“Phew…” Cold sweat drenched Sasuke Umino’s forehead.
He felt incredibly relieved—he had almost bitten the dust.
If he hadn’t developed the Acoustic Radar Jutsu and gained such powerful sensory perception, his Chunin-level reaction speed would never have allowed him to execute a Substitution so effectively against a deadly sneak attack from a Special Jonin.
“Huh?” The dark-faced Special Jonin’s gaze sharpened, a jolt of shock running through him.
A strike he was certain would hit had been evaded with such ease.
It seemed this Konoha Jonin was not only highly skilled in Transformation but also extremely proficient in Substitution.
*To have such solid fundamentals—as expected of a Konoha Jonin.* “Again!
Let’s see how many times you can dodge!” After his Gale Palm sneak attack failed, the dark-faced Special Jonin drew another Kunai and charged straight at Sasuke Umino.
“Hmph!” Sasuke Umino let out a contemptuous smirk.
Since his opponent had created distance and taken control of the battle’s pace, yet failed to seize the opportunity to launch a long-range Wind Style attack, it was highly likely that after repeatedly casting multiple Wind Style ninjutsu and suppressing the poison in his body, his Chakra was nearly depleted.
Without Wind Style and puppets, a so-called Special Jonin was nothing more than a slightly stronger Elite Chunin.
What was there to fear?
Taking advantage of the sudden drop in pressure, Sasuke Umino expanded the sensory range of his Acoustic Radar Jutsu to assess the battle situation of his teammates.
On the whole, the match was fairly even.
The Konoha side was slightly weaker in raw strength but had the advantage of good condition and excellent equipment.
The Sand ninjas were stronger but poisoned; they only held a temporary upper hand, and the tide would likely turn soon.
The scales of victory had already begun to tilt toward Konoha.
The only ones in any real danger were Tekudo’s trio, who were fighting a bald Chunin skilled in Earth Style.
Because the bald Chunin had repeatedly cast three B-rank Earth Style: Earth Wall techniques, his Chakra was completely drained.
If not for a Ration Pill keeping him going, he would have likely been defeated by Inuzuka Ryo’s Fang Passing Fang.
It had to be said that the elite-focused policy of the Sand ninjas had its unique merits.
For this bald Chunin to hold out under the combined assault of Tekudo’s trio while poisoned and completely out of Chakra showed just how formidable his combat will was.
That Tekudo’s group held the advantage was something he had predicted, so it came as no surprise.
On the other hand, Yoru Gekko’s ability to trade blows back and forth against the spiky-haired Jonin was truly impressive.
The spiky-haired Jonin had only lost the five fingers of his left hand, preventing him from forming hand seals to perform ninjutsu.
His swordsmanship, however, was largely unaffected.
That swordsmanship alone was undeniably Jonin-level in strength.
If he hadn’t been poisoned, which drained a massive amount of his Chakra and physical stamina, he alone could probably have easily dispatched all six of them.
Fortunately, Yoru Gekko was no pushover either.
His mastery of the Konoha-style secret swordsmanship was like a dancer under the moon, flowing smoothly and effortlessly.
Each afterimage of the hazy moon was a beautiful sight to behold, yet they concealed a chilling, lethal intent.
As for Kagejiro Sarutobi, he was fighting a half-crippled Chunin and would likely win soon.
*What a splendid moonlight dancer.
This fight is in the bag!* Sasuke Umino’s racing heart finally settled.
He handled the dark-faced Special Jonin with growing ease.
Moreover, Kosuke Maruboshi’s mobile patrol squad was less than half a mile away.
Reinforcements were arriving shortly; victory was right before his eyes.
But right then, another problem cropped up on Kagejiro Sarutobi’s end.
“Yoru, the mission comes first!
You guys cover the rear—I’ll retreat with the intel!” Kagejiro Sarutobi forced back the half-crippled puppet master Chunin, spun around, and fled without once looking back.
The Chunin puppet master was left standing frozen in place, not even realizing he should give chase.
At this moment, his heart was likely filled only with the joy of surviving.
