Chapter 61: Ambushed.

Author Note: Nothing of importance, just enjoy the chapter, and if you have any questions, make sure to comment!

And like always, remember if you want to read up to 20-22 chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer

I'm currently updating the novel 2-8 chapters a day in patreeeeon. On chapter 80 so far, though by the end of today it will be chapter 81-82

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Enjoy you sexy bastards.

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[Arata Takeshi - POV.]

After my encounter with the… Aburame, I decided to explore the forest a little bit before having to fight the others, if anything to clean my palate. However, as I moved from branch to branch, seeing the various animals, from giant snakes to tigers, until I began feeling… something. A large group of chakra signatures.

"That's peculiar," I muttered, a faint smile dawning on my face. They didn't seem to be fighting, despite being… very close to one another, meaning they were working together.

I paused on a thick branch, crouching low to get a better sense of what was coming. A large group of genin level ninja, each one moving with purpose, almost as if they had a target in mind. And judging by their direction, that target was me. How interesting.

I tilted my head slightly, considering my options. I could keep moving, lead them on a chase through the forest, annoying them a little bit here and there, but that would get tedious quickly. Or, I could turn this into a more direct encounter—something a bit more… entertaining.

As I scanned the area with my chakra, I sensed a clearing not too far away. It was perfect—open, with enough space for me to move freely. More importantly, it would give them a false sense of confidence, thinking they'd caught me in the open. I stood up, stretching my muscles as I made my decision, a faint smile on my face.

"Let's see what they've got," I murmured to myself before leaping into action, heading toward the clearing with a controlled burst of speed.

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[Third Person POV]

Takeshi stood in the center of a small clearing in the Forest of Death, his eyes half-lidded, a faint smile playing on his lips as a soft breeze rustled the leaves around him, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and the subtle undertone of danger. Though… if you asked Takeshi, he would call it an undertone of entertainment. He could feel chakra signatures surrounding him, a large group of shinobi that had started their hunt for him not too long ago. He could sense six teams—eighteen enemies in total—all moving with calculated precision, waiting for the right moment to strike.

They were close, but not yet visible. He could feel their chakra pulsing as they communicated silently, preparing to launch their assault. Takeshi had to say… he was mildly amused. He knew that the only plausible reason for such a large group of shinobi targeting him was simple: they had been tasked to do so.

Why another village wanted him dead? He wasn't sure… and honestly, he didn't care.

With a slight tilt of his head, Takeshi focused on the strongest chakra signature around, which he assumed was the leader of the group, the head of the assault. His chakra felt calm and steady—there was no doubt or fear in his pulse… and well… that wouldn't do.

Takeshi's smile widened a fraction as he detected the subtle spike in the leader's chakra—a clear sign that the attack was imminent.

A rustle of leaves was the only warning before a barrage of kunai, enhanced with Wind Style chakra, sliced through the air toward him. Takeshi moved with fluid grace, his body blurring as he twisted and turned, avoiding the projectiles with minimal effort as the kunai embedded themselves in the ground around him.

"I have to say… I am flattered," Takeshi commented, offering the attackers, now identified as Suna ninjas, a faint smile. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly he had done to piss Suna off so early in his career.

Giving no response, four ninjas rushed him simultaneously, their movements synchronized, infusing their blades with Wind Style chakra, aiming for his vital points. Takeshi's eyes flickered with interest as he sidestepped the first slash, before leaning back to avoid a thrust aimed at his throat.

For a group of ninjas who had clearly been tasked with killing him, they sure hadn't done their research. If they had, they wouldn't be trying to face him with Kenjutsu.

Not only that… but only four out of the eighteen were rushing at him.

The next attack came from behind—a spear of condensed air that would have impaled him if not for the fact he had sensed the attack before it even came. With a swift turn, Takeshi caught the attacker's wrist mid-strike, forcibly redirecting the force of the blow into the ground. The ninja's eyes widened in shock, caught unaware by Takeshi's raw physical strength.

"My turn," Takeshi's lips curled into a faint smile as he swiftly swung his Claymore in a wide arc, beheading him before he could fully register what had happened.

"Bastard!" One of the ninjas growled, rushing at him from the left, but Takeshi simply stepped aside at the last second, allowing the man's momentum and blind anger to carry him into the path of his comrade's spear. "W-what?"

