Revolution in the Ninja World

What was flung out from the blast radius of the explosive tag wasn't a living person, nor was it a corpse. It was a section of log, almost completely carbonized, with scattered sparks still clinging to it… a log used for the Substitution Technique.

This was to be expected. It was hard to imagine a Jonin being taken down by a single explosive tag, even though Habara's timing for the "sneak attack" was impeccable. However, tricks were ultimately just tricks.

Having ensured that Konoha's crucial intelligence wouldn't be leaked, the defeated Konoha ninjas now only needed to consider one thing: how to escape from the battlefield.

"Mission failed! Disperse and retreat! Regroup at the front-line camp!" Izayo said, releasing her grip on her kunai and standing up. Whether it was out of compassion or guilt, she couldn't bring herself to look down at her brother again.

However, dispersed retreat didn't mean the Konoha ninjas should scatter like birds and flee in panic. To retreat without collapsing, they had to maintain a squad formation.

Fleeing alone would only make them easy targets for the enemy. Only by moving as a squad, as a group, was there a slight chance of escape… although that chance was very low.

By this time, Nindo was already dead, and Izayo had automatically taken over command of the team. So, Daigo, hidden in the rear, immediately relayed her command without hesitation.

The death of the commander didn't mean the annihilation of the forward squads. Otherwise, the person appearing before Habara and the others wouldn't have been one enemy, but four. The fighting was still ongoing at the front. Unfortunately, the Konoha side couldn't receive any support.

Win and it's a huge gain, lose and it's no great loss. The mission assigned by Konoha's higher-ups essentially carried the message, "Go and die."

After relaying the retreat order, Daigo was the first to start moving backward. Habara, Nobuyoshi, and Izayo provided cover as they moved, maintaining a high level of vigilance and retreating cautiously.

Would the enemy pursue them?

Undoubtedly, yes.

After retreating a certain distance, Izayo and Nobuyoshi would bury an explosive tag in a shallow layer of soil. After ensuring that their own side wouldn't be affected by the blast and carefully changing their retreat direction, they would detonate these tags. It seemed they were trying to use the sound and smoke from the explosions to mask their escape route.

During this tense escape, Habara began to think about other issues. Namely, whether he should take this opportunity to flee from Konoha… Although the risk was considerable, this was indeed an opportunity.

But since he was on the battlefield and at an absolute disadvantage, the enemy wouldn't give Habara any time to weigh the risks and benefits.

With a buzzing sound, several shuriken pierced through the smoke and flew towards Habara.

Habara instinctively swung the kunai in his hand, deflecting the shuriken. But at that moment, the Kumo ninja's figure suddenly burst out from the forest. He then moved past Habara at an astonishingly high speed, without launching any attack on him.

Ignoring him? No, the enemy's first target wasn't him. In an instant, Habara understood what the enemy was trying to do.

Although Konoha's main commander was dead at this point, and their command system was practically non-existent after the final order was given, even if it was entirely out of a ninja's instinct and the habits formed through long-term combat, the enemy would prioritize cutting off Konoha's command channel.

The key intelligence node of the Konoha ninja squad wasn't Nindo, but the sensory-type ninja, Daigo.

Habara practically watched as the enemy bypassed him and rushed towards Daigo, who was further ahead.

A deep sense of helplessness emerged, and this helplessness further triggered his "helpless when facing imminent death PTSD." So, the question was, how should this reborn person live his new life?

The answer was self-evident.

As a human being, one should naturally be kind when kindness is called for, selfish when selfishness is necessary; resolute when resoluteness is needed, and sharp when sharpness is required; persistent when persistence is appropriate, and willing to let go when it's time to give up…

Now was definitely not the time to give up.

Even if the scope of "what one can do" as a human being had changed, the basic principles of right and wrong hadn't.

Even if Habara wanted to flee from Konoha, he shouldn't flee from Konoha now.

In short, run.

In fact, the body was often more honest than the mind. While Habara was still having random thoughts in his head, he had already turned around and started sprinting!

The enemy, like a heavy tank, easily tore through the negligible resistance. He rushed to Daigo's side and unhesitatingly slashed down with his blade.

Daigo was stunned, and at this moment, she was too late to dodge.

But just as the enemy's blade was about to pierce her chest, a figure appeared beside her like a phantom. A hand, like an iron clamp, firmly gripped the enemy's wrist, preventing him from moving any further.