Having fully expected to be killed by the monkey-faced Konoha ninja, only to suddenly be spared, it was no wonder he didn’t think of pursuing.
Sasuke Umino: ???
*Don’t run!
Reinforcements are almost here!
Just hold out for a little longer!* In an instant…
The balance of power between the two sides was shattered and began to tilt in the opposite direction.
Now, the Sand ninjas had a free, albeit half-crippled, Chunin puppet master who could break the deadlock.
Though this half-crippled Chunin puppet master was now deeply poisoned and possessed very little Chakra, leaving him on the verge of collapsing…
…his tenacious combat will was something that could not be ignored.
“You three brats are dead meat!” Under the onslaught of two Sunagakure Chunin who were pushing past their limits, Tekudo’s trio was in critical danger.
If not for Inuzuka Ryo and his Ninja Dog Akutamaru executing the Man-Beast Mixed Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf, they would have already been defeated.
“Inuzuka Ryo, hang in there!” Sasuke Umino slashed to force the dark-faced Special Jonin back, casting a worried glance toward Inuzuka Ryo’s battle.
“Caring about others at a time like this?
Aren’t you afraid that a single distraction will let my Wind Style tear you to shreds?” The dark-faced Special Jonin kept taunting him, hoping Sasuke Umino’s concern would breed panic and expose a flaw.
Sasuke Umino remained unfazed and immediately fired back with his own verbal jab, sneering, “Mr.
Charcoal, how much Chakra do you even have left?
Can you even cast a single C-rank Wind Style jutsu?
Why don’t you let me taste it?” “Hmph!” The dark-faced Special Jonin grunted coldly and stopped the verbal sparring.
He had clearly been hit where it hurt; the Chakra in his body was indeed nearly gone.
Now, it was down to who could hold out until the very end.
“Tekudo, retreat to the opposite bank!” Sasuke Umino forced the dark-faced Special Jonin back with a single strike and leapt into the fray with Tekudo’s trio to ease their pressure.
He prepared to lead them across the river, using the water as a barrier to retreat to the other side.
Although staying put would allow them to hold out until Kosuke Maruboshi’s reinforcements arrived, there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
Playing it safe was a better option—retreating first and then giving chase later was a sound strategy.
Besides, these Sand ninjas wouldn’t be able to escape anyway.
“I knew it.
You care deeply about the lives of these three subordinates.” The dark-faced Special Jonin sneered repeatedly, as if he had finally grasped Sasuke Umino’s fatal weakness.
Consequently, the dark-faced Special Jonin began targeting the three youngsters exclusively, forcing Sasuke Umino into direct, head-on defensive clashes.
Fortunately, the other two Sunagakure Chunin were reaching their absolute limits due to the poison, allowing Tekudo’s trio to manage them; otherwise, things would have been truly perilous.
Just as Sasuke Umino forced the dark-faced Special Jonin back once more and was about to lead Tekudo’s trio across the river…
“Hahaha!
Die!” The dark-faced Special Jonin suddenly erupted in violence, unleashing a tactical sneak attack he had planned for a long time.
“[Puppet Mechanism: Senbon Shower]!” Instantly…
A massive, dense downpour of Senbon rained down, blanket-targeting Sasuke Umino and Tekudo’s trio.
“Didn’t expect that, did you?
Even you have times when you fall into a trap.” The dark-faced Special Jonin’s face was flushed with triumph, his arrogant posture screaming of a successful plot.
He laughed hysterically in his mind.
*Who says you can’t use Puppet Mechanism techniques without your own puppet?
Just because I don’t have my puppet, does that mean I can’t use someone else’s?* He had long since sent his Chakra threads burrowing into the earth, taking control of Sajiro’s Black Ant puppet.
Back when Sajiro was ambushed by the steel wire, only his legs had been severed; his Black Ant puppet had remained perfectly intact.
Although this Black Ant puppet was nowhere near as easy to use as his own, it was, after all, a standard-issue puppet for Sunagakure Chunin.
It was still quite familiar to handle.
*With such a wide-area Senbon Shower, let’s see how you dodge.* *Even if you have heaven-defying methods to save yourself, can you possibly carry your three subordinates away with you as well?*