Kannabi Bridge (13)

Swish, swish, swish.

In a forest just further away from Yami's location, two ninjas darted swiftly among the trees, heading toward him.

Takeshi, who was the leader of this attack squad and an elite Jonin, glanced at the Jonin beside him, his sharp eyes narrowing. "Takita, what can you sense about the enemy?" he asked.

Takita, the only sensor ninja in the squad, closed his eyes and extended his chakra senses outward. After a moment of concentration, he opened his eyes and reported, "The enemy has noticed our presence. Three of them are retreating, but they've left one behind."

Takeshi frowned, contemplating the situation. "Interesting," he muttered. "It seems they've decided to sacrifice one to buy time for the others. Do you have any details about the one left behind?"

Takita shook his head. "I can't sense his chakra clearly. But it seems weaker than the other three."

Takeshi nodded. "I see."

Soon, Takeshi noticed a figure lying on the ground, covered in blood, looking injured.

"Sir, that's him," Takita said, standing beside him.

"Are you sure there's no one else here?" Takeshi asked, his gaze never leaving the figure on the ground.

Takita closed his eyes again, concentrating. After a few seconds, he opened them and nodded. "There are no other chakra signatures nearby. It seems he really is alone."

Takeshi saw how Yami reacted upon seeing them. Yami pulled a kunai and tried to run away, but his steps were slow. Soon, he was blocked by two Chunin, and the other squad members surrounded the entire area.

"Hey, you're the leader, right?" Yami called once he saw there was no escape for him.

Seeing Takeshi not responding, Yami continued. "As you can see, I'm injured and I really don't wanna die, so could we negotiate?"

Narrowing his eyes, Takeshi said, "What kind of negotiation are you talking about? Aren't you here to stop us from chasing your friends?"

"Oh no. Those bastards aren't my friends. Once they knew we were surrounded, one of them seriously injured me and they all left me at your mercy to fend for myself." Yami's face filled with hatred as he continued. "Just don't kill me and I will tell you everything you need to know."

Meanwhile, the real Yami, who was invisible, watched in stealth mode while controlling the explosive tags to stealthily approach all the nearby ninjas without alerting them.

"Man, this is straining..." It was hard to control them to move this slowly; each second drained a massive amount of spiritual energy. But he didn't stop and continued moving them toward the light spots in his vision while watching Takeshi talking.

"Nice try, but do you really think you could fool me?" Takeshi wasn't stupid enough to fall for Yami's tricks. He clearly recognized that Yami was just buying time and probably wouldn't give them real information. Besides, he could still pursue the others, so why should he stop to negotiate with this one and risk getting the wrong information? After catching all of them, he could question them one by one to know their mission details.

Takeshi raised his hand and made hand signals, causing the two Chunin that were blocking Yami's retreat route to attack. They both launched a flurry of shurikens.

Yami's clone jumped out of the way and deflected some of the shurikens with his kunai.

"Dammit." At this moment, the real Yami knew it was time to act. Despite all the explosive tags not reaching their designated targets, he had no other choice.

"Detonate!"

A series of explosions erupted around the area, causing chaos among Takeshi's squad. Trees splintered, and the ground shook as the tags detonated.

"Retreat!" Takeshi yelled, realizing they were in a trap. But it was already too late for some. The two Chunin who attacked Yami were the first ones to be bombarded.

Yami was generous enough to place ten explosive tags around each of them, not even letting them scream before they died.

The first Chunin was instantly engulfed in flames, his body torn apart by the force of the explosions. Shrapnel from the blast embedded itself in nearby trees, and a cloud of smoke and debris obscured the area. The second Chunin managed to raise his arms in a futile attempt to shield himself, but the simultaneous detonations from the explosive tags obliterated him in an instant, leaving nothing but a charred mark on the ground.

Several other ninjas were caught in the radius of the explosions. One Jonin, who had been advancing cautiously, was thrown back by the shockwave, his body colliding with a tree before slumping lifelessly to the ground. Another ninja, attempting to dodge the blasts, found himself caught between two detonating tags. The concussive force shattered his bones, and he crumpled into a heap, blood pooling around him.

A third ninja, realizing the danger too late, tried to leap to safety but was caught mid-air by a well-placed tag. The explosion sent him spinning through the air, his body limp and lifeless before it hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Takeshi, witnessing the carnage, barely managed to shield himself with a hastily conjured earth wall. The barrier absorbed the brunt of the explosion, but the force still sent him staggering back, dust and debris clouding his vision.

"Damn it! We walked right into this," Takeshi muttered, trying to regain his bearings. He didn't expect to meet a suicidal maniac. Around him, the remnants of his squad were either dead or severely injured, the sounds of their groans and the crackling of flames filling the air.

Yami's first clone was destroyed during the blast, but due to the chaos and dust, no one managed to spot him as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Takita, who was rescued by Takeshi, suddenly sensed a presence nearby and shouted, "Captain, watch out!"

"Huh?" Takeshi looked in the direction where he sensed danger and saw a flurry of shurikens and kunai thrown at him.

Takeshi dodged them without an issue, but Takita brandished his short sword and dashed toward the presence he sensed behind a tree. There he saw the shocked look on Yami's face before he stabbed him.

Yami groaned, but no blood spilled. Instead, he grinned.

"No way," Takita said in disbelief.

"Got ya!" Yami grabbed Takita tightly before he exploded.

Takita's eyes widened in horror, and in that instant, the real Yami detonated the explosive tags he had strategically placed on his clone. The force of the explosion was immense, engulfing both Takita and Yami's clone in a fiery blast.

Takeshi watched in shock as the explosion consumed his comrade. He could do nothing but brace himself against the shockwave. When the dust settled, all that was left of Takita were charred remains scattered around the blast site.

Panting and covered in dirt, Takeshi looked around at the devastation. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath. "Come out, you bastard, and face me like a man."

Takeshi couldn't help but lose control over his emotions. He saw all his friends and subordinates, people he had worked with for years, die in front of him. He blamed himself for underestimating the enemy, causing their deaths. If he hadn't let his guard down, seeing only one injured Chunin, this might not have happened. But deep down, he knew that even if he had been careful, he might not have been able to prevent this tragedy. That bastard had prepared the trap carefully as if he was the one setting a trap for them and not the other way around. Did that mean Yami had sensed them even before they did and purposely let his companions leave so he could act freely?

So many questions filled Takeshi's mind, but the rage he was feeling kept him from staying cool-headed. He was constantly looking for the enemy.

Meanwhile, Yami, seeing that his traps had worked and he had managed to immobilize most of the enemy squad, prepared to leave. He had no intention of facing an angry elite Jonin who might act crazy and decide to be suicidal to take him down. Kakashi and the others should be far away now, and he had already gotten rid of the enemy sensor ninja, so his job was done. All that was left for him was to find a safe place to hide for a while until the others completed the mission before appearing as survival heroes.

But just as Yami turned around to leave, he froze in his place. In his soul vision, he saw figures inside a beam of light, heading toward the sky.

"What the…"

He recognized them as the souls of the ninja he had just killed. This had never happened before, so what had suddenly changed that allowed him to see other souls after death?

"I should test this."

After hesitating for a while, he decided to test this new ability instead of retreating to safety. He didn't know if this was a temporary power, but he decided to study it as it might prove useful to develop his Kekkei Genkai a step further.

****

Yami is about to develop his Kekkei Genkai and this arc is about to end!

Thank you very much for your support!!!