Mystic Bird Stab

After reaching a consensus, the three immediately dispersed in different directions, all aiming for Yamashiro Aoba, who stood atop a large tree.

"Not bad."

Yamashiro Aoba said with a smile. In fact, he had seen and heard all the discussions with the friendly person just now. The surroundings were filled with Yamashiro Aoba's Summoning Beasts, crows, which served as his eyes and ears.

One couldn't demand too much from a newly formed team. In this situation, understanding the teammates' abilities first and then formulating a strategy was the most suitable approach.

"However, this kind of attack is too weak," Yamashiro Aoba said softly. Then, with a raise of his hand, a Kunai appeared in his palm. He slashed forward, cutting an arrow in half.

Weapons like bows and arrows, favored by ordinary samurai, were not very effective against ninjas, as their flight speed was too slow in ninja combat.

Yamashiro Aoba casually swiped his Kunai a few times, breaking four arrows without even moving his feet.

Fujiwara Chima, standing four hundred meters away, could accurately hit Yamashiro Aoba with her arrows. Among ordinary samurai, she was already a master archer, but her arrows' power was still too small against ninjas.

Meanwhile, Sai was hiding by the roots of a large tree. Although Sai's current identity was that of a newly graduated Genin, he had actually become a Chunin long ago, with his information being altered.

Sai was currently one year older than Yu. At the age of ten, he already possessed Chunin-level strength, making him a small genius.

Sai's participation in Team 99 was solely due to Danzo's orders. For a Root ninja like Sai, trained since childhood, Danzo's command was paramount, the most important thing. Even if ordered to undertake a suicide mission, they would not hesitate.

Furthermore, Sai's mission was simply to join Team 99 and monitor Yuyou Uchiha.

Sai had not chosen to act yet; he was observing Yu's situation.

However, Sai was currently searching for Yu's location. He had seen Yu run to his front right earlier, but in the blink of an eye, he had lost track of him.

Among the trio, only Fujiwara Chima was actively attacking; the other two were crouching in the bushes, contributing no attacks.

"Hoo... Haa..."

Fujiwara Chima took a deep breath and activated her family's inherited secret technique, "Ninja Arrow Flow." Ninja Arrow Flow was a method to enhance the power of arrows through Chakra.

Konoha had recruited Fujiwara Chima precisely because of Ninja Arrow Flow. While not a forbidden jutsu, Ninja Arrow Flow possessed formidable combat capabilities, and Konoha needed the addition of various strengths.

Fujiwara Chima drew her bowstring, channeling Chakra from her body into her hands. Then, using a special circulation method, she wrapped it around the arrow, which then emitted a visible white glow.

"Ninja Arrow Flow—Mystic Bird Stab!"

As Fujiwara Chima released the string, the glowing arrow shot out at high speed.

"Screech...!"

The arrow whistled through the air, emitting a sound like a bird's cry. It was also possible to vaguely see the arrow transform into a rapidly flying white mystic bird in mid-air.

This arrow attack was more than ten times stronger than the previous ones. Even Yamashiro Aoba dared not casually deflect it with his Kunai as before.

Of course, all of this was within Yamashiro Aoba's calculations; he was very familiar with Fujiwara Chima's information.

For this Mystic Bird Stab, Yamashiro Aoba chose to dodge. Although its power had increased tenfold, the Mystic Bird Stab was still ineffective against a Special Jonin like Yamashiro Aoba, and he easily evaded it.

Just as Yamashiro Aoba regained his footing, the arrow that had already embedded itself in the tree trunk suddenly exploded, shattering into over a dozen white light fragments that shot out in all directions, possessing power comparable to small-caliber firearms.

This development seemed to have been outside of Yamashiro Aoba's calculations. As he dodged, an unavoidable opening appeared in his stance.

From a distance, Fujiwara Chima drew her bowstring again, firing another Mystic Bird Stab at Yamashiro Aoba.

Although Yamashiro Aoba hadn't anticipated the arrow's explosion, as a Special Jonin, his combat experience was ample, and he handled this sudden situation perfectly.

He easily dodged the fragments from the exploding arrow, as well as Fujiwara Chima's second Mystic Bird Stab.

However, the second Mystic Bird Stab was different from the first. This time, Fujiwara Chima used a specially made arrow, which carried another smaller arrow attached to it.

This time, Yamashiro Aoba did not choose to dodge. Instead, he directly threw his Kunai, colliding with the arrow.

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed as the Kunai and arrow exploded in mid-air.

But at this moment, another white light suddenly shot out from the explosion—an arrow the size of a senbon, targeting the bell on Yamashiro Aoba's waist.

"Tinkle..."

The bell was tied with a simple thin string, which was easily severed by the arrow. The bell then detached from Yamashiro Aoba and fell towards the ground.

Sai, who had been observing from the side, saw this. His mission was to monitor Yu, so he naturally had to remain within Team 99. Therefore, he was eager to pass Yamashiro Aoba's test.

Seeing an opportunity, Sai did not hesitate. Displaying exceptional taijutsu skills, he leaped towards where the bell was falling.

Yamashiro Aoba's face showed urgency upon seeing this. He quickly turned and lunged towards the bell as well.

However, Fujiwara Chima did not cease her attack. She rapidly drew her bowstring and fired three more Mystic Bird Stabs.

After firing these two Mystic Bird Stabs, Fujiwara Chima's face visibly paled, and her breathing became rapid. Firing four Mystic Bird Stabs consecutively placed a significant strain on her body.

At this point, Yamashiro Aoba, in his haste to retrieve the bell, had left himself completely open. Two rapidly approaching Mystic Bird Stabs were aimed at his head and chest. Even as a Special Jonin, he was still human, and being shot in the head and pierced through the chest by arrows would surely be fatal.

Logically, Yamashiro Aoba should have dodged or blocked the Mystic Bird Stabs at this moment. However, he completely ignored them and grasped the bell in his hand before Sai could reach it.

Just then, the Mystic Bird Stabs arrived.

"Thwack, thwack!"

Two sounds echoed as the Mystic Bird Stabs pierced Yamashiro Aoba's head and chest. Bright red blood immediately gushed from Yamashiro Aoba's wounds, creating a horrifying scene.

Fujiwara Chima, watching from afar, stared blankly, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Sai, however, did not feel much shock. He knew that the scene before him was not real, and even if it were, he wouldn't be surprised. He had seen enough death.

"I've fallen for a Genjutsu!"

Sai thought immediately.

But it was too late. Another Yamashiro Aoba appeared behind Sai, a sharp Kunai pressed against his neck.

"Slash!"

Yamashiro Aoba didn't hesitate, plunging the Kunai directly into Sai's neck.

However, the bloody scene didn't materialize. A puff of smoke rose, and the Sai standing there disappeared, leaving only a severed log in its place.

"A Clone Technique? What great awareness to discern the Genjutsu so quickly and sense the danger," Yamashiro Aoba mused.