You're Actually Doing Shameful Things Behind My Back

BOOM!

Following a deafening roar, a massive crater was blasted directly into the Grass Ninja camp.

Aragaki Yasushi, hiding in the trees, watched with eyes gleaming.

This energy scroll packs quite a punch!

It's much fiercer than I anticipated; a truly fine item.

As the dust and smoke cleared, half of the four Grass Ninja were already gone.

Two had been blown to pieces on the spot, leaving behind only a few scattered remains.

Judging by their attire, the remaining two were merely ordinary genin, likely having arrived on the battlefield only a few days ago.

One of them was somewhat well-trained; he frantically pulled out a kunai, his eyes scanning the direction from which the light had struck with vigilance.

The other was a total disgrace, scared out of his wits, turning tail and running as if he wished he had grown an extra pair of legs.

"Jiro!"

The vigilant Grass Ninja shouted in desperation, his voice cracking.

Aragaki Yasushi, watching from the tree, curled his lip in disdain.

Brother, is your teammate here just to hand over his head?

Turning your back to run without even seeing the enemy—that's just pure suicide.

The next second, with a soft thwip, the Grass Ninja named Jiro was run through by a massive, scythe-like foreleg, dying instantly.

By now, Aragaki Yasushi had transformed from a paper cricket into a giant, two-man-tall paper mantis, appearing right behind Jiro.

He slowly withdrew his foreleg from Jiro's back, letting the blood stain his limb, and turned leisurely toward the remaining Grass Ninja, his eyes filled with mockery.

The Grass Ninja was instantly drenched in a cold sweat that trickled down to his crotch, his legs shaking like a sieve.

What... what kind of secret technique is this?

Which village does this ninja belong to?

Konoha? Iwagakure?

I've never heard of such a secret technique!

Is the enemy a chunin? A jonin?

Aragaki Yasushi didn't give the Grass Ninja much time to think; with a flicker, he appeared behind him.

"CRACK!"

The Grass Ninja was sliced clean in half at the waist, blood gushing out from a wound as smooth as if it had been measured with a ruler.

Aragaki Yasushi proudly shook his foreleg.

Even if it's made of paper, it can cut through iron like mud!

However, there is a small drawback: the hardness of these scythe-like forelegs is average. If they clash with sharp blades, they are easily sliced open, making it impossible to go head-to-head with the enemy.

But that doesn't mean Aragaki Yasushi's paper-man form is physically weak.

He can fold a thick paper shield for defense; honestly, compared to a normal flesh-and-blood body, it's much more reliable.

Of course, Aragaki Yasushi has self-awareness.

That only applies to normal flesh-and-blood bodies.

The Naruto world is full of muscle-bound freaks with bodies so tough they aren't even human anymore.

No matter how hard his paper body is, it wouldn't withstand a punch from one of them.

What gives Aragaki Yasushi the biggest headache is his weakness: the paper-man form is terrified of fire.

There's no helping it; at the end of the day, it's made of paper, and it's naturally afraid of flames.

This has become a fatal Achilles' heel.

If only I could draw a Horse Talisman or a Dog Talisman, I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.

After finishing off the four Grass Ninja, Aragaki Yasushi reverted to his human form and crouched on the ground to scavenge for loot.

To be fair, these Grass Ninja were quite poor; all he found were a few packs of military rations and a handful of kunai and shuriken. They didn't even have a proper ninja blade.

Aragaki Yasushi couldn't help but grumble, "Why are these Grass Ninja so pathetic? Even poorer than I was when I first graduated. What a waste of effort."

Complaints aside, he carefully wiped away all traces of the scene to avoid attracting other enemies.

Once that was done, Aragaki Yasushi folded himself back into a small, delicate paper cricket and hopped around to inspect the perimeter.

When Aragaki Yasushi returned to the camp, he saw that Yuhi Kurenai had already started a campfire, with a small pot set over it, boiling something.

Taking a closer look, it was filled with mushrooms gathered from the nearby area.

Military rations were fine for when you were on a mission and had no time to eat, but they tasted like wax; having a bowl of hot mushroom soup was far better than gnawing on dry, tasteless rations.

However, if those mushrooms happened to be poisonous, then it would be time to lie in a coffin.

"Yasushi, you're back."

Yuhi Kurenai heard the footsteps and looked up, a faint smile appearing on her face as she let out a visible sigh of relief.

After all, on the battlefield, when a comrade goes out to patrol or hunt for game, there is always the chance that they might encounter an enemy the very next second and never return.

Aragaki Yasushi nodded: "I just found four Grass Ninja nearby; I took care of them all and cleaned up the traces."

"Are you hurt?"

Hearing this, Yuhi Kurenai hurriedly stood up and took a few steps closer, though she stopped short, merely looking him up and down with eyes full of concern.

"I'm fine."

Aragaki Yasushi waved his hand and smiled: "My Origami Secret Technique can ignore minor injuries; ordinary attacks can't hurt me at all unless I run into Fire Style."

Having said that, he scanned the campsite and, not seeing Asuma, couldn't help but frown: "Asuma hasn't returned yet?"

Asuma had spent a bit too much time out hunting.

Although in the original work Asuma lived until the protagonist appeared, with a transmigrator like Aragaki Yasushi involved, who knew if the plot would veer off course?

The butterfly effect was nothing to joke about.

Even if Asuma was the current Crown Prince of Konoha, it wasn't impossible for him to die in the Third Great Ninja War.

After all, didn't the true Crown Prince of the Senju clan, Nawaki, get blown to bits by explosive tags all the same?

Just then, an indignant voice came from the woods: "Damn it! What are you two whispering about? Are you secretly dating behind my back?"

Aragaki Yasushi and Yuhi Kurenai turned to look and saw Asuma panting as he ran over, carrying a wild boar that was sturdier than he was.

The boar was half his height and had a considerable amount of meat on it.

Upon hearing this, Yuhi Kurenai's cheeks flushed red instantly; her eyes darted away as she stole a glance at Aragaki Yasushi, her ears even turning pink, and she stood there at a loss, unable to say a word for a long time.

Under normal circumstances, Aragaki Yasushi would have retorted with a few words to leave Asuma speechless.

But this time, Aragaki Yasushi's expression turned serious in an instant, his sharp gaze sweeping toward the woods behind Asuma: "You idiot! Did you get hit in the head by that boar? You're being followed and didn't even notice, yet you're still here shouting nonsense!"

"What? I'm being followed?"

Asuma's expression turned to shock, and he scrambled to turn around in a panic.

Aragaki Yasushi curled his lip at the sight.

It was a good thing he was here to cover for him, otherwise, this Crown Prince of the Sarutobi clan would have met his end in this little patch of woods in the Land of Grass today.

Before Asuma could even turn his head, a blinding green beam shot out from in front of Aragaki Yasushi, heading straight for the woods behind him.

With a deafening boom, entire rows of trees were blasted into the sky.

An unlucky Grass Ninja was sent flying along with them, dying on the spot without even having time to scream—a contender for the fastest death in history.

Immediately following, three more Grass Ninja emerged from various parts of the woods like clowns, howling as they lunged toward the three of them.

The Grass Ninja in the lead clutched a ninja blade, his target clear as he charged straight at Asuma.

The way he was going, he looked eager to cleave both Asuma and the boar on his back in two.