Naruto: I have an attribute panel

Chapter 39 A Narrow Escape, Breaking Through Limits

Upon hearing the voices, Taiyi broke out in a cold sweat. He slowly turned around and saw a masked man standing empty-handed not far away.

Taiyi breathed a sigh of relief, but judging from his condition, he had multiple wounds and his breathing was not stable.

It was clear that they had recently been in a battle and had just escaped here to reunite with the ninjas they had encountered before.

Taiyi cursed inwardly, "Has Konoha become a sieve now?"

That guy was at most a special Jonin; I took him down in a surprise attack.

This guy's aura alone makes him look like a Jonin. Are Jonin so worthless these days? He can even come to Konoha and cause trouble.

The only thing that comforted Taichi was that the Jonin himself was also seriously injured, and he might be able to hold on, but he didn't know if he could last until the pursuing ninjas arrived.

"You mean that idiot from earlier? My teacher killed him. He's already gone to get backup and will be back soon, so don't come over," Taiichi said, feigning panic. He figured he might get away with it, just in case it worked!

The masked man smiled contemptuously, and without saying a word, he rushed towards Taiyi.

Taiyi was not intimidated and charged forward with his sword drawn.

As soon as they clashed, Taiyi sensed something was wrong; his opponent's power was too great, and he was no match for him at all.

He had only exchanged two blows when a kunai slashed his body.

This was the first time Taiyi had been suppressed so severely.

After another fierce battle, Taiyi was forced back to his original position. He dared not retreat at this moment, as the little girl at his feet was clearly the enemy's target. If he left, the little girl would be in danger.

The masked man saw through Taiichi's concerns and charged at him without hesitation. Taiichi had no choice but to grit his teeth and fight back.

As the two clashed with swords, Taiichi was clearly at a disadvantage, and he was frequently cut by kunai.

The clang of blades clashing echoed along the riverbank, and blood seeped from Taiyi's hand holding the sword.

The masked man's kunai, reeking of blood, slashed down again. Taiichi gritted his teeth and took a half-step back. Wind-attribute chakra suddenly hummed on the blade, managing to block the heavy slash that was powerful enough to split rocks.

"You troublesome brat!" The masked man panted as he changed his move, his left leg sweeping like an iron whip towards Taiyi's waist and abdomen.

As Taiyi spun around to dodge, he caught a glimpse of blood seeping from the bandage under the other's ribs—the penetrating wound left by the ninja he had just chased.

He deliberately created an opening, suddenly throwing out three smoke bombs as the kunai grazed his left shoulder.

The thick purple fog instantly engulfed the two, and Taiyi quickly circled behind the enemy using his senses. The moment the blade pierced through the smoke, the masked man twisted his body with a strange contortionist technique, and the short sword barely grazed the opponent's right arm.

Taiichi felt a chill run down his spine; his heavily injured body still maintained the reaction speed of a Jonin.

"Your knife is too slow." A cold voice rang in his ear, and Taiyi's neck hairs stood on end. He instinctively bent over and rolled over.

The masked man's kunai brushed against her scalp, severing a few strands of black hair. Taichi took the opportunity to retreat and return to the little girl's side.

After this exchange, Taiyi had two more wounds on his body.

But this also confirmed one thing for Taiichi: whatever the reason, the masked man could no longer use ninjutsu. Otherwise, a Jonin wouldn't have wasted so much time with him without using any ninjutsu.

With that in mind, Taiichi decided to start "cheating".

He added an attribute point to his physical attributes, and instantly his previously consumed stamina and nearly depleted chakra were fully restored.

Without hesitation, Taiyi plunged his short sword into the ground, formed hand seals, and used his two maxed-out skills, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough and Fire Release: Phoenix Fire, in turn.

First, a gust of wind mixed with countless wind blades howled towards the masked man. With such a wide range of attacks, the masked man, who could not use ninjutsu, could only quickly dodge.

Before the wind jutsu could finish, the next fire jutsu attacked, with fireballs raining down and exploding all around the masked man.

