Renjiro Body Flicker Techniqueed to Kuriwaki Kazuki, while his Shadow Clone Body Flicker Techniqueed to another Hidden Mist Jonin.
Feng Zheng, Hodaka, and Mieko also Body Flicker Techniqueed, leaving only Inuzuka Hoka. He was shocked at how quickly his team scattered. He muttered,
“They’re just kids, how are they so fast…?”
He and his Ninja dogs charged at the last remaining enemy.
The Hidden Mist Ninja only scattered temporarily; they intended to immediately regroup.
However, five of them were immediately engaged by Konoha Ninja. A few seconds later, the last one was also engaged.
Kuriwaki Kazuki’s expression turned grim. He didn’t want to fight Renjiro.
Feng Zheng Body Flicker Techniqueed to the Ninja furthest from the other Hidden Mist Ninja. He drew his sword and attacked the enemy.
That Hidden Mist Ninja was Matsuzaki Zheng, an Elite Chunin. He noticed Feng Zheng approaching him. Seeing how fast Feng Zheng moved, he couldn't help but frown.
Matsuzaki Zheng grabbed a kunai to block the attack. At the same time, he retreated.
After several days of conflict with the Konoha Ninja, escaping had become their top priority.
Normally, he might have underestimated Feng Zheng’s strength, but he had just witnessed Feng Zheng instantly unleash a Rank C Ninjutsu without making any Hand Seals.
Feng Zheng infused Chakra into his sword. Matsuzaki Zheng immediately noticed! He instantly retreated, showing no intention of engaging Feng Zheng.
Feng Zheng was surprised that his opponent could sense the flow of Chakra.
He swung his sword from a distance. A sharp Chakra slash flew towards Matsuzaki Zheng.
Matsuzaki Zheng was very surprised! He hadn't expected his opponent to be able to attack from a distance with a sword. He quickly dodged.
Feng Zheng followed up with three more slashes, but Matsuzaki Zheng dodged all of them!
Each time, his dodge was more precise, with smaller movements. Matsuzaki Zheng chuckled and said,
“You’re too weak, kid! I’ve fought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist! Your sword has no effect on me.”
Although Matsuzaki Zheng sounded arrogant, his mood was actually very heavy. He thought,
“This kid is really troublesome! Besides sword slashes, I also have to watch out for his Great Breakthrough Technique.”
Feng Zheng didn’t pay too much attention to his opponent’s words. He made a Hand Seal, and a dozen Wind Clones appeared.
He carefully observed the Wind Clones, focusing on one of them.
Feng Zheng frowned and thought,
“First sensing Chakra flow, and now looking at that Wind Clone. It seems he’s also a Sensor Ninja.”
Of the 12 Wind Clones Feng Zheng created, 11 were made with only 0.5% of his Chakra, while the last Wind Clone used 10% of his Chakra.
Matsuzaki Zheng focused his gaze on the Wind Clone with the most Chakra.
Two weaker Wind Clones charged forward and used Wind Blast Technique on Matsuzaki Zheng.
However, Matsuzaki Zheng retreated and made a few Hand Seals. Six Water Clones appeared around him, each containing 5% of his Chakra.
One of the Water Clones created a water wall to block the wind generated by the Ninjutsu. Feng Zheng muttered,
“This is going to be annoying.”
He and his Wind Clones disappeared into the forest. Matsuzaki Zheng was curious about his opponent’s retreat.
He unfolded his Chakra Field and found that Feng Zheng and his Wind Clones had surrounded him from all directions but were not attacking him.
His expression turned serious. He analyzed,
“This kid is smart. He realized he couldn’t defeat me and decided to stall for time. Konoha reinforcements might arrive at any moment. I need to create a breakthrough so everyone can escape!”
Although his analysis was correct, he didn’t guess Feng Zheng’s true intention. Feng Zheng didn’t plan to stall for time but wanted to use this situation to force his opponent to act and reveal a weakness.
After all, unlike the Chunin Exams, Feng Zheng couldn’t rely on his advantage of higher Chakra reserves. His opponent’s Chakra was only slightly less than his.
Feng Zheng formulated a strategy.
“I don’t have much advantage in Chakra, and I’m at a disadvantage in experience! I need him to give me a weakness, otherwise, it will be very difficult for me to defeat him.”
