Worthy of the Ninja Name

"It was already too late. You should have trusted me." As Yueguang Han's words fell, more than ten Sand Shinobi appeared around the four of them on the hillside, surrounding them.

"Protect this reckless brat. Prepare to retreat!" Seeing the dozen or so Sand Shinobi surrounding them, Yueguang Xingye, who stood in front of Yueguang Han, immediately shouted. He drew a kunai, turned around, and readied himself for battle. Yueguang Long and Yueguang Shiye likewise drew kunai. The three formed a triangular formation, protecting Yueguang Han in the middle.

"Everyone, be careful! That boy they're protecting is the one who attacked our stronghold. His ability is extremely strange—his hands and feet can turn into bizarre weapons. Once he locks onto you, he can kill you instantly. He can't attack people hiding underground!" At the same time, behind the Sand Shinobi surrounding Yueguang Han's group, the Sand Shinobi who had lost both hands and escaped quickly emerged from the ground, loudly warning his companions.

He had not actually fled. He had been secretly following Yueguang Han and the others all along. He had already fired a signal flare when they attacked, so he knew the companions who had escaped the camp by burrowing underground would definitely come to reinforce them. If he did not share this intelligence with them, they might all be killed in return without knowing what they were facing.

"Too late!" As the handless Sand Shinobi revealed the intelligence, Yueguang Han made his move. The Light Machine Guns formed from his hands immediately unleashed a mad barrage at several Sand Shinobi directly ahead.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat...!" Dense gunfire rang through the forest, exploding as rapidly as firecrackers. Crimson bullets became red streaks of light that flashed through the air and vanished into the chests of several Sand Shinobi ahead, bursting out through their backs in sprays of blood.

"Get out of the way!" Only then did the handless Sand Shinobi have time to shout a warning to his companions, but it was already too late. In the span of a single breath, four Sand Shinobi who had yet to grasp Yueguang Han's information were struck by several bullets each and collapsed on the spot. Even if they had not died, the bullets had torn through their internal organs, and the devastation of the Cavitation Effect temporarily robbed them of the ability to move. The immense pain left them able only to lie on the ground, wailing and gasping.

Damn it! We underestimated him! The other Sand Shinobi cursed inwardly and hurriedly fled their positions, taking cover behind the surrounding trees. Even though their companion had warned them in advance, they had still underestimated how dangerous this boy was.

"You wasted your best chance. You should have charged together and killed me first." Looking at the Sand Shinobi now hiding behind the surrounding trees, Yueguang Han spoke coldly. His Electronic Eye tracked their evasive figures at full capacity as the Light Machine Guns in his hands began firing precise bursts without pause.

"Rat-tat-tat, rat-tat, rat-tat-tat!" Gunshots once again rang out one after another in the forest, forming short, urgent bursts.

"Pfft, pfft...!" Blood sprayed from the rapidly dodging Sand Shinobi. In just one or two breaths, three more Sand Shinobi who had not made it behind the trees plunged headfirst to the ground, never to rise again. The few Sand Shinobi still gasping and wailing on the ground also fell completely silent beneath Yueguang Han's precise burst fire.

"Damn Konoha Shinobi!" Seeing another three companions fall and hearing their wailing comrades go silent as well, the Sand Shinobi behind the trees gritted their teeth and cursed. That boy had no intention of leaving survivors.

"Pfft!" Blood and brains splattered as the head of a Sand Shinobi who cautiously peeked out to observe instantly burst apart. The sudden scene terrified the other Sand Shinobi, and none of them dared stick their heads out again, much less attack recklessly.

Unfortunately, the trees here were too thick. Even a Barrett firing armor-piercing rounds would not be able to penetrate them, so Yueguang Han did not waste any bullets. For a time, the forest fell silent again.

"This...!" Yueguang Xingye, Yueguang Long, and Yueguang Shiye looked at the eight Sand Shinobi corpses strewn across the ground and the forest that had returned to silence. Their hearts filled with mixed emotions, and their understanding of Yueguang Han's Kekkei Genkai was utterly overturned.

Yueguang Han had been right. They did not understand his Kekkei Genkai at all.

"Die!" Just as Yueguang Xingye and the other two were lost in complicated emotions, a middle-aged Sand Shinobi suddenly burst from the ground within their protective circle, directly behind Yueguang Han's feet. Gripping a saber tightly in both hands, he slashed at Yueguang Han's neck from behind with unstoppable momentum, determined to sever Yueguang Han's head in a single strike.

"No!" The sudden change came while Yueguang Xingye and the other two were distracted by their emotions. By the time they tried to stop him, it was already too late. The Sand Shinobi who had launched the underground ambush was also a Jonin; he had clearly chosen the exact moment when they were distracted.

"Clang!" The sound of metal striking metal rang out.

Under the ambushing Sand Shinobi's disbelieving gaze and Yueguang Xingye and the others' grief-stricken cries of regret, the saber aimed directly at Yueguang Han's neck sank only half an inch before it could no longer cut any deeper.

This is bad! In the next instant, alarm bells rang wildly in the ambushing Sand Shinobi Jonin's heart, and he tried to pull back his saber and get away from Yueguang Han.

"Bang! Bang!" However, before he could escape, two consecutive shotgun blasts rang out. The shotgun pellets directly blasted off both his feet. Having lost his feet, he fell at Yueguang Han's feet.

"Whew!" Seeing that Yueguang Han was unharmed and had instead defeated the ambushing Sand Shinobi Jonin, Yueguang Xingye and the other two finally breathed a sigh of relief. Their estimation of Yueguang Han's Kekkei Genkai rose another level.

"I have to say, although you are no match for the elites led by Yakura, you are still worthy of the ninja name! Unfortunately, you ran into me!" Looking at the Sand Shinobi Jonin on the ground, Yueguang Han pointed his right leg, now transformed into a shotgun, at the man's head and spoke coldly.

After saying that, Yueguang Han directly blasted the Sand Shinobi's head apart.

It turned out that the instant the Sand Shinobi Jonin's saber struck his neck, Yueguang Han had immediately transformed his right calf into a shotgun. In the instant the Sand Shinobi was stunned, Yueguang Han bent his leg backward and fired twice in succession.

What kind of damned ability is this? Underground, the burrowing Sand Shinobi cursed endlessly in their hearts and stopped their prepared ambushes.

It turned out that after taking cover behind the trees, most of those Sand Shinobi had burrowed underground. They had not forgotten the intelligence provided by the Sand Shinobi who had lost both hands.

"Burrowing underground, I really have no way to deal with you. But if I travel through the trees, you have no way to deal with me either." Yueguang Han spoke to the silent surroundings, then sprang onto a large tree and once more rushed quickly toward the Sand Shinobi Stronghold in the valley. Seeing this, Yueguang Xingye and the other two hurriedly followed around Yueguang Han, keeping constant watch for the slightest movement around them, including underground. They would never allow such danger to happen again.

"Bastards!" Seeing this, the burrowing Sand Shinobi cursed one after another. They could imagine what would happen once that Konoha boy with the strange ability charged into their stronghold. Nearly all the shinobi in the stronghold capable of Earth Style had already burrowed out. Unfortunately, before they found a way to deal with Yueguang Han, no matter how dire they knew the situation was, they did not dare show themselves again.