Habara had actually caught up.

He tightly gripped the opponent's wrist with his right hand, his sharp gaze fixed on the opponent's eyes. Even though there was a huge gap in their ninja skills, at this moment, they seemed to be evenly matched in terms of presence.

No, Habara was one step ahead!

"My friend, harming, abusing, or even killing children is a serious crime."

Yes, because Habara occupied the moral high ground, and even incidentally occupied the legal high ground. He had just been able to burst out with a speed no less than the opponent's. Clearly, this was a victory for humanity and values.

"Run!"

After saying something pointless, Habara first reminded Daigo to keep moving and not stop. Then, he released his grip on the opponent's wrist… At this moment, a large tangle of messy metal wires was already wrapped around the enemy's wrist.

These wires then tightened, and their other end was tied to a large tree on the side. So, the enemy was temporarily tethered, like a dog on a leash.

The toughness of this special metal wire was quite good, but it couldn't trap the opponent for long.

The Kumo ninja glanced at the wire cutting into his skin. Blood flowed from the shallow wound. As a response to Habara's previous nonsense, he said, "The weak can neither protect their own lives nor choose how they die."

Habara's judgment was very rational. He absolutely didn't believe he had any chance of defeating a Kumo Jonin. So, from the beginning, he was only thinking about how to escape. Therefore, after slightly hindering the enemy's movements, he turned and ran without looking back.

This proved to be an incredibly correct decision, because just as he left the enemy's side, extremely intense, pale lightning suddenly erupted from the man's body.

If Habara had been overconfident and rashly approached just now, he would now fully understand what internet addiction treatment felt like.

"Kumo Jonin, Raiton user, 'I' [Different]. He's our target for this mission," Izayo said after seeing the lightning around the opponent.

But this explanation came a little late. A bolt of lightning, moving with high speed and agile "footwork," struck from behind and pierced through Habara's right shoulder.

The intense pain made Habara stumble, almost causing him to fall to the ground. Fortunately, he hadn't been hit in any vital organs, so he didn't instantly lose his ability to move. Unfortunately, he was bleeding profusely.

Noticing his condition, Daigo quickly came to his side and supported him by his shoulder. She seemed to want to help, but this greatly reduced their escape speed.

Seeing this, Nobuyoshi, who was nearby, suddenly stopped.

A complete squad retreat was already impossible. He decided to stay behind to buy time.

"Nobuyoshi!"

Izayo shouted.

"Go!"

But Nobuyoshi had already made up his mind.

What else could anyone say at this point?

Even Habara only felt his breathing become increasingly rapid, and his heart began to beat powerfully and irregularly. His bodily functions were becoming unbalanced, and something that was normally suppressed by his chakra began to rapidly grow… Or rather, due to his severe injury, some kind of uncontrollable emergency mechanism had been activated within him.

Nobuyoshi was certainly no match for the enemy, especially since his right arm had already lost its mobility. In fact, he couldn't even delay the enemy's pursuit.

In just one exchange, Nobuyoshi was injured again. But just as the enemy was about to end his life, his movements suddenly froze.

The Kumo ninja's gaze turned towards the dense forest ahead. Something seemed to have suddenly appeared there.

"What is this chakra strength? Konoha reinforcements?"

Buzz!

"Wha—"

A figure shot out from the front like a bolt of lightning. His rapidly moving body even pulled the surrounding air, creating a slight vortex around him.

The Kumo ninja had no time to react at all. In a flash, that figure had already leaped high over Nobuyoshi's head. Then, a horizontally extended leg blocked the Kumo ninja's eyes, followed by a sudden and violent impact!

Boom!

The immense force caused the Kumo ninja's neck to bend at a bizarre angle. Then, pulled by his head, his upright body instantly went from 90 degrees to zero, and he fell to the ground.

Unfortunately, the ground beneath his feet wasn't soft soil, but a hard rock base. So, his head suffered a brutal secondary impact, like a dropped watermelon.

Nobuyoshi, who had just been waiting for death, was somewhat incredulous at this scene. After the Kumo ninja collapsed, he instinctively turned his gaze to the person who had knocked down the enemy…

It was Habara?

But compared to just now, Habara's current state was clearly different. His skin was covered with long, thin, dark red lines. It seemed like these lines covered his entire body.

Performance art? A special tattoo?

No, these were traces of natural energy erosion.