage and the other ninjas wanted to come to the rescue, Taiichi had already finished off the enemy.
"Damn it, Matsushita Taichi, you really deserve to die!" Kazekage Rasa was furious. The Kazekage, who had been besieged by four subordinates against a Konoha ninja, had one of his subordinates killed. This was a blatant humiliation.
"You all go and hunt down the escaped Konoha ninja. I'll handle Matsushita Taichi!"
The remaining three ninjas exchanged glances, nodded in agreement, and vanished from the scene in an instant.
Taiyi didn't try to stop them at all; instead, a mocking smile appeared on his lips. "Go, go, go after Yangping and the others!"
Taiyi's self-light re-locked onto Luosha, and before he could speak again, he flashed and arrived at a position only 3 meters away from Luosha.
With a swift slash of his short sword, a fiery blade of energy shot out and struck the Fourth Kazekage.
But Fengying was clearly prepared, a thick sand gold shield blocking his way, while sand gold waves rose again, surrounding Taiyi from all directions.
Taiyi was not to be outdone, using swordsmanship and fire techniques in turn. When he was really trapped, he simply threw out the Flying Thunder God Kunai, and then a brand new round of battle began.
Gradually, both sides realized that they could not do anything to each other. In this one-on-one battle, Taiichi lacked a sure-kill move against Magnet Release, and the Kazekage also lacked a way to surround and kill Taiichi.
However, the two sides had completely different attitudes towards this result. Taiyi is still so young. If he is given more time to develop, Fengying will definitely not be his match.
But in the eyes of the Kazekage, this was a disgrace. As the Kage of a village and the symbol of Sunagakure's highest fighting strength, he couldn't even defeat an eleven or twelve-year-old child. This was beyond disgrace; if word got out, even Sunagakure's reputation would be affected.
When employers who wanted to come to Sunagakure to give orders heard that the Kazekage couldn't even beat a child, they didn't consider how talented Taiichi was. They only thought that the Kazekage's strength was nothing special based on their own understanding.
If even the Kazekage is this strong, then his other ninjas must be even weaker.
At that time, the number of missions assigned to Sunagakure will definitely drop precipitously, which will make the already poor finances even worse.
Thinking of this, even in the summer heat, Feng Ying couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
His killing intent surged even more as he looked at Taiyi not far away.
At this moment, he regretted that he shouldn't have assigned all his subordinates. Even if it meant the annihilation of his men, as long as he could keep Matsushita Taichi here, all the sacrifices would be worthwhile.
But there's no going back.
At this moment, the two were still facing off against each other, while simultaneously recovering their depleted chakra.
The battle has been going on for half an hour now. Apart from some hidden tactics, both sides have been giving it their all. The stalemate is just waiting for an opportunity to break out.
And at that moment, the commotion coming from afar might just be the key to this opportunity.
Don't forget, Taiichi came to rescue Yangping and the others who were being chased. At this moment, a large number of Sand Village ninjas are rushing towards their location from all directions.
The intense commotion caused by Taiichi and the Kazekage's battle naturally attracted the attention of the Sand Village pursuers. This half-hour or so was enough time for the Sand Village ninja who were already trailing behind Yohei and the others to arrive.
Sensing the commotion around him, Kazekage immediately launched another attack on Taiichi. His purpose was clear: not to kill, but simply to prevent Taiichi from using Flying Thunder God Technique to escape.
He had also noticed that, perhaps because Matsushita Taichi was not yet proficient, there was a brief pre-cast animation before he could use Flying Thunder God Technique. If he could seize this opening and use relentless attacks, he could force Taichi to be unable to use Flying Thunder God Technique.
Seemingly seeing a glimmer of hope for victory, Rasa couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for Taiichi's talent.
"Matsushita Taichi, how about it? Surrender! You're so young, you have such a bright future ahead of you. It would be such a waste to die like this. If you surrender, what Konoha can give you, Sunagakure can give you too, and even more!"
Taiyi stared speechlessly at Fengying, who was still babbling on and on. Did he really think he was a fool? Even a three-year-old child knew perfectly well what kind of end a traitor could have.
Moreover, he really thought he could take me by the nose.
Glancing at the five teams of ninjas who had already arrived, Taichi scoffed without restraint, "The Kazekage underestimates me, Matsushita Taichi! You think you can keep me here with these rotten potatoes and rotten eggs? The Kazekage should go back and train for another hundred years!"