"Watch out!"
Just as the injured Konoha ninja shouted his warning, he saw Taiichi calmly flick his short sword, deflecting the three incoming kunai. Immediately after, Taiichi pinpointed the Chunin's attack trajectory and smoothly blocked his sneak thrust with the kunai.
"Hehe, I've been waiting for you. I thought your ambush would come sooner!" Taiichi mocked the Chunin.
The Chunin ground his teeth in frustration. He had intended to ambush Taiichi the moment he attacked, but Taiichi had killed his previous opponent so quickly that even he was stunned for a second. That split-second delay caused him to miss the perfect opportunity.
"How did you know there was another ambush?" the Chunin asked unwillingly.
"Don't ninja squads usually consist of a captain and three subordinates? Seeing you were one man short, naturally, I had to be on guard," Taiichi replied matter-of-factly.
Then, exerting sudden force and leveraging the advantage of his longer weapon, Taiichi relentlessly pressured the Chunin, forcing him solely into defense and preventing him from paying attention to anything else. At that moment, several kunai flew from the side, targeting the Chunin from different angles.
The Chunin was already tightly entangled by Taiichi. By the time he noticed the incoming kunai, it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as he was shot dead, his eyes wide open in disbelief even in death.
It turned out Yohei and Saori had already ambushed and killed their respective opponents and rushed over to help Taiichi.
After finishing off the Chunin, the three of them moved together to support Captain Yamaguchi. Actually, Captain Yamaguchi was also about to finish his opponent. The Sand Jonin, already struggling after being ambushed, lost his composure entirely upon seeing his subordinates die one after another. Now, his mind was solely on escape.
But the more he wanted to flee, the less he could. With the arrival of Taiichi and the others, his defeat was sealed.
Taiichi charged into the battle first with his sword. Although his strength was far inferior to the Jonin's, his Kenjutsu alone was enough to suppress him.
Taiichi didn't clash head-on with the Jonin. Instead, he relied on his sword techniques to constantly create trouble for the enemy, creating opportunities for Captain Yamaguchi.
Meanwhile, Yohei and Saori didn't even approach. They stayed at a distance, throwing kunai occasionally to block the Jonin's evasion routes.
Just like that, with the concerted efforts of the four, the unwilling Sand Jonin was taken down without anyone on the team sustaining injuries.
Truly, the river flows east for thirty years and west for thirty. As thrilling as the pursuit was before, the death now was just as miserable.
"Saori, Yohei, check the four bodies and seal them into scrolls. Taiichi, come with me to check on the wounded." Captain Yamaguchi tossed a storage scroll to Saori and led Taiichi to check the Konoha ninja's injuries.
Seeing Yamaguchi and Taiichi approach, the Konoha ninja struggled to reach out as if to do something. Taiichi hurried over and began examining his wounds.
"Don't... don't waste your effort. My... my injuries are too severe, lost... too much blood. I won't make it back to the village." The injured ninja spoke with difficulty. "There is intel in the lining of my clothes."
"Alright, save your strength. You can hand over the intel to the village yourself!" Taiichi interrupted unceremoniously after his examination. Then, the pale green glow of the Mystical Palm Jutsu lit up in his hand.
Though the Mystical Palm Jutsu was only a B-rank jutsu, its difficulty increased with the depth of mastery. As the healer's understanding of medicine and precision in micro-manipulation improved, the requirements for casting the jutsu grew, but so did its effectiveness.
Watching the green light in Taiichi's hand, the injured ninja was speechless. Looking at the ages of the squad members, he could guess this was a team of newly graduated Genin. Yet, not only was every member incredibly skilled, but they even had a specialized medical ninja. The injured ninja felt incredibly envious.
"Hello, my name is Sanae Shinkawa. Thanks to you, I get to keep my life." Sanae Shinkawa said excitedly. "When we get back, I'm treating you to drinks! Ah, no, to dinner!" He had clearly forgotten Taiichi's age.
Taiichi didn't respond, focusing entirely on treating the wounds. Shinkawa's other injuries were manageable, mostly superficial, but the severed arm was troublesome. Taiichi picked up the severed limb he had retrieved earlier and examined it carefully.
"Sigh, if it's gone, it's gone. Keeping my life is good enough. I can just retire early," Sanae Shinkawa said, feigning cheerfulness. It would have been more convincing if he could stop the tears at the corners of his eyes.
"Doesn't look like you'll be retiring." Having finished examining the severed arm, Taiichi continued cleaning the debris from the stump, the Mystical Palm Jutsu's light constantly enveloping the wound to keep it clean and active.
