บท 12: chapter 12: First Battle

In battles between ninjas, intelligence is extremely important. It was precisely because Aburame Ryoma had first confirmed the enemy's position, number, and strength that they were able to successfully set up an ambush and complete the encirclement.

Without this information, the difficulty of completely annihilating the enemy would have increased exponentially.

Fortunately, everything was progressing according to plan.

Watching the Cloud ninjas below, who had fallen into the trap, Danzo didn't waste any words. He slightly turned his head and said, "A!"

Baishi immediately understood. He leaped down from the branch, his hands moving swiftly as he formed hand seals.

Although the attacker was just a child, Yamamoto Ling did not dare to be careless and quickly shouted, "Everyone be careful!"

However, Baishi's young age was highly misleading. Initially, most of the Cloud ninjas felt confusion rather than alertness. By the time they realized the danger, it was already too late.

Thanks to his exceptional affinity for Earth Release chakra at grade VI, he found it easy to learn related ninjutsu, and similarly, casting it was effortless.

For instance, just as he landed, he finished forming the hand seals.

As soon as he touched the ground, he unleashed a C-rank ninjutsu—Earth Release: Mud Swamp.

As a foundational jutsu of the A-rank technique—Earth Release: Yellow Springs Swamp, its effects were not as overpowering, but its characteristics were the same.

Before their eyes, the ground beneath the Cloud ninjas turned into a pit of swamp, causing most of the Chunin to become trapped.

Of course, expecting this meager swamp to neutralize these ninjas was unrealistic, so Baishi had a backup plan.

Taking advantage of the situation where several were trapped, he formed hand seals once again at incredible speed, this time casting Wood Release.

As he saw several shuriken flying toward him, Baishi did not flinch or dodge; he simply raised his hand and summoned dozens of vines.

These vines soared forth like swimming dragons, blocking the shuriken in mid-air while also ensnaring the Chunin who had just escaped the swamp.

"Wood Release: Silent Binding Technique!"

With a soft chant, Baishi clenched his fist tightly.

In the next moment, blood splattered as piercing screams accompanied the sound of shattering bones, resonating throughout the battlefield.

Watching his comrades being crushed by the vines, the vast majority of the Cloud ninjas were left frozen in shock, clearly shaken by the gruesome scene.

However, one person stood out: Yamamoto Ling.

At the moment Baishi used Wood Release, his pupils dilated. While others might not know what was happening, he did.

As a ninja born into a prestigious clan, his knowledge far surpassed that of ordinary ninjas.

He had seen records about it in his family's secret library, so he immediately recognized this as the long-lost Wood Release ninjutsu from the Hidden Leaf Village.

The thought of the legendary "God of Ninja" sent shivers down his spine.

While he was lost in thought, a series of screams snapped him back to reality.

He followed the sound and saw the scene of his subordinate being crushed by the vines.

Ignoring the dire situation of the Chunin, Yamamoto Ling had one thought on his mind: he needed to bring this information back to the village.

"The Hidden Leaf has once again produced a Wood Release user! Regardless of the opponent's strength, we cannot allow this person to grow; the ninja world does not need another 'deity,' and the Hidden Cloud Village least of all."

Thinking this, Yamamoto Ling shouted fiercely, "This is the legendary Wood Release! Together, let's kill him!"

As he spoke, he charged at Baishi.

At this moment, the other three Jonin finally realized what they were up against—this was the legendary Wood Release!

Without hesitation, they immediately followed suit.

Since their leader had already engaged, the Chunin naturally couldn't just stand by, and they began forming hand seals, preparing to cast ninjutsu to assist.

But just then, several vines suddenly burst from the ground, swiftly wrapping around them. Having just witnessed their comrades' gruesome fate, they dared not let the vines get too close, quickly stopping their hand seals to evade.

Seeing this, Baishi did not seek to press his advantage; he immediately jumped back, avoiding the shuriken thrown by the four Jonin.

Zzzzz~

"What is that sound?"

Baishi's ears perked up, and his expression changed abruptly. Without any hesitation, he pounced to the side.

In the next second, a flash of fire illuminated the area, followed by a deafening explosion.

It turned out that the 'zizzling' sound was the noise of an explosive tag igniting.

One of the Cloud Jonin had just used the Shadow Shuriken Technique, concealing a shuriken equipped with an explosive tag.

He had avoided the obvious attack but overlooked the covert trap.

And therein lay the difference in combat experience, something Baishi lacked.

Amid the smoke, Baishi slowly rose, issuing loud coughs.

Seeing this, the four Cloud Jonin were filled with delight, thinking, "After all, he's just a child; even if he has Wood Release, it can't make up for the gap in experience."

With this thought in mind, they hurled their shuriken towards the coughing Baishi, aiming straight for him through the smoke.

But just as the shuriken struck Baishi, dozens of vines suddenly erupted from the ground, ensnaring them all.

"What is this?"

Looking at the surrounding vines, the four Cloud Jonin suddenly felt uneasy and hastily turned to the smoke where Baishi had stood.

At this moment, only a lifelike wooden dummy remained.

Not far from the wooden figure, Baishi sneered, increasing his chakra input.

The enemies, having experienced his attack once, subconsciously regarded him as just a child, unaware that within this child's body lay the soul of an adult and a mind eager to learn.

Having been deceived once, he quickly devised a countermeasure; he would leverage his age to feign weakness, waiting for the enemy to attack before using Wood Release: Wooden Double, so he could change places and then unleash his ultimate technique—Wood Release: Birth of the World Tree, ultimately completing the counterattack.

To achieve this goal, he had three prerequisites. The first was the enemy's carelessness; if they weren't fooled, nothing else mattered.

The second was that he must evade their attack at the right moment.

Wood Release: Wooden Double was still a substitution technique, and if it wasn't successfully cast in time, he would really die; yet if it was cast too early, it would also reveal a flaw.

Were it not for his grade III Enhanced Senses, he wouldn't have dared to try.

The third needed was to use the cover of smoke; without the smoke, the keen observations of the Jonin would easily see through his setup.

If that were the case, he wouldn't have had the chance to retaliate.

However, this setup of his seemed incapable of delivering a killing blow.

While Wood Release: Birth of the World Tree was a very powerful jutsu, given his current chakra level, he could only create a small patch of forest at most.

Moreover, during this process, the vines under his control had noticeably weak attack power.

Because of this, the four Cloud Jonin found their opportunity to counteract.

Subsequently, shielded by the other three, Yamamoto Ling seized the chance to unleash a powerful Lightning Release jutsu, destroying all the vines with a single blow.

Thus, the four Cloud ninjas successfully freed themselves while Baishi found himself in an awkward position, having exhausted all his chakra.

Fortunately, he was not alone; the other Root ninjas had already begun to take action.

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