Patrol Team, Part Two

"Who's there? Get out here, you coward! What kind of trash hides their head and tail?"

The man shouted angrily, gripping the kunai in his hand and scanning his surroundings, trying to find the enemy's location. Their plan to infiltrate Konoha had already failed halfway, at least their team had been exposed.

Since that was the case, they might as well fight. They'd eliminate this Konoha patrol team that was ruining their plans, and then retreat. It wouldn't be a wasted trip.

"Hiding your head and tail, hehe. You're the ones who eat sand, you scum, afraid to show your faces! Sneaking into our Land of Fire like thieves, and you dare to spout such nonsense!"

Otoha was very displeased. A few Sand Ninja spies, and they were acting so arrogant.

Just like his father said, these turban-wearing guys were all ignorant fools who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Only fists and kunai could teach these bastards some sense.

Seeing Otoha jump out and stand on the treetop, the man revealed a ferocious smile. He looked at Otoha as if he were looking at something. "So it's just a kid, playing tricks. I'll send you to hell right now."

Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique.

Otoha acted without hesitation. He formed hand seals in an instant and blew out a giant, orange-red fireball that streaked towards the middle-aged man, trailing a long flame.

Such fast hand seals. Although he was talking tough, the middle-aged man didn't let his guard down. Those sent on infiltration missions weren't just strong; they were also smart, unlike his brainless colleagues.

Seeing Otoha's hand seal speed, the middle-aged man secretly praised him. For a kid his size, he was quite accomplished.

But, what a pity. He met me today.

Wind Release, Wind Suck.

The middle-aged man's hand seals were as fast as illusions. His abdomen caved in deeply, and then he opened his mouth and began to suck in air with a roar. In an instant, the air in front of him was completely sucked out. The Great Fireball hit an invisible barrier, was split down the middle, and slid past the sides of the three Sand Ninja. The scorching heat carved two black trenches into the ground.

Fire counters Wind.

A truth passed down for countless years, but it wasn't invincible. The people of Sunagakure had spent generations researching defenses against Fire Release, especially since six or seven out of ten Sand Ninja were Wind Release users. To avoid being easily defeated by ninjas skilled in Fire Release, the Sand Ninja had put in a lot of effort to study it.

And they had indeed come up with quite a few new ninjutsu. Wind Suck was one of them. It instantly emptied a certain area of air, creating a vacuum that prevented flames from burning.

Of course, even with that said, anyone who thought they could defeat Fire Release ninjas with this technique was just wishing for good luck.

The practicality of Wind Suck was very low because air flowed extremely quickly in nature. The so-called vacuum domain could only exist for a fleeting moment. Therefore, it required the user to have extremely sharp eyes to seize the right moment to use Wind Suck and extinguish the flames. Being too late or too early would result in only one outcome: being burned to a crisp!

It was very demanding. Ordinary Chunin would find it difficult to achieve this level. As for Jonin, they would generally develop a second element. The practicality of Wind Suck would be greatly reduced. It was only useful for bullying Genin or lower-level Chunin. Dealing with opponents of the same level by using such tricks was suicidal.

However, Otoha was a Genin. To be precise, he was still a student at the Ninja Academy. His forehead protector was only temporarily issued.

The middle-aged man was, after all, a Special Jonin. It was naturally no pressure for him to counter Otoha's Great Fireball.

"Tch, this technique is tricky. Come out and help!" Otoha yelled.

"Let all your companions come out. You're no match for me alone," the middle-aged man sneered. What difference would a few more Genin or Chunin make? Although he was only a Special Jonin, he believed that with a few more years, he could definitely reach the Jonin level. Dealing with a small patrol team...

What difficulty was there?

"This old guy is quite skilled, extinguishing the Great Fireball with Wind Release. He's got something!" Hyuga Tenzan stepped out, using his Byakugan to examine the middle-aged man and the woman and youth beside him.

"Byakugan?"

The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes. No wonder they were discovered. He hadn't expected to encounter a team with a Hyuga clan member. His luck was terrible!

But is this brat blind? I'm only thirty-two, how did he become an old man? He was fuming inwardly, but he held back from attacking because more people were coming out.

"His Wind Release is good. It would be best to take his head later. Maybe we can get this ninjutsu," Minato also pushed aside the branches in front of him, staring at the middle-aged man. He was very interested in the ninjutsu he had just used.

"Minato, you're ruthless. Killing someone doesn't require decapitation. At least leave him a whole corpse!" Katsuki played with the short sword in his hand, standing on a tree branch as thick as an arm, swaying back and forth.

Katsuki was now ten years old, and he had grown taller. His fiery red hair stood up like a lion's mane, and his features were becoming more defined, showing a hint of ruggedness. He wore dark blue pants, a white t-shirt, and a black jacket over it. His style was flashy, but he was very satisfied with it, especially his hairstyle, which no longer hung down like a slender willow.

In about two years, he hadn't just grown taller; his strength had also steadily increased.

"If it's Wind Release, I can learn it too," Kushina added.

"Kill this old guy and leave his head," Katsuki brandished his short sword, his tone instantly shifting. He glared menacingly at the middle-aged man, clearly treating the opponent's head like a ball.

The middle-aged man was furious. Are these brats blind? I'm only thirty-two, I'm not old yet!

Katsuki's change in attitude made Otoha's mouth twitch. This guy was truly shameless. His sister-complex was completely exposed.

"If only I could awaken the Sharingan, I could directly copy his ninjutsu."

Otome sighed regretfully. Awakening the Sharingan was a difficult process. More than a year had passed, and neither she nor Otoha had managed to awaken it. Many Uchiha never awakened it in their lifetime; it wasn't common, but it wasn't rare either.

This was also one of the reasons Otome joined Katsuki's group and left the Ninja Academy. There were no established rules for awakening the Sharingan. They had only managed to figure out some general methods, and fighting was the method with the highest probability of awakening it. At least seventy percent of clan members who awakened it did so during combat.

For this reason, the siblings had joined the team to undertake Genin-level missions, at least to get some blood on their hands.