Only Good at Hiding Behind Women?

"Pfft! Seriously? We actually ran into them? Could our luck get any worse?"

Choji spat.

"He doesn't seem interested in us... or maybe he has a target. Either way, we'd better keep our distance."

Shikamaru looked wary.

"The important thing is to find the matching Heaven Scroll as quickly as possible. Once we have it, we should waste as little time as we can and head straight for the Red Tower!"

"That's called finishing things quickly. It's the only reliable plan we've got right now."

Everyone nodded. Then Shikamaru and the others ran deeper into the forest.

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had reached a small river.

Naruto looked utterly dejected. He dropped onto the ground, completely out of energy.

"Seriously, this is exhausting! We've been walking forever, and we haven't seen a single person!"

Sakura was feeling worn out, too.

"That's a good thing. At least no one's ambushed us."

Then she turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke! What did your cousin say earlier? Did he tell you how we could get a scroll safely?"

Naruto looked at him expectantly, eyes shining.

Without even realizing it, the two of them had come to rely on Uchiha Sora, even though they'd never met him.

After all, Uchiha Sora's predictions seemed to be right every time, and they'd all seen how strong the people from the Land of Rain were.

According to Sasuke, his older brother had also predicted the answers to the first exam with uncanny accuracy.

All of that, combined with the way Sasuke always praised his older brother, had practically turned Uchiha Sora into a legend.

At the mention of his brother, Sasuke's eyes lit up.

"He said we should try to find a team first, beat them and take their scroll, then head straight to the tower and stay away from the fighting."

"He was probably worried we'd run into people from the Land of Rain."

Naruto pouted.

"Easy to say, but matching scrolls can't be that easy to find. We'll need luck, and we might not even be able to beat them!"

Sasuke chuckled, brimming with fighting spirit.

"I've been wanting to test my strength. Just don't hold me back!"

Naruto sucked in a breath, but soon he was fired up, too.

"Yeah! Let's go! We'll show these ninja what Konoha can do!"

Elsewhere, Uchiha Sora was leading his teammates swiftly through the forest.

All three stayed alert as they moved. Hinata had activated her Byakugan and kept watch on their surroundings.

Uchiha Sora wasn't slacking off either. His Sharingan was fully activated, ready to catch the slightest disturbance.

They hadn't encountered any fights so far.

Rock Lee was growing impatient, but he still had time to chat.

"I hope we run into that guy from the Land of Rain. I want to see which of us is stronger!"

Uchiha Sora gave him a sidelong glance.

You think you can take on Orochimaru?

He'd probably swallow you whole before you even knew what happened.

But just then, Uchiha Sora's brows suddenly furrowed. He grabbed Hinata beside him.

"Don't move!"

The three of them stopped at once. A thin, translucent wire was stretched across a tree branch ahead of them.

It looked like a spiderweb and was positioned right across their path.

Since it was nearly transparent and hidden in the shadows of the leaves, it was almost impossible to spot without looking closely.

Uchiha Sora's Sharingan had caught it. Anyone else might have walked straight into it.

"That's devious! They set a trap in advance. Someone got here before us!"

Following the wire to its end, Rock Lee spotted an Explosive Tag stuck in place. His expression darkened.

They'd come within a hair's breadth of dying!

"And that's not the only one. Stay sharp. There may be people nearby!"

Uchiha Sora's eyes darkened to a crimson red as his Three Tomoe spun rapidly. Soon, he'd scanned every direction.

He spotted no fewer than seventy or eighty Explosive Tags hidden among the shadows of the trees.

That was a serious number of traps for Genin to set.

Just then, a sinister voice echoed from all around them.

"Heh! You're pretty sharp. I didn't expect you to see through our ambush!"

"No wonder you're an Uchiha. You must be Uchiha Sora, right?"

Then three people crawled out of the surrounding trees.

That was right—they seemed to emerge from the trunks themselves, as if they'd fused with the wood.

Their leader was a burly, middle-aged man.

Half his body was still inside a tree as he sneered at the three of them.

"Those are... people from Sunagakure?"

Hinata frowned, recognizing them at a glance.

Uchiha Sora merely snorted.

"Heh! You know I'm an Uchiha and still dare to show yourselves. You must be pretty confident in your abilities!"

The burly man laughed, his face full of mockery.

"It's not confidence in our abilities. We've all heard Konoha has two Uchiha: one genius and one dead weight."

"And you're obviously not Sasuke, which means there are only two of you on this team!"

"Taking your scroll will be easy."

Hinata was offended by his words and stepped in front of Uchiha Sora.

"Those rumors are false. Say another word and I'll make you regret it!"

Rock Lee grinned, baring his teeth.

"Heh! You think you can insult my friend? I'll show you what Konoha's Blue Beast can do!"

The burly man's expression turned even more scornful.

"Only good at hiding behind women. No wonder they call you a loser!"

The three men exchanged glances, then immediately split up.

They bypassed Rock Lee and Hinata, making straight for Uchiha Sora!

Uchiha Sora's eyes turned cold, and his hand moved toward his revolver.

He didn't want to reveal it yet, since he still had to deal with Orochimaru later.

But with danger closing in, he had no choice but to act.

Luckily, Rock Lee was astonishingly fast. He kicked one of the ninja in the stomach.

The force was tremendous, as if the man had been rammed by a bull. He went flying backward.

He smashed through several trees before finally coming to a stop.

By the time he came to, he was barely alive, breathing his last.

The other man had let his guard down and was struck on the back of the neck by Hinata's palm!

The Hyuga Clan's chakra was designed to target the body's chakra pathways!

That blow had shattered the man's bones and ruptured his chakra pathways!

He let out a muffled groan. His vision blurred, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

The only one left—the burly man—sucked in a breath, completely stunned!

"What the hell? What are those two? How are they so strong?"

He wasn't stupid. He could tell he'd picked a fight with the wrong people!

Forgetting all about Uchiha Sora, he hurriedly retreated.

He never would've guessed that this team would look like an easy target, yet everyone except Uchiha Sora would turn out to be a monster!

Just as he turned to run, his face suddenly twisted in pain.

When he looked down, he saw a bloody hole in his chest!

A small white snake was writhing rapidly inside the wound!

"What is this..."