Taro POV
I looked to my left and saw Nao sweating bullets. His eyes darted rapidly, taking in every detail as he searched for a way out.
I snapped him out of it by pinching him. "You take the three behind, and I'll try to hold this guy off."
Nao argued, "I won't let you fight him alone! He'll kill you in seconds!"
I scoffed, "It'll be better that way. You can take care of the three fast and then come help me beat this guy. I promise you I won't die that easily. After all, I have a secret jutsu."
Nao glared at me. "No. I won't say it again. I'll make an opening for you so you can get out. Once you get out, tell Father and Kise."
Without hearing what I had to say, he dashed toward Hotsu and began their clash.
My stats might be low, but I knew I could at least hold him off until Nao beat the three. But now that Nao didn't listen, I had to fight these three and wait for an opening to get out.
I took my stance with my sword and readied for battle. The three mocked, but they soon turned serious once they were ready to attack.
Two of them charged to my left and right, while the guy in the middle weaved hand signs and performed a jutsu.
"Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken!"
Three shuriken shot out, infused with wind-nature chakra, making them sharper and faster.
I tried to block the shuriken, but as my sword neared them, they suddenly shifted, hitting my right leg, my left shoulder, and grazing my left cheek, causing a small cut.
The two who flanked me reached my position, punching me on both shoulders.
They smirked and cocked their fists once again, ready to strike. However, I quickly got rid of the shuriken and rolled forward.
I got up and infused chakra into my chakra-conductive sword, given to me by Kise, and slashed one of the men's hands off.
"Argh!"
The man screamed in pain and staggered backward, but I didn't give him the chance. Channeling all my power and chakra into my left leg, I lunged forward and cut his head clean off.
I turned toward the other guy who had punched me, ready to kill him, but suddenly I felt my blood run cold and moved to my right.
Swish
The man who used ninjutsu swung his sword behind me, but thankfully, I got out of the way. He clicked his tongue and said, "Why don't you just die a quiet death?"
Before anything could happen, I heard a sudden explosion behind me. When I turned around, I saw Nao keeping up with Hotsu. The explosion came from a fireball Nao performed. The fireball created smoke and opened up space for me to get out of the cave.
Remembering what Nao said, I quickly dashed toward the exit, but to my dismay, Hotsu yelled, "Go kill him!"
The two other ninjas rushed toward me, but I was faster.
Because I didn't know where Dad and Kise were, I ran toward one of my traps along a narrow pathway.
I looked back and saw the two still tailing me. Once I reached the trap, I pulled a rope from behind a rock. When the rope was pulled, two wires appeared in front of them, and with their speed, the thin yet strong wires would cut them in half.
However, as the two neared the wire, they stopped and laughed.
"You dumbass, you did it too early."
"Damn rookie."
The man with the sword cut the wire effortlessly. However, as they walked toward me with smug faces, I grinned at them, and a loud sound came from above.
The two looked up and saw a massive boulder coming down toward them at great speed.
"Shit!"
They tried to get away, but the man with the sword was too slow, causing the boulder to land on his legs, crushing them.
"Argh!"
He yelled in pain while the other guy tried to help him get away from the boulder.
I mocked, "You dumbass. I knew you idiots would cut that."
I performed the hand signs for the Shadow Clone Jutsu with perfect precision. I hadn't used it once during the fight, as I didn't want to waste my chakra or mess up my chakra distribution.
But now that it was a one-on-one, I performed the jutsu and made two clones, making the fight three-on-one.
The last guy stepped back, letting go of his comrade. "W-What the hell? What kind of jutsu is this?!"
My two clones flanked him while I charged forward. However, the man quickly formed hand signs. "Earth Release: Rock Shelter!"
A mid-size dome formed in front of him, shielding him from the front. However, to his dismay, the shield wasn't enough, as my two clones went behind him and thrust their swords into his stomach.
He stepped back, avoiding the swords but hitting the wall behind him. He clutched his head that struck the wall, but he soon felt cold blood on his stomach as the real me used chakra on my katana and pierced the earth dome.
I cut downward, splitting him in half.
My clones dispersed, causing me to huff in exhaustion. I was running out of chakra, but thankfully, the clone brought back some when it disappeared.
As I was about to yell for Kise and my father, a kunai landed in front of me with a note. My heart sank, but I quickly took the note and opened it.
"Just as I thought. Those bastards won't help."
I ran back inside the cave to help Nao, whispering, "Just don't die."
Inside the cave, I saw Nao on his knees, bruised and bleeding everywhere. His face was turning pale, and his chakra was less than a fraction of before.
However, Hotsu wasn't doing much better. His chakra was still massive, but his body was covered in burnt flesh and missing his left arm.
Hotsu noticed me first and glared. "You're back? So those losers lost to you, a brat?"
Nao followed his gaze and saw me. He frowned and yelled, "Why are you back?! Go get—"
Before he could finish, he collapsed on the ground.
I rushed toward him and placed my fingers on his pulse. "Still breathing, thank god."
I took a deep breath and stood up. Slowly placing chakra on my sword, I readied my stance and faced Hotsu. "My turn."
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Hey guys, I'm really thankful for you guys reading and giving me stones! We're almost at the top 200, I'll be internally grateful if we manage to hit top 200 tonight. I'll make chapter 21 tonight too and release it in a few hours.