Feng Zheng’s strategy depended on another important factor: his teammates could not be defeated. Feng Zheng subconsciously didn't consider this too much, as he trusted his teammates' and teacher's abilities.
Matsuzaki Zheng analyzed his available options.
“There are 3 methods. One is to kill this kid. But I think that would be very difficult. Second, I can try to leave him and regroup with the others so we can cooperate more. The third method is to send Water Clones to help the others while I stop this kid.”
Matsuzaki Zheng analyzed for a few seconds and made a decision.
Immediately, he took four Water Clones and rushed towards Feng Zheng. The other two Water Clones ran in the direction where there was only one Wind Clone.
Matsuzaki Zheng’s Water Clones had much more Chakra than Feng Zheng’s Wind Clones, so he was confident they could escape.
Seeing his enemy use this tactic, Feng Zheng smiled. His two Wind Clones used Wind Body Flicker Technique, appearing behind the escaping Water Clones, and used Great Breakthrough Technique on them.
The Water Clones were shocked. Both of them were dispelled. Feng Zheng’s Wind Clones also dissipated.
Feng Zheng smiled, while Matsuzaki Zheng’s expression was serious. Unlike Shadow Clones, elemental clones do not return Chakra when dispelled.
In this small probing exchange, Matsuzaki Zheng lost ten percent of his Chakra, while Feng Zheng only lost one percent!
Feng Zheng’s other Wind Clones then Body Flicker Techniqueed, using Wind Blast Technique on Matsuzaki Zheng and his clones.
Meanwhile, Feng Zheng stayed away from Matsuzaki Zheng, maintaining his distance.
In the battle, besides Renjiro’s Shadow Clone, Feng Zheng was the only Konoha Ninja who kept his distance from the enemy. Everyone else was fighting at close range.
Matsuzaki Zheng successfully defended against all attacks, but he couldn't get close to Feng Zheng. He frowned and decided to use a second tactic.
But as soon as he changed direction, Feng Zheng pursued him, and his Wind Clones harassed him again.
This forced him to stop and confront Feng Zheng, but Feng Zheng merely retreated, not engaging him directly. The two clashed like this several times.
Matsuzaki Zheng’s expression turned ugly. Feng Zheng’s tactics were too annoying.
He cursed at Feng Zheng loudly, mocking him, but Feng Zheng didn’t respond, continuing the same strategy.
However, despite many clashes, Matsuzaki Zheng was not injured! He never gave Feng Zheng any opportunity.
Feng Zheng, waiting for an opportunity to ambush from a distance, frowned. He thought,
“Are all Hidden Mist Ninja this hard to kill?”
Meanwhile, the others were also engaged in battle. Renjiro and his students’ rapid attacks ensured that the Hidden Mist Ninja were all separated.
They had witnessed their teamwork in a brief exchange, so they didn’t want them to gather together.
Hodaka’s opponent was another Elite Chunin. His name was Oda Danjuro. Like most Hidden Mist Ninja, he was an expert in Water Release Ninjutsu.
As soon as he saw Hodaka’s Byakugan, he immediately moved away from him and quickly made a few Hand Seals, casting Water Release: Wild Water Wave.
Huge waves of water appeared, crashing towards Hodaka. Danjuro saw the waves and thought,
“I absolutely cannot fight him at close range. I still remember how my teacher was killed by Hyuga Hizashi during the Third War!
Despite my teacher's immense strength, he was completely unable to fight back after his Chakra points were shut down.”
Hodaka immediately dodged, then Body Flicker Techniqueed to approach Danjuro again. Danjuro continued to retreat and make Hand Seals, casting Water Bullet Technique.
Hodaka could have dodged them. However, he wanted to fight head-on. So he gathered Chakra in his palm and blocked the incoming Water Bullets with Vacuum Palm.
Danjuro was surprised to see such a young Hyuga Ninja use this technique. The Vacuum Palm collided with the Water Bullets.
The Vacuum Palm pierced through the Water Bullets and headed towards Danjuro. Danjuro immediately dodged.
He continued to widen the distance from Hodaka, fighting from long range.
Hodaka tried to approach many times, but Danjuro always maintained his distance and used mid-range Water Release Ninjutsu.
Hodaka could only use Earth Release Ninjutsu and Vacuum Palm against him.