Forehead Protector Defense

The hedgehog-haired man quickly jumped to dodge. This giant water dragon, as if it had anticipated his move, struck with a "flying dragon in the sky" coil, directly sending the hedgehog-haired man flying into the air.

"Partial Expansion Jutsu!"

Just then, a plump palm rapidly grew larger. In just a breath, it had expanded to the size of a windmill, and then caught the hedgehog-haired man, who was defenseless in mid-air.

It was caught in its grasp.

The hedgehog-haired man's entire body was now within the giant palm, unable to break free. He was like a sausage held in a hand, with only his head sticking out.

Cracking sounds echoed continuously.

Under the immense force from the palm, the hedgehog-haired man's limbs were immediately crushed and broken. He spat out large mouthfuls of blood, clearly his internal organs had also been ruptured by the pressure, rendering him completely immobile.

Clearly, Akimichi Toribo, who had arrived to provide support, had used Partial Expansion Jutsu and captured the hedgehog-haired man with a single palm strike.

On the other side, the remaining Sand Ninja Chunin was not faring any better. His body was covered in numerous black Kikaichū. He had clearly reached his limit from the poison and was easily taken down by the Kikaichū of the Aburame Clan.

Umino Sasuke, however, seemed stunned by the sudden Water Dragon Bullet Technique, standing frozen like a statue in mid-charge.

But in reality, beneath Umino Sasuke's dazed exterior, his heart was surging with excitement. The Water Dragon Bullet Technique had just passed by him, rushing straight out. He wasn't scared; he was thrilled.

The near-zero distance contact allowed him to truly feel the astonishing power of the Water Dragon Bullet Technique. This was only a B-rank Water Release, so how terrifying would higher-ranked A-rank or S-rank Water Release be?

Living in the cruel Ninja World, while not as beautiful as his previous life, still had its own charm.

Were these powerful Ninjutsu not exactly what he had always yearned for?

Coming to the Ninja World for a visit and not cultivating powerful Ninjutsu would be a wasted trip, wouldn't it?

Once he got his mission merit points, he absolutely had to exchange them for knowledge related to developing a second chakra nature, to solve his severe chakra deficiency problem.

"That's great, we're saved!"

Gekko Yoru, seeing that the crisis was finally over and that they had narrowly escaped death, was overjoyed.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Umino Sasuke feigned just coming to his senses, looking bewildered and clueless. He turned to Gekko Yoru, who was not far behind him, and asked, "Kid Gekko, are we dreaming?"

"Senior, it's real, we're saved. The Mobile Patrol Unit's rescue has arrived."

Gekko Yoru happily hugged Umino Sasuke, his joy evident.

"Alright, alright! I get it."

Being hugged by a grown boy made Umino Sasuke quite uncomfortable, and he broke free from the affectionate embrace.

But just then.

Suddenly--

Swish!

A senbon was spat out from the mouth of the near-death hedgehog-haired man.

Its target was Umino Sasuke's head.

As expected of a Sand Hidden Jonin, even with all his bones and meridians shattered and his entire body rendered immobile, he could still attack with his mouth, spitting out a senbon for a final surprise attack before death.

Ninja who can become Jonin are indeed not to be trifled with, and Jonin trained in the harsh Land of Wind are even more outstanding.

With a loud crack, the hedgehog-haired man was immediately crushed into a bloody pulp by the giant palm, leaving only his head relatively intact.

"Careful!"

All the Konoha Ninja were caught off guard. They never expected that this Sand Ninja, who had lost all mobility, could unleash such a sudden surprise attack before dying. They hadn't reacted in time, and with their distance, they couldn't help block it now.

"Captain, dodge quickly!"

Inuzuka Ryo, with his decent sense of smell and good eyesight, also noticed the sneak attack.

"Not good!"

Umino Sasuke's expression changed drastically.

Clearly, he hadn't anticipated this sneak attack beforehand. His Sonic Radar Technique originated from his summon, the Water Bat, and its principle was ultrasound. It wasn't infrasound with extremely strong penetration. In terms of penetrating perception, it was far inferior to the Byakugan, so he hadn't detected the senbon hidden in the mouth in advance.

However, fortunately, the Sonic Radar Technique was still reliable. The moment the senbon was spat out, he detected it, buying him time to dodge.

Umino Sasuke intended to dodge by turning his head, but he thought of Gekko Yoru behind him, who was in his blind spot.

The senbon was already close, and there was no time to draw his sword to block.

Umino Sasuke's first thought was naturally self-preservation: "Better him than me; survival is the priority." He prepared to dodge by turning his head.

But then he considered that if he dodged and sacrificed Gekko Yoru behind him, wouldn't his pretense of the Will of Fire for the past six months be completely ruined?

If he sacrificed a comrade now and disregarded the Will of Fire, and word reached the Konoha higher-ups, wouldn't he be classified as expendable ninja?

At this moment of life and death choice, Umino Sasuke's mind was clearer than ever, his thoughts racing at an extreme speed.

"Got it!"

With a thought, Umino Sasuke finally came up with a brilliant countermeasure.

"Kid Gekko, be careful!"

Umino Sasuke unhesitatingly blocked in front of Gekko Yoru, as if intending to use his own flesh and blood to uphold the Will of Fire and stop the senbon.

With a light ding.

The sudden senbon struck precisely on Umino Sasuke's forehead protector.

"No!"

The hedgehog-headed boy, with a heart-wrenching cry of despair, died with his eyes wide open, breathing his last.

In the hedgehog-headed boy's despairing gaze, there was endless unwillingness and desolation.

In his opinion, this was an injustice from the Sage of Six Paths. It was a certain death situation, yet he was so lucky that the senbon hit his forehead protector. How could he accept such an accident?

"That's great!"

"Captain is fine, the senbon just hit his forehead protector."

"Good people are rewarded, Captain is truly lucky."

Tejudo and the other two immediately cheered and embraced each other.

Meanwhile, Inuzuka Ryo was being held by the plump Xiao Xiao, his face full of joy and a blush. If one didn't know better, they'd think he was so excited for his captain that he was over the top.

"Senior, mmmph..."

Gekko Yoru, saved once again by Umino Sasuke and escaping death, was so moved that he hugged Umino Sasuke tightly, tears streaming down his face.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't get your snot on my vest, it's hard to wash!"

Umino Sasuke tried to push away Gekko Yoru, who was clinging to him like a stubborn stain, but the other boy was simply too moved and wouldn't let go.

It was understandable, after all. He was a boy of thirteen or fourteen, and although his combat power was close to that of a Jonin, he was still a minor. It was understandable for him to do something out of line when he was so moved after escaping death.

Fortunately, the explosive tags on him were not trigger-type, otherwise, he would have truly feared a stray shot igniting them.