Simultaneous Transmigration: We Share a Role-Playing System

"Are you crazy? I'm from the Nara clan. Besides, even if we take a step back, have you ever seen a ninja who defected to another ninja village get away with it?"

Faced with Locke's look as if he were an idiot, the Third Raikage A was not angry. Instead, he slowly scanned Locke from head to toe like a cat teasing a mouse under its paws.

"Kid, you're smart, but not smart enough. You're clearly trying to stall for time, so why did you have to be so definitive?"

"Could it be because he's angry about being left behind to cover the retreat?"

The Third Raikage's eyes were full of amusement, because he could not see any fear of death in Locke's eyes, but rather a restless excitement.

This made him wonder if he could still be like this when he was really about to die.

Despite knowing that the Third Raikage had seen through his stalling tactics, Locke feigned surprise and said:

"Looks like you're not completely hopeless after all, you actually managed to see through my stalling tactics."

The Third Raikage, somewhat bored by the mockery, spoke to Locke in a threatening tone:

"Kid, I hope you can still be this tough when all your comrades die in front of you."

"Do you really think that by holding me back, they can get away? Unless you abandon those burdens, none of you will escape."

Even if Akimichi Torifu were to escape the pursuit with only a few dozen chunin and genin, it would be impossible for him to do so against the elite Kumokage who possessed Lightning Release ninjutsu and taijutsu.

Locke's own time to stall for time was extremely limited. Once Ai was angered, they could be caught up with or even hunted down in a very short time.

"Yes, I know all that, but do you know what? In my eyes, besides one's own strength and the battle itself, there is one thing that is crucial for a ninja, and it can even determine the outcome of a battle."

Upon hearing Locke's words, the Third Raikage, A, immediately became interested and asked cooperatively:

"Oh?"

"That is... intelligence, Raikage. You must have seen the shadow clones left in the crowd, right? You thought I was playing a game of real and fake bodies to confuse you. You guessed right, but you were also wrong."

"I did this on purpose to make you think that way."

Before the words were finished, the Third Raikage felt a sudden chill and realized something was wrong.

Almost instinctively, he looked behind Locke and discovered a thin, hair-like shadow connecting to the end of his shadow, hidden in the gaps between fallen leaves and grass shadows, winding its way into the depths of the dense forest.

Almost simultaneously, Locke's hands formed hand seals, and the Third Raikage instinctively reacted to his hand seals, his body instantly bursting with dazzling lightning. Lightning Release Chakra Mode was activated, and his hand blade, imbued with fierce lightning energy, slashed straight at Locke's neck.

But the next second, Locke's face twisted into a mocking smile, and he activated his ninjutsu.

【Shadow Clone - Shadow Interaction】

Before the guards beside Raikage could react, Locke's head had already been cleaved off by Raikage. However, not a single drop of blood splattered from the severed neck; instead, the dark cut surface was exposed, as if it had been conjured from a shadow.

"Shadow clones?!"

Upon realizing he had been rejected, the Third Raikage's face turned ashen, and he said in a deep voice:

"Your next sentence will be, 'I've been tricked.'"

"I've been tricked."

"..."

"?"

Lei Ying was momentarily stunned, then his gaze was fixed on the shadow clone that had taken a fatal blow but was still standing. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

This was the first time in his life he had ever seen a shadow clone that had not yet dissipated after suffering such a fatal wound as decapitation!

"An indestructible shadow clone? Could it be... no!" He suddenly snapped back to reality, his tone becoming serious and filled with certainty.

"From the very beginning, it was the real body that was speaking to me; I have no doubt about that! So, you've improved the Shadow Clone Technique and even swapped positions with it using the shadow, right?"

Seeing that his technique had been exposed, Locke didn't try to hide it. Instead, he chuckled and said directly:

"As expected of the Third Raikage, you are not as rough as you appear. You are quite thoughtful. It seems I underestimated you."

The shadow clone, now only a head, was deliberately stalling, showing no sign of dissipating.

The Third Raikage was already enveloped in fine arcs of lightning, his Lightning Release Chakra Mode fully activated, crackling sounds of electricity rang out around him, and a chilling killing intent surged forth.

"Even now you're still trying to stall for time? You know, if you had been even a little later, you would be dead."

"But I won the bet, didn't I?"

The shadow clone maintained its usual expression, casually replying, "But I won the gamble after all, didn't I?"

Seeing that the shadow clone still had that seemingly respectful yet mocking expression on its face, the Third Raikage's face instantly darkened, and the arcs of lightning around his body suddenly surged with anger, his chilling killing intent pressing in.

The guards beside him felt a chill run down their spines from the terrifying pressure emanating from the man, and they swallowed hard, not daring to even breathe.

Unexpectedly, the Third Raikage suddenly burst into laughter. His laughter was rough and bold, full of the confidence and fighting spirit of a strongman, and all his previous anger had faded away.

"Boy! State your name!" he shouted, his body crackling with lightning as he laughed, his aura growing increasingly fierce.

"Nara Locke." Locke's voice came through the shadows, calm and clear.

"good!"

Raikage suddenly shouted, his expression abruptly changing, his playfulness and contempt vanishing, replaced by utter seriousness. He looked intently at Locke and said, "Nara family brat, as a reward for you, I will give you five minutes."

He paused, crackling with lightning, his aura reaching its peak: "In five minutes, I'll show you what the pinnacle of the ninja world truly is, what the Raikage is!"

The moment the words were spoken, a faint crack of lightning suddenly struck Locke's shadow clone, which now only had a head. It then transformed into specks of dark chakra, dissipating and returning to its original form.

Four kilometers away in the forest, Locke caught the sharp pain from the shadow clone among the tree trunks. He groaned, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and turned to Akimichi Torifu beside him, saying in a deep voice the information he had just gathered: "I just counted, there were a total of forty-eight Jonin-level ninjas who came up to us just now, plus the Third Raikage and his two guards, making a total of fifty-one people."

"So many?" Akimichi Torifu's brows furrowed instantly, his voice heavy. "Although we have more than 380 people, most of them are genin who have never been on the battlefield. Of the seven jonin, four were special chunin who were temporarily promoted during the war. They simply cannot withstand a head-on confrontation."

The thought that his casually mentioned worries had come true made Akimichi Torifu frustrated, and he raised his hand to hit his face.

Even though Locke risked injury to his shadow clones to stall for so long, it was only a matter of time before the Raikage personally led the Cloud Village elites to catch up with them.

"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, slamming his fist into the tree trunk beside him, smashing the century-old giant tree in two.

Just as Akimichi Torifu was about to say something more, Locke raised his hand and interrupted him.

The boy turned his head, giving him a reassuring look. He drew out his words, a slight smile playing on his lips, tinged with a nonchalant confidence.

"Don't worry, Uncle Feng, I—"

"But it's very strong."