Chapter 143: Wind Release: Pressure Damage

Chapter 143: Wind Release: Pressure Damage

Baki's opponent was a young man dressed plainly, like a commoner, in straw sandals and roughspun cloth. He looked more like a civilian than a criminal, but the way he gripped his kunai gave Baki pause. The man moved stiffly, yet it was clear he was a shinobi.

The young ninja's fighting spirit seemed low, and he'd sustained injuries during his capture, but his fundamentals were solid. He wouldn't be an easy opponent for Baki.

Facing a shinobi who could enhance his physical abilities with chakra, even Baki's complete focus wasn't enough to stop the kunai from slicing his thigh and wrist. His opponent was clearly holding back, not trying to kill him.

Danwa slammed his fist repeatedly on the table in front of him, displeased. The kunoichi, Fūka, whistled. Immediately, thirty samurai guards drew their swords, tightening their circle to force the young ninja and the battered Baki into a fight to the death.

"Ah!" A scream suddenly echoed from the distance.

Almost simultaneously, a sharp whistle blew from another checkpoint.

Enemies!

Fūka was cautious. She immediately shielded Danwa and pointed at one of the ninja. "Go see what's happening."

The ninja dashed off at high speed, only to be sent flying back even faster. A violent gust of wind surged past, its sheer scale and power making it obvious to Fūka that her subordinate was already dead.

She hesitated for a few seconds, finally speaking after Danwa repeatedly urged her. "It seems to be an extremely powerful Wind Release jutsu. Whoever is coming must be a shinobi."

Danwa lowered his voice. "Shinobi from Konoha? Are they after me?"

"That… is hard to say." Fūka wasn't sure.

To her, this was just a job for money. The conflicts between shinobi, daimyo, and samurai meant nothing. Whether she worked for a hidden village or a feudal lord, she was simply a tool – what difference did it make?

Out of the seven "elite" shinobi they had, one was already dead. Now, she had to protect Danwa at all costs. This man was a major client, controlling an entire nation's finances. Even the scraps from his table were worth more than what she could earn from endless missions in Sunagakure.

The golden goose had to be protected.

When danger arose, a bodyguard's first duty was to evacuate their charge.

The distant Wind Release jutsu only solidified her decision to flee.

She was here for money, not to die for it.

She pointed at the two strongest shinobi in the group. "You two, come with me to escort Lord Danwa. The rest of you transform into his likeness and buy us time."

Her orders were clear: three shinobi and thirty samurai were to be sacrificed. But this was a mercenary group held together by money – who would obey such a command?

The moment Danwa and Fūka left, the three shinobi from minor villages scattered. The thirty samurai remained loyal, but chaos had already erupted.

Guards shouted, prisoners tried to escape, and someone knocked over a brazier. Soon, flames engulfed the area.

Baki, still locked in combat, saw an opportunity. He wanted to run, but he didn't know where to go.

The young ninja signaled for him to follow. "Come with me. There are more civilians trapped in the cells. We need to band together to escape."

Baki disagreed – fewer people meant an easier escape, more meant dead weight – but he respected the ninja's strength. "Uh… thanks. I'm Baki."

The young man hesitated before answering. "…Shinobu Ida."

Baki eyed him skeptically. "You've got a family name? You're not a civilian – you're a shinobi?"

"Formerly. Now, let's go save them."

Shinobu Ida was adamant, leaving Baki no choice but to reluctantly follow him deeper into the prison.

Thick plumes of smoke rose into the sky. Danwa, carried on a ninja's back, glanced back, his hatred for shinobi growing even stronger.

The four of them fled the prison. Half a day later, they stopped to rest by a stream.

The shinobi could have run for another day, but Danwa, a pampered fifty-year-old, couldn't endure it. Even being carried had exhausted him. He ordered them to halt.

One of the shinobi went to fetch water. Before long, he called out from a distance:

"Lady Fūka! Come quick – something's wrong here!"

Fūka, a former Sunagakure kunoichi, was experienced and cautious. She observed from afar. This was a trusted subordinate, so there was no risk of mistaken identity.

His tone, movements, and demeanor seemed normal. He was pointing at the river – had he found something?

She approached the bank and peered in. "What is it? Huh?"

In that instant, her "loyal" subordinate drew a kunai and stabbed straight for her heart.

But Fūka was a Special Jōnin from Suna. Her reflexes were sharp, and her skills far surpassed those of minor-village shinobi. Even caught off guard, she had no trouble countering.

With a precise sidestep, she snatched the kunai and drove it into the attacker's shoulder. "Who sent you? Why the betrayal?"

A puff of white smoke erupted.

"Shadow Clone?!"

She whirled around

just as an overwhelming Wind Release technique blasted toward her.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

The high-pressure sphere of wind raged like a tornado, its razor-sharp blades slicing through everything in its path. Trees were uprooted in seconds, and the ground was torn apart by the residual force, leaving deep gashes in its wake.

This technique, stolen from Takigakure, was said to possess disaster-level destructive power. Ino had never used it publicly – not even in her fight against Neji. She had kept it hidden precisely for moments like this.

Now, fueled by her massive chakra reserves, the Wind Release's cutting force engulfed Fūka and the surrounding fifty square meters.

This was Ino's favorite kind of fight: sneak attacks from a distance. Face-to-face combat? Overrated.

After unleashing Pressure Damage, she initially dismissed Fūka as no threat. Earlier, using the Mind Body Switch and Mind Reading techniques on the water-fetching shinobi had provided plenty of intel. The name "Fūka" meant nothing to her – just another minor player.

With the element of surprise and one of the most devastating B-rank Wind Release jutsu, this should have been an easy kill.

But as the winds died down, Ino's sensory detection picked up something unexpected –

Fūka was still alive.

Not just alive, but barely injured.

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