Encounter Battle

Aburame Tetsumaru moved swiftly, a snail-shaped Eye of Truth perched atop his head. His field of view had narrowed to ninety degrees, while his focus distance had increased to around four hundred meters. At the same time, he activated Pixel Contrast State, allowing him to determine whether anyone was moving within his sight and even identify signs of activity from within the past day.

The entire squad moved in a diamond formation. Aburame Tetsumaru served as the point man, with Might Duy and Zhongguang Fushi behind him to either side, while Captain Ueno Hayato brought up the rear.

Every member of the squad maintained a distance of at least twenty-five meters from one another, beyond the killing range of all B-rank ninjutsu. This prevented a single attack from taking out two squad members at once.

As for certain A-rank ninjutsu and even more powerful S-rank ninjutsu with wider destructive radii, ninja squads did not bother considering formation spacing against those.

For one thing, greater spacing would make it difficult for squad members to coordinate and support each other, effectively scattering the entire squad apart.

For another, even Jonin needed time to cast A-rank or higher area-of-effect ninjutsu. There were no instant casts or single-hand-sign techniques, and the Chakra fluctuations were intense. Once the ninjas noticed them, they could quickly spread out to evade or gather together to resist.

If they encountered a Kage-level expert capable of rapidly casting A-rank or higher ninjutsu, a Chunin squad like Ueno Squad had no solution anyway. They would all be dead regardless.

Aburame Tetsumaru suddenly raised a hand. His three teammates reacted at once, spreading out to the left and right wings to stand guard while the captain at the rear moved closer.

"Captain, there are traces of ninjas and puppets passing through here. They were left within the last half day."

Ueno Hayato carefully inspected the traces Aburame Tetsumaru had indicated and quickly reached a conclusion.

"A reconnaissance squad. Four ninjas, two puppets. They passed through here last night. Judging from their direction, they were heading toward our camp."

Captain Ueno immediately called the two squad members over and gave his orders. "The enemy passed through here and headed toward our camp. Under the requirements of our tactical patrol mission, we must track them down and drive them away or kill them."

"Fushi, leave a mark here to alert the patrol squads coming after us."

"Yes."

"Duy, send the intelligence we discovered back to camp."

"Yes."

Might Duy immediately took off his backpack, pulled out paper and a pen, wrote down the intelligence, then tied it to the leg of the Messenger Bird he carried with him and released it.

The Messenger Bird swiftly circled five times. After climbing to a sufficient height, it turned toward the camp and flew away.

Captain Ueno watched the Messenger Bird take off nervously. Only after confirming that it had reached a safe altitude did he breathe a sigh of relief.

There were no enemies lying in ambush nearby.

He began issuing new orders.

"Everyone, abandon unnecessary burdens and switch to a single-file pursuit formation. Tetsumaru takes the lead, followed by Fushi, then Duy. I'll bring up the rear."

"Remember, any Suna Ninja capable of infiltrating this deep and heading straight for the main camp is definitely tough. Stay alert, and obey my orders without question."

"Yes!"

Ueno Hayato looked over his three subordinates and asked, "Does anyone have any questions?"

Aburame Tetsumaru shook his head without saying anything.

"No problem," Zhongguang Fushi answered.

"Youth will have no ques—"

He was cut off before he could finish.

"Shut up. Get ready immediately. We leave at once."

"Yes!" x3

Having received their orders, Aburame Tetsumaru and Might Duy removed their backpacks. They were the strongest and had the best stamina in the squad, so they carried the squad's supplies. Zhongguang Fushi and Captain Ueno carried only ninja tool pouches.

Half of Aburame Tetsumaru's backpack was filled with his insects. His combat ability depended on their support.

He pulled two flat boxes from his pack. Opening the larger one, he released six Dragonflies without a sound. The largest Dragonfly flew up above the forest canopy.

He then opened the smaller box. Inside was only one large fluttering moth, its most distinctive feature being a pair of lattice-like antennae larger than its wings.

The Dragonflies were used for forward reconnaissance. They could also carry several Kikaichū, compensating for the Kikaichū's lack of speed. The reason he normally did not use them was that flying consumed a great deal of energy and made them lose weight. Every hour, they burned ten percent of their body weight in fat and could fly for no more than five hours.

The Dragonflies recovered slowly as well, restoring at most two percent of their total body weight in fat each day. After flying for one hour, they needed at least five days to recover. Moreover, they could only eat meat, so he avoided using them whenever possible.

The fluttering moth's antennae possessed an exaggerated sense of smell, extraordinarily sensitive and capable of partially replacing the Inuzuka clan's specialty.

Besides these two types of insects, Aburame Tetsumaru released several beetles that crawled onto his body. He also selected several boxes to hang from his belt before finally throwing down his backpack.

