A Major Blow

"Die!"

Uchiha Matsuzaki roared.

At that moment, Uchiha Matsuzaki turned his sword around and plunged it into the monster's crown.

To his surprise, the monster's crown was its weakest point, almost like a thin membrane.

The monster began to convulse all over, as if it had been electrocuted. In the end, it turned into a pool of black liquid and spread across the ground.

Uchiha Matsuzaki let out a sigh of relief when he saw this.

"Zzzzz..."

The black slime the monster had just turned into began to give off a green gas. It smelled awful, and soon evaporated without a trace, leaving only marks from the fight.

Seeing this, Uchiha Matsuzaki relaxed at once and dropped onto the ground.

The other four hurried to his side.

"Captain Matsuzaki, don't move. I'll treat and bandage your wounds right now."

Flower Dance took out the medical kit she carried with her and began treating and bandaging Uchiha Matsuzaki's wounds.

"Thank you, Zixue."

"By the way, how did you figure out that monster's weakness?"

Uchiha Matsuzaki managed a faint smile as he asked.

Chestnut Snow slowly sat down.

"Actually, while you were fighting the monster, I was sitting nearby and watching it the whole time."

"Every time the monster made a sudden movement, its crown wobbled like a balloon."

"So I thought its crown must be like a layer of skin, protecting whatever was inside from being exposed."

The other four listened to her explanation and finally understood. They could now recall the monster's crown, but they hadn't noticed anything unusual about it at the time.

"So that's how it is. Looks like every one of us in this squad is a genius. One of us is a medical ninja, whose role on the battlefield is enormous, and another has incredibly sharp powers of observation."

"I'm sure the two of you have your own strengths too. Looks like we really have turned a disaster into a blessing."

Uchiha Matsuzaki said with a smile. He seemed completely unaffected by the fight they had just been through.

"All done, Captain."

Flower Dance smiled after finishing the bandages.

"Thanks."

"I still can't figure out where that monster came from, but since there's been a first one, I'm afraid there'll be more."

"Just remember, it had a very distinctive smell. If you ever smell anything like it again, be careful."

Uchiha Matsuzaki slowly stood up and spoke in a low voice.

"Yeah, there must be a reason that monster appeared. And once it was defeated, it vanished without a trace. Whoever made these monsters clearly doesn't want anyone taking their bodies back to study them."

Chestnut Snow looked at the spot where the monster had disappeared.

Uchiha Matsuzaki felt deeply uneasy. After all, monsters like this had never appeared in the original story.

What worried him most was that more and more of these monsters might keep appearing.

If that happened, the entire ninja world could be in for a massive upheaval.

Looks like I'm still too weak. If I hadn't found its weakness just now, I might not have made it out of here alive.

The monster's attack had been a serious blow to all five of them. Today, they had finally realized just how weak they were.

The other four knew all too well that if Uchiha Matsuzaki hadn't been there, they would have been doomed.