"Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu!"
Fumikawa's rage manifested as a literal wall of water, crashing toward the Konoha group with the weight of several tons.
"Secret Technique: Multi-Size Jutsu!"
Akimichi Choza's usual easygoing smile vanished, replaced by a mask of grim determination. Without a second's hesitation, he expanded into a giant over ten feet tall. Digging his heels into the muddy earth, he used his massive frame and raw physical power to act as a human levee, bracing himself against the roaring torrent.
"Secret Technique: Spirit Trans—"
Dan Kato immediately realized that these four "Rain Ninja" were far more dangerous than they appeared—they were likely all Jonin. He began weaving the signs for the Spirit Transformation Jutsu, intending to launch his soul to strike from the astral plane.
Losing an arm was a significant handicap, but it didn't strip him of his greatest trump card. In his desperation to protect Tsunade during their earlier flight, he had pushed past his limits, mastering the ability to weave signs with a single hand.
The power of love was, quite literally, a force to be reckoned with.
"Big Brother Dan, you're still too injured!" Nawaki shouted, grabbing Dan's arm before he could complete the technique.
"But these guys—!"
Dan was frantic. He wanted to scream at the boys that these enemies weren't just standard scouts, but the warning was cut short.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!"
The ground beneath them erupted. The jagged stone spikes forced Dan Kato to kill his jutsu to evade, separating him from Nawaki and Hatani in the process.
"Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!"
Before he could even catch his breath after dodging the spikes, a second wave of water crashed down. Dan, now completely robbed of the opening needed for his Spirit Transformation, felt a sudden pang of gratitude toward Nawaki for stopping him.
Having spent so much time fighting alongside a powerhouse like Tsunade, he had momentarily forgotten that these young shinobi would struggle to protect his physical shell while his spirit was elsewhere.
Still, the enemy's pressure was mounting. He had to find a gap, a place to hide his body so he could go on the offensive.
"Cover me!" he shouted to Yamanaka Inoichi. Without looking back, he began to retreat toward the treeline.
"Haha! Is this how Konoha shinobi fight? Leaving the kids to cover for the grown man? What a pathetic bunch of cowards!"
Watching the only adult in the group—Dan Kato—run away while the children held the line, Fumikawa let out a boisterous laugh. He wanted to crush their morale before the real slaughter began.
"If the Rain lost to a 'pathetic bunch' like us and were forced to beg for peace, doesn't that make you the ultimate losers?"
In a battle of wits and words, Hatani was in his element. Having spent a decade in his previous life trading barbs with toxic trolls and keyboard warriors in online lobbies, he didn't just feel unafraid—he felt a surge of nostalgic adrenaline. It was like being back in a pre-game chat, typing at a hundred words per minute.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!"
Just because he was talking trash didn't mean he was missing his skill shots. Even as the insult left his mouth, his hands were moving. A sharp, whistling blade of wind—infused with the biting edge of a Kamaitachi—swept toward the Iwa Jonin who was attempting to bypass him to hunt down Dan Kato.
Hatani knew Dan's combat style. The man wasn't running out of cowardice; he was looking for the "optimal positioning" to find a "casting window."
"Dammit, a Genin?!"
The Iwa Jonin, who had initially dismissed Hatani for his lack of a green flak jacket, felt a cold shiver as the Vacuum Wave bore down on him. He didn't dare take it lightly. His hands moved in a blur, weaving signs with electric speed.
The wind blade sliced through his form just as the jutsu completed. In a puff of smoke, the severed halves of the "Jonin" turned into two wooden logs.
A perfect Substitution Jutsu.
"Watch the ground!" Inoichi's voice rang out in a panicked scream.
As a member of the Yamanaka clan, Inoichi was a master of the mind. While his sensory range couldn't compare to the X-ray vision of a Hyuga's Byakugan, his spiritual energy was immense. He had sensed the enemy's chakra signature tunneling through the earth.
Unfortunately, Inoichi was still young, and his sensory radius was narrow. By the time he detected the threat and shouted the warning, it was already too late.
"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"
Hatani, who had just been scanning the area for the Jonin, felt like a bird targeted by a predator. Before he could leap away, he was yanked downward like a fishing float. His body was sucked into the mud, leaving only his head exposed above the ground.
Seizing the momentum of the pull, the Iwa Jonin erupted from the earth right in front of him. A sharpened kunai flashed in his hand, driving straight for Hatani's temple.
Nawaki and Inoichi lunged forward in a desperate attempt to intervene, but they were too far away.
The Iwa Jonin's lips curled into a cruel, triumphant smirk as he felt his blade sink into Hatani's skull. Then—Poof!
The "Hatani" buried in the dirt turned into a wooden log.
Another Substitution.
[DANGER]
A bright red kanji for "Peril" practically flashed in the enemy's mind. Panicking, the Jonin immediately began weaving the signs for a Body Flicker to escape the counterattack.
In his mind, with his elite signing speed, a two-seal Body Flicker would always be faster than a Genin's follow-up—even if that Genin could use B-rank ninjutsu.
Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize that within a three-meter radius, Hatani didn't need to weave signs at all.
Hatani materialized directly behind the Jonin. He didn't use a kunai. He simply snapped his fingers.
With that sharp click, a localized blade of wind manifested right at the back of the Jonin's neck. It wasn't large, but it was more than enough to open a throat.
Blood sprayed into the air, the vibrant crimson instantly diluted by the falling rain, though the steady flow quickly stained the mud beneath them.
The Iwa Jonin's hands were still locked in the final seal of the Body Flicker. His eyes were wide, glazed with a mixture of shock, indignation, and ultimate regret.
Even in death, he couldn't comprehend what had happened. The wind blade had appeared out of nowhere. It was as if his opponent had cast the jutsu through thought alone.
His arrogance had been his undoing. Despite seeing Hatani use a B-rank jutsu, he had remained stuck in the mindset that he was facing a "rookie Genin." Hatani's amateurish struggle when being pulled into the dirt had only reinforced that stereotype. He had been so convinced of his victory that he hadn't accounted for a perfect counter-substitution.
And Hatani's silent, signless execution had snuffed out his last hope of survival.