Might Duy's backpack was filled entirely with supplies. After distributing the Kunai and Shuriken inside to the other two, he threw his backpack aside as well.

With their preparations complete, the pursuit began.

Aburame Tetsumaru took the lead, tracking the route by following the travel traces and intermittent scent trail. The other squad members followed behind him, ready to provide support at any time.

At first, tracking was relatively easy. People walking on the ground inevitably left all kinds of traces by stepping on grass stalks or disturbing the soil. With the Eye of Truth, these traces were easy to distinguish.

Once they entered the dense forest, the enemy began leaping from tree to tree. The traces they left behind became sparse and faint, making the pursuit much more difficult. They had no choice but to slow down and distinguish them carefully.

Half an hour later, Aburame Tetsumaru's fluttering moth caught enough continuous scent molecules to identify the target's scent characteristics. The pursuit speed increased once more, growing faster and faster.

Perhaps because they were approaching Konoha's camp, the enemy's route became winding and erratic. Ueno Squad had been advancing for around forty minutes when the patrol squad following their markers caught up.

The newly arrived squad was not at full strength. It seemed the replacement Genin they had received over the past half month had either been seriously injured and disabled or killed.

According to rumors, of the more than four hundred Genin in Aburame Tetsumaru's replacement wave, nearly two hundred had already been lost.

Only a few minutes after the two squads merged, Aburame Tetsumaru's Dragonfly spotted the enemy directly. He immediately warned the entire group.

The two captains moved over and gathered around Aburame Tetsumaru, waiting for more detailed reconnaissance results.

Aburame Tetsumaru closed his eyes and synchronized his vision with the Dragonfly using a secret technique. The Dragonfly's compound-eye vision felt like watching an extremely blurry television wall made up of multiple screens, and the overlapping images were deeply uncomfortable.

On top of that, the Dragonfly constantly flew and turned to maintain its camouflage. The chaotic view made him dizzy.

Aburame Tetsumaru endured the discomfort and slowly examined the scene. "The enemy is on the hill ahead, near the cliff. Four people."

"They're Suna Ninja. One Jonin, one Chunin, and two Genin."

"Their position overlooks our camp. The Chunin and one Genin are observing it, while the Jonin and the other Genin are standing guard."

Aburame Tetsumaru took out paper and a pen, sketched the terrain around the target's location, and marked the positions of the four enemies.

"The Genin and Chunin responsible for standing guard are both Puppet Masters. The Jonin's identity cannot be confirmed."

Captain Ueno and the newly arrived Captain Tomita clicked their tongues together, their brows tightly furrowed.

The war had been going on for over a year, and everyone was already familiar with the Suna Ninja. In summary, they were troublesome and very good at fighting.

Captain Ueno said, "A Suna Jonin, plus a Chunin Puppet Master. We can't handle them."

Captain Tomita said, "Call for reinforcements. We need at least one Jonin to support us. We're very close to camp, but the Suna Ninja are positioned between us and the camp, and they're observing it. How can we get around them?"

Captain Tomita was a thirty-year-old Chunin who had likely participated in the previous war. He was very familiar with combat strategy. He immediately proposed a solution, but there was no way to put it into practice.

"Notify the camp? That's easy." Captain Ueno immediately replied, "Tetsumaru, did you bring your Message Insects?"

"They're on me."

"Give them to me. I'll send the situation here and our request for aid."

"Yes, Captain."

Aburame Tetsumaru immediately removed a box from his belt, took out a pair of Cicadas, and handed them to the captain.

Ueno Hayato picked up the insects, spoke the intelligence to the Cicadas, and then released them.

The two insects buzzed into the air at high speed, each flying low along the ground in opposite directions. In the blink of an eye, they vanished behind the trees.

Message Insects were insects shaped like Cicadas.

Aburame Tetsumaru had discovered this species and modified it into a communication tool insect.

Male Message Insects possessed three traits: high-speed flight, tracking females, and recording and playback. They could record approximately twenty seconds of sound, then fly at extreme speed back to the female and play it repeatedly to attract her.

The issue with Message Insects was that they could record only one audio clip and could not be reused. They could only serve as consumables, making their price rather unfriendly—so expensive that even Konoha's Intelligence Division could not accept it.

However, the well-funded Anbu and Root happily accepted them and even placed long-term orders.

Therefore, the Anbu at the camp had female Message Insects on hand. The males would fly directly to the Anbu's location, very close to the command center.

About ten minutes later, Aburame Tetsumaru discovered a Kikaichū that did not belong to him approaching his alert perimeter. He immediately signaled the captain, indicating that reinforcements had arrived.

