Information Gathering? Sasuke's Counter-Strategy

Scorching Sun

Beneath the landscape of the primeval forest with its layers of rolling mountains...

Sasuke darted rapidly through the winding, twisting branches, his scarlet Sharingan spinning constantly to capture the scene.

When it comes to information gathering, the Byakugan is truly superior...

As long as it is activated, one can collect all real-time imagery within a one-kilometer radius in an instant.

While my Sharingan allows for photographic memory and the ability to instantly capture and analyze all traces, it doesn't offer much of an increase in the field of view.

With my current Chakra, I can only use it continuously for a dozen minutes or so, and even less during combat.

It seems I need to find Hinata or Neji to interact more and see if I can trigger the Byakugan.

If I had the Byakugan, I would be able to handle both intelligence gathering and enemy warnings with ease...

Feeling his Chakra dropping rapidly, Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, stopped in his tracks, and muttered to himself.

So far, he had only found the tracks of a single wild boar...

That was far from enough to slap Naruto in the face and obtain the reward!

No, I must use my wits...

If I go on like this, I'll be exhausted before I even find the wild boar herd!

I don't have Naruto's massive Chakra reserves to waste so recklessly...

Sasuke slammed his palm against the tree trunk, panting slightly as he spoke in a low voice.

"Snap..."

Just as Sasuke was thinking about how to use his wits, a pine nut fell right before his eyes.

Sasuke glanced to the side and saw that he was standing right next to a lush green pine tree.

Nearby, no fewer than a dozen pine trees were scattered throughout the forest, their branches thick and leafy...

That's it...

Wild boars are beasts that really love the scent of pine oil.

Sasuke's gaze sharpened; he leaped backward and performed hand seals.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique..."

Completing the hand seals quickly in mid-air, Sasuke opened his mouth and spat out a fireball that lunged straight at the pine tree.

Pine trees were naturally flammable, containing a high amount of resin.

The second the fireball struck, it ignited instantly with a "boom"...

Suddenly, the burning pine tree released the scent of pine oil with double the intensity...

In less than two seconds, Sasuke could clearly smell the pine oil in the air!

A wild boar's sense of smell is twice as sharp as a dog's; I believe they will come following the scent soon...

Now, I just need to intensify the scent and wait for the prey to come to me!

Sasuke smiled confidently, tapped his foot against the ground, performed hand seals, and dashed toward other pine trees.

To avoid causing a forest fire, Sasuke specifically chose pine trees in more open areas to ignite...

A moment later.

The entire green forest was dotted with a dozen burning trees, and the scent of pine oil, accompanied by thick smoke, drifted in all directions...

"Huh? Who is so bored that they're lighting fires in the forest??

Whatever, I've already made my big talk!

I absolutely cannot lose to Sasuke. Shadow Clone Technique..."

Seeing the thick smoke, Naruto ignored it and once again created shadow clones to search for the wild boar tracks.

At the same time.

Seeing the smoke, Sakura frowned, then continued to follow the wild boar tracks, tracing the vines to find the melon...

An hour later.

"So that's it, using the scent to make these wild boars deliver themselves to your doorstep.

Is this your method? Sasuke.

However, my requirement was information gathering...

How does doing this improve your ability to gather intelligence?"

As Sasuke was leaning against a tree trunk to recover his Chakra, Kakashi's figure suddenly appeared and said lazily.

Under the tree near them,

twenty or thirty wild boars of various sizes were already scurrying about, sniffing the air in search of pine nuts...

"Didn't you say that a ninja is someone who breaks the rules?"

Our ultimate goal is to drive away the wild boars; intelligence gathering is merely a process.

Besides, I didn't alert the enemy; these wild boars have no idea I even exist!

By the way, Teacher Kakashi, why did you run over here?"

Sasuke brushed the fallen leaves off his body and stood up, showing no awareness of having broken the rules.

"It's because of that Burning Tree you created; I was afraid you'd accidentally burn down the entire forest.

These trees and the jungle are the precious wealth of the nearby villagers..."

Kakashi gave Sasuke a dead-fish eye, put away his Icha Icha Paradise, and looked utterly helpless.

If he had known Sasuke would burn things so safely, he wouldn't have bothered making the trip...

"The wild boars nearby have all gathered here...

Now is the best time to drive them away!

Teacher Kakashi, should we act now?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, looked at the Wild Boar Herd below, and seized the opportunity to suggest it.

To slap Naruto in the face, there was nothing more persuasive than completing the mission ahead of schedule!

"Well, I suppose that's the only way...

If we don't act now, it will be much harder to gather them again later."

Kakashi nodded in helpless agreement; this mission had already lost its value for training Team 7.

Naturally, it was better to end it quickly!

"Then let's begin..."

Sasuke's lips curled into a smile as he coolly drew his Shuriken and charged straight toward the Wild Boar Herd.

"Oink oink oink..."

"Snort..."

"Snort snort snore..."

As Sasuke's three Shuriken shot out at high speed, the Wild Boar Herd instantly erupted into chaos, scurrying in every direction...

"So impatient...

I haven't even told you which direction to drive them toward yet, what a pain..."

Seeing this, Kakashi's mouth twitched, and his hands blurred into afterimages, completing the Hand Seals in the blink of an eye.

Ninjutsu: Shadow Clone Technique...

With a poof, two clones rushed out of the White Smoke, one to the left and one to the right, blocking two directions.

"Drive them all to the forest ten kilometers to the West; there is a Wildlife Habitat over there..."

Kakashi flashed in front of Sasuke and said, then tapped the ground with his foot to block another direction.

"Ten kilometers, huh..."

Sasuke murmured, his hands quick as lightning as he picked up a nearby branch and threw it...

3:30 PM

"What is going on...

Why is even Teacher Kakashi missing!"

"Exactly, I can't see Sasuke-kun anywhere either..."

"Hmph, Sasuke must be too afraid to come back because he didn't find any wild boars.

Even I only managed to find two piglets with the help of my Shadow Clone..."

"Naruto, don't talk bad about Sasuke-kun behind his back.

He wouldn't fail to find the Wild Boar Herd...

However, why did you bring these two piglets back??"

"Hehehe...

Since no big wild boars noticed, what's the harm in bringing them back!

This is proof that I've surpassed Sasuke!!"

In the fields, Naruto and Sakura stood on the ridge, singing in harmony with high spirits.

Beside them, the client watched them with black lines on his forehead, his mood sinking to the bottom...

This ninja squad was truly more unreliable than the last!

"Sorry, Naruto...

You won't be surpassing me."

Suddenly, Sasuke's voice rang out from behind them.

Naruto and Sakura's expressions shifted instantly, and they turned around in unison.

"Hmph, I managed to find two piglets and a Wild Boar Nest.

As long as we go there, we'll definitely be able to find that detestable Wild Boar Herd...

What did you find, Sasuke?"

Naruto immediately held up the piglets at his feet, his face full of pride and self-satisfaction.

"Naruto, good work...

But I'm sorry, the mission is over!

Sasuke gathered almost all of the wild boars, and we have already driven the Wild Boar Herd ten kilometers away."

Kakashi followed behind Sasuke and laid it all out, shocking both Naruto and the client...

Especially Naruto, whose smile hadn't even had time to fade.

He was slapped in the face by this sudden, cruel reality...

Looking at the two piglets in his hands, Naruto felt his face burning with shame.

"Sasuke-kun is so cool, that's amazing..."

As Sakura swooned in admiration, a reward notification sounded in Sasuke's ears.

[Mission complete, reward obtained: 0.2 Kakashi-units of Chakra...]