The spiky-haired ninja hastily leaped to dodge, but the massive water dragon, as if anticipating this move, coiled and struck upward like a soaring dragon, blasting him straight into the air.
“Partial Multi-Size Jutsu!” Just then, a plump hand rapidly expanded, ballooning to the size of a windmill in the span of a breath.
It snatched the helpless, spiky-haired ninja who was being battered midair.
He was caught fast.
Clutched in the giant palm, the spiky-haired ninja could not break free at all, looking like a sausage squeezed in a fist, with only his head sticking out.
Cracking sounds echoed continuously.
Under the immense force of the grip, the spiky-haired ninja’s limbs and bones were instantly crushed.
He coughed up mouthfuls of fresh blood, his internal organs clearly ruptured.
He completely lost the ability to move.
Clearly, Toribo Akimichi, who had arrived as reinforcement, had unleashed the Partial Multi-Size Jutsu and captured him with a single grasp.
On the other side, the remaining Sunagakure Chunin was in no better shape.
His entire body was covered in swarms of black Kikaichu.
Having clearly pushed his poison resistance to its limit, he was easily subdued by the Aburame Clan’s Kikaichu.
Sasuke Umino, however, looked as if he had been stunned by the sudden Water Dragon Jutsu, standing frozen in place like a sprinting statue.
In reality, beneath Sasuke Umino’s dazed expression, his heart was pounding with intense excitement.
The Water Dragon Jutsu had just shot right past him.
He wasn’t afraid—he was thrilled.
Only such near-zero distance contact could truly convey the staggering power of the Water Dragon Jutsu.
And that was just a B-rank Water Style jutsu.
How terrifying would an A-rank or S-rank Water Style be?
Living in the cruel Ninja World was far from as peaceful as his previous life, but it had its own wonders.
Weren’t these powerful ninjutsu exactly what he had always yearned for?
Since he had crossed over into the Ninja World, wouldn’t it be a wasted life if he couldn’t master powerful ninjutsu?
Once he received the merit points from this mission, he would definitely exchange them for knowledge on developing his second chakra nature to solve his severe chakra shortage.
“Awesome, we’re saved!” Seeing the crisis finally averted, Yoru Gekko rejoiced at their narrow escape.
“Huh?
What’s going on?” Sasuke Umino feigned just snapping out of it.
Looking bewildered and lost, he turned to Yoru Gekko behind him to confirm, “Yoru, kid, we’re not dreaming, are we?” “Senior, it’s real!
We’re saved.
The mobile patrol team’s reinforcements are here.” Yoru Gekko happily hugged Sasuke Umino, his joy overflowing.
“Alright, alright!
I get it.” Feeling uncomfortable being hugged by a teenage boy, Sasuke Umino wriggled out of the tight embrace.
But right then— *Swoosh!* A senbon was spat out from the mouth of the dying, spiky-haired ninja.
Its target was Sasuke Umino’s head.
As expected of a Sunagakure Jonin.
Even with his bones and meridians shattered and his body paralyzed, he could still attack with his mouth, spitting out a final senbon in a desperate sneak attack before dying.
None of the ninjas who made it to Jonin were pushovers, and those molded in the harsh Land of Wind were the absolute best of the crop.
With a loud crunch, the giant hand instantly crushed the spiky-haired ninja into a bloody pulp, leaving only his head relatively intact.
“Watch out!” None of the Konoha ninjas expected this incapacitated Sand ninja to pull off such a sudden sneak attack right before his death.
They failed to react in time.
The attack was too sudden, and since they were still some distance away, it was too late to intercept it.
“Captain, get out of the way!” Inuzuka Ryo, who had a decent sense of smell and eyesight, spotted the attack as well.
“Oh no!” Sasuke Umino’s expression shifted drastically.
He, too, had not anticipated this attack.
His Acoustic Radar Jutsu originated from his summoning beast, the Water Bat, which utilized ultrasound.
It lacked the high-penetration infrasound capabilities of the Byakugan and could not sense the senbon hidden in the enemy’s mouth beforehand.
Fortunately, the Acoustic Radar Jutsu remained reliable.
The moment the senbon was spat out, he sensed it, buying him a split second to react.
Sasuke Umino wanted to tilt his head to dodge, but he realized Yoru Gekko was right behind him, standing in his blind spot.
The senbon was already inches away, making it impossible to block with his blade in time.
Sasuke Umino’s instinctive thought was to save his own skin—survival was paramount, so dodging was the logical choice.
But on second thought, if he dodged and sacrificed Yoru Gekko, wouldn’t the Will of Fire persona he had carefully cultivated over the past six months go entirely down the drain?
If he abandoned his comrade now in disregard of the Will of Fire, and word reached the Konoha higher-ups, he would likely be classified as a disposable pawn.
In this life-or-death moment, Sasuke Umino’s mind became clearer than ever, processing information at lightning speed.
*I’ve got it!* With a sudden spark of inspiration, Sasuke Umino came up with a brilliant plan.
“Yoru, watch out!” Sasuke Umino threw himself resolutely in front of Yoru Gekko, putting on a heroic display of using his body to shield his comrade in accordance with the Will of Fire.
*Clink!* The sudden senbon struck Sasuke Umino’s forehead protector dead-center.
“No…!” With a heart-wrenching cry of despair, the spiky-haired ninja breathed his last, his eyes wide open in sheer disbelief.
His dying gaze was filled with endless resentment and misery.
To him, this was the ultimate injustice of the Sage of Six Paths.
It should have been a guaranteed kill, yet by some ridiculous stroke of luck, the senbon had hit the forehead protector.
How could he accept such an absurd twist of fate?
“Awesome!” “The captain is fine!
The senbon hit his forehead protector.” “Good things really do happen to good people.
The captain is so lucky.” Tekudo and the other two immediately cheered and hugged each other.
Meanwhile, Inuzuka Ryo was currently being hugged by the voluptuous Koshino.
He looked utterly thrilled and flushed red.
Anyone looking at him would think he was just overly excited for his captain.
“Senior, *sob, sob*…” Having been saved by Sasuke Umino yet again, Yoru Gekko was overwhelmed with emotion.
He hugged Sasuke, weeping tears of profound gratitude.
“Hey, hey, hey!
Don’t wipe your snot on my vest!
It’s really hard to wash.” Sasuke Umino tried to push the clingy Yoru Gekko away, but the boy was too moved to let go.
It made sense.
Though he possessed strength close to a Jonin, Yoru was still just a thirteen-to-fourteen-year-old kid.
It was understandable for him to act a bit dramatic after surviving such a brush with death.
Fortunately, the explosive tags on Sasuke’s body weren’t impact-triggered.
Otherwise, he would have been genuinely worried about them accidentally going off.