Chapter 13

At the border of Land of Fire.

Near a valley.

The atmosphere was grim, despite being a clear day today.

"Heh heh... it's been a while since I've tasted blood."

"Hey, let's finish this already."

Whoosh...

The ten rogue Ninja from the Stone expressed their malicious intents as they accelerated towards Izuna and his teammates.

"...you got that, right?!"

"Yeah! leave it to us."

Looking at the incoming enemies, Izuna quickly took the command as he ordered everyone to take positions.

His eyes and demeanor contained strength that belied his age. He commanded everyone and stood at the front, lightly touching the sword on his back.

'All right... let's get it over with.'

"Zzzzz!"

Izuna thought, as he drew his sword and guided the Chakra in his body; dense blue lightning appeared on it as it began to extend from the tip.

Soon the half-meter blade became a meter-long lightning blade while the crackling sound of lightning spread all around.

"What a strong lightning Jutsu_?!"

Whoosh...

Izuna disappeared with a sudden swift, leaving Kakashi and everyone else to have an astonished expressions on their faces.

"Eh...?!"

"Zzzzz!!"

Izuna suddenly blurred from his spot, arriving before the incoming enemies in a blink of an eye.

The distance between him and the group of rogue Shinobi shortened within a second.

Whoosh...

His lightning blade left trails of dense lightning as it flew toward his enemies.

It reflected; their eyes reflected the lightning saber in his hands, along with deep fear of death in their hearts.

Slash...

Thud!

Three heads fell with a thud in an instant, but Izuna, who despite having taken down three opponents didn't have a change of expression.

"But how...?!"

"And just what's with his ridiculous speed!"

Seeing three of their comrades die in an instant cold sweat dripped from their forehead, and seeing the indifferent gaze of the young Ninja before them, sent a rapid chill down their spine.

They still couldn't believe what was happening. The ninja in front of them was just a young kid, but seeing his indifferent gaze while holding onto his lightning blade sent an eerie feeling in their hearts.

"Woah! What speed..."

Kakashi murmured while looking at Izuna's unimaginable speed. Others next to him also nodded in amazement, watching him take down the enemies in an instant.

'Hmm... I thought I got him. Well, it's my first fight, so...'

"But won't miss the next one!"

Izuna released a disappointed sigh, like the one he planned to take out first somehow evaded his previous attack.

The man with the scar on his face was his main target who now had a deep slash on his chest as blood oozed out of his wound.

"You dammed brat!!"

Seeing the mocking look on Izuna's face, he cursed and stretched out his sword, as he dashed towards him.

"You three... Go ahead and take them on while we finish this brat here!"

"All right boss!"

He said while pointing at the escort behind Izuna, speeding up towards him.

Following his commands, three rouge Shinobi left his side and moved ahead towards Kakashi and the escort.

Izuna didn't have a shred of worry as in the corner of his eyes, he noticed Kakashi pointing a thumbs up at him.

"Boom!!"

'Sigh... I better finish this up soon.'

An explosion not far from him, made Izuna think of the ongoing battle of Hizashi and decided to take the enemies out as soon as possible.

When he first encountered the rogue Shinobi, he expected a tough fight with them who were all Chunin with some being Jonin, but looking at them now made him disappointed.

In his mind, the real battle was going on elsewhere.

"Heh... Got you brat!"

The rogue Ninja laughed menacingly as he noticed Izuna's diverted eyes away from him. He further sped up and horizontally slashed at the still grounded Izuna.

"Huh? Wh...what?"

In his unbelievable eyes, the Izuna standing before him split into nothingness; showcasing he was just an afterimage.

"Boss! Behind you!"

"What?"

His colleagues screamed at him and tried to notify him of Izuna's location, but not to their avail, they were a bit late.

Missing his direct attack, the rogue Ninja immediately turned around to find out a dense lightning blade soon to be pierced in his heart was just an inch away from him.

'Oh no!'

'I-I can't die like this...'

His heart thumped faster as Izuna pierced his heart with his lightning blade.

"Zzzz!!"

He screamed at top of his lungs but nothing came out of his mouth; as if the words were stuck inside.

He died with an expression full of fear with his heart pierced like butter, by the young Ninja before him.

"Now that makes it four..."

"Damn it, just what is he?!"

Said Izuna nonchalantly as he waved the lightning blade in his hand.

In his usual indifferent expression, a short smirk was clearly visible on Izuna's young face, which sent a rapid chill down their spine.

"Earth Style! Earth Spear"

Retreating a few steps back, one of the rogue Shinobi hurriedly slammed his hands on the ground as multiple sharp Earth Spears shot toward Izuna.

'Hm?'

Without an ounce of an impression on his face, Izuna immediately jumped high, and while dancing in mid-air, he slashed the lightning blade in his hands.

"Zzzzz!!"

The terrifying bolts of lightning, as if set free for the rampage, obliterated the Earth Style Jutsu aimed at him, as he gently landed on a nearby tree.

"I think... I'm done with you all."

"You...! What?!"

Swish...

Izuna didn't give them a chance to react as his cold words fell into their ears, and disappeared from his spot, leaving an afterimage.

Slash!

'H-How...?!'

Moving towards the remaining rogue Ninja, Izuna was like a swift wind, effortlessly dodging their attacks; three heads fell with a thud.

"Now that makes it... Seven."

"Hmm... They should also be done by now."

After dealing with the remaining enemies, shrugging off his shoulders, Izuna turned around and put his blade back in its place.

Despite his current indifferent demeanor, Izuna was a little tired; not physically, but mentally.

Without glancing at his dead enemies, he turned into an afterimage and soon appeared near his teammates and the escort.

"Huh? You are already done, Izuna?"

His teammates had also finished off the Ninja who rushed at them. But seeing the sudden appearance of Izuna, Kakashi asked with a gawking expression on his face.

"Un."

Izuna glanced at the two dead bodies with a fatal wound at their vital points and another with an Earth Style Jutsu embedded.

'But how...was he able to do that?'

Kakashi had a thought running on his mind, looking at his teammate who was almost the same age as him, if not a few months younger.

"Haah... It seems that everyone is safe and sound_ Hm?!"

"Booom!!"

Exhaling a relieved sigh, Izuna spoke, but before he could complete his sentence, a huge explosion not far from their location garnered his and his teammates' attention.

The fight was far from over.