When the reinforcements appeared, the two captains and Aburame Tetsumaru immediately recognized the man at the front. It was Tetsumaru's cousin, Aburame Shikuroo.

"Excellent. 'All-Round Ninja' Aburame Shikuroo has come to reinforce us. Those Suna Ninja won't be getting away."

Several Genin were happy as well. Aburame Shikuroo's squad had the strongest possible lineup: an elite among Jonin as captain, with three Chunin members. Such combat power was enough to deal with ten squads like Ueno Hayato's.

Such a powerful squad usually would not exist for long. Unless they had just been promoted or were too young, Chunin should lead Genin as captains rather than serve as squad members.

Because the main force in Shinobi World wars was ninja, the nature of warfare was completely different from that of ordinary armies. Nearly one hundred percent of it was special operations, and battles involving more than twenty people were quite rare.

An extremely powerful squad capable of fighting forty ninjas head-on would usually encounter only three or four enemies in battle. Tactically speaking, such a squad was a waste of combat power.

Unless it was like the White Fang Squad on the Land of Rivers front, which had been established from the start as a strategic squad entrusted with strategic missions and thus given an exceptionally powerful lineup. A Kage-level captain, with Jonin and veteran Chunin as members—their purpose was to penetrate deep behind enemy lines for sabotage and move freely even within encirclements of hundreds or thousands of enemies.

After the reinforcements arrived, Aburame Shikuroo naturally took command. He asked the two captains for intelligence, took over Aburame Tetsumaru's Dragonflies, and, after careful observation, settled on an ambush plan.

Aburame Shikuroo would handle the Suna Jonin. His three subordinates would surround and attack the Puppet Master, while the two patrol squad captains would deal with the two Genin.

Confident in his overwhelming combat strength, Commander Shikuroo did not bring the Genin into the fight. Aburame Tetsumaru and the other four Genin were ordered to watch the perimeter and prevent the enemy from escaping.

Once the deployment was complete, Aburame Shikuroo noticed that the Suna Ninja had begun erasing their traces and preparing to relocate. The battle erupted immediately.

The five Genin watched the battle from afar. Powerful Wind Release techniques erupted across the battlefield, and Aburame Tetsumaru recognized four large-scale ones: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, Wind Release: Breakthrough Barrage, Wind Release: Tornado Strike, and Wind Release: Thousand Face Wind.

Aburame Tetsumaru could not help feeling a little afraid afterward. Of the four large-scale Wind Release attacks, three were B-rank techniques capable of piercing the defenses of his Beetle Armor, not to mention the single-target offensive ninjutsu that were certainly too distant for him to see.

Jonin-level battles were truly unfriendly to Genin. Getting swept by area-of-effect attacks was fatal, especially against the Suna Jonin in this battle, whose Wind Release techniques were astonishingly powerful and frequent.

This Suna Ninja had to be an elite among Jonin as well. Before him, Chunin and Genin were no different. Unless dozens of Chunin surrounded him, they were all cannon fodder he could crush at will.

The danger of the battle was somewhat too high. A collision between two elite Jonin was deadly even for Chunin. He wondered whether his own captain would be all right.

While worrying about his captain, Aburame Tetsumaru directed Camouflage Butterflies to cover his body. Their wings resembled leaves and could change color, and before long, he blended into the fallen leaves all around him.

After finishing his camouflage, Aburame Tetsumaru threw out more than a dozen Landmine Insects. Finally, he wrapped two Explosive Tags around Kunai. Only after maximizing his firepower did Aburame Tetsumaru, who suffered severely from insufficient firepower syndrome, breathe a sigh of relief.

Ninja battles moved at an extremely fast pace. While Aburame Tetsumaru directed the Landmine Insects to move and camouflage themselves, a massive tornado erupted at the center of the battlefield. Soon afterward, the conflicting Chakra fluctuations abruptly weakened.

Everyone understood that the Suna Ninja had been defeated. This was a large-scale ninjutsu meant to cover their breakout.

The five Konoha Genin either clenched their Shuriken, took out Explosive Tags and wrapped them around Kunai handles, or checked their concealed positions, preparing to intercept the escaping Suna Ninja.

They all knew that any Suna Ninja capable of escaping from the hands of "All-Round Ninja" Aburame Shikuroo would not be weak, but duty demanded that they could not avoid the fight.

The clattering sound of moving mechanisms came from a direction other than his own. Aburame Tetsumaru immediately gave up the idea of using ninjutsu. Although his Wind Release techniques were fairly well-practiced and powerful enough, using Wind Release against a Suna Ninja who had cast Great Dragon Tornado would be like showing off before an expert.

Aburame Tetsumaru was deeply worried that the enemy might seize control of the ninjutsu he released instead. Such things had happened before.

