Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Four figures suddenly appeared in the trees, dressed in all black, their headbands particularly conspicuous.
The symbol on the headband looked somewhat like an hourglass, with the upper part being a lid and the lower part the main body of the hourglass—this was the Sunagakure headband!
The four of them were a Sunagakure Ninja squad.
The leader, a middle-aged man, was tall and thin with sunken cheeks.
His codename was “A.” The three individuals scattered behind A were younger, around their early twenties, all lean, with sallow complexions, looking somewhat undernourished.
Their codenames were B, C, and D!
A grinned.
“Three fledglings, truly the best targets.” He raised his right hand which had a knuckle duster on it, deliberately stained with the enemy’s blood.
“I can’t wait to smash their heads, break their bones, and listen to their desperate wail” B, C, and D all showed twisted smiles on their faces.
This ninja team seemed to be the type of killing machines whose personalities had been warped by too much slaughter.
Upon encountering weaker or new opponents, they would ferociously bare their fangs, using cruel methods of torture and murder to gain psychological satisfaction, sliding further into the dark abyss.
A made a hand gesture forward, and B, C, and D scattered, pouncing in a triangular formation, spreading further and further apart to form a encirclement, then turning midway to lurk in the grass, swiftly approaching Ryosuke and the others.
The three ninjas slithered through the dense grass, making almost no sound.
In just a few seconds, they were lurking at the bottom of the slope, only two or three meters away from Ryosuke and his companions, close enough to hear their voices.
Ryosuke and the two others were discussing their plan, how to set a trap to ambush the invading enemy, arguing fiercely, somewhat oblivious to their surroundings.
‘Hmph!
They are so naive.
You pampered ones, dying with your throats slit, is the most fitting end.’ B made a hand signal, and the remaining two nodded.
The three then shot up, thrusting towards Ryosuke and his companions on the hillside.
Faced with the sudden assassination, Ryosuke and the two others were stunned.
B, C, and D met no resistance, swiftly plunging their Kunai into the throats of Ryosuke and his companions.
“Die!
Suffer the vengeful wrath of the oppressed!” B’s eyes were bloodshot, his face filled with the satisfaction of revenge.
However, his satisfaction abruptly ended.
The gruesome scene of gushing blood he had anticipated did not unfold.
Bang!
Ryosuke and the others turned into three logs.
Substitution Technique!
B was utterly shocked, the expression on his face frozen.
Then he realized the hillside beneath his feet had softened, and he was sinking continuously.
Fortunately, he had experience in battlefield combat.
As soon as he sensed something was wrong, he enveloped his feet in Chakra and retreated to the side.
The other two also retreated in the same manner.
When he looked again, Nawaki was standing at the bottom of the slope, smiling at them, his eyes full of mockery.
Sunagakure Ninja?
How could it be them?
Aren’t they fighting Amegakure, locked in an intense battle?
How do they have the spare capacity to invade the Land of Fire?
Nawaki stared at the three ninjas on the slope, feeling puzzled, and asked, “Suna ninjas, you’ve invaded the Land of Fire and attacked us.
Are you trying to provoke a war?” B let out a sinister laugh.
He wasn’t going to answer, killing this brat as quickly as possible was the only way to alleviate the impatience and anger in his heart.
But before he could give the order for a fierce attack, he heard a “whooshing” sound from his left.
Turning his head, he saw that C was wrapped in insects.
C struggled and then soon, he went silent and fell.
Thud!
The swarm of insects covering C disintegrated, and several black cloud-like masses rushed towards him.
“What kind of Ninjutsu is this?” B had never seen such a sight.
He quickly retreated, but as soon as he moved, he heard two loud thuds from his right.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a few earth spikes breaking through the ground and piercing D, who hadn’t had time to escape, killing him instantly.
B’s terror reached its peak.
He had initially thought these brats would be easy to kill, but in an instant, they had killed two of his comrades in a single counterattack.
Run, quickly!
He turned and fled rapidly into the forest, wanting to escape from those three brats who were like the Shinigami.
More than a dozen Shuriken suddenly shot out from the grass, heading towards B.
Just as he was about to dodge, the Shuriken collided in mid-air and suddenly changed their trajectory, making it impossible for him to dodge or defend.
With several thuds, the Shuriken struck his back, pinning him.
B stumbled and fell to the ground, his vision blurring.
He died with immense resentment, his eyes wide open.
Ryosuke and Shibi, who were ambushed in the grass, landed beside B’s corpse.
Nawaki also rushed over.
The three of them stared at the corpse, unsure what to say for a moment.
“There’s one enemy left, still in the forest?” Ryosuke asked, shifting everyone’s attention to the enemy.
Shibi replied, “He’s fleeing.
Should we pursue him?” “How far?” “About a kilometer, and the distance is still increasing.” Should they pursue?
Even the hot-blooded Nawaki didn’t know how to answer or what to do next.
Their mission was to stand guard and protect the border, crossing the line to pursue seemed to be outside their mission parameters.
Ryosuke said, “Try to contact Torifu-san and report the situation to him.
Let him make the judgment.” “No need, I’m here.” Suddenly, a voice came from behind and a figure appeared beside them—it was Akimichi Torifu.
A little further away, two more green-vested ninjas were rushing towards them.
“Torifu-san!” The three found their backbone.
Akimichi Torifu rubbed Nawaki’s head and chuckled.
“You three little ones did well, eliminating three enemies.” “One enemy escaped, into the forest.” Nawaki pointed forward.
“Is that so?
Then the three of you come with me to pursue, the rest will handle the scene.” Akimichi Torifu acted decisively.
Having just eliminated the enemies who invaded the camp, he brought people to support Ryosuke and the others.
Now, hearing that there was still a fish that got away, he led the three of them, chasing after that ninja.
“How far is the enemy?” Akimichi Torifu asked Shibi.
“About 1 kilometer.” “Are your insects still on the enemy?” “Yes.” “Good.
You three are the main force of this pursuit mission.
I will provide cover and support for you and won’t act unless absolutely necessary.
This is a training exercise, and also a test.
Do you dare?” “What’s there to be afraid of?
It’s settled then.” Nawaki agreed without hesitation.
“Good, then I’ll leave it to you.” Akimichi Torifu was a student of the Second Hokage, on par with Hiruzen and Danzo, possessing extremely powerful combat abilities.
He could even contend with Kage-level ninjas, which is why he dared to boldly train new recruits on the battlefield.
The three exchanged glances and quickly changed their formation.
Shibi was in the center, Ryosuke and Nawaki on the left and right, and Akimichi Torifu brought up the rear.
“The enemy’s speed is slowing down.” Shibi promptly reported the enemy’s situation, and at the same time, he also had doubts.
The enemy’s escape speed wasn’t fast to begin with, and now it was even slower.
It seemed they weren’t intent on fleeing far, but rather luring them into pursuit.
“Could it be a trap?” Nawaki also considered this possibility.
After special training, he now had an instinctive reflex to traps.
“Can you use Shadow Clone?” Ryosuke asked Nawaki.
When encountering an unclear dangerous situation, sending out a Shadow Clone to test it was the most correct approach.
“No, I haven’t had time to learn it yet.” ‘What a waste.
He clearly has access to a ton of scrolls, yet he doesn’t desperately learn more life-saving Ninjutsu.
Why only learn basic Ninjutsu like Earth Release and Water Release?’ Ryosuke couldn’t help but complain inwardly.
“What do we do now?
It’s clearly a trick.
Should we still pursue?” Nawaki looked at Akimichi Torifu behind him, but the latter just chuckled, offering no opinion.
What to do, pursue or not pursue?
This question troubled the three rookies.