"Don't ask me, because frankly, I am as befuddled as you are. I mean… why did you rush into the spear?" Takeshi chuckled, kicking the guy away, before sending a wave of chakra into the ground through his Claymore, causing the ground to ripple beneath the feet of the remaining two attackers, making them lose their balance, before using the Phantom Mirage to slit their throats open.

Four down… fourteen to go.

He could feel the remaining fourteen ninjas regrouping, their chakra signatures fluctuating with uncertainty. Perhaps the first four were nothing but an information-gathering assault unit, or maybe they were overconfident… regardless, Takeshi was anything but fair… and it wouldn't be fair for the first four to be the only ones to die, right?

"I could do without the suspense," Takeshi said out loud, feeling as they moved and changed their formation. They were spread out now, encircling him, possibly trying to find a weakness, a flaw in his defense that they could exploit.

Takeshi remained in the center of the clearing, waiting for them to make the first move, silver eyes calmly scanning the trees around him. He could feel their chakra moving, getting ready. And from what he could sense, it seemed they were preparing for a coordinated attack, likely involving a wide-range assault. He didn't know much about Suna, but he had read enough to know that this approach was a… rather common strategy for ninjas from the Hidden Sand—using the environment to their advantage, blending offense with defense.

They were circling him to make their next attack seemingly impossible to dodge. And they were using the trees to keep some distance between them and him. Not a bad strategy, but not necessarily a good one either.

Without warning, the air around him began to stir. A low hum vibrated through the trees as the ninjas circling began their hand signs, channeling their chakra, making the leaves and branches tremble ever so slightly, until suddenly, a branch cracked.

Takeshi didn't need to look up to know what was coming. He stepped to the side just as a spiraling vortex of wind descended on him, carving a deep gouge in the earth where he had been standing moments before, as the force of the attack sent debris flying in all directions. Before the dust from the first attack had even settled, a second attack came from his left—another concentrated blast of wind that flattened the foliage in its path. Takeshi reacted instinctively, pivoting on his heel and dodging the blast by a hair's breadth.

"Every blast… is faster than the last," Takeshi muttered to himself, starting to realize what their strategy was. However, before he could dwell on that train of thought any longer, something else caught his attention, a subtle… almost imperceptible pulse of chakra coming from beneath him.

Sand.

Wind-infused sand, sharp and deadly, designed to shred anything in its path. Takeshi's eyes gleamed with anticipation as he jumped back, avoiding the wave of sand, his body twisting in mid-air as he avoided the tendrils of sand that lashed out at him.

He landed lightly on a branch, just in time to see another wave of sand rising to meet him. This time, instead of dodging, Takeshi focused his chakra into his feet, before launching himself off the branch with explosive force, as the branch shattered behind him, propelling him over the oncoming sand and landing on the other side of the clearing.

The sand twisted around, following his movements with relentless precision. Takeshi could feel the chakra of its controller, hidden somewhere in the trees, manipulating the sand… with great struggle, as the others gathered more and more chakra, meaning this… was all but a distraction.

A faint smile dawned on Takeshi's face, watching the sand close around him, only for him to release a burst of chakra, forcibly dispersing the sand in all directions with a shockwave of raw power.

The wind picked up again, carrying with it the familiar sound of rustling leaves. His enemies were changing their strategy once more… Takeshi didn't move, his smile faint and his posture relaxed as he waited for the next assault. He could sense them closing in, their chakra signatures forming a different formation—a net designed to trap him.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Takeshi's feet trembled. He felt the shift in chakra just in time to jump back, avoiding the trap as the earth exploded upward, sand and wind mixing to form a deadly whirlpool where he had just been standing. The vortex spun violently, shredding everything it touched.

Much like the sand from before, Takeshi knew that this attack was nothing but a distraction as well, a way to push him into the path of the next wave of attacks. Smiling, Takeshi sensed the surge of chakra from both sides as two more ninjas emerged from the underbrush, their hands moving quickly as they went through a series of seals.

"Do you guys think your village will put a bingo page for me after today?" Takeshi asked, a friendly smile on his face, tilting his head ever so slightly as a kunai whizzed past his ear, before twisting his body around, parrying an incoming strike with his blade. "Never mind… this is hardly an achievement."