Chapter 47: I've Mastered the Iai Draw!

Chapter 47: The Iaijutsu, I’ve Mastered It!

Ninja tools were, after all, just ninja tools.

If the opponents truly were the Four-Image Celestials, the situation would be relatively easy to resolve. Although Chiba might not necessarily be a match for them, intelligence was paramount in the profession of a ninja.

How did Asuma die in the anime?

Was he truly inferior to Hidan?

Not necessarily.

Hidan was immortal, but he lacked the ability to stitch himself back together or heal his own wounds. To put it simply, as long as one avoided letting him acquire their blood, he could be defeated with ease.

Armed with that intelligence, Asuma could definitely defeat Hidan.

That was the advantage of information.

Similarly.

As long as one could deduce the likely identity of the opponent and rationally arrange and set traps, even Chiba had the confidence to cause significant trouble for the Four-Image Celestials.

Moreover, he had recently been observing and absorbing the effects of the barrier and the binding arrays, as well as sealing techniques.

This was a very good case study.

However, he must not let his guard down. He vaguely remembered that the ninja tools of those four individuals were quite formidable.

Hiss!

Now that he thought about it, if he eliminated them, he seemed to be able to temporarily acquire four sets of ninja tools—

After all, the four major ninja tools were the treasures of the Artisan Village. Even if the Four-Image Celestials pulled off such a stunt, Konoha wouldn't be able to claim them for themselves unless some accident occurred.

For instance...

The shameless rogue ninja Orochimaru stepped in and snatched the ninja tools away.

In addition, if the great Pot-Shadow was willing to take the blame for this, Konoha could gain four powerful ninja tools. Or, simply by lingering a bit longer, he and Tenten would have more time to research the manufacturing methods of those ninja tools.

The ninja tools weren't in his hands yet, but Chiba was already pondering how to research them.

The Four-Image Celestials.

What a headache-inducing yet delightful enemy!

"The Four-Image Celestials—facing them on my own is still too much of a strain."

Chiba looked in another direction.

Over there were a few more samurai, who, without exception, should be samurai of the Kiyota clan.

Could Kakashi-sensei and the others handle them?

He hesitated for a moment.

"Focus primarily on setting traps and entangling them, buying time for Kakashi-sensei and the others."

"A ninja squad suspected to be the Four-Image Celestials..."

"Their stance is questionable; perhaps it's best not to provoke them for now."

After pondering for a long time, Chiba formulated what he considered to be the most suitable plan for the moment.

In fact, he had another risky plan: to actively enter the range where he might be detected by the Four-Image Celestials, and then circle around behind the ambushing samurai.

That way, the attitude of those four individuals could be tested.

However.

The risk of that plan was too high. Should those four individuals happen to be in cahoots with the Kiyota clan's samurai and turn to surround him, even Chiba would find it difficult to survive.

Possessing the Bodhi seed, he believed he had an infinite future; there was no need to take unnecessary risks in such a place.

Furthermore.

Behind them, there was also a ninja squad suspected to be ANBU secretly trailing them.

With a sure victory at hand, there was no need to take risks.

Chiba quietly slipped into the middle between the "semicircle" and the "point," covertly planting the talismans for the binding array and the absorption barrier on eight trees.

Then, he quietly crept a bit closer to Xiong's direction so that he could observe the situation over there from the treetops—

Kakashi-sensei had engaged the enemy in combat!

...

"Are you Xiong? Surrender unconditionally," Kakashi said indifferently.

"You must be Konoha ninjas. Why interfere in the affairs of the Land of Iron? You have violated the agreement!"

Xiong's face twisted in a ferocious grimace.

There was still a freshly scabbed scar across his face.

"Oh? Putting aside the fact that I am currently intervening due to a commission, as a rogue ninja, you actually expect to invoke the neutral country treaty to keep me out of this?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, his tone ice-cold.

Upon hearing this, Xiong was stunned for a moment, then the scar on his face distorted as he angrily shouted, "Who is a traitor! You bastard..."

