r18novel Chapter 149 1. Always Cheating 1. Straightforward
Chapter 149 1. Always Cheating 1. Straightforward
Chapter 149 Cheating is always fun
The once dimly lit warehouse was suddenly brightly lit, illuminating everything inside clearly.
But what Taiichi and Yohei witnessed drove them almost mad. Saori was standing behind Taiichi, while Kazefuzuki was stabbing a kunai into Saori's right chest. Judging from the trajectory, the kunai was originally meant to be aimed at Taiichi's heart.
Seeing Taiyi and Yangping looking over, He Fengxu, who had always been timid and submissive, looked back at them with disdain and mockery.
"You deserve to die!" Taiyi's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth as he charged towards Hefengxu.
But Kaze was clearly prepared. She pushed the powerless Saori towards Taiichi and quickly retreated, taking only a few steps to reach the side of Kumohime who had just entered the room.
At this moment, Taiyi couldn't care less about anything else. He quickly checked Saori in his arms—her right lung had been punctured and needed treatment as soon as possible.
"Are you stupid? That kind of attack couldn't have hurt me at all, so why did you go up and block it for me?" Taiichi kept complaining, but a dense green light emanated from his hand, enveloping Saori's wound.
"My body—involuntarily—went to block it—I'm so sorry!" Saori's eyes were filled with pain as she coughed up blood as she spoke.
"Stop talking, stop talking! Don't worry, I'm here, you'll be fine!" Taiichi quickly covered Saori's mouth, telling her to stop talking.
Beside him, Yangping's eyes were wide open in anger, the three tomoe in his Sharingan spinning wildly, almost merging into one. He stared intently at the approaching ninja, but made no rash move, simply standing guard in front of Taiichi.
"You're a spy too!" Taiichi gritted his teeth, squeezing out the words one by one from between them.
"Haha! Captain Taiichi, don't be so angry. We're all just doing this for our village!" At this moment, Kazekazu was completely smug.
"How's the trap? We went to great lengths to deal with you!"
"You think you can stop us with just a few of you!" Taiyi didn't take the other side seriously at all. Just two Jonin, did they really think they could control him?
"Matsushita Taichi, we are well aware of your abilities!" one of the Jonin said. "You were able to kill Suina-senpai, and we certainly weren't qualified on our own, but—"
A strong chakra fluctuation emanated from all around, and Taiichi clearly sensed that a massive barrier had enveloped the entire island. At that moment, three more Jonin and eight Chunin entered the warehouse.
"Well, Matsushita Taichi, with your perception, you should be able to tell that the entire island is sealed off by a barrier. You're doomed now."
"A barrier, so it was a barrier. These guys must have hidden inside it to escape my senses!" Taiyi sneered. "A bunch of cowardly rats, a bunch of scum who don't even have the courage to face me head-on, all they know is to resort to these underhanded tricks!"
Taiichi's words were harsh, and several Cloud Ninja were about to get angry on the spot, but they were stopped by the leader of the Cloud Ninja. He looked at Saori in Taiichi's arms. The bleeding from the penetrating wound in her chest had decreased, but the wound was too big and would not heal for a while. However, it could still consume some of Matsushita Taiichi's chakra.
"Still being stubborn even when you're about to die? You'll see how tough we brothers are in a minute."
Taiichi also saw through the Cloud Village's intentions. Seeing that they didn't attack, he focused on treating Saori.
An eerie silence fell over the scene.
Five minutes later, realizing that Saori's injuries had basically stabilized, Taiichi changed his hand seals, and two shadow clones, each having shared almost all of Taiichi's chakra, appeared. They quickly took Saori and retreated to the rear.
At the same time, Taiyi added one attribute point to his physique, instantly replenishing his chakra.
Immediately, he abandoned all pretense of hand seals and unleashed a Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, halting the Cloud Village's advance.
"Yohei, you and my shadow clone, protect Saori and retreat to the edge of the barrier!"
After leaving behind a word of advice, Taiyi, sword in hand, strode forward.
"Taiyi!" Yangping called out worriedly from behind, "Be careful!"
As he spoke, he quickly retreated in coordination with Taiyi's shadow clone, and even blasted through the warehouse wall with a powerful fireball, heading towards the edge of the island.
