After assessing the battlefronts in both locations, Hatake Sakumo assigned Tsunade here.
"I haven't finished analyzing Ibuse's poison, and now I'm studying Sunagakure's poison too."
Tsunade complained, "I'm better at healing. How did I end up surrounded by poison?"
"Never mind me for now." Tsunade waved a hand and leaned closer to Uchiha Chonhua.
—So close!
Uchiha Chonhua blinked. Her delicate, flawless face was right before his eyes.
Her warm breath brushed against Uchiha Chonhua's face, making his skin tingle.
Uchiha Chonhua didn't dare move. If he leaned forward even a little, he'd lose his first kiss to Tsunade!
"Chonhua, I heard you awakened your Sharingan—and it's already Three-Tomoe. Is that true?"
At her words, Uchiha Chonhua pushed down the turmoil in his heart.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared.
Tsunade traced his brow and eyes, gazing at the bewitching, mesmerizing Sharingan.
"So it's true..."
There really was someone in the Uchiha Clan who awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan right from the start.
Chapter 61: Familiar Faces in Sunagakure
"To awaken the Three-Tomoe Sharingan right away—I underestimated your talent."
Tsunade sighed. There was no doubt her student would awaken the Sharingan; it was only a matter of time.
But to go straight to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan... She'd never seen anything like it. It had truly startled her.
If he'd awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan right away, then...
Tsunade stared at his Sharingan. "Perhaps you can awaken that eye."
Uchiha Chonhua blinked. He was supposed to act like he didn't understand yet.
"What eye?"
"Nothing." Tsunade cleared her throat, then patted Uchiha Chonhua on the shoulder. "We've treated all the wounded here. Let them rest and recover now."
"Chonhua, come with me. We'll study Sunagakure's poison together. Let's crack it and make an antidote as soon as we can, then drive Sunagakure out of the Land of Fire!"
"Yes, sensei!"
Uchiha Chonhua nodded.
Sand Shuriken hurtled toward them.
Seeing this, Nawaki quickly formed Hand Seals and slapped his palms against the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
The ground rumbled and trembled as an earthen wall erupted in front of Nawaki and the others.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The Sand Shuriken struck the wall with the clang of metal.
The dark-red-haired young man's eyes sharpened. He raised his right hand, and the small gourd at his waist spewed out a vast wave of yellow sand.
Rasa clenched his right hand. The sand gathered into a fist and slammed into the wall!
"Magnet Release: Sand Fist!"
The Sand Fist smashed through the wall with irresistible force and continued toward the Konoha Ninja.
A flash of lightning streaked by. Rasa narrowed his eyes as his sand fist paused, then exploded.
Whoosh!
Uchiha Chonhua burst through the dust, his bewitching, crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan wide open. Chidori crackled in his right hand as he charged at Rasa.
"Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel!"
A woman with sandy-brown hair and dark-blue eyes stood beside Rasa. She waved the Three-Star Fan in her hands, sending a fierce gale howling toward him.
The tomoe in Uchiha Chonhua's eyes shifted.
"I see it—the weak point."
Uchiha Chonhua spotted a place where the chakra was thin amid the raging wind and drove his Chidori straight into it.
The gale instantly collapsed, scattering in all directions.
"Ah!"
Karura was stunned. Her Wind Release could nullify Fire Release, which was supposed to have the advantage over Wind Release. That alone proved how skilled she was with Wind Release.
She'd always been proud of her ability to reverse the usual elemental advantage. She never imagined she'd be the one on the receiving end.
Karura was shaken.
"Watch out, Karura!"
Rasa hurriedly manipulated a massive amount of sand to surround them, forming a thick Shield of Sand.
At the last possible moment, the Shield of Sand stopped Uchiha Chonhua's Chidori.
Uchiha Chonhua's Chidori drilled inward like an electric drill, but Rasa's defense was too thick.
Uchiha Chonhua had pushed his entire arm inside, and still hadn't pierced the Shield of Sand.
"Sister! Rasa!"
A group of Sunagakure Ninja rushed out of the woods. The young man at their head looked a lot like Karura, though his hair was the color of yellow sand.
Yashamaru knew Rasa's Shield of Sand well. Seeing Uchiha Chonhua's whole arm thrust into it, sand scattering everywhere and lightning still crackling, he knew the situation was critical. He immediately swept his hands into motion, controlling his puppet to spit out a hail of poison needles.
Behind him, the other Sunagakure Ninja launched their own attacks.
"Your opponents are us!"
Nawaki and the others moved in front of Uchiha Chonhua and engaged the enemy.