The sound of mechanisms grew louder, followed by the sound of a human body cutting through the air. All the Genin began holding their breaths.

A damaged puppet and a human figure burst from the woods almost simultaneously. Kunai, Shuriken, fireballs, and fire bullets rained down upon them.

Though already damaged, the puppet was still extremely sturdy and withstood every attack. Smoking and burning, it charged forward without slowing, firing Senbon in rapid succession at two ambushing Konoha Genin.

The figure rushing toward Ueno Squad wore the distinctive headscarf of the desert people. With a slight sway, he shifted several meters sideways and nimbly evaded every attack. Then, with another Body Flicker Technique, he flashed directly behind Ueno Squad's three Genin and prepared to continue breaking out.

Leaf Strong Whirlwind!

Konoha's precious beast, Might Duy, kicked the Suna Ninja down. Though the enemy struck him hard enough to leave his face a bloody mess at the same time, he had forcibly kicked a Jonin back into the ambush circle.

Might Duy had indeed trained in the Eight Inner Gates, and for quite some time. He had opened at least four gates just now.

The Suna Jonin and Zhongguang Fushi were stunned senseless by Might Duy's feat, but Aburame Tetsumaru had expected it. He raised both hands and released six Locusts at once, sending them buzzing toward the Suna Ninja.

The Suna Ninja drew a Kunai in each hand to block two Locusts while twisting his body to evade the other four. He then threw the Kunai at Zhongguang Fushi and Aburame Tetsumaru before immediately forming hand seals.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough

The Suna Ninja blew a fierce gale mixed with Wind Blades into the forest behind him. The wind scattered the Kikaichū gathered into clusters of black mist and forced Aburame Shikuroo, who had just emerged in pursuit, to evade.

"Mm!"

"Clang!"

Neither of the two Kunai thrown by the Suna Jonin missed. Zhongguang Fushi and Aburame Tetsumaru were both struck in the chest, though Aburame Tetsumaru's two layers of Beetle Armor were not completely pierced.

Perhaps because the throw had been rushed, its power had not reached its proper strength.

No one had time to care for the wounded. The two Genin intercepting the Puppet Master were in equally terrible condition, both having been hit by several Senbon.

Yet they risked their lives under the barrage of Senbon. One used Earth Release while the other used Water Release, trapping the puppet in a mire and forcibly stopping the Puppet Master.

One of the less severely injured Genin rushed forward and detonated an Explosive Tag on the puppet, blasting its components everywhere.

But he had gotten too close. The enraged Puppet Master manipulated the puppet into transforming, hooked the Konoha Genin with several claws, pulled him into the puppet's body, and immediately sprayed blood everywhere.

The two Suna Ninja had only been delayed briefly, yet more than half of Konoha's five Genin had already been killed or injured. But the sacrifice had value. The pursuers had surrounded them again.

At this moment, Konoha had more people on the field. Aburame Tetsumaru quickly formed hand seals, intending to activate the safeties on his Landmine Insects to prevent allies from stepping on them.

The dozen or so Landmine Insects he had released were all prototypes. They could not distinguish friend from foe and would self-destruct the moment they sensed approaching Chakra or were stepped on.

To avoid being blown up while laying the mines himself, Aburame Tetsumaru had specially added a safety formula. Activating it severed the antenna nerve signals of the antenna Landmine Insects, so even if they were crushed underfoot, they would not explode.

But an accident occurred. Before Aburame Tetsumaru could finish his hand seals, the Suna Jonin used Body Flicker Technique to move behind a large tree, escaping Aburame Shikuroo's line of sight.

Then he was blown away.

There happened to be a Landmine Insect on the other side of the trunk. The Suna Ninja's attention had been entirely fixed on Aburame Shikuroo, and he had completely failed to notice the motionless Landmine Insect on the back of the tree.

Most fatal of all, a Genin from Tomita Squad happened to detonate an Explosive Tag on the other side. The explosion sent debris flying through the air, perfectly covering this area, and one fragment struck the Landmine Insect.

The Shinigami was watching this Suna Jonin. Heaven had decreed that he would die today.

The Jonin was unexpectedly blown to death, and the situation immediately became clear.

The Chunin Puppet Master was surrounded by Konoha's Jonin and Chunin and beaten senseless in the blink of an eye.

Throughout the process, the Puppet Master howled in despair. He first tried to fight desperately, then tried to kill himself, but was ultimately captured alive.

To prevent him from committing suicide, the Konoha Ninja knocked out and inspected his teeth one by one. Sure enough, some teeth contained Poison. In the end, every one of his teeth was pulled out.

The despair in his eyes and the tear tracks on his face showed that the Puppet Master knew the fate of a prisoner would be far worse than death.