Chapter 89: A Dilemma for the Enemy
Separated by the entire canyon, Ishiro knew it wasn't realistic to deal direct damage to the enemy jōnin across from him. So instead, he targeted the group of genin and chūnin who were regrouping to launch another attack on the convoy.
After the initial chaos, most of the ambushers had calmed down. Aside from a few who had fled or been killed, the majority were gathered together again, clearly discussing a plan to cooperate.
But before any consensus could be reached—Ishiro's Violent Water Wave struck.
Fu and the others knew Ishiro's jutsu best. The moment they saw the water surge, they reacted immediately, rallying the others to charge into the scattered enemy formation.
With Fu's command and the element of surprise, they made quick work of the disrupted group—taking out four or five in the first wave, and another two in the next.
But after that, the chance to score easy kills disappeared.
Not because the enemy had regrouped, but because they had begun to flee.
No one was stupid. That wave of attack clearly signaled the presence of a high-level ninja—at least tokubetsu jōnin—on the convoy's side, fighting from the shadows.
The threat of a jōnin was enough to make these rogue ninja retreat. After all, life was precious.
Ishiro's aim in supporting the convoy was to deter the remaining jōnin from taking action. A jōnin who specialized in ninjutsu could decimate a stationary target like a caravan with just a few B-rank area attacks.
But now, Ishiro had openly taken a stance on the side of the convoy—and the convoy had already crushed the enemy. His message to the jōnin was clear: "You should run."
Unfortunately, Ishiro misread the jōnin's thinking.
The moment that jōnin sensed Ishiro's presence, he had considered retreating. He assumed Ishiro, like him, was here to ambush the convoy. Since Ishiro posed a significant threat, withdrawal seemed wise. He'd even ordered his two subordinates to pull out.
But Ishiro's sudden B-rank attack made him hesitate.
The jōnin knew his own weakness—lack of speed. If he tried to escape and Ishiro pursued him relentlessly, he'd likely be caught. If Ishiro also sent a few swift chūnin after him, he was done for.
The attack had shown that Ishiro was aligned with the convoy, and the convoy had many genin and chūnin. What if Ishiro commanded them to surround him?
If he stayed, he might be able to use the convoy's safety as leverage to make Ishiro hesitant to act freely. So ironically, Ishiro's bold move made the enemy jōnin more reluctant to leave.
After releasing the Violent Water Wave, Ishiro already knew how the battle below had played out, so he shifted his focus back to monitoring the remaining jōnin with sensory ninjutsu.
Seeing that the enemy hadn't moved, Ishiro frowned. Why hasn't he retreated yet? Was he not here for the convoy?
Both sides were now at a stalemate—neither wanted to fight to the death, but neither wanted to be the first to back off.
Instead of wasting time, Ishiro made his move.
He chose neither of the expected approaches—neither charging in with his men nor ordering a withdrawal. Instead, he used Earth Submersion to tunnel underground, moving from his side of the canyon to the other.
Earth Submersion wasn't fast, and it took him a few minutes to reach the designated position. Meanwhile, the convoy had mostly finished cleaning up the battlefield.
The members of Squad 7 also sensed something was wrong. Since Ishiro hadn't shown up, it meant there was still danger. Knowing Ishiro's abilities, they figured he had detected a threat with his sensory ninjutsu.
Fu and the others deduced that the ninjutsu jōnin was still lurking. Judging by Ishiro's earlier Violent Water Wave, the taijutsu jōnin had already been eliminated.
They conferred and decided to approach the remaining enemy's location carefully.
Ishiro emerged from the ground not on the convoy's side, but the opposite, further from the caravan. After surfacing, he confirmed the enemy jōnin's location.
Seeing that he hadn't moved, Ishiro's eyes flashed with killing intent. Without wasting time, he rapidly formed hand seals and unleashed another Violent Water Wave.
The enemy jōnin was still discussing options with his two subordinates. He never expected Ishiro to silently sneak across the canyon and strike without warning.
"Damn it, doesn't he care about the caravan?" the jōnin blurted out, startled.
"Maybe he's not with them?" one subordinate guessed.
Hearing that, the jōnin hesitated. Ishiro had attacked from a direction away from the convoy, which added to his confusion.
But there was no time to think. The jōnin and his subordinates dodged to avoid the water blast, but the B-rank jutsu was too wide. Ishiro had attacked decisively, and all three were hit, suffering varying degrees of injury and being knocked out of formation.
Ishiro gave them no chance to recover—he immediately followed up with a Water Pressure Line, striking down one of the chūnin instantly.
Before the jōnin could even react emotionally to the loss, Ishiro had already aimed the next shot at the second subordinate.
What kind of seal speed is that? The jōnin was shocked. Ishiro was casting high-power techniques in under a second.
Knowing he couldn't match that casting speed, the jōnin ducked behind a large boulder and began forming seals. He could use B-rank ninjutsu too—but his casting was slow. He doubted he could finish before Ishiro landed another blow.
And whether his remaining subordinate lived or died clearly wasn't a priority anymore.
Sure enough, not long after, a scream came from his subordinate's position.
The scream almost made him mess up his hand signs. Fortunately, he held it together and, moments later, completed a large-area Wind Release jutsu, blasting it toward Ishiro's position.
Ishiro scrambled to cast an Earth Flow Wall. While decent among C-rank defensive jutsu, it was no match for a B-rank Wind Release. It lasted less than a second before shattering.
The jōnin's eyes gleamed as he saw Ishiro get torn apart by the wind.
But then his expression twisted.
Ishiro's body crumbled into chunks of stone.
It had been a clone.
The jōnin realized he'd been tricked. He immediately looked around, trying to locate the real Ishiro.
But before he could, a massive force struck from beneath his feet. The world spun, and suddenly, everything went dark.
He couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Panic set in.
He assumed it was a genjutsu and tried to disrupt his chakra—but nothing worked. Again and again, he failed to escape.
The more he struggled, the more panicked he became. Chakra flared wildly inside him. Breathing grew even more difficult.
Not far away, Ishiro stood watching the patch of ground beneath which the jōnin had been buried. Chakra flared from below, but it was chaotic and directionless—unable to break through the earth.
Ishiro had used Double Decapitation Technique, not genjutsu. But the jōnin had panicked, mistakenly believing it was an illusion, and failed to respond correctly.
In truth, once he was caught, the outcome was already sealed. Even if he broke free, Ishiro was standing by, ready to strike.
A few moments later, the chakra below faded. Ishiro winced slightly. "So much for a jōnin… couldn't even survive one B-rank jutsu."
Still, he cautiously stabbed the ground twice with his sword to make sure, then pulled the body out using Earth Release and sealed it in a scroll.
Soon after, Fu and the others arrived. Seiten was even dragging someone along—one of the escaping chūnin. Ishiro wasn't surprised. While scanning earlier, he had already sensed that his subordinates were pursuing the last runner.
After regrouping and exchanging brief updates, they returned to the convoy.
The battle hadn't lasted long, nor was it particularly intense—but the results were impressive.
No deaths, only seven or eight lightly wounded during the enemy's first attack. One genin had more serious injuries but was stable, thanks to the medical chūnin Ishiro had deliberately included in his unit.
After checking in on the injured, Ishiro led the convoy forward again. The canyon was no place to linger.
They traveled peacefully for another hour past the canyon. Only then did Ishiro call for a rest.
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