On the Cloud Ninja's side, when they saw Taiichi create a shadow clone, they knew something was wrong. They really didn't expect that the Konoha ninja would dare to attack first.
Just as they were about to give chase, Taiyi's Fire Dragon Flame Bullet struck, splitting the battlefield in one fell swoop.
"Take care of Matsushita Taichi first, then go after the others!" The leader of the Cloud Village issued the order.
Before his companions could answer, a boy emerged from the flames.
With a short sword gleaming with golden flames, he cleaved a Chunin in two, weapon and all.
"Damn it, didn't I remind you to protect your weapons with chakra? Are you all brainless?" The Cloud Ninja leader was furious, but he was also the first to attack Taiyi.
But Taiyi had no intention of fighting him. Phoenix Flame kept forming around him and then blasting towards the Jonin who was attacking.
He himself, relying on his exceptional Body Flicker Technique, kept getting close to the lone Chunin.
With a swift stroke, the knife fell! With a swift stroke, the knife fell!
Once a Chunin gets close to him, he can restrain them with swordsmanship and then attack them with Phoenix Flame. They are usually killed in two moves.
"Damn it, Chunin are moving closer to Jonin, and some are using ranged ninjutsu to control the situation!"
With the Cloud Ninja's tactics changed, Taiyi's side immediately began to struggle.
Faced with lightning-style ninjutsu attacking from all directions, Taiichi could only avoid its sharp edge.
You want to use ninjutsu? I'm good at that too!
Taiyi changed his previous fighting style, no longer engaging in close combat with the Cloud Ninja, but instead resorting to hit-and-run tactics, throwing fire-style ninjutsu at the Cloud Ninja without restraint, and bright golden flames soon filled the entire warehouse.
"Get out of here, we can't stay here any longer."
But Taiyi wasn't about to let them have their way so easily. He quickly approached the slowest group of ninjas, slashed horizontally with his short sword, and unleashed a burst of fiery sword energy.
"Did you even ask me before you ran away?"
Sensing the terrifying flaming blade slashing down from behind, the Jonin and one of the Chunin either jumped high to avoid it or ducked to dodge, but chose not to confront it head-on.
However, one of the slow-witted Chunin refused to believe it and insisted on taking the attack head-on.
There was a crisp "ding" sound.
He managed to block the sword energy, but the golden flames contained within it splattered all over him due to inertia.
That's a flame that can melt steel instantly.
With a scream of agony, the Chunin's body was half ablaze, and he writhed wildly on the ground. But reality gave him no chance; the sea of fire surged past, instantly engulfing him. What followed was the collapse of the warehouse, burying everything inside.
The Cloud Village ninjas who escaped the warehouse regrouped, and upon looking at each other, their faces were immediately covered in soot.
Despite having the advantage in both numbers and strength, they lost four Chunin in just a short exchange, which was utterly humiliating.
"Let's go to the beach. Amidst the clouds and mist, your water-style techniques will suppress his fire-style techniques. The other Chunin will keep the enemy at bay, while the Jonin will engage me in close combat!"
"Boom!"
The original warehouse had completely collapsed. Taiyi stepped over the ruins, walking towards the Cloud Ninja. He looked at them with disdain, pointed his short sword forward with his right hand, and taunted, "A bunch of trash, come at me if you dare!"
"Matsushita Taichi, you are indeed powerful, but how long can your chakra last with such powerful ninjutsu?" The leader of the Cloud Ninja did not back down and pointed out the weakness of Taichi's tactics. Even if it was to dampen Taichi's spirits, it was also to remind his own people that Taichi's strength could not last.
"Enough with the nonsense. If you won't come, I'll go over there!" With that, Taiyi stomped the ground and shot towards the Cloud Ninja like an arrow. Along the way, he added one attribute point to his physique, instantly replenishing his chakra and stamina.
"Go!" The leader of the Cloud Ninja rushed towards the seaside first, while throwing several kunai with explosive tags attached behind him from time to time to hinder Taiyi's pursuit.
The island wasn't very big to begin with, and with their full sprint, they reached the beach in just a few breaths.
At this moment, three Jonin stepped forward, preparing to entangle Taiichi.
The other Chunin dispersed around, preparing ninjutsu to restrain the enemy.
