A/N: Alright guys, just a reminder that I'll be posting an extra chapter for every 40 Power Stones this story gets!
This will naturally reset every week and I'll post the chapter or chapters on Sunday.
If you liked the story this far, leave a comment or review, I'd appreciate it!
---
Kuroichi's breath fogged lightly in the forest air as he narrowed his eyes. Three figures stood before him, chakra now clearly rolling off their bodies. He hadn't sensed them before. How? Did he just not pay attention or was there a technique to it?
'Why didn't I feel them coming?' he thought grimly, shifting on the balls of his feet, an unconscious sign of nervousness. 'They must have suppressed their chakra somehow…'
There wasn't much time for him to ponder though, as the first of the three figures had already lunched forward.
Steel met steel as Kuroichi parried strikes with his short sword. The attacker was fast, way faster than the bandits from before, but not beyond Kuroichi's ability to handle.
They exchanged blows, Kuroichi feinted high, then slashed low, taking advantage of his smaller size. The clash of metal rang out continuously.
"You're quick, kid," the man gave him a malicious grin. "But it seems not smart enough to just surrender and give up."
Kuroichi feigned calmness and didn't answer, instead, he formed a short string of hand seals while exaggerating all seals required for the jutsu to actually work.
The attacker, as well as the two that had not joined the fight yet tensed, expecting a last resort wide range attack, however all that came was a large puff of smoke exploding outwards and blanketing the area.
Within that short moment of confusion and hesitation, Kuroichi struck. He swung his blade at his enemy, already thinking that his misdirection had worked, when a second attacker joined in, flanking him from the side and easily deflecting his sword, knocking it clean from his hand with a brutal upward swing of his own sword.
Kuroichi's hand burned from the force behind that strike. He rolled back, pulling two kunai from his belt as he dodged an incoming strike. He parried with one kunai and then threw the other. It missed, but it provided enough distraction to quickly use the replacement jutsu, substituting himself with a block of wood that was close by.
The moment he substituted himself, appearing diagonally behind one of the attackers, he didn't hesitate and directly went for one of them, delivering a solid kick toward his spine, clearly rattling the man as they were back to their starting position.
"This is obviously a child prodigy and future powerhouse in the making, completely abnormal! We need to incapacitate or kill him quickly," the second of the men snarled. "No more playing around!"
"You're right, the time to play has ended," said the third person, his voicer cold, but calmer than the other two. Kuroichi could feel this man was stronger than him, his presence alone made that clear.
The third figure stepped in, forming hand seals as the earth shifted beneath Kuroichi's feet. Jagged stone spikes erupted, forcing him to backflip away. He landed poorly and had to immediately use a body flicker to dodge to the side, barely avoiding a final unexpected spike coming from the side.
He landed fifteen meters to the side, panting slightly in a mix of exhaustion and relief to have safely dodged. 'I need to keep being careful!' he told himself.
His short sword, now several meters away was crushed by another burst of earth that erupted beneath it.
"That little toothpick of yours wasn't gonna save you anyway," the earth style ninjutsu user said.
Suddenly he felt chakra building up on his left, and fire erupted heading straight towards him.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!" the second attacker yelled as the fireball started blasting forward.
When Kuroichi felt the chakra building up, he instinctively formed the seals for the water wall jutsu.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
A wall of water curved up enough to meet the flame just in time, steam billowing out and clouding the area.
'Now!' Kuroichi thought as he flickered away again, leaving behind a Puff of smoke along with several clones. As they formed, he discreetly added a water clone inside as well while retreating further into the trees.
Inside the mist one of the attackers yelled out, "Don't let him get away!"
"He might be trying to split us up, stay close." The earth style user, the leader of the three, said.
Contrary to the leaders words, however, the water clone attacked, rushing into the midst of the tree, trying to cause some kind of damage. One of the clones' strikes came with incredible precision, however just before he could land the hit, the man twisted and counter attacked with a hard palm strike, causing the clone to turn into water splashing on the ground.
"They were all clones! He's not here! Find his tracks, Now!" The leader of the three was mad, having just let a catch like that escape through petty tricks.
"On it boss," one of the other two replied, before heading to the last location before Kuroichi created smoke. "I found his tracks right here. Follow me!"
"Good, let's go," the leader said as all three of them flickered away.
---
The forest whipped past in green streaks as Kuroichi flickered through the underbrush, his breathing sharp while his pulse hammered in his ears. His chakra started flaring more weakly with every leap, strained from the last skirmish. Behind him, crashing footfalls and flashes of chakra warned him; they were gaining ground.
'Damn it, they're not giving up.' Kurochi had hoped the clone and illusions would give him more time, but their pursuit was relentless. They weren't just dumb animals or amateur's hunting him, they were clearly more trained and experienced, plus they coordinated well together.
'Who are these people anyway?' He asked himself as he landed behind a thick oak, crouched low and clenched his jaw. 'This isn't going to work. I'll burn through my chakra at this rate and still won't successfully escape.'
Kuroichi was helpless, but he forced himself to calm down, exhaled sharply and reached behind his back. With careful, deliberate movements, he unsealed the long, wrapped ninjatō from his scroll and pulled it out of it's sheath.
The blade gleamed faintly in the light, but it was still too long for someone his size. Still, the sword and a few kunai were all he had left to use.
'One shot, if I'm gonna do this, then it has to count.'
The sounds grew louder and without hesitation, Kuroichi flickered forward. The first enemy in his sight didn't even have enough time to fully turn himself around before Kuroichi appeared in a blur, his ninjatō already mid-swing.
The blade connected with a sickening crack and wet rip, carving through torso and hip in a diagonal slash across his body. Blood sprayed against the trees as the man screamed in agony, letting out a horrible chocking sounds before he crumpled to the ground.
Kuroichi didn't stop, he didn't have the time and luxury to think. His feet were already shifting position while his hands formed seals mid-motion.
"Water Style: Water Bullet!"
__________________
Want to read ahead?
Advanced chapters on pa*treon/WavyWriter