Secret Art of the Survivalist Path

Before long, the four of them had sprinted three kilometers, arriving at the rear of the Aoba Defense Zone beside a river no more than a hundred meters wide.

They immediately spread Chakra beneath their feet and ran across the water without slowing down.

Tap! Tap! Tap...

Water splashed in layer after layer as they raced across the river.

After crossing it, however, they did not continue onward.

"Brother, you need to lose some weight."

Umino Sasuke stopped and turned to inspect how the three youngsters had done crossing the river with Water Walking. Inuzuka Ryo and Xiao Xiao had both performed well.

Only Tejudo had struggled. His sheer bulk, combined with the large number of bladed tools hanging from his body, made it difficult to maintain balance. His Chakra Control was a little unstable.

"Brother, stop spending every day fussing over those bladed-tool girlfriends of yours. You can't neglect your Chakra Control either, or I'll put you on a diet myself."

Although Umino Sasuke reprimanded him aloud, a wave of gratification rose in his heart.

Back then, among these three youngsters, only Inuzuka Ryo, who came from a ninja clan, knew basic Chakra Tree Climbing. His Chakra Control had barely passed muster.

Tejudo and Xiao Xiao had been complete novices in this regard. Forget Water Walking—even basic Chakra Tree Climbing had been beyond them.

They had been the very picture of Civilian Ninjas, two ignorant, bottom-rung cannon-fodder genin.

After his guidance, however, they had undergone earth-shaking changes.

His painstaking training had not been wasted.

The battlefield changed in an instant, and one had to face all kinds of combat environments. Tree Climbing and Water Walking might seem like highly effective ways to train Chakra Control, but on the battlefield, they were survival skills that had to be mastered.

Since they were both essential survival skills and methods of improving Chakra Control, his training of these three youngsters had naturally been extremely strict.

A strict teacher produced outstanding students.

Under his rigorous instruction, the three youngsters' Chakra Control was already no weaker than that of most chunin.

Xiao Xiao in particular might have had an advantage because girls were more meticulous, or perhaps she truly possessed talent in this area. Her Chakra Control was the strongest among the three.

With further development under his guidance, she had even begun attempting Waterfall Walking training. Though she had yet to succeed, she already possessed the foundation to become a Medical Ninja.

Once she completed a few more missions, accumulated enough Mission Merit Points to exchange for Medical Ninjutsu, and developed her Yang Release potential, becoming a qualified Medical Ninja should not be difficult.

As for Inuzuka Ryo, who came from a ninja clan, he already had a foundation in Chakra Control training. After Umino Sasuke's further intensive training, while his Chakra Control had not reached the Medical Ninja level of Xiao Xiao's, simple Water Walking came naturally to him.

Tejudo, on the other hand, had long since completed Water Walking training and had even spent some time practicing Waterfall Walking. In terms of Chakra Control, he was no weaker than Inuzuka Ryo.

But he could not resist good food. Tejudo ate rich meals every day and was the sort who gained weight just by drinking water. His build changed by the day, and with large and small bladed-tool wives hanging all over his body, making it safely across this river with Water Walking was already no easy feat.

"Captain, you taught us that being competent in every art is worse than mastering one. As long as my Chakra Control is sufficient, bladed-tool control is my true calling."

Tejudo stopped, unconsciously stroking the various large and small bladed-tool wives hanging from his body, his eyes filled with infatuation and delight.

"Then hurry up and set the traps! Are you waiting to offer up your head?"

A chill ran through Umino Sasuke, and he angrily kicked Tejudo in the fat ass.

"Right away, my dear Captain."

Tejudo wore a fawning smile and hurriedly got to work.

Seeing Tejudo begin setting the traps, Umino Sasuke started imparting the battlefield experience forged in blood and fire, especially to the two battlefield novices, Inuzuka Ryo and Xiao Xiao.

"The Sand ninja's innate Chakra natures are mostly Wind and Earth Release. Those born with Water Release are extremely rare, and they basically have no Water Release ninja worth mentioning."

Then Umino Sasuke pointed at the river behind them and continued, "Though this river at our rear may not seem large, it is a natural barrier for stopping the Sand ninja."

Unlike the fertile Land of Fire, the Land of Wind was mostly desert, with only a small number of oases. Most Sand ninja used Wind Release, followed by Earth Release and Puppet Masters. Water Release ninja were exceedingly rare.

If the battlefield was open ground, it would clearly favor the Sand ninja. But if it was a river or lake, the opposite was true—it was extremely disadvantageous for them.

"Captain, then why did we come to this side of the river to stop the enemy? Wouldn't it be better to wait on the other side and attack the Sand ninja while they crossed?"

At last, a few glimmers of wisdom appeared in Inuzuka Ryo's clear yet foolish eyes.

It had to be said that ninja clan education was quite good. The question he raised struck directly at the tactical crux.

Xiao Xiao, however, still had no idea what was going on. This showed that the foundations of a ninja clan were not merely reflected in ninjutsu; the gap extended to many other areas as well.

Still, while ninja clan education was good, Inuzuka Ryo had some intelligence—but not much.

Umino Sasuke curled a finger and flicked Inuzuka Ryo on the forehead.

"Idiot. Couldn't you think it through carefully before asking?"

Then Umino Sasuke pointed at Tejudo, who was constantly busy amid the trees, and asked in quick succession, "What is brother doing now? What is the first objective of our tactical mission? And what is the second?"

Inuzuka Ryo rubbed his stinging forehead, utterly bewildered, while the CPU in his brain spun at high speed.

Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, had no additional thoughts and only remembered the original plan, so she immediately answered, "Our first tactical objective is to set traps and strive to wipe out the Sand ninja Puppet squad.

Our second objective is to stop the enemy and hold out until the Mobile Patrol Unit arrives."

Umino Sasuke nodded at Xiao Xiao in satisfaction, then turned toward Inuzuka Ryo and stared at him as though he were an idiot.

"Liao, even Xiao Xiao understands such a simple tactic. Yet you, the super-genius ninja of the Inuzuka Clan, don't even know this. It seems you still have plenty to learn."

Umino Sasuke once again unleashed the PUA Secret Art, bombarding Inuzuka Ryo with a mental brainwashing barrage.

In truth, however, aside from the trap ambush, this tactical arrangement was not meant to prevent the Sand ninja from breaking through and infiltrating.

Rather, he intended that if the trap ambush proved ineffective, they could use this river as a natural barrier to delay the Sand ninja's pursuit and buy themselves time.

Both plans involved stopping the enemy, but their tactical objectives were completely different.

The former was to use the river at all costs to prevent the enemy from breaking through the defense zone while waiting for reinforcements.

The latter was merely to use the terrain to stop the enemy and buy time to escape.

Before planning for victory, plan for defeat.

Always prepare an escape route first—that was the essence of the Secret Art of the Survivalist Path.

After all, accidents could happen in anything.

It was never wrong to take precautions before trouble arose.