As he looked at the charred remains still smoldering on the ground, Takuya patted Minato's shoulder and reassured him:
"No need to rush. There'll be plenty of enemies to go around. Besides, you're destined to become the fastest man in the ninja world. Just aim to be quicker than me next time."
I don't believe a word you're saying! Fastest man in the ninja world? I know exactly what you mean by that.
Minato wanted no part of such a title. He had his pride as a man to think about—there was no way he wanted to be known for being "fast."
It had to be said that hanging around Takuya was starting to lead Minato astray. Even Nawaki was beginning to pick up some of his bad habits.
"Minato's right, Takuya. You're way too fast," Nawaki chimed in, stepping forward to examine the charred corpses on the ground.
"Yikes, these Stone Village ninja really had it rough. Running into you is like meeting their worst nightmare; they couldn't even hide."
Suddenly, a signal flare—a special one used by Leaf Village ninja—burst in the sky. As the flames were doused by the rain, Takuya's expression grew serious.
"No time to deal with the bodies; someone's sending a distress signal."
"Let's move!"
Takuya dashed into the rain, with Minato and Nawaki following close behind.
The sounds of battle grew louder as they approached. A group of Leaf ninja was retreating in disarray, closely pursued by numerous Rain Village ninja.
"Help them!"
Takuya and Minato charged forward, while Nawaki nodded firmly and quickly formed hand signs:
"Earth Style: Rising Stone Spears!"
Rumble!
Sharp stone spikes erupted from the ground, disrupting the formation of the Rain Village ninja. Several unfortunate souls were impaled by the jagged rocks, clutching them and crying out in agony.
"We're saved!"
"Reinforcements are here! Let's get to them!"
Seeing a helping hand extended, the Leaf ninja cried tears of relief and hurriedly dragged their injured comrades toward Nawaki.
The Rain Village's pursuit was cut short, and those who weren't mortally wounded were quickly rescued by their comrades.
A Rain Village jonin, clad in armor, raised his hand to signal the others to regroup. He warily watched Takuya approach with Minato, and asked:
"You're Yagami Takuya of the Leaf?"
"Hmm?" Takuya hadn't expected the enemy to recognize him.
"Be careful! His genjutsu is strong—don't look him in the eyes!"
Recently, news of Takuya's encounter with the Third Kazekage had spread across the ninja world, and every village had gathered intelligence on him.
On the Rain Country battlefield, the Rain, Stone, and Sand Village ninja had all been warned:
If you encounter Yagami Takuya, be on guard. His genjutsu is powerful, and he wields the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Even a Kage-level figure like the Third Kazekage had been caught off guard. Leaf Village ninja had also fallen under his genjutsu, so no one dared to underestimate such a dangerous technique.
This guy must be a little dense.
Takuya watched as the Rain Village ninja averted their gazes, looking down or to the side, avoiding eye contact with him.
Did they really think Takuya's humiliating dance genjutsu required direct eye contact to work?
In the ninja world, it was an unwritten rule that if you were fighting an Uchiha jonin, you should close your eyes or avoid looking at their eyes altogether.
The enemy was clearly treating Takuya as if he were a full-fledged Uchiha.
But did genjutsu really require eye contact to be effective?
The Kurama clan would have a lot to say about that.
Too bad the Kurama clan had fallen into obscurity, leaving little mark on the ninja world.
After all, their bloodline limit was more of a curse than a gift.
"They think that gathering enough intel will let them exploit an opponent's weaknesses."
"…."
Takuya couldn't help but laugh. He was starting to feel like a walking textbook example, but not in a good way.
It seemed like he needed to spread the word about how terrifying his humiliating dance genjutsu could really be. Otherwise, everyone would start thinking they could just avoid his Sharingan and be fine.
What irked Takuya the most was the irony: among taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu, the one he was least skilled at was genjutsu!
If it weren't for his Sharingan, and if he didn't have that humiliating dance skill, he wouldn't even bother with genjutsu.
Why waste time on genjutsu when he could focus on improving his taijutsu and swordsmanship, which were his real strengths?
"You should be careful; that guy's name is Kamiyama Naraku. He's skilled in taijutsu and kenjutsu. Our team's special jonin was killed by him," one of the wounded Leaf ninja warned, worried that Takuya's team might underestimate their opponent.
"Don't worry; you're safe now," Nawaki reassured them, pulling out bandages and first aid supplies from his kit.
"I'll patch you up. Reinforcements should be here soon. As for the enemy, Takuya and Minato will handle them."
"But... are you sure it'll be okay?"
Though they had heard of Takuya's exploits, the enemy numbers were daunting, and Takuya and Minato still looked so young.
"There's nothing to worry about with so few of them," Nawaki said confidently as he expertly dressed the wounded, a skill he had honed back at the camp.
Doing this right in front of us, patching up wounded soldiers, and dismissing us like we're nothing?
Nawaki's actions didn't sit well with the Rain Village ninja. If not for Takuya's fearsome reputation, they would've already attacked.
But there Nawaki was, casually treating the injured in front of them, belittling them in the process, and then capping it all off with a few more insults.
"Take out the wounded first! I'll hold off Yagami Takuya!" Kamiyama Naraku ordered, and the Rain Village ninja sprang into action.
With a burst of speed, Kamiyama Naraku vanished from sight, reappearing in front of Takuya, his long, sharp katana slicing toward Takuya's throat.
"Was that really necessary?"
"So eager to die."
Did you really think avoiding eye contact would save you from my undodgeable humiliating dance genjutsu?
A bit naive, aren't you?
Sakura's Fall, his special skill, activated. Kamiyama Naraku felt the world spin, and before he knew it, he was trapped in a genjutsu.
Takuya swiftly disarmed him, cutting off any chance for him to perform his humiliating dance, and instead, sliced his throat.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed out as Kamiyama Naraku, on the brink of death, broke free from the genjutsu, only to be met with cold, hard reality.
His eyes wide with shock and disbelief, Kamiyama Naraku clutched his throat, collapsing to the ground, never understanding how he'd fallen under a genjutsu.
"Lord Naraku!!"
In the blink of an eye, Kamiyama Naraku lay dead on the ground. The Rain Village ninja stood frozen, staring in disbelief at his body, now lying lifeless in the mud.
"This is bad—Lord Naraku's dead!!"
Seconds later, the remaining Rain Village ninja scattered, abandoning any thought of continuing their assault on the Leaf ninja.
Their leader, a jonin, had gone down in a single exchange. If they pressed on, it would only mean certain death.
Clearly, Yagami Takuya's abilities had been grossly underestimated. They needed to get out alive and report back with this intel.
Here we go again.
Minato looked on with an I knew it expression, while Nawaki gave the wounded Leaf ninja a sympathetic look.
See? I told you not to worry, but you didn't believe me.
"Don't you want to avenge your comrades?" Takuya asked, showing no interest in chasing down the fleeing enemy.
He noticed that some of the rescued ninja were just standing around, watching.
"There's also the chance to earn some battle honors."
Prompted by Takuya's reminder, they snapped out of their daze, shouting eagerly as they joined Minato in pursuing the Rain Village ninja.
Who wouldn't want to get revenge?
***********
Note: If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 130+ at patreon.com/Emik01. Don't forget to give a power stone for many bonus chapters!