The other two Jonin stood on the sea surface and began forming hand seals.
When Taiyi saw this formation from afar, he knew that the battle ahead would be difficult, but he was not afraid. It was just a matter of holding the enemy back and wearing them down; Taiyi was not afraid of that.
He formed hand seals and created two shadow clones, which scattered to the left and right, intending to intercept and kill the Chunin.
However, the Jonin from Kumogakure were being too cautious at this point, and the two Jonin went straight for the Shadow Clone.
In the close combat, Taiyi didn't defend himself at all, wanting to take down a Jonin as quickly as possible.
However, the other party clearly knew about Taiyi's situation from Hefengxu, so they didn't engage in a direct confrontation and only wanted to entangle and wear down Taiyi.
Meanwhile, the two Jonin on the beach had also prepared their ninjutsu. With favorable timing, location, and personnel, the success of these two ninjutsu was self-evident.
Water Release: Waterfall Rush Wave *2
The seawater began to surge wildly around the two Jonin, and in the blink of an eye, the sea level rose more than ten meters. The surging seawater pressed down on Taiyi like a wall.
"Matsushita Taichi, aren't you very good at fire-style techniques? Let's see what you do when we get in the water!" As she spoke, as if afraid that Taichi would escape, she even increased the intensity of her attack, looking like she was willing to risk her life to drag Taichi into the water.
Taiyi showed no mercy, each strike a life-or-death exchange. Despite the opponent's best efforts to dodge, Taiyi still managed to sever one of his arms before the waves arrived.
Even with his arm severed, the Jonin still grinned maliciously and fought until the very last moment, until he saw Taiichi also swallowed by the waves.
While everyone in the Hidden Clouds breathed a sigh of relief, Taiyi, underwater, sneered and unhesitatingly added a skill point to the Water Attribute Nature Change skill.
In an instant, a wealth of insights and techniques about Water Release were absorbed into his mind, and his Water Attribute Nature Change skill reached Lv11.
With hands forming hand seals quickly, he unleashed Water Release: Great Water Prison Technique.
The water around Taiyi immediately calmed down, and then seemed to transform into two arms that stretched forward. In just a moment, they caught up with the one-armed Jonin. The water flowed together, and a huge water prison was formed.
With a thought, Taiyi was pulled to the surface by the current, along with the enormous water prison.
At this moment, the entire island was submerged by seawater, and the Cloud Village ninjas stood scattered on the sea surface, staring blankly at the huge water prison.
"Damn it, what kind of information is that? How come you didn't even know he was proficient in water escaping!" The Cloud Ninja leader roared angrily at Kazefu.
But He Fengxu was also helpless. After being in the team for so long, he had never seen Taiyi use any powerful water-style techniques.
Taiyi coldly watched the Cloud Ninja's argument, then suddenly stretched out his right hand and clenched his fist forcefully towards the water prison.
The move was so menacing that the Cloud Ninja immediately knew something was wrong and rushed to their aid, some using ninjutsu attacks and others engaging in close combat. But Taiyi was quick to react, using his Instant Transmission technique to circle around the water sphere and fight them off.
As Taiyi moved, the previously calm water prison suddenly began to rotate and compress, generating countless turbulent currents and water blades inside.
The one-armed ninja trapped in the water prison was tossed about by the turbulent current, while the water blades cut more and more wounds into his body.
More importantly, as the water sphere compressed, the immense pressure squeezed him, and finally, with a "crack," everyone clearly saw that the severed-arm ninja's chest cavity collapsed, and he was dead beyond any doubt.
At this moment, the water sphere, which was originally 5 meters in diameter, has been compressed to just over 3 meters and is still spinning and compressing wildly.
The Cloud Ninja leader was the most knowledgeable. After recovering from the shock of the dead Jonin with the missing arm, he immediately realized the danger. "Retreat, retreat quickly, this water ball is about to explode!"
Although the description was inaccurate, the danger was undeniable. When Taiyi saw the Cloud Ninja begin to flee, he knew he couldn't wait any longer, and his hand seals changed. What was originally the Great Water Prison Technique transformed into a Wild Water Dance.
With a one-second pause, countless water arrows shot out from the giant water sphere, instantly covering an area of twenty meters in radius with a rain of arrows.
