novel bin Chapter 132 Surprises Abound Along the Way
Chapter 132 Surprises Abound Along the Way
Chapter 132 Surprises Abound on the Return Journey
A sandstorm was rapidly approaching from afar. The sky was already dark, and the howling wind, carrying sand and gravel, was whipping against everyone's bodies, turning their exposed skin red.
Taichi and the others, being ninjas, quickly gathered chakra to cover their bodies in order to protect themselves. However, ordinary delegations did not have this ability.
If they are left to be exposed to the sandstorm, the entire delegation will likely be wiped out by the time it ends.
This is where it really shows how good it is to have a ninja in the team who is skilled in Earth Release.
Captain Yamaguchi quickly formed hand seals and unleashed Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall.
A half-meter-thick earthen wall rose up in front of everyone, blocking the delegation from the sandstorm. As Captain Yamaguchi unleashed his chakra, another earthen wall rose up on each side of the original earthen wall.
Three earthen walls sheltered the group in the middle, and the heightened and thickened walls blocked most of the strong winds, finally bringing some comfort to the delegation.
Then, the sandstorm arrived. The sky was instantly swallowed up, the blazing sun was obscured by the rolling sand and mist, leaving only a blurry outline in the gloom. The sand dunes writhed as if alive, the fine sand on the surface was ripped up in large swaths, turning into a chaotic mass that blotted out the sun.
The horse was startled, rearing up with a neigh, but luckily Taiyi reacted quickly and pressed it down. The gust of wind that leaked in tore the carriage curtain to shreds.
Everyone could only squint to avoid getting sand in their eyes. In just a moment, the swirling sand had already covered their calves, and a continuous crackling sound echoed from the earthen wall behind them, as the thick earthen wall was being continuously destroyed by the sandstorm.
Captain Yamaguchi, as expected of a practical ninja, clearly excels in earth-style techniques. While strong, his earth-style techniques lack flexibility. The square earthen walls stand upright on the ground, solid as they are, but their large surface area exposed to the wind prevents them from being properly integrated.
Taiyi looked at the gale and sand blowing in from the edge of the earthen wall. Although it had been blocked once, it still made the delegation extremely disheveled.
Seeing this, Taiichi stepped forward, formed hand seals, and pressed them against the earthen wall created by the captain. As chakra was injected, the earthen wall gradually deformed, the gaps between the walls gradually closed, and the windward side slowly tilted.
When Taiyi withdrew his hand, the entire earthen wall was like a hemisphere placed on the ground, and apart from a deliberately left opening, no more sand or dust blew into it.
"Taiyi, how did you do that? What kind of ninjutsu is that? I've never seen it before!" Yangping asked in astonishment, voicing the doubts in everyone's minds.
"It's not some kind of ninjutsu, it's just an alternative application of Earth Release: Earth Wall." Taichi waved his hand dismissively. "The captain uses Earth Release as his main fighting method, so his Earth Release is more suitable for actual combat."
I don't primarily use Earth Release: Earth Release techniques, so I usually focus more on developing its transformation capabilities. That's how I've achieved this; it's just that each has its strengths.
Yang Ping nodded thoughtfully, but it was unclear whether he had actually understood.
Only Captain Yamaguchi, who was skilled in Earth Release, understood that although Taichi's Earth Release technique was not very strong, there were very few people in Konoha who could use it in such a variety of ways.
This requires not only a certain level of earth-attribute transformation ability, but also an extremely high level of chakra form transformation ability and superb chakra control, which is a comprehensive manifestation of a ninja's basic qualities.
The people inside the protective enclosure fell silent for a moment, listening intently to the howling wind outside the walls and looking through the opening at the darkening sky.
The horses stopped neighing and quietly ate the bean cakes that had been prepared for them. The "crunch" of their chewing sounded especially peaceful at this moment.
The guards also tidied up the messy luggage; in their haste, various packages had been blown everywhere by the wind.
"Taichi, where are you going?" Saori's voice broke the silence.
It turned out that Taiyi was getting up and walking towards the cave entrance.
"It's not easy to encounter a sandstorm, so I'm going out to see it for myself. Don't worry, nothing will happen." Taiyi didn't turn around, but simply waved his hand behind him to reassure everyone.
His figure then disappeared into the swirling yellow sand. The onlookers exchanged bewildered glances.
As soon as he stepped out of the cave, a violent hurricane whipped at Taiyi's face, making it sting. He quickly gathered chakra to protect his body, closed his eyes, and moved through the sandstorm relying solely on his senses.
He walked step by step to the top of the hemisphere formed by the earth flow wall, sat cross-legged on it, and instantly released his chakra to the fullest extent, with his spiritual power also surging out.
In an instant, all the scenery within a radius of a kilometer appeared in Taiyi's mind, from near to far.
The sandstorm swept across like a raging beast, with towering walls of sand engulfing the entire sky. In the dim, chaotic haze, the sun was reduced to a halo, its outline no longer discernible.
The gale, whipping up sharp sand and gravel, roared across the dunes, hurling everything on the ground into the air. Only a deafening roar remained, like a thousand warhorses galloping through the clouds.
