Jinx

It turned out that Hatake Shudan's potions had too great an influence in the village. Even Hyuga Hyakusho, who had acknowledged Shudan, refused the potion. Of course, Shudan had been mentally prepared for this. Seeing that Hyuga Hyakusho was unwilling to test his potion, he didn't force the issue. He reached out and took a severely damaged mission scroll from the organized ninja tools, shaking it in front of the three of them:

"It's just as I predicted. The goal of these Sand Ninja was to destroy the supplies we were transporting and take out the escort team along the way. As for more specific intelligence, such as how they knew our whereabouts, how many people they sent, and whether it was worth risking being discovered so close to the Leaf Village, either it wasn't recorded or it's been damaged beyond recognition!"

"Shudan."

Nawaki, lying on the ground, asked:

"Although it's incredible, judging by your demeanor, dealing with that Chunin wasn't particularly dangerous, was it? Didn't you want to keep him alive? Oh, and my opponent just now, couldn't you have spared him too!"

"You're thinking too simply. Teams like this, which are essentially suicide squads, have very strict confidentiality. And ninjas at the Genin level simply can't access core information. Conversely, even if a Genin gets a few scraps of information, the accuracy is highly questionable, and it can lead to very unfavorable conclusions about the intelligence. As for the Chunin..."

Shudan gave Senju Nawaki a deep look:

"When facing a dangerous enemy, don't think about capturing them; eliminate the unsafe factors as much as possible. Especially when facing a powerful enemy like a Chunin, it's a miracle we weren't killed by them. I can tell you with certainty that they were ground to death by our methods out of overconfidence. If we had given them even a little breathing room, they would have posed a fatal threat to us even if they were on their last breath!"

"So, so that's how it is!"

Nawaki looked enlightened:

"Shudan, you seem to know a lot!"

Shudan rolled his eyes, too lazy to bother with Nawaki, who seemed to have fed all his school knowledge to the dogs. He spread out the spoils from the Sand Ninja on the ground:

"Looking at the ninja tools they carried, I can further confirm that this was a purely raiding and pursuit force. Even after using a large portion of their tools during the chase, they still had some left.

It looks like they brought their entire fortune with them. Only desperate individuals who bet their lives on this mission would do this—complete the mission and successfully return to the village for greater rewards; fail the mission, and the only outcome is death in the Leaf Village, rendering anything left at home useless!

But that benefits us!"

Shudan listed the specific quantities of the ninja tools:

"Excluding damaged items, there are eight Kunai, twelve Shuriken, twenty Senbon, one bundle of Steel Wire Rope, four Explosive Tags, one blank Sealing Scroll, forty Ration Pills, and one B-rank area ninjutsu scroll, Wind Release—Arashiya. This should be a ninjutsu the Chunin was learning, otherwise, he wouldn't have brought it. The rest is a small pile of medicine!

We'll split the Kunai, Shuriken, Senbon, Ration Pills, and Explosive Tags equally. Water Gate, you learn the ninjutsu scroll first, then give it to Hyakusho. When we return to the village, we'll exchange it for a Water Release ninjutsu scroll. Don't worry about Nawaki; he's a rich man. The Steel Wire Rope is for you too. As for the Sealing Scroll and medicine, I'll keep them for now!"

After speaking, Shudan threw the ninja tools in his hand towards the other three. Nawaki excitedly took his share, but looking at the few items he received after Shudan had said so much, he was a bit confused:

"Shudan, you talked for a long time, about them bringing their entire fortune and fighting with their backs against the wall, but there aren't that many spoils of war!"

"Be content!"

Shudan replied to Nawaki:

"Combat causes the most damage to ninja tools, and these guys threw away tools all the way here. Most importantly, knowing they were going to die, who would kindly leave their ninja tools for the enemy? They would consume them frantically!

And you don't know the cost of things. An Explosive Tag is already very valuable, okay? You searched them too, you should have clearly noticed that your opponent's remaining ninja tools were almost depleted. Be content. If it weren't for the fact that you searched them, it would be generous enough for me to give you a Kunai!"

"Alright!"

Although the items weren't many, what Shudan said was true. While it was a far cry from what he had imagined, they had successfully obtained spoils of war. Most importantly, they had played a significant role in defeating the Chunin, and he could brag about it back in the village!

"Alright!"

Ignoring Nawaki, who was grinning foolishly on the ground, Shudan saw that everyone in the squad had finished tidying up and said:

"We've already spent a lot of time. During the break just now, I used the Ninja Turtle to transmit the intelligence we have back to the village. Although there isn't much useful information, at least it gives the village a more concrete judgment on the number of Sand Ninja who attacked this time!

Enough talk. Since everyone has recovered, let's continue towards the rendezvous point!"

"Yes!"

As the words fell, the four of them became serious, turning into four dark shadows that simultaneously disappeared into the forest!

"Ah, this is so boring!"

Not long after the battle with the Sand Ninja squad, on the way to the rendezvous point, Nawaki, whose mind was still buzzing with the excitement of the fight, couldn't help but complain:

"When will another squad of Sand Ninja appear so I can have a good, satisfying fight?"

"A satisfying fight?"

Hyuga Hyakusho, also on the journey, looked at Nawaki with disdain:

"You call that battle a satisfying fight? If it weren't for Shudan's potion, you would have been killed by the enemy long ago. In terms of combat effectiveness, you're the last person among us who should be hoping for a fight. Aren't you happy just being alive?"

"Hyakusho, although you are my best friend, I won't allow you to insult me!"

Nawaki became furious:

"After the battle just now, I am completely different from my former self. Let alone a Genin, even facing a Chunin, I feel like I'm not afraid of him at all!"

"Bang!"

A black shadow flashed ahead, and the sound of a Kunai embedding itself into a tree trunk followed. Shudan glanced at the Explosive Tag tied to the Kunai, his eyes narrowing to the size of a needle:

"Get down!"

"Boom!"

The massive explosion caused by the Explosive Tag not only halted Shudan and the others' advance but also revealed the Sand Ninja pursuit squad that had been waiting for them. Seeing the undisguised killing intent in the Chunin's eyes, Shudan's mouth twitched. He and Hyakusho and Water Gate sighed simultaneously:

"Nawaki, you really are a jinx!"