CH_41

But he never expected anyone else here could save him—unless Rawari could take down an Iwa jōnin in one shot.

Rawari's opponent was indeed starting to slow down, but two fighters who'd been evenly matched couldn't suddenly end it that quickly.

"Fall back! 【Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique】!" The other Konoha jōnin suddenly yelled for the chūnin behind him to retreat—and threw out a "smokescreen jutsu."

Greenhorns might have thought it was meant to attack the enemy, but veterans knew there was always something hidden behind it.

Boom boom boom! In an instant, the wounded Konoha jōnin became a fallen Konoha jōnin!

He'd played the hero!

He'd detonated the Exploding Tags on his body all at once. The Iwa-nin who'd been chasing him relentlessly was blown to pieces!

Just like that, that fight was over.

This whole Iwa raid had been carried out with brutal, self-sacrificial ferocity—on both sides. Only Rawari's fight was clearly turning in his favor.

"Hey kid—your kunai were poisoned, weren't they!" The last Iwa-nin suddenly brought that up out of nowhere…

"Come with me!" This Iwa-nin, abandoning all pretense of honor, used his 【Hardening】-reinforced arm to shove Rawari's blade aside and, with all his remaining strength and chakra, launched himself straight at Tōji!

Tōji barely had time to register the suicidal charge. On instinct, he shoved Natchi aside—the recoil pushing him a short distance in the other direction… but that was nowhere near enough!

His hands moved frantically—

From the other side, a little further away, Neru—who'd been keeping a low profile all this time—retreated rapidly while using her extended black hair to pull Natchi further back.

Boom boom boom boom boom! They detonated at the same time, but with so many Exploding Tags, the blasts were slightly out of sync!

"Tōji!" Only Natchi screamed his name…

Before the explosion smoke had even begun to clear, Natchi—his whole body scorched by the blast's aftermath—charged into the dust…

There, on the ground, was a half-severed arm still wearing Tōji's sleeve…

But before Natchi could even react to the sight, that half-arm dissolved into a pool of mud… It was 【Earth Release: Mud Substitution Technique】 in action!

"Natchi—your eyes are all red. What's up with you?" Tōji stepped out from behind a tree trunk. Substitution plus Body Flicker had saved him.

"You bastard!" Natchi laughed and cursed at the same time, a stray tear somehow escaping from the corner of his eye. He even swung a fist at Tōji in mock threat—only to wince in pain.

"Let me patch you up." Tōji smiled and walked over to him.

The Iwa four-man raiding squad was completely wiped out—but Konoha had also taken three dead and four wounded. The survivors let out a collective sigh of relief. Only Rawari remained on guard.

Aside from Tōji running around treating the wounded, the rest of the group set about reorganizing the temporary camp.

How many more of these Iwa raids were happening elsewhere…

Even after that night was over, Tōji would never know.

Over the next half-month or so, Rawari's squad ran into Iwa attacks every few days. Fortunately, apart from that first night being the most dangerous, the following encounters were much more manageable.

Konoha was probably doing its fair share of raiding Iwa too—after all, they were ninja…

In this tense battlefield atmosphere, Rawari took the initiative to teach Tōji, Natchi, and Neru combat techniques suited to the front lines. Whether or not their chakra or jutsu improved—even as mere genin… with this kind of training, on a jungle battlefield full of hidden dangers, they'd definitely outlive a "greenhouse chūnin."

And gradually, that iron-blooded soldier's demeanor of Rawari's began to show itself in all three of them.

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Note:It seems no one wants to join my . I'll just stop bothering with it.