Chapter 29: Sand Ninja: I Can Turn the Tide

I wonder if those two understand the concept of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Well, it doesn't matter; even if they didn't understand it before, I believe they will learn soon enough.

A whistling sound reached the ears of the two Sunagakure Chunin.

"Damn it, there’s another enemy!"

Realizing something was wrong, the two Chunin reacted quickly, dodging the trajectory of the projectile. Turning their heads to look back, they saw what the new enemy had thrown. It was an oval-shaped object, about the size of a goose egg. What was this? They had never seen it before.

"Is this a new type of ninja tool developed by Konoha?"

"That’s it? A kunai would be more practical than that thing."

As they spotted the object, they also saw the person who had thrown it—a mere child, barely dry behind the ears. Was he a Konoha ninja too?

That was the last thought the two Chunin ever had, because... the grenade exploded.

A sound, far more violent than a standard explosive tag, ripped through the air. Both Sunagakure Chunin were blown away by the shockwave. Their bodies were riddled with a dozen ragged, bloody holes—wounds caused by the shrapnel from the grenade. In the ninja world, a close-range grenade blast is enough to kill the vast majority of "glass cannon" ninjas, unless they are the type who don't play by the rules.

The ability to use such a trump card was entirely due to the lesson Kurenai Yuhi had taught him earlier that day. The cost of the explosive tag traps far exceeded the mission's reward, yet Yuhi had insisted on it.

"When facing a powerful enemy, if you lose your life, what good are your trump cards? Will you just leave them for the enemy to collect as trophies?" Those were Yuhi’s exact words.

As the grenade detonated, Kawaki Aoba thought that while losing a trump card on two small-fry was a bit painful, being able to ambush and kill the enemy so easily felt truly satisfying. Perhaps this was the joy of being a "camper." The joy on Kawaki Aoba's face was difficult to conceal; he didn't know if explosions were art, but they were certainly fun.

Ten meters behind him, around a corner, the two companions standing next to the real Kawaki Aoba were stunned. Yes, the Kawaki Aoba who had thrown the grenade was a Shadow Clone. After all, grenades had a delay, and timing it precisely was dangerous. Using his real body to play with such things was risky; if it exploded in his hand, he wasn't sure if his knowledge of Kido would allow him to become a Soul Reaper after death. After all, he certainly didn't possess any spiritual pressure.

It was better to play it safe. Speaking of spiritual pressure, there was a "Spirit Transformation Technique" in the village; he wondered if he could learn it. If he could, he wondered what he might be able to exchange for at the altar after sacrificing it. Obtaining more high-level ninjutsu was a matter for the future; the immediate priority was to deal with the last Sunagakure ninja.

Having already lost four puppets, the enemy was still holding his own against Yuhi—this was undoubtedly an elite Jonin. As the saying goes, "When you arrive, make yourself at home." Since he dared to come and cause trouble, he should be prepared to be buried here.

"Damn it, what was that?"

Such a startling noise could not go unnoticed. Not only the Sunagakure ninja, but even Yuhi was taken aback. Both shifted their attention; they were very concerned about the situation over there. The loud bang sounded somewhat similar to an explosive tag, but wasn't it a bit too loud? And the power was significantly greater.

"Ahem, Aoba, is this the disposable ninja tool you said you developed using explosive tags? Isn't this a bit excessive? And I thought we agreed all three of us would attack together?" As the dust from the explosion settled, three small figures emerged from the corner.

"That’s... a Konoha ninja? Damn it, this is a rookie team with kids!"

The Sunagakure ninja’s pupils constricted. While fury churned within him, it also spurred his quick thinking, leading him to a potential way to break the deadlock. An ambush gone wrong meant he could forget about capturing Yuhi alive; in fact, he might have trouble escaping himself. But if he could capture the Konoha brats, he might still have a chance to turn the tables.

Holding onto the thought that he could still win, the Sunagakure ninja abandoned his fight with Yuhi and lunged toward the three children. Seeing this, Yuhi hurried to intercept, but the Suna ninja had already predicted his move, manipulating his two puppets to drag Yuhi down, even at the risk of them being destroyed.

The Sunagakure ninja was indeed multitasking. With most of his focus drawn to the three children, his control over the puppets significantly weakened. Though he could still hold Yuhi back, it was only a matter of time before the puppets were completely destroyed. As for Yuhi, despite watching an elite Jonin rush toward his three students, there was no panic in his eyes. He remained focused on dealing with the two puppets in front of him.

At some point, a Windmill Shuriken appeared in Yuhi's hands, and he began slashing at the puppets without a word. The Suna ninja naturally sensed this, but he gritted his teeth and endured it. To him, the value of two ordinary puppets was far less than that of the three children.

However, when he reached the halfway point, the three children he had targeted made their move.

"Way of Destruction #4: White Lightning!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
And... three shuriken.

Well, in this situation, Kurenai’s genjutsu was indeed useless.

"Hmph!" With a disdainful snort, the Suna ninja easily dodged the children's attacks. Whether it was Asuma’s area-of-effect Great Fireball or Kawaki Aoba’s speed-oriented White Lightning, they all missed their mark. This was normal; even though a puppeteer’s strength mostly stems from the quality of their puppets, a Jonin is still a Jonin. Even without puppets, the gap in power between them and a Chunin is vast, let alone an elite Jonin. Kawaki Aoba’s White Lightning, which could toy with two Hyuga Chunin in Konoha, was merely a convenient, low-level technique in the eyes of an elite Jonin.

*Crack!*

A fissure appeared on the glowing red chakra core. The hand holding it trembled slightly, revealing that its owner's heart was far from calm. A young man with short crimson hair stared with a grim expression at the chakra core—the one with the highest success rate, which had failed to materialize again due to external interference—his eyes burning with rage.