Sasuke Umino’s expression remained unchanged as he continued his haughty and wild display.
Clearly, he had cultivated his Bluff Style Secret Technique to the thickness of an Earth Wall.
It had to be said that even the Three-Body Technique, if mastered to a high level and used properly, could have miraculous effects.
The Sand ninja before him possessed no ocular Kekkei Genkai, so they naturally could not see through his Transformation.
And it was not just the Sand ninja—even the two Konoha Chunin nearby, who already knew a thing or two about the Uchiha, did not doubt him in the slightest.
However, the Chunin wearing the cat-face mask had already seen right through his Bluff Style with a pair of Byakugan.
“Hahaha!
It’s an Uchiha Jonin from our village.” “We’re saved!
That was too close—we were almost caught by these Sand ninja.” Seeing this, the two Chunin wearing hawk and monkey masks finally relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from their shoulders.
Meanwhile, the Hyuga Chunin with the cat-face mask rolled his Byakugan repeatedly, his mind filled with a complex mix of emotions.
What kind of Uchiha Jonin was this?
Judging by his Chakra reserves and the outfit hidden under his Transformation, he was clearly just an ordinary Chunin from the Sentry Patrol!
The Hyuga Chunin seemed to make up his mind.
Gritting his teeth, he swung his Kunai and sliced at the wound on his waist, clearly intending to physically remove the venom.
“Hmph!” The Konoha Chunin in the monkey mask looked at the wildly posturing “Uchiha Jonin.” The joy in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a cold gaze as he muttered a low, sneering whisper, “The evil Uchiha!” If not for the acoustic Radar Jutsu providing a massive boost to his hearing, Sasuke would never have caught that barely audible whisper.
‘Oh?
All three of them are Konoha shinobi from ninja clans.’ Sasuke Umino scanned the trio.
Based on their attire and the clan crests they wore, he had a rough idea of their backgrounds.
The Chunin in the monkey mask likely belonged to the Sarutobi Clan.
To speak of “the evil Uchiha” in such a way meant he probably held a decent status within the Sarutobi Clan and was closely connected to the Third Hokage.
The Chunin in the hawk mask hailed from the Gekko Clan, who excelled in Konoha-style Kenjutsu.
Judging by his coughing and sickly appearance, he was unlikely to be an imposter.
As for the cat-masked Chunin currently excising the poison from his wound, he was undoubtedly a shinobi of the Hyuga Clan.
No one could fake the Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan; after all, not everyone possessed Sasuke’s level of Transformation.
Judging by the bandage wrapped around his forehead, he was likely from the Hyuga Branch House.
Since they were all Chunin from Konoha’s noble clans, their combat strength should be guaranteed.
If they joined forces, they ought to be able to hold out until the mobile patrol arrived.
But just then, a certain foolish teammate started causing trouble again.
“Hahaha!” The Sarutobi Chunin shed his previous dejection and laughed with utter arrogance.
“Damn Sand ninja!
Your day of reckoning has come!” His wild boasting was almost on par with a certain bluffing “Uchiha Jonin.” “You little Sand rats!
The intel is right here.
Didn’t you want to take it back?
If you’ve got the guts, come and get it!” The Sarutobi Chunin’s words were filled with sheer mockery, acting as if the advantage was entirely his.
He looked as if he wanted to wipe out the entire group of Sand ninja single-handedly.
He completely lacked the caution typical of elite intel squads, acting more like an arrogant Uchiha instead.
“Kagejiro, the mission comes first.
We only need to bring the intel back.
Do not take unnecessary risks!” The Hyuga Chunin’s eyes betrayed a fleeting look of panic, his heart churning with anxiety.
He was deeply afraid that Kagejiro Sarutobi would continue to provoke the Sand ninja, causing them to realize the true nature of this “Uchiha Jonin.” He was anxious to the extreme, but to avoid revealing the truth, he could not explain things directly to Kagejiro.
He could only use the mission as an excuse, hoping the situation would not worsen.
Seeing this boneheaded move from his teammate Kagejiro, Sasuke Umino was also losing his mind.
He desperately wanted to pull off the idiot’s smelly socks and stuff them into his trash-talking mouth.
‘Can’t you just keep quiet?
Didn’t you see how well-behaved the Hyuga Branch House kid is being right now, you moron?’ Under these circumstances, where was the advantage?
Both sides were on practically equal footing.
Not to mention wiping out these Sand ninja; whether they could even hold out until the mobile patrol arrived was still up in the air.
His three Genin subordinates had average strength and could only tie down the bald Chunin at best.
In other words, their side’s three Chunin were about to face three enemy shinobi: a sword-wielding Jonin with a missing finger, a Special Jonin wind specialist whose backup puppets were destroyed, and a Chunin controlling a half-wrecked puppet.
How was this an advantage?
This was clearly digging their own graves!
If not for the fact that all the Sand ninja except the Special Jonin puppeteer had been poisoned and severely injured, he would have initiated a strategic retreat long ago.
Kagejiro Sarutobi’s mockery worked beautifully, instantly sending the Sand ninja’s anger through the roof.
“Aaargh!
Even if we die, we’ll make sure you suffer!” Wind and fire Chakra surged wildly around the Sunagakure Jonin.
Flames of fury seemed to burn in his eyes as his white hair stood on end like hedgehog spikes, looking incredibly sharp and striking.
*Rip!* The Sunagakure Jonin tore off his tattered shirt.
On his bare chest, three parallel scars ran diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen—honorable scars left from his battle with the “Darkness of the Shinobi World,” Danzo Shimura.
His Will of Wind erupted once more as he swore to fight to the death.
Sasuke Umino felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
‘A spiky-haired death flag combined with the shirtless-equals-death law…
This shirtless spiky-head is practically begging for a funeral.’ Anticipating the Sand ninja’s impending suicidal charge, Sasuke evaded the brunt of the threat ahead of time.
He flipped backward and landed gracefully with his back to the river.
Tekudo jumped down to land right beside him in perfect sync.
“Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!” Sasuke yelled, his hands forming hand signs at blinding speed: Ox, Monkey, Hare, Rat, Boar, Bird…
“Not good!
It’s high-level Water Style!” Believing it to be real, the spiky-haired Sunagakure Jonin quickly warned his team.
“Earth Style: Earth Wall!” The bald Chunin quickly formed hand signs and smoothly cast an Earth Style defensive jutsu.
This was already the third time he had used this Earth Style jutsu on this battlefield.
With his Chunin-level Chakra reserves, casting three B-rank Earth Style jutsu had completely drained his energy.
Even though he had just swallowed a precious Ration Pill, it was likely of no use now.
Yet, the expected Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu did not appear.
The battlefield fell silent, save for the rapid sound of hand signs being chained together.
Sand ninja: ???
What was going on?
Where was the Water Dragon Jutsu?
Did it miss?
“Everyone, watch out!
It’s not the Water Dragon Jutsu—he’s still forming hand signs!” From behind his Earth Wall, the spiky-haired Sunagakure Jonin shouted a tactical warning to his teammates.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was still weaving hand signs at a frantic pace, his hands moving so fast they became a blur, as if he were preparing some ultimate, high-level Water Style secret technique.
“Mmph, mmph…” Beside him, Tekudo puffed out his cheeks, desperately holding back his laughter so he would not ruin his captain’s Bluff Style.
In his heart, though, he was absolutely rolling.
His captain’s Bluff Style tactical deception had not only bought them at least half a minute—allowing the poison to seep further into the Sand ninja—but had also baited the bald Chunin into completely draining his Chakra.
It was truly killing multiple birds with one stone.