Was Haruto Saito really running away? Of course not!
He was merely pretending to be weak! A cowardly ninja, a child who looked barely eleven or twelve, someone who appeared to be just a lowly Genin—such a person wouldn't attract the pursuit of too many strong enemies!
That was exactly what Haruto wanted. If he had simply fled outright, then aside from Saji, there were still four Jonin-level enemies, any of whom would have been a significant threat to him. But now, only two Elite Chunin had decided to chase him down.
As a world-class master of deception, Haruto had an exceptional understanding of human psychology and how to manipulate it.
Haruto suddenly accelerated! His speed surged dramatically!
The two Sand Elite Chunin pursuing him immediately sensed that something was wrong—this wasn't the speed a mere Genin should have. However, at this point, it was impossible for them to stop and call back the others. Haruto had not displayed any truly threatening abilities yet. To them, his increasing speed only confirmed their belief that he was panicked and desperate to escape.
A ninja who fled at full speed when encountering an enemy—how strong could they really be?
Ninjas operated on faith, yet Haruto was an anomaly, willing to use any means necessary to secure victory. There weren't many shinobi like him.
BOOM!
The battle by the river had fully erupted—flames roared, and explosions echoed continuously.
Haruto could hear it, feel it—but he didn't stop. Instead, he pushed himself to go even faster. In a single breath, he covered nearly half a kilometer… At this point, the two Elite Chunin realized that Haruto was, at the very least, a Chunin-level shinobi.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three kunai shot toward him in a triangular formation. Haruto's keen instincts flared—he lowered his body, kicked off the ground, and veered to the side, dodging all three projectiles. In one fluid motion, he dived behind a large tree and quickly formed hand seals.
"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
His chakra surged to its peak, and within moments, a thick mist expanded outward, enveloping a radius of nearly two hundred meters. The two Sand Elite Chunin suddenly found themselves engulfed in dense fog, their expressions changing instantly. They both instinctively raised their hands, attempting to form seals for Wind Release techniques to dispel the mist.
Haruto burst from behind the tree, flinging five or six kunai!
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
The two Elite Chunin had no time to complete their jutsu. They couldn't see the incoming attack and had to rely solely on the sound of the wind to dodge!
"Iaido—Eightfold Phantom Slash!"
Haruto shot forward like a bolt of lightning. This was the technique he had stolen from the samurai, Kuro-Maru. It wasn't an offensive move per se—it was a high-speed mobility technique, similar to a ninja's Body Flicker Jutsu. At that moment, Haruto's speed reached its peak as he kicked off the trees, rebounding rapidly and leaving behind several afterimages.
One of the Elite Chunin had just landed on a tree branch, barely stabilizing himself, when Haruto appeared behind him, his Heavy Mountain Blade raised high!
The Sand shinobi reacted swiftly, sensing Haruto's presence behind him. He spun around and swung his sword in defense!
"Iaido Slash—Rhino Horn Strike!"
Superhuman strength enhancement!
Heavy Mountain Blade's double impact effect activated!
Haruto's blade came crashing down like a thunderclap, slicing through the air with terrifying force!
SLASH! SPLAT!
Blood sprayed into the night. The enemy's sword shattered instantly, and in the same motion, Haruto's attack cleaved his opponent cleanly in half!
A crimson mist filled the air.
A clean, close-range kill.
Haruto didn't pause. He flicked his wrist, gathering the newly dropped cards into his inventory space before darting away again.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The other Sand Elite Chunin, further within the mist, exhaled a powerful gust of wind, clearing much of the fog. But it was still nighttime, and the dense forest remained dark—he still couldn't see clearly.
Haruto advanced at high speed!
The Sand shinobi caught the sound of approaching footsteps and caught a faint glimpse of movement. He instantly hurled several kunai before leaping high into the air to prepare another jutsu.
Haruto was confused. Why jump so high? Was he trying to look cool? Did he not realize he was making himself an easy target?!
Without hesitation, Haruto halted abruptly and began forming hand seals just as the Sand shinobi finished his own!
Both completed their jutsu almost simultaneously!
"Wind Release: Air Blade!" The Sand shinobi spat out a two-meter-wide cutting wind projectile.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!" Haruto exhaled a massive fireball!
Flame Bullet was originally a C-rank jutsu, and even among C-rank Fire Release techniques, it wasn't particularly powerful. But Haruto had absorbed four Flame Bullet cards, amplifying its power eightfold!
BOOM!
A colossal fireball roared upward, instantly slicing through the wind blade.
"You…?!" The Sand shinobi's eyes widened in disbelief. Mid-air and defenseless, he had no time to dodge.
The blazing inferno swallowed him whole.
Fire Release techniques had extremely high temperatures. Even a Kage-level shinobi with a normal human physique would struggle to withstand a direct hit. And this was just an Elite Chunin.
Golden lights shimmered within the flames.
"All done."
Haruto exhaled, feeling a slight fatigue—mainly from his final Fire Release: Flame Bullet.
An eightfold-enhanced Flame Bullet had power comparable to a high-tier B-rank Fire Release attack, similar to the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet technique. While Haruto didn't need to expend eight times the chakra, it still required significantly more than the normal jutsu.
The mist hadn't fully dissipated—only a portion had cleared due to the Wind Release and the evaporation caused by Haruto's flames. The rest still covered a wide area.
Haruto glanced down at his blood-splattered clothing, then up at the sky, and sighed.
The second Elite Chunin had been incinerated mid-air, his body reduced to ashes. But his loot was still floating in the sky.
Haruto bent his knees and launched himself upward, swiftly collecting the scattered cards before landing back on the ground.
He pressed his palms together, facing northwest.
Byakugan—Activate!
The skin around Haruto's eyes rippled, and his vision shifted to a grayscale world. The terrain before him became transparent as his sight extended into the distance. Though the mist engulfed him, it was his own jutsu, so it didn't obstruct his vision.
Hundreds of meters away, by the river.
The battle raged on—intense and chaotic. The three Uchiha shinobi were heavily outnumbered. However, Uchiha Iwa and Uchiha Tohoku, two of the clan's top-tier Jonin, were fighting with astonishing ferocity, holding their ground against Saji and his eleven-man force.
Saji was a highly skilled Elite Jonin, giving him a natural advantage in rank. But rank alone didn't determine the outcome of a battle.
Despite his high rank, Saji's reputation wasn't significantly above that of Uchiha Iwa. If it were just a one-on-one fight, Saji might have been the one running for his life.
But no matter how strong the Uchiha Jonin were, they couldn't hold out forever—they were vastly outnumbered and barely surviving through guerrilla tactics in the riverside forest.
And with Uchiha Mikoto acting as a liability…
If she weren't there, the two Jonin could have split up and escaped separately. Their chances of survival would have been much higher.
Haruto analyzed the battlefield before gripping the Heavy Mountain Blade tightly, shaking off the blood.
Then, he dashed toward the riverbank.
He was ready to join the battle.
Time to hunt the Sand shinobi.
Confidence overflowing!