What was bsted out of the explosive tag's range wasn't a living person, nor a corpse, but a se of log with scattered sparks and nearly pletely carbonized… a log used for the Substitution Teique.

  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 ehat Konoha's key intelligence wouldn't be leaked, the defeated Konoha ninjas now only o sider ohing: how to escape from the battlefield. After the failed mission and loss of their leader, they focus on escape.

  "Mission failed! Disperse areat! Regroup at the front-line camp!" Izayo released her grip on her kunai and stood up before speaking. Whether it was out of passiuilt, she couldn't bring herself to look down at her brain.

  However, dispersed retreat didn't mean the Konoha ninjas should scatter like birds and flee in panic. To retreat without colpsing into a rout, 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 ce of escape… although that ce was very low.

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

  The death of the ander didn't mean the annihition 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, though the Konoha side had already effectively lost. Konoha was using this squad as disposable, but highly valuable, assets to try to eliminate a high value target.

  Because Konoha's higher-ups had already sent this task with a message "Go and die if you must."

  After reying 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 vigind 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 yer of soil. After ensuring that their own side wouldn't be affected by the bst and carefully ging their retreat dire, they would detohese tags, seeming to try using 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 siderable, this was indeed an opportunity.

  But since he was otlefield and at an absolute disadvahe enemy wouldn't give Habara any time to weigh the risks and bes.

  With a buzzing sound, several shuriken pierced through the smoke, and some were aimed toward Habara. Habara instinctively defends. The enemy ninja appears, bypassing Habara, tet Daigo.

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

  A deep sense of helplessness washed over him, and this helplessness further triggered his "helpless when fag immi death PTSD". So, the question was, how should this reborn person live his new life? He decides to intercept the Kumo-nin.

  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. Habara's new moral pass, informed by his past life's trauma.

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

  In short, run.

  In fact, the body was often more hohan the mind. While Habara was still having random thoughts in his head, he had already turned around and started sprinting! Habara chases down the Kumo-nin and temporarily restrains him with his mag release.

  He tells Daigo to flee. The Kumo nin activates his Raiton armor.

  The Kumo ninja, covered in lightning, easily broke free. Just as Habara was about to be struck by the lightning, something happened. A bolt of lightning, moving with high speed and agile "footwork," struck from behind and pierced through Habara's right shoulder.

  The intense pain makes Habara injured, but not defeated. Daigo tries to help Habara, slowing them both down. Nobuyoshi stays behind.

  Nobuyoshi was no match for the enemy, especially since his right arm had already lost its mobility. In fact, he couldn't evehe enemy's pursuit. He is about to die when the Kumo-nin's gaze turns toward something in the forest.

  "What is this chakra strength? Konoha reinforts?"

  Buzz!

  "Wha—" Habara, now transformed with Curse Mark, appears and knocks out the Kumo-nin.

  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 fsh, 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 o bend at a bizarre ahen, pulled by his head, his upright body instantly went from 90 degrees to zero, and he fell to the ground.

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

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

  It was Habara?

  But pared 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.

  Performa? A special tattoo?

  No, these were traces of natural energy erosion. Nobuyoshi recovers the Kumo-nin's head. Izayo and Daigo return. Izayo is shocked by the sudden ge and questions Habara.

  "This is…"

  Izayo saw the dramatic ge itle, and she couldn't help but turn her gaze to Habara.

  Habara's appearance was very different from before. Even without seeing the battle just now, Izayo khat what had just happened was most likely Habara's doing.

  " you expin what's going on?" she asked.

  "Actually, I don't know what's going oher… Before joining this squad, I was Orochimaru-sama's test subject. I don't know what kind of modifications I underwent, but I'm certain I was modified." Habara had no need and no way to give a more detailed expnation. The three words "Orochimaru-sama" provided enough persuasive power.

  And based on Habara's owion, his current dition was an additional phenomenon caused by a rge amount of natural energy directly ag on his body. Although his physical abilities had beely enhanced, it was clearly an abnormal state…

  This certainly wasn't Sage Mode. Sage Mode was the type where the more you fought, the more eic you became, and your strength would even tio increase during the battle. Habara was now more like someone who had taken a stimunt.

  But there was a key question. When a rge amount of chakra entered Habara's body, he didn't turn to stone. Based on this phenomenon, he immediately had two guesses: First, although Sage Mode was generally sistent, the specific modes were different, and Mount Myoboku was just one of them; Sed, this was Jugo's influenatural energy could be stuffed into that guy's body.

  The previous experiment had indeed caused some kind of invisible influen him. Although what was on him wasn't a Cursed Seal, but something more primitive than a Cursed Seal, it was clear that it produced an effeewhat simir to a Cursed Seal.

  As expected, after hearing Orochimaru's he three of them showed expressions of uanding… This indicated that Orochimaru's reputation in this area had already begun to spread among Konoha ninjas, and it also indicated that Orochimaru might not be able to stay in Konoha much longer.

  "So, how this state be eliminated?" Izayo asked again.

  In her view, Habara was currently in an untrolled state. The unknown power was surprising, but not enviable, because he would iably pay a heavy price.

  "I don't know. Let's get out of this forest first," Habara said.

  Based on on sehis densely wooded pce must be abundant in natural energy. So, the first thing to do was to leave.

  They couldn't stay here for long anyway. This pce was still very dangerous.

  By this time, the wound on Habara's shoulder had begun to slowly heal. At the same time, he might have used too much force wheacked the enemy, causing a severe tearing pain in his thigh. But now, this feeling was also subsiding.

  Since Habara seemed to be in no major trouble for the time being, the squad decisively tiheir retreat. This time, the enemy didn't pursue them again. Several hours ter, they reached the area under Konoha's actual trol, and the enviro became retively safe.

  Then, the squad chose to stop a, after all, there were two injured members in the squad.

  After leaving the forest aing for a while, the natural energy erosion lines on Habara's body began to fade. Or, more accurately, as his chakra levels began to recover, he also began to gradually return to his normal state.

  Then, he felt an indescribable, severe exhaustion. Simply put, he felt pletely drained, his muscles were sore, and his head throbbed. By the time the lines on his body had pletely disappeared, he could only lie ft on the ground… It looked simir to the result of Kakashi overusing his Sharingan.

  It could only be said that although Habara's "transformation" just now was very powerful, it couldn't be used as a skill. It could only be sidered a very unstable "passive."

  Looking back at the previous battle, Habara, who had e to the battlefield, was actually closer to an ordinary person than a ninja. He had no bat teiques at all and beloo the type used to make up the numbers… Saying his bat power was 50 was indeed aimation.

  Being able to escape death, defeat the enemy, and plete the mission was due to lud ce.

  Leaving aside his unstable physical abilities, even Mag Release was a very powerful attack method under normal circumstances. If Habara had undergone some professional and systematic training, he would definitely have possessed a certain degree of bat power.

  What's more, Habara likely possessed a "special Mag Release", but he just didn't know how to use it well.

  He had realized his shortings, experienced what it felt like to have double A's in speed and strength, and cleared away some of the fusion in his mind after ing to this world… Habara had gained quite a bit after experieng a battle.

  In short, although this operation was very dangerous, the losses were heavy, and the result was lucky, as ninjas who had pleted the mission, Habara and the others could return to the Konoha front-line camp with their heads held high.

  But that would have to wait until Habara regained basic mobility.

  Three days ter, Habara was able to stand on his own two feet, and the squad finally began to return to the camp.