"..."
As Tai San watched the young man with white hair smiling at him, his eyebrow began to twitch.
This guy was just resting here by coincidence.
Tai San wanted to think this way, but unfortunately, he always did his homework before every theft. He had already recognised the man as Amou Natsuhiko, the owner of the Geki-nin Tavern and the Sealing Jutsu instructor at the Ninja Academy.
It was obvious that this wasn't a coincidence; rather, the person he had wronged had come looking for him.
Although caught off guard, Tai San was clearly prepared for this kind of situation. He quickly calmed down and, pretending to be at ease, spread his hands and said:
"It seems that the Geki-nin Tavern is not just powerful because of that green guy; even the owner is something else!"
As he spoke, he looked at Natsuhiko with a curious expression and asked, "Can you tell me how you found my hiding place?"
This was natural because Natsuhiko had installed transmitters in every Geki-nin arcade machine to prevent theft.
So the moment this Eleven Arhat took the arcade machine out of the scroll, it was equivalent to telling Natsuhiko his location.
Unfortunately, Natsuhiko, unlike typical villains, did not like to reveal his abilities.
After jumping down from the tree, he merely smiled slightly and said:
"There's no need for that; after all, I'm afraid you won't have the chance to improve anymore."
"How terrifying~"
Although Tai San said this, he still maintained a calm demeanour and said slowly:
"Boss Natsuhiko, although I don't know how you found this place, it's a pity that you're too late."
"I've already handed over the Geki-nin arcade machine to the employer for this mission in the forest north of Konoha. If you rush there now, you might still catch them."
Upon hearing Tai San's attempt to divert the trouble, Natsuhiko remained unmoved and continued smiling:
"Actually, you don't need to tell me this. After all, when you sent your shadow clone to make the exchange, I was watching nearby."
"How else could I confirm the identity of the mastermind?"
"!?"
This time, Tai San's expression finally showed some strain.
He had always held himself in high esteem, never expecting that he would one day be used as bait!
"Stop underestimating people!"
Seeing Natsuhiko's confident demeanour reminded Tai San of some unpleasant memories, and he suddenly became furious.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Following his outburst, he crossed his index and middle fingers to form the sign of the Tiger.
A circle of smoke exploded around him, and ten shadow clones appeared. Along with the original, eleven figures began to break out in different directions quickly...
Natsuhiko almost strained his back at the sight of someone making the most cowardly move with the fiercest expression and sighed helplessly.
Playing with shadow clones in front of Natsuhiko, who regularly sparred with Kushina, was like showing off in front of the master.
He softly uttered:
"Flower Clone Technique: Blooming Madness: Eight-Headed Serpent!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a whistling sound cut through the air!
A slender white shadow shot out from Natsuhiko's right hand!
Bang! Bang!
The two shadow clones closest to Natsuhiko were shattered before they could react.
The agile "white snake" then quickly split into eight branches, radiating outward to chase the other enemies, resembling a giant serpent with eight heads.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...
A series of white smoke bursts in the forest.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
The farthest shadow clone finally reacted, slamming its hands onto the ground to create an earth wall, attempting to block the "white snake's" attack.
"Swift Cobra, Lightning Dash!"
Under Natsuhiko's control, the "white snake" seemed to come to life, twisting and turning to avoid the wall, its speed undiminished as it pounced on the target!
Bang!
Natsuhiko also destroyed the tenth shadow clone, and it had only been less than ten seconds since Tai San had used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to escape...
"What... what kind of jutsu is this?"
Tai San, who hadn't run far, was deeply shocked by the scene.
Realising that he couldn't escape this attack, he quickly stopped in his tracks.
Another series of bangs rang out as Natsuhiko cancelled the technique and then tilted his head to answer the earlier question:
"You might not believe it, but this is actually also a Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Tai San looked at him as if he were joking, then shook his head and sighed:
"Boss Natsuhiko, you've really taught me a lesson this time."
"It seems Konoha is still not a place I can set foot in; I should stay far away from here in the future."
"I'm afraid you won't have a future." Natsuhiko smiled.
At this moment, Tai San showed a somewhat strange expression.
"Boss Natsuhiko, have you ever thought about one thing?"
"Earlier, when the other shadow clones and I scattered to escape, you shouldn't have been able to tell which was the original and which was a clone."
"But your amazing technique just now managed to destroy ten shadow clones without hitting the original. Don't you think that's highly improbable?"
Saying this, Tai San revealed a sly smile.
"Have you considered that the one you saw at the start was actually a shadow clone, too?"
"From the very beginning, my original body was never here!?"
Tai San thought that after hearing this, Natsuhiko would finally put away that annoying smile and show a surprised expression.
But Natsuhiko still kept his usual smile.
"After hearing about your style, I naturally considered this possibility."
"..."
Tai San was speechless, wondering if Natsuhiko really thought of it from the start or was just putting on a front.
But realising that even this move couldn't break Natsuhiko's composure, he lost interest in continuing to tangle with him and said:
"Amou Natsuhiko, I've remembered your name."
"Next time, I won't be so easily..."
Bang!
Before Tai San could finish his sentence, Natsuhiko shattered him into white smoke with another "white snake."
After cancelling his arm shadow clone, Natsuhiko looked around the now empty area and softly murmured:
"There won't be a next time..."
...
Not long after, Natsuhiko arrived at another unremarkable clearing in the distance. He used Earth Release to burrow underground into a small hole.
Inside, the previously cocky Tai San was now lying on the ground, tightly bound by tendrils formed from sealing runes.
When he saw Natsuhiko, his mouth, which the tendrils had blocked, immediately emitted muffled sounds.
Natsuhiko snapped his fingers, causing the tendrils to move aside.
Tai San coughed violently a few times before looking at Natsuhiko with a shocked expression and asking:
"What... what did you do to me!?"
"My original body was so far from the battlefield; how could you possibly attack me?"
"Is that your final remark?"
Natsuhiko smiled slightly as he pulled out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch.
(End of this chapter)
P.S
Guys, do check out the fiction my friend Senatus Alpha is translating. The stories are unique and engaging, and the translations are fantastic. You can have my word for it. They go by the title…
BTTH:Receiving My Own Death Farewell Letter
Exploding Soul Rings in Doulou
They are new books, and your support will be highly appreciated.
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