Captain Yamaguchi, along with the returned Yohei and Saori, watched Taiichi's treatment intently. None of them expected Taiichi's medical skills to be this good.
"After retiring, I'll open a snack shop. I'll give you guys a discount when you come!" Clearly, Shinkawa was still immersed in his own sorrowful world and hadn't processed what was said.
Seeing everyone looking at him like he was an idiot, Shinkawa finally understood Taiichi's words. "You... you mean... my arm can be reattached?!" Shinkawa stammered.
"Luckily, it was cut cleanly by a kunai. The cut is smooth, not much time has passed, and the tissue hasn't undergone necrosis yet. Reattaching it shouldn't be a big problem." Taiichi's cold, clinical words sounded like heavenly music to Sanae Shinkawa's ears.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Shinkawa couldn't hold back his emotions anymore and wept tears of joy.
Taiichi aligned Shinkawa's severed arm with the stump. The light of the Mystical Palm Jutsu in his hands brightened intensely as he devoted his full attention to reconnecting and suturing the nerves, muscles, bones, connective tissues, and so on.
The light of the Mystical Palm Jutsu lasted for a full hour before slowly fading. By then, Taiichi was sweating profusely; clearly, this level of treatment was a significant burden on him.
"Alright, that's all I can do for now. The arm is reconnected preliminarily. You can't use force with it yet. Once back in the village, stay in the hospital for a while; they'll provide better follow-up treatment." Taiichi gave his final medical advice.
"Let's go then. We're still far from the village, and now we have intel to escort. We need to hurry." Captain Yamaguchi said. He then hoisted Sanae Shinkawa onto his back and led the way toward the village, with Taiichi and the others following closely.
...
An hour after Taiichi's group left, two squads of Sand ninjas arrived at the battle area. They split up to check the various skirmish sites before regrouping.
"Toyama's squad was ambushed."
"The battle ended quickly. Basically one-hit kills."
"Jonin Toyama was killed by a group attack. At least three people attacked him."
"They left an hour ago. We can't catch them."
"Return. Report the situation here."
...
When the gates of Konoha appeared in Taiichi and the others' line of sight, although they hadn't been gone long, they felt a touch of homesickness.
After processing the entry procedures at the gate, Masasuke Yamaguchi said to the trio, "I'll take Shinkawa to hand over the mission. You guys go back first. Rest for a week. Meet at the Mission Hall in the morning seven days from now. Dismissed."
Without waiting for their reply, he disappeared with the Body Flicker Jutsu. Clearly, Shinkawa's intel was important.
"Well then, everyone, let's go back and rest too. It's been exhausting lately." Taiichi spoke first.
"Yeah. See you later, everyone!" x2
Clearly, the two who had left home for a long time for the first time were eager to get back.
...
Back home, Taiichi lay lazily on his bed, stretching his body and savoring the indescribable peace. He spaced out for a moment. Perhaps this was the reason he strove to become stronger—to protect this peace and tranquility.
After resting for a while, Taiichi perked up and began checking his panel, taking stock of the gains from the frequent battles during this period:
> Name: Taiichi Matsushita
> Class: Genin Lv4 (12/600)
> Talents: Diligence, Academic Genius, Potency
> Age: 8
> Constitution: 21
> Strength: 20
> Agility: 18
> Spirit: 23
> Chakra: 16,000 (16,400)
> Attribute Points: 14
> Skill Points: 16
> Nature Transformation:
> Fire Nature Transformation Lv7 (581/1200)
> Wind Nature Transformation Lv7 (646/1200)
> Water Nature Transformation Lv7 (362/1200)
> Yang Nature Transformation Lv6 (539/800)
> Yin Nature Transformation Lv2 (124/200)
> Skills:
> Shape Transformation Lv6 (697/1000)
> Chakra Control Lv5 (696/800)
> Advanced Taijutsu Lv1 (120/2000)
> Advanced Meditation Lv1 (234/2000)
> Advanced Kenjutsu Lv0 (320/1000)
> Derived Skill: Sword Intent
> ...
> Evaluation: Although you just graduated, the average Chunin is no longer your match. However, alas, you remain a Genin.
Ignoring the unreliable evaluation, besides leveling up twice—which made Taiichi realize combat was the best way to level up—the biggest gain was undoubtedly the Chakra Nature Transformation.
The gains from these ten-plus days were comparable to two months of bitter training in the past. This wasn't just due to combat improvements, but also because of his insights into nature, gaining a newer understanding of Nature Transformation.