Poison Smoke and Hornets

"Boom!"

"Ta-da..."

The three missing-nin used large, round shields to block the ninja tools of Ishikawa Tatsuki and the others, showing no concern whatsoever about being countered by Ninjutsu.

Shields are not very useful in ninja combat; they can only block Shuriken and Kunai, and they can also obstruct one's vision, making one a target for various elemental Ninjutsu.

However, the three Konoha members failed to capitalize on this opportunity. The small round ball thrown by the opponent landed on the ground and exploded, instantly producing a large amount of light-colored smoke.

Ishikawa Tatsuki felt a numbness in his body upon contact with Kurenai, and even his chakra became somewhat disordered. "Oh no, it's Poison Smoke. My limbs are becoming weak... How can it be so powerful? Could it be that the previous flower fragrance was the problem?"

The Konoha Squad's advance was immediately halted. The two quickly took out Antidote Pill and swallowed them, but the medicine didn't take effect so quickly. The enemy threw down their shields and was about to close in the next moment.

"Damn it, they even set up barbed wire!" Ishikawa Tatsuki's expression turned grim.

He quickly scanned the area and found a large number of four-sided nails scattered on the grass. These were likely placed during or before the explosion and were specifically designed to limit the Body Flicker Technique of Jonin- level ninjas, preventing them from being picked off one by one due to their mobility.

"We need to find a way to stall for time; Itachi might be in danger." Ishikawa Tatsuki didn't think the situation was too difficult. As long as the medicine took effect, he could easily create space to maneuver using Ninjutsu.

Every ninja specifically targets the weakest link. Judging from appearances alone, the enemy will definitely prioritize attacking Itachi, followed by Kurenai and themselves. So, it should be...

"Drink it!"

A ninja wielding a sword rushed towards the Konoha Squad and launched a desperate slash at Ishikawa Tatsuki, but it was blocked by Ishikawa Itsuki drawing his short sword.

However, the other two enemies immediately seized the opportunity to rush over and, just as he expected, joined forces to attack Uchiha Itachi, targeting the obviously "weakest" guy on the field and launching a pincer attack.

Itachi bent over, supporting himself on his knees, as if he had inhaled Poison Smoke and become completely powerless. Two vicious ninjas stared at him with murderous intent, ready to tear him to pieces at any moment.

"Crackling..."

But when they rushed within 10 meters, Itachi suddenly raised his head with a calm expression, and several Shuriken flew out with a shake of his body. The two sides were so close, but the two missing-nin couldn't even see how he made his move.

"What?"

The man wielding the Katana didn't have time to block the Shuriken and could only stop to protect his vitals.

The other one was more skilled; he raised his iron fork and deflected the Shuriken, simultaneously dodging another with a sideways movement. He only suffered a shallow scratch on his face, but continued his relentless thrust towards Itachi's head, yelling, "Die, you brat!"

Whoosh... The iron fork came with a slight whooshing sound, but Itachi's figure seemed to disappear in an instant, leaving the man empty-handed and exposing a huge opening.

Itachi controlled his body, lunging forward onto the ground. He braced himself with one hand and exerted tremendous force, flipping himself upside down and kicking upwards. The guy who was kicked in the chin was sent flying by the force of the blow, nearly knocking him unconscious on the spot. "Shadow Leaf Dance!"

After knocking the enemy away, Itachi threw another Kunai from below, which pierced the back of the enemy's head with great precision.

Then, he rushed to the other man's side in a few steps, lowered his center of gravity, drew his Wakizashi, and dodged the Katana's slash at the right moment. With unusually sharp movements, he crashed into the big samurai's arms and stabbed through the enemy's heart with a diagonal thrust.

When they parted ways, he was splattered with blood, but his expression remained calm, and his gaze made the enemy who was locked in a stalemate with Ishikawa Tatsuki feel like he had a thorn in his side.

"How is this possible? You show no signs of poisoning!"

Itachi touched his nose, and two small, damp balls of paper appeared in his palm. "If I'm not mistaken, that pale-colored Poison Smoke needed to be mixed with the fragrance of flowers to be effective, so I specifically plugged my nostrils as a precaution."

"Unfortunately, I was completely unaffected..."

Upon smelling the somewhat strange floral scent, the cautious man resorted to this method as a precaution, though it inevitably required him to reduce his breathing rate.

Therefore, the three pills taken in advance each had their uses. The wet paper ball could filter the smell to the maximum extent, but the difficulty in breathing greatly increased the consumption of physical strength, so Itachi chose to eat a Soldier Pill to ensure the physical strength needed for the battle.

The remaining Antidote Pill and Calming Pill were a second layer of protection, because if too much time was wasted, the floral components that had entered the bloodstream would be broken down by the body, so he anticipated that the opponent would launch an attack soon.

To ensure his combat effectiveness was not affected in the first instance and to guard against sneak attacks such as Poison Smoke, he took the antidote in advance with anticipation, so he was able to counterattack in time after facing the pungent smoke.

Of course, Anmoto, Jōshiryu, and the others had no idea that Itachi was so cautious that even if they attacked from behind the trap passage, they couldn't catch him.

Their faces were grim; their advantage from the sneak attack was quickly disappearing. If the other two from Konoha fully recovered, this battle would be much more difficult.

Seeing Anmoto leading his men in a rapid Jōshiryu, Shang Shuiliu gritted his teeth and sprinted down the hillside. The situation didn't allow him to leisurely use his secret technique any longer; the only way to turn the tide was to eliminate enemy personnel through a pincer attack.

"Well done, Itachi!" Ishikawa Tatsuki was pleasantly surprised; his body was slowly regaining control.

For a young man fresh out of school to display such calm and shrewdness, it's no wonder he's Shuichi's disciple; all of Konoha's top geniuses are like monsters.

Although Ishikawa Tatsuki's hands were still a bit weak, his combat experience was not weak. He forced a counterattack while the enemy was stunned. Itachi seized the opportunity to rush out from the side, lowered his body and stabbed into the man's knee joint bone, and then cut outwards.

"Tear!"

"Ugh..."

As the enemy writhed in agony, Ishikawa Tatsuki's dagger followed up in time, plunging into his opponent's throat.

Thus, the three who originally intended to entangle them and wait for an encirclement were all killed in a matter of moments, and the situation instantly reversed, now becoming a direct 3 vs 3 duel.

Water Release: Water Wave!

Anmoto ran, he spewed out a large wave of water, completely engulfing the three Konoha members. This was their last chance to launch a surprise attack, using the time bought by their fallen subordinates to complete their Ninjutsu, hoping to inflict damage on the enemy.

"Buzzing..."

Not to be outdone, the Jōshiryu closed the distance and released a swarm of insects—hornets the size of an adult's thumb, their abdomens swollen like billiard balls, a dense, creepy swarm.

Fearing that the Konoha Ninja might unleash a large-scale Fire Release, he also controlled the wasps to split into three groups to encircle them, preventing them from being wiped out by the Ninjutsu.

"This is troublesome. If we get bogged down by those three, things could get really bad today!" Ishikawa Tatsuki was still shaken. One of their opponents was even using a secret technique; getting stung by those wasps wouldn't be a joke. "I can handle Water Release, but these insects..."

"Leave it to me and Senior Kurenai, I can handle both sides!" Itachi said in a deep voice.

"Good!"

"Earth Release · Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

Water Release: Water Bullet!