Master Tactician

"One second, five seals! At that speed, he must be an elite jonin specializing in ninjutsu!"

"No mistake, definitely an elite jonin."

Sarutobi Kagejiro and the Gekko chunin, seeing Umino Sasuke's terrifying seal speed, felt their confidence greatly increased.

A speed of five seals per second—they'd only heard of it before, never seen it. Today, they finally had the chance to witness it.

Truly beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Others took five seconds per seal, but the [Uchiha jonin] before them did five seals per second, his hands becoming mere blurs. As expected of an elite jonin, even his hand seals were so masterful.

With such fast seal speed, he must be skilled in ninjutsu.

And an elite jonin skilled in ninjutsu was a master of group combat. Any single jutsu could easily take out a large number of enemies. This intelligence mission was as good as secured.

The Hyuga branch family brat stared with his Byakugan, seeing the battlefield clearly. He couldn't help but roll his eyes repeatedly, his expression still anxious.

This fake [Uchiha] was far too deceptive. A speed of five seals per second—even among elite jonin and above, few could boast such terrifying speed. No wonder these Sand ninjas harbored no suspicion.

That kind of seal speed was simply too convincing.

"So underhanded! No trace of a master's dignity at all!"

The bald chunin had wasted a large amount of chakra on a useless jutsu, and his anger flared.

"Rock Wolf, don't be impulsive. This is the tactical level of an elite jonin or higher—they seize even the slightest advantage. Don't let him exploit our openings!"

The spiky-haired Sand jonin, rich in combat experience, reacted instantly. A flash of understanding crossed his face as if he'd seen through the enemy's tactics. Using tactical deception to buy more time for seals, unleashing a more powerful and complex Water Release.

What a tactical master!

It seemed the series of sneak attacks earlier didn't fully capture this man's astonishing tactical skill.

Moreover, facing such overwhelming advantage, he remained cautious, not letting even a sliver of edge slip. Surely, he was a seasoned, battle-hardened veteran elite jonin.

Seeing that the spiky-haired Sand jonin had indeed fallen for it, Umino Sasuke rejoiced inwardly. He was tricking exactly this kind of expert. An ordinary ninja might not have the tactical mindset to grasp it.

The Gekko chunin, seeing the battle was basically settled, leaped over to Sarutobi Kagejiro's side to ensure the intelligence scroll's safety. Then he turned to the distant Hyuga chunin, asking about his injuries: "Asuka, are you alright?"

"Yoru, I'm fine. Not dead yet!"

Hyuga Asuka leaned against a birch tree, his face pale, nearly unconscious from the poison. His Byakugan flickered on and off, but his words remained stubbornly tough.

Gekko Yoru nodded, then shielded himself in front of Sarutobi Kagejiro. He didn't join the battle directly but instead surveyed the battlefield's flow while whispering back, "Kagejiro, with that many seals, what level of Water Release is it? Could it be an A-Rank Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique?"

The Gekko clan specialized in Konoha-Style Kenjutsu, suited for close combat, while Kagejiro's Sarutobi clan excelled in various elemental techniques, with rich experience in ninjutsu and more authority to speak.

"No, definitely not Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique."

Sarutobi Kagejiro shook his head, immediately dismissing that guess.

"Then what high-level Water Release is it? Kagejiro, you don't know either, do you?"

"What? How could I not know!"

Sarutobi Kagejiro, as if his tail had been stepped on, jumped up in agitation.

Among his peers in the Sarutobi clan, Kagejiro was the dead last, a fraud. How could he know what level of Water Release it was? But he'd always been competitive and didn't want to show ignorance and let his teammates look down on him.

Kagejiro's mind raced. With that many seals, it shouldn't be an A-Rank Water Release. So it must be an S-Rank one, no doubt.

And the Scroll of Sealing only had a few S-Rank Water Releases. That meant this jutsu was either S-Rank Water Release: Water Severing Wave or S-Rank Water Release: Hard Vortex Water Blade.

This evil Uchiha planned to use the river behind him for Water Release, so it couldn't be Water Release: Water Severing Wave.

That left only one answer.

Having thought this through, Kagejiro suddenly understood and put on an expression that screamed "I know it, praise me."

Then, full of confidence, he declared decisively: "Yoru, actually, I saw it long ago. This is definitely the legendary S-Rank Water Release: Hard Vortex Water Blade."

Hyuga Asuka: #￥%@&

Hyuga Asuka's Byakugan rolled again and again. A-Rank Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique, legendary S-Rank Water Release: Hard Vortex Water Blade—all fake, all fake!

Fast seal speed was useless. Through his Byakugan's chakra vision, he could clearly see that this fake [Uchiha]'s internal chakra hadn't even been activated. How could he release a jutsu?

Kagejiro was talking nonsense. It seemed that besides being competitive, bad-tempered, jealous, and a bit of a fraud, Kagejiro was also a big liar.

Huh? Was there a feeling that Kagejiro was utterly unreliable?

Thinking back to how Kagejiro had needlessly provoked the Sand ninjas and exposed such a big opening during the Explosive Tags trap, Hyuga Asuka became even more certain of this.

At that thought, Asuka nearly succumbed to poison-induced rage and passed out. His teammates were too unreliable to count on. He could only hope this fake [Uchiha] would hold out a bit longer.

Admittedly, this fake [Uchiha]'s tactics were quite good, and his seal speed was unprecedented.

But this deception tactic probably couldn't stall for long, certainly not until the Sand ninjas lost combat capability from the poison.

At most, it would drain their chakra and some tools, but in the end, it couldn't change the gap in strength between the two sides.

Hyuga Asuka's Byakugan was now somewhat drowsy, flickering on and off. Due to the poison's erosion, its detection range had been compressed to less than a kilometer.

Otherwise, he would have noticed the Mobile Patrol Unit approaching and realized that this fake [Uchiha]'s tactical deception wasn't just about stalling for the poison to take effect or draining chakra and tools.

It was a triple play, with the baseline goal of buying time until reinforcements arrived.

"Yoru, look, those three are already poisoned. They won't last long, hahaha. We've definitely won."

Sarutobi Kagejiro swept his gaze across the battlefield, made a new discovery, and immediately became full of confidence, bursting into loud laughter.

He exuded an air of wild arrogance and unbridled swagger.

"Kagejiro, have you noticed? Their Special Antidote Pills are completely ineffective—they're barely holding on with pure Chakra."

Gekko Yoru observed with meticulous detail and sharp insight, quickly spotting the anomaly and weakness in the poisoned Sand Ninja.

"Hahaha!" Sarutobi Kagejiro's arrogance swelled further, then his eyes darted as he suddenly proposed, "Yoru, how about you take the intel and withdraw first? I'll handle the rearguard this time."

"This—"

Gekko Yoru was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.

Victory was already in sight; leaving now would mean missing out on a batch of Mission Merit Points. However, the intelligence mission took priority—he couldn't afford even the slightest risk. It really was better to send the intel back first.

"Kagejiro, you withdraw first and deliver the intel. I'll hold the line for this Uchiha Jonin."

Gekko Yoru swept his longsword in a decisive arc, making the optimal tactical choice. In his assessment, his own strength clearly surpassed Kagejiro's, so staying behind would provide greater support, while sending Kagejiro back with the intel was undoubtedly more appropriate.

Besides, Sarutobi Kagejiro was a relative of the Third Hokage. If he left him here to take risks and something actually went wrong, how would he explain it to his superiors?