Satoru and Nawaki vs. two Sand Village chunin.
But now, without Orochimaru's intimidation, the two Sand Village chunin had already sent out a signal that someone had crossed the border. They could fight at full strength.
Moreover, this was a face-to-face battle. There was no advantage of a surprise attack.
"Satoru, in a desert environment like this, Water Style will be greatly affected... I can only use Earth Release against them."
Nawaki wiped away his sweat. The two Sand Village chunin opposite them perfectly embodied the confidence of ninjas from a great nation—
They had no intention of calling for reinforcements at all.
Then again, they were both among the Five Great Hidden Villages. If two Sand Village chunin had to call for help to deal with two Konoha genin, would they still have any dignity as ninjas if word got out?
"Be flexible. Being affected doesn't mean it can't be used; it just doesn't have the environmental advantage it did in the Land of Rain."
Satoru smiled and patted Nawaki on the shoulder.
"I'll show you something good in a moment."
"?"
Before Nawaki could figure out what this so-called "something good" was, the two chunin across from them had already flown into a rage.
"Bastards! Mere genin, and you're chatting right in front of us!"
The burly chunin in a headscarf roared angrily. He looked like the impatient type.
He had recognized Orochimaru earlier. For Konoha to send a ninja of that level into the Land of Wind at a time like this was simply a provocation.
Although they had not formally become enemies, both sides knew perfectly well what their higher-ups thought. For them to come here now on an escort mission...
If they succeeded, it would be a blow to their side's morale before the war had even begun!
But they could not directly kill Konoha's ninjas either. That would completely shatter their ambiguous relationship with Konoha.
"Looks like we need to teach them a lesson, then detain them and make Konoha come ask for them!"
"Mm... the signal has already been sent. Hopefully the jonin can stop Orochimaru soon."
The other chunin, with an afro and wind goggles, merely shrugged.
"Then let's begin. If we waste time dealing with them, the jonin will scold us."
Whoosh!
The two Sand Village chunin vanished instantly. It was the Body Flicker Technique!
While airborne, the two chunin rapidly formed hand seals and cast their techniques in perfect coordination—
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
Though the two Sand Village chunin spoke casually, underestimating their enemy was not a mistake they would make.
The two Konoha genin before them might be young, but they were Orochimaru's disciples!
"Since you dared to stay, prepare yourselves!"
"Fire Release: Gale Fireball!"
Boom—
The two Sand Village chunin had used their ultimate move from the very start, taking advantage of Wind Release's ability to enhance Fire Release and unleashing a combined ninjutsu!
A massive wave of blazing flames swept toward Satoru and Nawaki on the force of a raging gale. Judging by its momentum, getting hit by this would burn off a layer of skin!
"No way! This is a C-rank ninjutsu? Its power is already at Rank B Ninjutsu level!"
Nawaki yelped and quickly formed hand seals. For now, he could only choose a suitable technique from the few C-rank ninjutsu he knew.
"Earth Release: Earth Shore Return!"
"Water Style: Water Disruption Wave!"
Nawaki and Satoru also unleashed a combined ninjutsu in perfect coordination!
"Earth Release: Mudstone Barrier!"
Boom!!
The enormous fireball, wrapped in a fierce gale, slammed brutally into the soft earthen wall that rapidly rose before Satoru and Nawaki, kicking up a huge cloud of steam, and then...
It went out.
"!!!"
The two Sand Village chunin stared wide-eyed in shock. Not only had these two genin used C-rank ninjutsu to perform a compound technique, it was even strong enough to contend with their own combined ninjutsu!
"No wonder you dared to stay. You do have some skill!"
The afro-haired chunin gripped a kunai in each hand, intending to use the Body Flicker Technique to engage them at close range.
"I refuse to believe that, with your ninjutsu being so outstanding, you've also had enough time to train your taijutsu!"
"Impact Wave!"
Boom!
Just as the afro-haired chunin was about to close in on Satoru, a ring of blazing fire blasted him away. Then he heard a calm voice.
"You should quiet down for a while."
"Deformation Technique: Pig!"
Oink~
The afro-haired chunin transformed into a pink piglet and spun around in confusion, making the burly chunin's eyes widen.
"What kind of evil technique is this?!"
However, the afro-haired chunin quickly reacted, erupting with Chakra to break free of the Deformation Technique's restraints.
"Hold them—"
"Deformation Technique: Turtle!"
"..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the afro-haired chunin turned into a turtle again. But it was enough to alert his partner.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
The burly chunin understood what his companion meant. Dodging Nawaki's shuriken, he spat the fastest Fire Release ninjutsu he knew at Satoru.
"Tch..."
Satoru frowned and used Blink to appear behind the burly ninja.
"Dragon's Breath!"
A massive flaming dragon head formed before Satoru, then breathed down upon the burly chunin, who had completely failed to keep up with his speed!
"Aahhh!!!"
With no time to use the Substitution Technique, the burly chunin took the Dragon's Breath head-on. The compressed high-temperature flames erupted with terrifying pressure, nearly igniting the surrounding air—
The intense heat and suffocating sensation instantly threw the burly chunin into confusion!
Taking Dragon's Breath to the face, the burly chunin would have already lost consciousness if not for his exceptional physical strength—but his body was charred black. Perhaps the agonizing pain had kept him awake?
Dragon's Breath, the powerful fire magic Satoru had only recently mastered, had nothing to criticize in terms of speed or control apart from its short range. As for its power... this was an AoE spell.
And with Blink's support, this spell could display tremendous value in actual combat—it would not fail to hit people just because its effective range was too short.
"Everyone knows dragons can breathe fire, but did you know they can actually breathe marshmallows too? Usually, they simply lack a reason to breathe marshmallows."
Satoru recalled Medivh's quip beneath the casting principles of Dragon's Breath, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
"There are no dragons in this world, but does that mean dragons all possess extremely high attainments in arcane magic?"
Setting Medivh's quip aside, the burly chunin, who was screaming miserably, had yet to recover from his confused state. Satoru directly pulled out his long staff and smashed him into the ground with one blow.
The chance the burly chunin had bought allowed the afro-haired chunin to erupt with Chakra a second time and break free of the Deformation Technique. Before Nawaki could get close, he completed the only Rank B Ninjutsu he had mastered!
"This younger one can actually use two Nature Transformations!"
Blood seeped from the afro-haired chunin's mouth. Erupting with Chakra twice in succession had already damaged his chakra pathways, but with his companion instantly brought down, he had no choice but to fight desperately!
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
A violent, weasel-shaped wind blade shot from the afro-haired chunin's mouth. This was a powerful ninjutsu capable of cutting through both a target's flesh and protective Chakra!
"Damn!"
Nawaki had barely completed his defensive ninjutsu, but before the violent Rank B Ninjutsu, C-rank Earth Release was simply not enough.
The defensive wall of Earth Shore Return was shredded apart by the violent wind blades, and Nawaki had no time to dodge—
"Summon: Water Elemental!"
With a loud shout, Satoru's hands flashed with dazzling arcane light. Between Nawaki and the Earth Release defensive wall, a huge mass of water appeared amid splashing droplets!
"This... this is??!"
"Is this a Summoning Technique? But what kind of Summoning Animal is that?!"
Before you continue