Taiichi, who was closest to the target, was instantly pierced by at least 10 water arrows. Fortunately, he had enough chakra and used the Cremation Technique to stop his attack due to the massive loss of chakra.
With another attribute point added, Taiyi finally looked back at the entire battlefield.
Four corpses floated on the water in the distance, but they were all Chunin. Further away, the Cloud Ninja leader was closest, his left leg pierced. At the farthest point, a wall of water collapsed, revealing three Jonin and two Chunin intact inside.
Taiyi sighed slightly. It was a loss; one attribute point only bought him the results of four Chunin battles.
As the battle raged on, the Cloud Ninja were getting a bit frustrated. They had already lost one Jonin and eight Chunin, while the enemy seemed to be full of energy, showing no signs of weakness from running out of chakra.
As Taiyi began to move forward, the Cloud Ninja involuntarily took a step back, and their morale immediately plummeted.
The Cloud Ninja leader was now in a difficult position and could only say with a forced smile, "Today it's either him or us. Don't forget, the barrier has trapped us all inside. Until the battle is over, none of us will get out."
Sure enough, these words were very effective. The previously low morale immediately soared like it had been injected with chicken blood. The leader of the Cloud Ninja quickly assigned tasks and led the Jonin who had been there earlier to charge forward.
At the same time, on the other side of the battlefield, Taiichi's shadow clone was doing his best to heal Saori.
Because of the depletion of chakra, one of the shadow clones had dissipated, but the healing effect was remarkable. The blood hole in Saori's chest had now scabbed over, and the originally fatal injury had now basically recovered.
Yangping waited anxiously by the side, sometimes looking up into the distance, sometimes looking back at Saori's injuries.
"Taiyi, how much longer until you recover? I wonder if they can hold on over there?"
"Almost there, almost there, just a little more!" The shadow clone muttered, but his hands didn't falter at all. He knew the main body had a trump card, but he still wanted to finish the treatment as soon as possible so that Yang Ping could go and provide support.
Ten minutes later, the last trace of marks on Saori's chest disappeared, and the shadow clone stopped. At this point, apart from being a little pale, Saori was no different from an ordinary person.
Seeing that the treatment was over, Yangping immediately squatted down and asked in a low voice, "Saori, how are you feeling?"
"Great!" Saori, supported by her shadow clone, stood up. "It feels like I've died once!"
"Then—let's hurry up and go support Tai, he's dealing with quite a few people." Yangping was already impatient, looking at the shadow clone with longing. If he wasn't worried about Saori, he would have rushed over to help long ago.
"Alright, you can go, but remember to be careful. The battle over there is very intense." The shadow clone nodded in agreement, and before Yang Ping could say anything more, it suddenly ran out of chakra and disappeared into smoke.
Now that Yang Ping had received approval, the anger in his eyes burned fiercely once more, and the three tomoe began to spin faster.
Beside her, Saori also took out a Taiichi special soldier's ration pill and put it in her mouth.
Once they were ready, the two ran together toward the battlefield.
On the other side of the island, the memories transmitted back after the shadow clone dissipated completely put Taichi at ease. Saori's injuries were not serious, and the two were on their way to provide support. The stalemate on this side could finally be broken.
In the previous battle, the Cloud Ninja were caught off guard by Taiichi's unpredictable fighting style, resulting in the deaths of several ninja.
The Cloud Ninja, now playing a steady and methodical approach, have managed to withstand Taiyi's attacks. They are not seeking merit but rather avoiding mistakes, all in order to deplete Taiyi's chakra.
They still didn't believe it; could Matsushita Taichi's chakra reserves possibly be comparable to those of a tailed beast?
The Cloud Ninja guessed correctly; Taiichi's chakra was indeed nearly depleted again. After all, in order to deal with the more troublesome Cloud Ninja, he used ninjutsu much more frequently than the Cloud Ninja.
But Taiyi can cheat, just now he added attributes twice more.
It's no longer a matter of Taiichi lacking chakra. On the contrary, the Cloud Ninja are hardly using ninjutsu anymore. Even the two Jonin, Cloud Water and Cloud Mist, in the distance, have started to join close combat with kunai in hand.