Konoha's Tatsuya

"Crap!"

Seeing Pakura leap in his direction, Tatsuya's expression changed drastically. He spun around and jumped down from the stone pillar.

"Run!"

After jumping down, Tatsuya shouted urgently, not bothering to check on Shinno and the others. He simply bolted.

"Damn it!"

Behind him, the chunin squad leader, who had just jumped down from his pillar, cursed loudly at Tatsuya's retreating back. Then, he leaped to Shinno's side, grabbed him, and fled.

It should be noted that, on the surface, Tatsuya's strength was the greatest among the group. Yet, when faced with danger, this guy completely disregarded the safety of his employer and simply ran away. Such a lack of professionalism was infuriating!

However, he had underestimated the acting skills and escape abilities of that old schemer, Shinno.

The chunin squad leader and Tatsuya had both clearly seen the situation. Sunagakure's assassination squad was pursuing Pakura, a hero of Sunagakure and a user of the Scorch Release. This clearly indicated some kind of hidden secret.

And they, having stumbled upon this scene, were highly likely to become targets for elimination by the Suna assassination squad.

Pakura of the Scorch Release was a renowned and powerful shinobi throughout the ninja world. The Suna assassination squad capable of injuring her to this extent must also contain powerful individuals. Tatsuya and his group likely wouldn't be able to withstand them.

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!

Sure enough, before Tatsuya and the others could get far, a shout came from behind, and a fierce hurricane immediately swept towards them.

In an instant, the fleeing Tatsuya, Pakura, Shinno, and the others were thrown off balance by the powerful wind, their bodies tossed about chaotically.

A skilled opponent!

Feeling the intense pressure from the hurricane behind him, Tatsuya immediately realized that the ninja using the Wind Style was a formidable foe. Such a powerful Wind Style ninjutsu couldn't be used by an ordinary ninja.

When the wind subsided, Tatsuya quickly regained his balance and dashed behind the nearest stone pillar.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A series of whistling sounds followed, and several kunai landed precisely where Tatsuya had been standing a moment before.

Boom, boom, boom!

Immediately afterward, the explosive tags attached to the kunai detonated.

After the explosions, Tatsuya peeked out from behind the pillar, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

The dust settled, revealing that the chunin squad, Shinno, the injured Pakura, and the other companion were completely surrounded by over a dozen Suna ninja in a clearing between several stone pillars.

And atop the stone pillar a few meters in front of Tatsuya, the leader of the Suna ninja was also watching them, his eyes like those of a hawk. This man was tall and powerfully built, his face covered by a white cloth. The powerful Wind Style ninjutsu from earlier had come from him.

In the clearing, Pakura, dragging her injured body, was looking up at him with eyes filled with hatred.

Meeting Pakura's hateful gaze, the Suna leader's own expression was complex.

"Honorable sirs, Konoha has already signed a treaty with Sunagakure. Are you intending to openly violate that treaty?"

Seeing the assembled Suna ninja, the chunin squad leader stepped forward, his face filled with anger, and shouted at them. The three members of the chunin squad had all sustained minor injuries from the earlier Wind Style jutsu and the exploding kunai, and their appearances were somewhat disheveled.

Hearing the chunin squad leader's question, the Suna ninja remained impassive, none of them answering.

The Suna leader, standing atop the stone pillar, simply waved his hand, and the Suna ninja immediately attacked Pakura, Shinno, and the others from all directions.

The Suna leader himself leaped down from the pillar and charged towards Tatsuya.

In the brief exchange just now, he had judged from Tatsuya's chakra fluctuations and his series of reactions that Tatsuya was the strongest of this group of Konoha ninja.

Damn it! Why is this guy coming after me?!

Seeing the Suna leader charging towards him, Tatsuya cursed inwardly. He had only taken one look from atop the stone pillar, so why was he being targeted?!

Tatsuya felt a great sense of danger from the Suna leader. This was definitely a very powerful ninja, someone he couldn't handle at the moment.

Without hesitation, Tatsuya ignored the safety of the chunin squad and Shinno. He pushed off the ground with both feet, retreating rapidly while simultaneously throwing several kunai at the approaching Suna leader.

Immediately after throwing the kunai, Tatsuya's hands swiftly formed a series of seals, and his body instantly expanded tenfold, transforming into a massive mountain of flesh.

His body swelling to over ten meters tall, Tatsuya immediately slammed his hands towards the rapidly approaching Suna leader. The immense pressure of his palms, accompanied by a terrifying whooshing sound, bore down towards the ground.

Within seconds, Tatsuya had consecutively used the Super Expansion Jutsu and the Super Slap, two of his clan's secret techniques. He had started with his full power.

Without summoning Seiryu, these two secret techniques were Tatsuya's trump cards, possessing immense offensive power, albeit with a significant chakra cost. Other members of the Akimichi clan at a similar level would definitely not be able to reach Tatsuya's level of proficiency.

However, all of this posed no threat to the Suna leader.

Hmph!

Wind Style: Wind Blade!

Seeing the pair of fleshy palms pressing down towards him, the Suna leader didn't dodge. He snorted coldly, and a thin, transparent, and elongated wind blade quickly formed in his hand. Then, he sliced it towards the incoming palms.

Swish!

The incredibly sharp wind blade sliced directly through the gaps between the fingers of the fleshy palm, cutting a chunk of flesh. The Suna leader's body followed the path of the wound, swiftly passing through.

Rumble!

The pair of fleshy palms slammed into the ground, creating a tremor like an earthquake.

Not good!

Feeling the intense pain in his right hand, Tatsuya didn't even have time to cry out in pain before he saw, amidst the rising dust, the Suna leader's figure rapidly approaching his head.

Seeing this, Tatsuya didn't dare to be careless. He immediately formed the seal to end the Super Expansion Jutsu.

The Suna leader's movements had been incredibly fast, and Tatsuya hadn't clearly seen his specific actions. However, the wound on his right hand was undeniable evidence, and the wind blade in the Suna leader's hand gave him a strong sense of crisis.

In this situation, maintaining the massive size granted by the Super Expansion Jutsu would only make him a large target.

Having missed his attack, Tatsuya shrunk back to his normal size and, without pausing, took advantage of the Suna leader's inability to change direction in mid-air to turn and flee.

Behind him, the sounds of continuous fighting and screams quickly followed.

In the midst of his escape, Tatsuya glanced back. He saw that the injured Pakura was engaged in combat with three of the pursuing Suna ninja, while the two remaining members of the escorting chunin squad were already dead. The chunin squad leader was fleeing in another direction with Shinno, desperately trying to escape.

The Suna leader, having missed his attack, landed, glanced back, and without hesitation, immediately dashed in the direction of Tatsuya's escape.

The news of the village sending ninja to assassinate Pakura absolutely could not be leaked!