Mamoru flicked a glance at Hinata and Shino behind him and the three turned to leave.
But some people plainly can't stomach being ignored, especially by kids noticeably younger.
"Stop right there!" Ryota roared, chasing after Mamoru's retreating back.
The trio halted, turning slowly.
Ryota stood nearby, eyes bulging, teeth clenched, fists white-knuckled, aura flaring. He seemed like a shonen manga's male lead, but to Mamoru, he was just a clueless extra.
Mamoru tilted his head, eyeing him sideways, voice cold as frost. "Want to fight?"
"Hold it, Ryota!"
"Cool it! Give them the scroll! We'll rob another team and get it back!"
Kansuke and Makato rushed up, each seizing one of Ryota's arms, pleading desperately.
"Cut the crap! This is the Forest of Death!" Ryota raged, veins throbbing on his forehead. "The examiner said it: scrolls are intel, intel's worth more than life! You just hand over something dearer than life?"
This guy's not a hot-head, he's a hot-head without the plot armor.
Keep this up and he'll die.
Mamoru stared at the fired-up fool, and from a whim of mercy warned, "Fine resolve, but weigh your skill first. You only get one life."
To Ryota, the words reeked of mockery. His snarl deepened. He ripped a Kunai from his pouch and forced a combat stance despite his teammates' restraint.
"Won't listen to reason? Then feel some pain." Mamoru sighed, turned fully, eyes sharpening.
Seeing no turning back, Kansuke and the black-haired boy exchanged a look of helpless resolve, nodded, and drew their Kunai, ready to stand with Ryota. They stared tensely at the boy ahead. After the last exchange, they dared not relax.
The air froze.
Mamoru stepped forward without another word.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...
From the dim woods came the whistle of projectiles. A dozen shuriken and Kunai flashed like hornets, streaking at Mamoru from every angle.
"Ryota! Kansuke! Makato! You okay?"
With the shout, three figures in matching yellow windbreakers burst from the brush and sprinted over.
"More volunteers." Mamoru murmured, fingers forming a sign at his chest, other hand still in pocket, gaze calm on the incoming weapons. "Looks like they're together."
Hinata's pale Byakugan widened, unblinking. Each time it amazed her—an invisible wall seemed to wrap Mamoru. In spars, her strikes hit only that barrier, unable to reach him at all. Curiosity burned, yet fear of prying kept her silent.
The Kunai and shuriken froze a foot from Mamoru, hung as if striking glass, then clattered lifelessly to the ground around his feet.
"Wh… what?!"
"Why did the shuriken stop?!"
"What jutsu is that?!"
Ryota's trio gaped, shouting in disbelief.
Mamoru ignored them, eyes tracking the yellow-clad ninjas sprinting closer.
Suddenly his form blurred, then vanished.
"Watch out!" Kansuke, who'd seen it before, spun and screamed a warning.
Too late.
In the face of that speed, warning meant nothing.
The middle ninja at the front felt a heavy force slam his chest.
Thud!
With a dull crash, he flew backward faster than he'd come, a black shadow crashing into the dark grove and disappearing.
The remaining two ninjas in windbreaker screeched to a halt, whirling to find their teammate gone and Mamoru standing calmly where he'd been.
"Where's Ryohei?! What did you do to him?!" One shrieked, voice cracking with fear.
"Yusho! Watch out for his speed!" Kansuke's anxious warning rang out again from not far away.
"Is it just speed?"
Mamoru walked slowly toward the remaining two men in windbreakers, a faint smile on his face that sent a chill down one's spine. "Since you were the ones to 'say hello' with shuriken first..."
Mamoru's figure suddenly appeared before the ninja named Yusho like a ghost, his tone flat yet carrying an unquestionable pressure. "Then I won't be polite either."
Yusho's pupils contracted sharply in horror. However, before the fear could even fully surface, an irresistible force struck him. His vision was instantly swallowed by darkness as his consciousness cut out.
His body was launched like a projectile from a catapult, drawing a parabola before smashing heavily into the dense thicket in the distance. After a series of muffled sounds of breaking branches, there was no more sound, his life or death was unknown.
The last ninja in windbreaker had already sensed something was wrong. His strong survival instinct drove him to spin around and sprint desperately toward Kansuke. His heart was filled with endless regret.
What kind of monster had they provoked?
But could he escape? The answer was obviously no.
From the moment they took the initiative to attack Mamoru, Mamoru had no intention of letting anyone go.
"Look out!"
Kansuke's exclamation had just left his mouth when the runner felt an overwhelming force strike his back.
Bang!
He was slammed ruthlessly into the ground. Intense pain instantly swept through his body, as if every bone were screaming. He even suspected his spine had been shattered inch by inch.
Mamoru leaned over expressionlessly and deftly snatched the ninja tool pouch from the prone, immobile ninja. He flipped it open and accurately found the scroll inside—another Earth scroll. He casually tossed the ninja tool pouch back onto the ground as if it were useless trash.
He set off, lightly stepping over the incapacitated man on the ground, and walked toward Hinata and Shino.
He didn't need two copies of the Earth scroll.
Thinking this, Mamoru casually raised his right hand, and Chakra rapidly gathered in his palm. The next second, scorching flames erupted from his hand, completely consuming that Earth scroll.
Whoosh!
The scroll turned to ash.
Mamoru gave a light wave of his hand, dispersing the flames. The ashes fluttered down, scattering a messy and eye-catching pattern across the yellow and green mottled ground, as if proclaiming the fate of the losers.
As he passed by the trio including the Kansuke, Mamoru's footsteps paused slightly, his cold gaze sweeping over them like something tangible.
The three of them were like they had been hit by a freezing spell. Their expressions were dull, their faces pale, and the chill rising up their spines kept them frozen in place. They didn't dare move even a finger, their inner depths occupied by boundless fear.
Mamoru paid them no more mind and walked straight to Hinata's side, the cold expression on his face melting as he gave her a gentle smile.
"Hold... it!"
However, this moment of tranquility was shattered by an extremely discordant voice.
The smile on Mamoru's face froze along with it, transforming into a sort of helpless sense of absurdity.
Ryota, though his body was still trembling slightly from fear, suddenly turned around. With bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Mamoru, he shouted in an extremely unwilling, almost roaring tone, "Are you kidding me!? There's a limit to looking down on people! I'll show you what I'm made of right now!"
"Huh?"
Mamoru's face darkened as he slowly turned his head. His gaze was sharp as a blade, and his cold voice seemed capable of freezing the air. "Do you not understand the meaning of 'third time's the charm'?"
Looking at this guy who seemed to have fallen into a frenzy, he inexplicably thought of an adult version of Naruto—that kind of reckless, hot-blooded impulsiveness.
Is his brain seriously full of water? To seek death so desperately, does he really think he's a protagonist with plot armor?
(End of Chapter)
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