CH_32

What proper shinobi actually shouted out their jutsu names in battle?

Tōji formed his hand seals and sank directly into the ground.

Crack! The Iwa jōnin, being an Earth Release user, immediately sensed the underground attack. With a soft sound of earth breaking, Tōji's hand grabbed the Iwa-nin's ankle and yanked it downward hard!

And that wasn't all—Tōji's hand was wrapped in wire, already rapidly binding the Iwa-nin's ankle.

But the prepared Iwa-nin simply slowed his attack on Jakkō by a beat, unfazed, and stomped the ground hard with his free foot, chakra surging through it…

Boom! Because someone had already hollowed out the ground below, the Iwa-nin's stomp caved the whole surface in.

Thinking "Now's my chance!"—another of Tōji's hands emerged from underground, clutching two kunai with Exploding Tags already tied to them!

Thunk! The dull sound of flesh being pierced! The two Exploding Tag-kunai had plunged deep into the Iwa-nin's ankle—and right through the hand that had been holding it!

From behind the wagon, another Tōji poked out most of his upper body…

The one underground who'd used the 【Decapitation Technique】 was just an Earth Clone!

"Fall back!" Tōji's real body shouted. Natchi and Jakkō, who'd already been on alert since they noticed the underground movement, were ready. Even the two genin who'd been darting in and out to land kunai hits on the Iwa-nin quickly scrambled back.

"You'll be my coffin!" The one closest to the Iwa-nin was naturally Jakkō, who'd been bearing the brunt of the pressure. The Iwa-nin roared in rage, ignoring the feint slash that was about to split his chest open, and grabbed Jakkō's arm!

Boom! Boom! The two Exploding Tags detonated almost simultaneously!

As the dust and debris were blasted into the air, only Natchi—that cat-like guy—had gotten clear the farthest. The other two genin were caught in the blast, but they'd probably survive.

Everyone present was on guard, waiting with bated breath, hoping this ambush had worked!

But in that moment, everyone had overlooked Jakkō… All eyes were on whether the Iwa-nin lived or died.

So many had already died—it was as if one more Konoha shinobi didn't even register anymore…

A few breaths later, the smoke cleared.

The sky was already starting to darken—especially after the flash of the explosion, it felt even later in the evening.

"…" Silence. Everyone held their breath.

No—no one was standing!

With Tōji's limited sensing ability, he detected no chakra from the Iwa-nin—and he could already see the shredded remains of the enemy on the ground…

And Jakkō's too…

"Senior Jakkō!" After getting a clear look, Natchi was the first to cry out, rushing over quickly.

Tōji went over too—he needed to confirm the Iwa-nin's death. That was the main thing.

"Kid… you…" The Iwa-nin wasn't actually dead yet. Seeing Tōji approach, he managed to choke out a few words—but before he could finish, he expired.

『Why didn't you learn the 【Hardening Technique】, buddy? At least then you'd have had better physical defense!』 Tōji said silently to the fallen Iwa jōnin.

He checked the same way—Hitsuchi Jakkō had already stopped breathing long ago. He barely had any chakra left to protect himself—there was no way he could've survived a blast worth six thousand ryō…

And even if he had survived, it wouldn't have mattered—his entire lower body was gone…

They'd finally dealt with the two Iwa jōnin who'd attacked them—but the dozen or so genin gathered behind Tōji showed no sign of joy.

They didn't show much grief either, of course.

The most fitting expression right now was to lower their heads in silence.

Only Natchi wore a look of sorrow—but even he didn't cry or wail…

"Everyone—split up. Some of you clean up the battlefield and reorganize the supplies. The rest stay on alert." Since they were all genin with no commander left, Tōji spoke up and took charge.

『I wonder what's happening up ahead…』