In the fighting, one of the Konoha Ninja made a careless mistake and was struck by a poison needle from Yashamaru's puppet.
Yashamaru's face lit up, but then his expression changed. His mouth fell open, and his pupils shrank.
What was he seeing?
The Konoha Ninja who'd been hit by the poison needles showed no signs of being affected. They kept fighting as vigorously as before.
"How can this be... Our poison isn't working!?"
Nawaki grinned. "Heh, my sister cracked all your poisons. Without poison, you're no match for us Konoha Ninja!"
Yashamaru was worried. They'd only switched to a new poison a few days ago, and Tsunade had already cracked it?
Without poison to give them an advantage, they were struggling more and more against the Konoha Ninja.
An eyeball in the air watched the scene. Inside the Shield of Sand, Rasa's brow furrowed.
They couldn't stay hunkered down behind the Shield of Sand.
"Karura, I'll create an opening. Withdraw as soon as you see your chance!"
Before Karura could answer, he immediately manipulated the Shield of Sand.
Uchiha Chonhua's eyes shifted. In his field of vision, chakra gathered rapidly on the Shield of Sand's surface. Then, one Sand Spear after another thrust out.
"Chidori Current!"
Lightning burst from Uchiha Chonhua's body, shattering the Sand Spears as they shot toward him.
"Chidori Sharp Spear!"
The lightning in his hand changed shape, instantly becoming a Lightning Blade that shot forward!
"Ugh..."
A pained groan came from inside the Shield of Sand, and Uchiha Chonhua's lips curled up.
Got you.
With a thought, he sent a surge of lightning from his Chidori Sharp Spear, paralyzing those inside.
Crack, crack.
The Shield of Sand lost its cohesion and crumbled into yellow sand, revealing three people inside.
Three!?
The Rasa struck by the Chidori Sharp Spear crumbled into sand—he was a Sand Clone!
"Hyah!!!"
Rasa roared and formed Hand Seals, his chakra surging wildly.
The gourd at his waist spewed out a massive amount of yellow sand. It surged like a towering wave, crashing toward the Konoha Ninja like a tsunami.
"Quicksand Waterfall Flow!!!"
"Get out of here, quickly!"
Uchiha Chonhua shouted. The others looked up at the sky, which had suddenly darkened. Roaring waves of yellow sand bore down on them with tremendous force.
They didn't dare hesitate and quickly fled.
"Hah... hah..."
Rasa swayed and collapsed to the ground, his face deathly pale.
Karura hurried to support Rasa, then gave her younger brother Yashamaru a look.
Yashamaru understood. He told the Sunagakure Ninja behind him, "Go! We're retreating!"
Once the dust had settled, Nawaki and the others stood there, drenched in cold sweat.
"That guy actually had a technique like that."
The forest before them was gone, replaced by a vast expanse covered in yellow sand.
If they hadn't known what the place looked like before, they might have thought they'd arrived in some desert.
"He changed the whole landscape. That's a terrifying technique." Tsume Inuzuka anxiously patted her chest, while Kuro-maru whimpered in fear beside her.
"It had a huge range and a powerful impact, but it was slow."
Uchiha Chonhua leaped onto a treetop and looked into the distance. Rasa and the others had already disappeared.
"They weren't using that technique to fight. They used it to escape."
Nawaki sighed, disappointed.
"That Rasa guy has quite a high standing. He's a student of the Third Kazekage, and we still let him get away!"
Uchiha Chonhua glanced at Nawaki. "You're not thinking of chasing them, are you?"
Knowing Chonhua was referring to the time he'd chased someone and nearly set off an Explosive Tag, Nawaki looked embarrassed.
"Ahem. Whether we chase them is up to you. You're the captain, after all."
The squad was made up of Genin and Chunin. As a Chunin—and the strongest member of the squad—Uchiha Chonhua had naturally become its captain.
Chapter 62: Nawaki: I Want to Chew Them Out!
"Brother Cheng, we've driven the Sunagakure Ninja out of this area. Go back and tell the main force to send people here to hold it."
Uchiha Chonhua looked at the desert before him, then added, "They'd better send some ninjutsu specialists. Rasa is good at fighting with sand, so we can't let him benefit from the terrain. Fill in this desert."
Though Rasa had created the desert himself, a technique that changed the terrain like this must have consumed a lot of chakra.
Rasa wasn't a One-Tail Jinchuriki. He couldn't afford to keep spending chakra.
The desert in front of them was uneven. Surely they weren't supposed to wait until he came back with a matching technique, like Sand Waterfall Funeral?
Before you continue