I'm Waiting for My Teammates. What Are You Waiting For?

Three figures clad in black bodysuits and animal masks darted into the rocky area like ghosts.

Their movements were crisp and efficient, without a single wasted motion. That was Root's style.

The one in front swept his single eye beneath the mask over the traces of "hasty" passage on the ground. Without hesitation, he gestured, and the three continued their pursuit in a triangular formation.

Just as they stepped into the center of the trap, Yusuke formed Hand Seals and remotely triggered it.

Yusuke formed Hand Seals and remotely triggered the trap.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions erupted! Flames and thick smoke instantly swallowed the Root squad, and shattered rocks flew in every direction!

If the traps managed to hurt the enemy, all the better. Their greater purpose was to create confusion and—

"Enemy attack!!"

An alarm immediately rang out from the enemy stronghold.

The enormous explosions had clearly drawn their attention.

"Fall back!" Yusuke gestured, and the three raced toward their planned escape route.

In the smoke, Terai waved away the dust.

One of his subordinates had been grazed by a flying rock. The injury wasn't serious, but Terai's face beneath his mask was grim.

"Sir, chakra signatures are rapidly approaching from the direction of the stronghold. There are more than ten of them," the Root sensor ninja said urgently.

Terai stared hard in the direction Yusuke and the others had disappeared, then glanced at the stronghold's enemies rapidly closing in around them.

"The plan's completely gone to pieces."

If they kept pursuing Yusuke, they were bound to run into the enemies who'd been alerted—and might even expose Root.

"Damn it!" Terai spat through clenched teeth.

He hadn't expected Yusuke to be so cunning, using the enemy to spring a trap on them instead.

"First, get rid of the enemies from the stronghold. The mission to eliminate Yusuke is on hold."

He shot a resentful look in the direction Yusuke had gone, then quickly withdrew with his two subordinates.

Yusuke sensed there were no pursuers behind them. Instead, the enemies were all moving in the opposite direction, and the cold smile on his lips widened.

The sound of a brief skirmish came from afar. The dogs were fighting each other now.

"All right. The hunter and prey have switched places. This time, we're the ones doing the hunting," Yusuke told his teammates.

Inuzuka Go clapped his fists together and looked at Yusuke excitedly. "Captain, that was impressive."

Hyuga Aya nodded slightly, seeing Yusuke's ability to adapt in the moment in a new light.

The echoes of the explosions and the brief sounds of fighting were swallowed by the forest.

Yusuke gestured, and the three members of the squad immediately stopped and hid in the dense canopy, suppressing every trace of their presence.

Hyuga Aya kept her Byakugan fixed on one direction.

"They've shaken off the enemies from the stronghold and are heading west."

Her voice was barely above a whisper. "They've slowed down, but one of them has an erratic chakra signature. He's probably badly injured."

"Good."

Yusuke's gaze was cold. "Let's close in, but keep a safe distance."

The three followed silently behind the Root squad like ghosts.

Just as Yusuke had predicted, Terai's squad had managed to escape the enemy from the stronghold, but not without paying a price.

The sensor's injury was affecting their progress, and the squad's overall speed and alertness had noticeably declined.

Yusuke was patient, like the most experienced hunter, waiting for the moment his prey finally let its guard down.

An hour later, Terai's squad stopped beside a relatively open stretch of stream.

The injured squad member needed to treat his wound, and the other two were visibly exhausted as well.

Terai surveyed the surroundings and ordered, "Rest and treat the injury quickly."

The three took turns keeping watch, while Yusuke and his teammates waited patiently nearby.

Inuzuka Go was anxious. He didn't understand why their captain wasn't rushing in to kill the three men.

But having just witnessed Yusuke's skill at leading, he could only wait impatiently inside.

A python's hunting strategy was to strike and kill the moment its prey let its guard down the most.

And that was exactly what Yusuke was waiting for.

"Now! Move!" Yusuke barked.

Just as the three Root shinobi had relaxed the most, three figures shot out like arrows from three different directions!

Yusuke's target was clear: Terai, the elite jonin leading the squad.

Inuzuka Go and Haimaru lunged at the injured Root member, aiming to take him out as quickly as possible.

Hyuga Aya fixed her Byakugan on the last enemy and assumed the opening stance of Gentle Fist.

The battle erupted in an instant!

"Enemy attack!"

Terai's reflexes were astonishing. He sensed Yusuke almost the moment he appeared.

Clang!

Yusuke's greatsword slammed into Terai's short blade, sending sparks flying.

Terai was a little taken aback by the force that rebounded from their weapons. His opponent's attack hadn't been particularly strong, despite being launched with such momentum.

That makes sense. Ji's just a Chunin, after all, he thought.

"Hold on! I'll come help once I've dealt with him!" Terai called to his teammates, encouraging them.

Yusuke deliberately held back, and his swordplay seemed somewhat cautious.

His chakra and taijutsu appeared to be no stronger than a Chunin's, yet he always managed to evade the enemy's attacks at crucial moments.

Yusuke fought as he retreated, drawing Terai away from the main battlefield.

In truth, most of Yusuke's attention was on his teammates.

He was testing them. Ever wary, he remained alert for a possible traitor who might attack him from behind and catch him off guard.

Terai's blade work was vicious and unpredictable, marked by the efficiency and lethality unique to a Root captain.

He quickly noticed that Yusuke seemed to be "struggling," and his attacks grew more and more fierce.

"Worthless traitor to Root. Is this all you've got?"

Terai's voice came through his mask, cold enough to cut, as he tried to throw Yusuke off balance.

Yusuke deflected a diagonal slash, letting his arm tremble as he feigned exhaustion.

On the other side, Inuzuka Go showed off his wide-ranging, hard-hitting fighting style.

"Beast Human Clone!"

He and Haimaru became two interweaving figures, relentlessly attacking the injured Root ninja.

Man and dog worked together seamlessly, striking from alternating angles and kicking the limping man's good leg.

The enemy put up a fierce resistance, but his injuries severely hampered his movements. His footing slipped, and he stumbled, leaving an opening.

This is bad. The injured Root ninja desperately tried to think of a way to recover.

But Inuzuka Go clearly wasn't about to give him the chance.

"Gatsuga!"

Go's eyes lit up. He and Haimaru instantly became two rapidly spinning whirlwinds of chakra and crashed into the enemy from opposite angles.

Several sharp cracks rang out as bones broke.

"Pfft!"

The Root ninja spewed blood and crashed through a small tree. He kicked at the ground a few times, trying to stand, but it was all in vain. He lost consciousness completely.

Hyuga Aya's battle was even more direct. Her Byakugan saw every shift in the enemy's chakra points.

She had already planned her moves before charging in.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

A massive Eight Trigrams diagram seemed to appear on the ground as her palms rained down, precisely sealing the enemy's chakra pathways.

The Root ninja was no weakling, but he was still a step below a prodigy of the Hyuga Branch Family—especially after being caught by surprise.

The Root ninja struggled to hold on, hoping to endure the flurry and then counterattack.

As the Sixty-Four Palms neared its end, he grinned, the smile of a conquering king spreading across his face.

Now it's my turn. He steeled himself to unleash a vicious counter as soon as her attack paused.

But the next moment—

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!"

A dense flurry of palms struck again. In his panic, he was quickly hit in a vital point. His chakra seized up, and he crumpled to the ground.

Throughout the fight, Inuzuka Go and Hyuga Aya had attacked without hesitation, their goals clear: take down their enemies as quickly as possible.

Yusuke watched them, and his doubts faded.

He glanced at Terai and said coolly, "I'm waiting for my teammates. What are you waiting for?"