Taiyi sat cross-legged in the sandstorm, his robes fluttering in the wind. He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking through the protection of chakra at the distant horizon, where the sandstorm was powerful enough to tear steel apart. Every grain of sand carried the most primal brutality of the desert.
As time passed, about an hour later, the sandstorm gradually subsided, and the sun's rays shone brightly on the earth once more.
[Comprehend Nature, Wind Attribute Change +1000]
Nature truly is the best teacher. Observing the power of a sandstorm firsthand gave Taiyi a profound understanding of wind. What is cutting, what is tearing, what is raging—all of these were summarized in the panel prompts.
"You've gained quite a bit, haven't you!" Captain Yamaguchi's voice rang out behind Taiichi. It turned out that the captain had come out to look for Taiichi since he hadn't returned for a long time. Seeing Taiichi contemplating nature, he acted as a guardian to prevent any accidents from happening.
"Thank you for taking care of me, Captain," Taiichi said sincerely. "It's the first time I've seen such a violent wind; I've learned a lot."
Even without being told, it's obvious that Taiyi is surrounded by a gentle breeze, with tiny wind blades occasionally forming and cutting through the earthen walls beneath his feet. This is due to his long period of understanding and transforming wind attributes; he'll be able to control it once he gets used to it.
At this moment, Yangping and Saori also ran up, and were speechless with surprise at the phenomenon surrounding Taiichi. Yangping even sighed regretfully, "If only I had come up to see the sandstorm, I might have been able to learn the wind attribute nature transformation."
The captain and Saori, standing to the side, kept rolling their eyes. Not everyone has Tai's level of understanding.
The mission packed up and continued their journey home. However, compared to when they arrived, the three envoys, who were usually very particular about their appearance, now looked quite disheveled.
The once magnificent carriage is now in ruins, with only the frame remaining relatively intact. The luxurious decorations and expensive fabrics on it were torn to shreds by the fierce winds during the previous sandstorm.
The blazing sun shone through the tattered curtains and roof into the carriage, and the people outside could occasionally hear the messengers' complaints from inside.
Naturally, the speed of the return journey increased continuously until it reached the limit of the guards' travel speed.
However, their good fortune was short-lived. The smooth journey they had taken seemed to have used up all their luck. Just half a day after encountering the sandstorm, Taiyi, as usual, used his chakra perception to discover that there was a ninja monitoring the delegation on a distant sand dune.
Taiichi initially thought it was just routine surveillance by Sunagakure, but as time went on and more people joined the ninja's group, Taiichi realized that this time they were probably in real trouble.
"Captain, there are ninjas gathered about one kilometer ahead of us. There are already six of them. It doesn't seem like a routine surveillance operation by Sunagakure."
Captain Yamaguchi frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "All personnel on high alert! Yohei, Saori, make sure to protect the envoy."
The mission was still moving forward, but its pace had slowed significantly, and the guards had been notified and were on high alert.
After walking for some time, they sensed that the other side not only did not restrain itself, but was getting closer and closer to the delegation.
"Captain, the enemy has added another person, and they are now forming a fan-shaped encirclement. They are only 700 meters away from us."
Taiichi maintained his senses, the short sword already drawn from his back, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the hilt.
Yangping's Sharingan involuntarily activated due to his emotional excitement, staring at the unknown enemy in the distance: "Passive defense is too frustrating! Why don't we take the initiative and attack?"
Captain Yamaguchi and Taiichi exchanged a glance, both seeing the attraction in each other's eyes. It was clear that the other party was still waiting for someone, and they couldn't wait any longer for them to gather more people.
"Alright, Taichi and I will leave shadow clones to confuse the enemy, while our main bodies will sneak in and launch a surprise attack. Yohei and Saori, you two stay behind to protect the delegation," Captain Yamaguchi decisively ordered.
Yang Ping looked dejected, but he carried out his captain's orders without hesitation.
During the brief intervals between their patrols, Captain Yamaguchi and Taichi used the carriage as cover to create shadow clones, while their main bodies used Earth Release: Earth Submersion to sneak up on the ninja ahead.
Meanwhile, the delegation was surrounded by ninjas in a fan shape.
"Captain Iwahira, when do we move? I think they've spotted us." One of the team members put down his binoculars. He had just seen that Miyo's delegation had clearly tightened their formation and even slowed down their movement.
"We're waiting for that guy Ishikura to get here. We've spread out too much while searching for this delegation." Iwahira also picked up his binoculars and kept an eye on the Konoha delegation's movements. "These guys are really alert; they spotted us from this far away."
"So what if they find out? Do they still dare to come and attack?" Iwahira said smugly. He was a Jonin, and he had six Chunin under his command. His side clearly had the advantage in numbers. If Ishikura came, there would be two Jonin. It would be safest to act then.
The team member who was asking the question wanted to say something more, but before he could speak, two sounds of sand exploding came from the left and right sides in a fan shape.
By the time the two of them turned their attention to that side, one ninja had already fallen on each side.
"Damn it, they actually dared to come and attack!" he said angrily, heading towards the side to provide assistance.