"There is nothing more to say. Hmph, you are a samurai; since that is the case, I shall kill you in the manner of a samurai."

With that, Kakashi pulled out a scroll.

After performing hand seals, a sword emerged from the scroll.

Tsukikage K纱's eyes lit up brightly.

An ANBU sword!

Was Kakashi-senpai going to use his swordsmanship?

Unlike K纱, Tenten was not paying attention to Kakashi; instead, she kept her eyes fixed firmly on Kiyota Shin.

When Kakashi spoke to Xiong just a moment ago, this fellow had been extremely nervous.

Indeed, there was something wrong with him!

Tenten quietly retrieved a scroll, clutching it tightly in her hand.

Xiong let out an angry, cold snort. He gripped the hilt of his blade with his right hand, his gaze sharp and cold, but...

The next instant, as Kakashi lunged forward to attack, he whirled around and fled toward the north.

That direction led into the Land of Iron.

Kakashi had already seen through everything.

Why would a traitor flee toward his own country?

Unless he wasn't the traitor at all, and the real traitor was someone else. However, based on this alone, he couldn't launch a direct assault on Kiyota Shin just yet.

"Mr. Kiyota, this fellow has refused a duel. Since that is the case, I need not grant him any more courtesy. Please join me in pursuing him."

"Understood!"

Kiyota Shin let out a breath of relief, then drew his blade and sprinted forward in hot pursuit.

Luring him away from Tenten and K纱, while also confirming Chiba's position, Kakashi cast aside all distractions, accelerated his pace, and quickly caught up to Xiong.

However.

What greeted him was a split-second slash.

A swordsmanship technique so fast it caught one completely off guard—

Iai!

Yet.

Clang~

Using his scabbard, Kakashi directly blocked Xiong's blade technique and asked in a low voice, "What is going on with the Kiyota clan?"

"What?"

Xiong was slightly taken aback.

"You shouldn't be a traitor. Have they betrayed the Land of Iron?"

Kakashi slashed forward with his sword.

A thought stirred in Xiong's heart, and he instantly understood the situation.

The Copy Ninja Kakashi, such a powerful elite jounin, was forgoing ninjutsu to duel him with swordsmanship—that in itself revealed something bizarre.

And the question just now made their stance even clearer.

The opponent was not on the same side as the Kiyota clan.

Clang, clang, clang~

The samurai swords crossed repeatedly, emitting fierce metallic clashing sounds. The two figures intertwined, making the battle appear exceptionally intense.

Kiyota Shin felt a chill run through his heart.

Fortunately, he had managed to deceive Kakashi according to plan; otherwise, given the capability of a fellow like Xiong, he would have been no match at all—

Xiong was not an elite chunin.

He was the strongest non-clan samurai of the Kiyota clan, and his strength rivaled that of a jounin among ninjas!

"Mr. Kiyota, let's go together!"

Tenten, positioned a dozen paces off to the side, shouted loudly as she ran toward Xiong.

"Alright."

Kiyota Shin replied, casting a glance back at the panting "young ninja" trailing behind. After a brief hesitation, he ultimately chose not to draw his blade, continuing forward instead.

That fellow was Kakashi, after all. Even if he had exhausted a considerable amount of stamina on the journey and had just been fighting Xiong, his strength was undoubtedly still formidable.

Let them trade blows a little longer!

While they were fighting, the samurai of the Kiyota family were slowly closing in, forming a circle.

Chiba took everything in, but in his mind, he replayed Xiong's iaijutsu strike from just moments before—that single slash...

It was faster and more flawless than what Tsukikage K纱 had taught him.

Indeed.

Pure swordsmanship still had to look to the Land of Iron.

Chiba seized the moment, deeply comprehending the exquisite intricacies of that slash.

After several seconds, a look of realization dawned upon him.

"So that's how it is. In that single instant, he adjusted his state to an absolute peak, and both the position and condition of his blade were ingeniously synchronized with his own strike, which is why that slash could be so much faster."

"I've mastered it!"