As expected of a Jonin, he used his speed to dodge and weave, slowly getting closer to Taiichi.

But to the masked man's surprise, Taiichi's ninjutsu seemed to have no chakra requirements, relentlessly unleashing one technique after another. This gradually forced Taiichi to retreat to a certain distance, unable to advance.

"Damn brat, I don't believe you have that much chakra. Once you run out of chakra, I'll tear you to pieces," the masked man thought viciously.

In fact, under normal circumstances, Taiyi's chakra would have been depleted long ago. In just a few minutes, Taiyi unleashed more than a dozen C-rank ninjutsu.

These aren't even the basic ninjutsu; they've all been enhanced by Taiichi, making them as powerful as B-rank ninjutsu. Even a Jonin's chakra can't withstand this level of consumption.

But unfortunately, Taiyi has a cheat code. In just a short while, Taiyi has already added another attribute to his physique.

As he unleashed these ninjutsu in succession, Taiichi discovered the benefits of the two skills he had just acquired yesterday: faster chakra response, quicker ninjutsu release speed, lower consumption, and greater power.

The continuous use of fire and wind elemental techniques allowed Taiichi to gain some insights into the combined use of these two elemental ninjutsu.

These gradual improvements were reflected on the field by the masked man being forced further and further away. Taiichi is now a veritable "ninja artillery turret"!

The masked man was extremely frustrated at this moment, feeling that he was being pushed further and further away.

The brat's chakra continued to pour out relentlessly, as if there was no end in sight. He knew he had no chance of catching his target anymore. Now he needed to figure out how to retreat.

If I had known, I shouldn't have held back because I was worried about an ambush. I should have just launched a sneak attack and killed that brat.

Before the masked man could come up with a solution, the sound of rustling leaves came from afar, indicating that a ninja was rapidly approaching.

Without further hesitation, the masked man ignored the incoming fireballs and quickly turned to retreat.

Seeing this, Taiyi wasn't about to let him have his way. Without thinking, he quickly changed his hand seals, using Water Release: Water Barrier. However, this water barrier didn't rise in front of Taiyi, but behind the masked man.

Caught off guard, the masked man suddenly crashed into the water barrier. His face was distorted by the high-pressure water flow. Before he could think, he instinctively tried to avoid the water barrier and continue his retreat.

Unexpectedly, Taiyi seemed to have a stroke of genius at this moment. He maintained the Si hand seal and continued to channel chakra. The original two-meter-wide water wall quickly expanded, forming a ring of water around the masked man, trapping him inside.

Then, the water wall quickly closed up to form a water sphere. As the chakra was continuously consumed, the water sphere rapidly filled with water and grew larger, with constant turbulence inside, trapping the masked man in the water and preventing him from escaping.

This is clearly a variant of the water prison technique.

At this moment, the pursuing ninjas arrived one after another and surrounded the entire area.

Seeing this, Taiyi gritted his teeth and said, "Hurry up, I can't hold on any longer."

Upon hearing this, two masked ninjas quickly arrived beside the water sphere. Only then did Taiichi dare to release his hand seals and stop the flow of chakra. The water sphere then collapsed with a roar.

The masked man inside also fell out, and just as he was about to resist, he was knocked unconscious by a masked ninja who was already prepared—this was a great achievement, as they had actually captured a prisoner alive.

Taiyi, who had stopped, collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Only then did he realize that his entire body was in excruciating pain, both inside and out, and that his chakra meridians were experiencing waves of sharp pain.

This is meridian compression damage caused by high-intensity, long-term chakra circulation, and it will take a period of recuperation to recover.

At this moment, the two ninjas who had gone out to check on the little girl's condition and the scarred man's death returned to report to the leading ninja.

Hearing that the little girl was safe and sound, the leading ninja breathed a sigh of relief. He then turned to look at the devastated ground, ravaged by ninjutsu, with traces of flames and wind blades everywhere, and was secretly amazed.

"Kid, still have the energy?"