Taiichi, using his Earth-based stealth technology, arrived beside the ninja. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the two ninjas present were merely Chunin.
Now that Taichi was more at ease, he moved a little closer to the two Chunin. When the time agreed upon with Captain Yamaguchi arrived, he suddenly leaped out from underground and slashed one of the ninjas' necks with lightning speed.
Only then did the remaining Chunin realize what was happening, roaring as he charged forward to retaliate.
But no Chunin could withstand Taiichi's sword, especially one that had lost its composure.
Taiichi parried the kunai swung by his opponent with his short sword. Taking advantage of the opponent's momentum, Taiichi easily disrupted his opponent's balance. He skillfully adjusted the position of the blade in his hand, and without Taiichi having to exert any effort, the enemy's neck crashed into the blade on its own.
Without pausing, and without even glancing at the unwilling ninja standing there, Taiichi lunged straight at the next Chunin not far away.
Their fan-shaped encirclement formation is really suitable for breaking them down one by one. As long as we kill them fast enough, we can kill them one by one before they can support each other.
Meanwhile, the Chunin facing Taiichi was already panicking. He had come to provide support, but his companions hadn't even lasted that long before they all died, leaving him to face this god of death alone.
The more the Chunin thought about it, the more panicked he became, and subconsciously used his best ninjutsu, Earth Release: Flying Gravel.
Instantly, the yellow sand on the ground rapidly condensed under the influence of chakra, turning into flying stones that hurtled towards Taiyi.
"Oh, Earth Release, this ninjutsu is quite rare." While mocking his opponent, Taiichi kept moving, rapidly gathering wind-attribute chakra on his sword, which quickly formed a sharp wind blade.
Her figure moved nimbly through the flying stones like a butterfly flitting among flowers. When she couldn't avoid them, she would swing her sword, and the short sword wrapped with sharp wind blades would easily split the flying stone in two.
Taiichi smoothly passed through the range of the ninjutsu's attack; the dense flying pebbles posed no obstacle to him.
Seeing that his ninjutsu was ineffective, the Chunin immediately changed his tactics and retreated, while simultaneously forming hand seals, attempting to continue using ninjutsu to block Taiichi.
But Taiichi didn't give him a chance. With his empty left hand, he symbolically formed several hand seals, and dense Phoenix Flame formed around him. Then, like a shooting star, it drew different arcs and rushed towards the Chunin.
Taiichi's hand seals were too fast, and the Phoenix Fire was flying very quickly. The Chunin had to distract himself and dodge the incoming fireball before he could even finish his hand seals. This made his hand movements even slower.
With the interference of the Phoenix Fire, Taiichi finally caught up to the attack range. He extended his short sword forward, activated his Body Flicker, and in the blink of an eye, Taiichi thrust in front of the Chunin.
At this moment, the Chunin had just dodged the last fireball, and his hand seals were already in place. It seemed that as soon as he turned his hand, he could unleash the ninjutsu.
A short knife suddenly appeared before him and plunged into his heart without any resistance.
Blood spurted from his mouth. The Chunin raised his hand, trying to grab the Konoha ninja in front of him, but his strength had already been quietly drained, and he could only close his eyes helplessly in the end.
Taiichi drew his short sword with force, but his gaze was fixed on Captain Yamaguchi.
The captain, who was skilled in earth-escape techniques, did not have the same high burst damage as Taiichi. After Taiichi had dealt with three enemies, the captain was still entangled with the second enemy.
At this moment, the enemy's last two remaining ninjas arrived to provide support, creating a three-on-one situation. As they made their move, Taiichi realized that one of the two reinforcements was a Jonin.
After understanding the situation, Taiichi didn't dare to stop. After catching his breath, he immediately teleported to Captain Yamaguchi's side.
This was Captain Yamaguchi's most critical moment. He had just taken down one enemy when reinforcements arrived. To make matters worse, one of them was a Jonin.
Fortunately, he came for him. If this Jonin had gone to support Taiichi, Yamaguchi Seisuke didn't even want to think about what the consequences would have been.
Just as he glanced at Taiyi, he discovered that Taiyi had finished off three opponents and was heading towards him. His expression immediately became incredibly interesting.
"It seems I underestimated Taiichi!" Yamaguchi Seisuke thought to himself, and quickly rallied his spirits to deal with the predicament before him.
Meanwhile, the three enemy ninjas had already noticed Taiichi's support and couldn't help but curse inwardly: "Damn this intelligence! There's not just one Jonin, there are clearly two, and each one is more powerful than the last."
If they had known this would happen, they wouldn't have approached rashly. Now look what happened, they've tried to steal a chicken but lost their rice instead, and they probably won't even be able to save their own lives.
With both sides intensifying their attacks and defenses, the situation became even more urgent.
Taiyi also saw the urgency of the situation. As he sprinted, fireballs quickly formed around him and then, as if they were free, continuously rained down on the three attackers, aiming to provide a large and satisfying barrage.
This saturation bombardment was also very effective; the four people engaged in the fight quickly retreated and dodged the attack from the Phoenix Fire.
The siege was neutralized by Taiyi's brute force.
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