Patrol Team, Three

"Konoha ninjas are truly arrogant, talking big without fear of their tongues falling out."

A hoarse, deep voice, yet with a hint of childishness, belonged to the brown-haired youth. He stared at Katsuki and the others, his eyes filled with disdain.

"Whether we're talking big or not, come and try us. Or... are you too scared?"

Otoha beckoned with his finger, provocatively.

The gesture perfectly embodied the Uchiha clan's inherent pride, their dismissive contempt so vivid it made Katsuki's hands itch. He really looked like he deserved a beating!

If the timing weren't so inappropriate, he would have sparred with the guy.

"Fine, we'll come. Konoha brat, don't just rely on your mouth."

Rasa's face instantly darkened. Seeing Otoha's demeanor ignited a nameless rage within him. As the genius youth of Sunagakure, he was always the one looking down on others. Among his peers, no one dared provoke him like this, and he was furious.

However, despite his anger, Rasa was cautious. He cursed fluently but didn't move a single step. Katsuki and his group had superior numbers, and he wasn't foolish enough to charge in alone. After all, they had a Special Jonin with them.

The two groups faced each other, exchanging insults but neither willing to make the first move.

If it was about stalling, Katsuki's group had no fear. This was Land of Fire territory. They had sent word to the defense forces before their pursuit, and as time passed, the situation would only become more favorable to them.

Katsuki's group understood this, and so did the three Sand Ninja.

However, the middle-aged man hesitated to act. He felt uneasy. Six Genin-level brats, there should at least be a Chunin among them. But he couldn't find any Chunin, and instead, a strong sense of crisis welled up in his heart.

"Rasa, Chizuko, you two deal with these brats."

As the Special Jonin, he was naturally the leader of the team. The middle-aged man issued the order. Rasa and the young woman's faces twitched. They couldn't refuse, nor could they refuse. Orders from superiors were not to be disobeyed.

With that, the middle-aged man moved swiftly, disappearing into the depths of the forest.

Rasa felt somewhat confident in dealing with six Genin. His hesitation stemmed from his concern about the unseen Chunin. If he were to launch a surprise attack, Rasa wasn't sure he could escape unscathed.

Rasa!

No way!

Katsuki stared, dumbfounded, at the brown-haired youth with such an imposing aura. This was the future Fourth Kazekage...

This was his first time seeing a celebrity from outside Konoha. Although in his past life memories, he was an unlucky ghost who died early, barely showing his face a few times before being ganged up on and defeated by Orochimaru and his lackeys. When he finally reappeared, he didn't last long before being surpassed by his own son.

Overall, he was a tragic figure who became a bit dark after his wife died.

"Little brats, prepare to fight."

While Katsuki was still gaping, Rasa began forming hand seals. As for the female ninja Chizuko, she opened a scroll and summoned a puppet with a single horn on its head, three arms, entirely black, and clad in tattered grey robes. It made clattering sounds.

A Puppet Master, no less.

Seeing the ugly puppet, all six were stunned. This was their first time seeing such a novel type of combatant. Puppet Masters were unique to Sunagakure, and many people might never encounter such a thing in their lifetime. For example, Mist Ninja rarely clashed with Sand Ninja.

Earth Release: Sand Stream.

While everyone was marveling at the Puppet Master, Rasa had already unleashed his Ninjutsu. The ground beneath them rumbled, the earth caved in, and the inch-high green grass was instantly swallowed by sand and mud, crushed into powder. Rocks and soil were transformed into flowing sand.

This small area of land turned into a sinking quicksand, devouring everything on the ground. Anything with substance, alive or dead, could be swallowed.

The large tree swayed violently. The solid earth beneath it transformed into quicksand, throwing off its balance. Katsuki, who was on the tree, was almost flung off. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, stabbing his short sword into the tree trunk, suspending himself in mid-air and preventing him from falling into the sandstorm below.

Damn it, Katsuki wanted to slap himself right now. What was he doing, spacing out at a time like this? Even if there was still an unrevealed Jonin behind them, this wasn't an excuse.

There wouldn't always be a Jonin acting as a bodyguard. On the battlefield, swords are blind, and death can come instantly.

Water Release: Water Whip.

Kushina moved quickly. Chakra condensed in her hand, transforming into flowing water that wrapped around her arm like a long whip. She then lashed out, coiling around Katsuki's waist and pulling him out of the pit of flowing sand.

"Slap!"

The moment Katsuki regained his footing, he was met with a chop to the head. Kushina glared at him, puffing out her cheeks.

"I was wrong, Sis."

He obediently lowered his head and conceded. It was indeed his fault this time. Spacing out during a battle was practically asking for death. If they hadn't had the numerical advantage and the enemy was merely probing, a combo attack like that would have left him dead or severely injured.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

A dense sound of rushing wind filled the air. The one-horned, three-armed puppet flew up, opening its mouth wide and spraying a large area of purple, glowing poisonous needles towards the six of them, like a torrential downpour.

Clearly, the opponents wouldn't let them regroup. Chizuko and Rasa coordinated their attack on the group.

They were both Genin, but they didn't fear the six opponents. What if their numbers were three times greater? Chizuko was a Puppet Master and could already skillfully control her puppet, making her one of the best among Genin. And Rasa, he was a wielder of a Kekkei Genkai.

Although Konoha had the Byakugan, it was a close-combat type. Rasa's Kekkei Genkai was a mid-to-long-range attack type, perfectly suppressing it.

Water Release: Water Wall.

Kushina was the one who acted again. More than a year had passed, and Katsuki wasn't the only one who had improved. After becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina immediately became a treasured gem protected by Konoha's high command. They opened all doors and spared no effort in cultivating Kushina, hoping she would grow quickly and unleash the power befitting a Jinchuriki.

The training of Fuinjutsu was a difficult and lengthy process. After all, the weakest Fuinjutsu of the Uzumaki clan was B-rank, making it extremely difficult to master. Furthermore, some Fuinjutsu were not very practical in combat. Therefore, while practicing Fuinjutsu, she also studied Ninjutsu.

What else could she do, being from the Uzumaki clan? Katsuki had taught Kushina the method of training with shadow clones. Thus, the siblings began to train like they were exploiting a bug, their progress alarmingly fast.

A thin, curved line of water appeared on the grass. In an instant, the water line erupted with a massive amount of water, surging into the air to form an arc-shaped water wall. The dense poisonous needles collided with the water wall and vanished instantly. The limited impact force of the needles was insufficient to break through this water wall.