Our Advantage Is Too Great!

Pumpkin Head saw his younger brother writhing in pain on the ground and was consumed by rage, though the fury in his heart was quickly eclipsed by fear.

The kidneys are incredibly fragile organs, housing vital meridians and acupoints that govern certain essential abilities.

Even if healed with the Mystical Palm Technique after an injury, it often leaves behind unspeakable, lingering aftereffects.

For a male ninja, a kidney injury is a nightmare.

Terrified, Pumpkin Head dared not give Uchiha Kurohane another chance to throw a kunai.

"Brothers, don't be afraid of him! He just got lucky with that shot. Let's use that technique to deal with him together!"

"Right! Let's show them the power of the Konoha First Shooting Squad!"

Watermelon Head and Winter Melon Head also produced their ninja tool scrolls. With a poof, the scrolls transformed into giant shuriken, each a meter in diameter.

These were Fuma Shuriken. Due to their massive size and terrifying lethality, they would spin at high speeds upon being thrown, slicing any enemy they struck clean in half.

Pumpkin Head enlarged his own ninja tool scroll and flung it into the sky. As it unfurled in the air, it was covered in special runes.

This was a combat-oriented ninja tool scroll used for storing shuriken and kunai. By utilizing space-time ninjutsu, one could summon the stored weapons and launch them at the enemy under the control of chakra.

Pumpkin Head shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Watch closely! This is the trump card of Konoha's shuriken geniuses: Shuriken Barrage!"

No sooner had he spoken than countless shuriken appeared out of thin air in front of the scroll, raining down toward Uchiha Kurohane like a torrential downpour.

"The center is mine! You two take the left and right!"

Watermelon Head hurled his giant Fuma Shuriken toward Uchiha Kurohane's left, while Winter Melon Head threw his toward the right.

This was a coordinated technique they had studied together: Shuriken Hell!

First, they used the giant Fuma Shuriken to seal off the enemy's flanks, preventing any movement or evasion, then used the dense, rain-like Shuriken Barrage to turn the target into a pincushion.

Because the hundreds of shuriken fired instantly from the scroll were so densely packed, even an enemy with a Sharingan could not dodge them all.

Therefore, the enemy's only option was to leap into the air to escape.

But that was exactly what Pumpkin Head wanted.

An ordinary ninja, once in mid-air, could neither change their trajectory nor effectively defend themselves.

Pumpkin Head, however, could shift the direction of the ninja tool scroll, redirecting the Shuriken Barrage into the sky.

This would secure a lethal blow against the enemy.

It was a perfect shuriken formation the three of them had spent countless days and nights perfecting.

Uchiha Kurohane saw through their intentions, and his assessment was simple: too young, too naive.

The tactic was riddled with holes and flaws.

The most fundamental point was that they actually thought they could kill someone with shuriken.

How foolish!

In the world of the Hokage, could a mere shuriken really kill anyone?

Uchiha Kurohane focused his Sharingan, instantly reading the flight paths of every shuriken. He gripped his kunai tightly and began to swing them in front of him with incredible speed.

Amidst a dazzling display of movement, sparks exploded, accompanied by a rapid, crisp clanging like a blacksmith's hammer.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

In an instant, over a dozen shuriken were deflected and sent plummeting to the ground.

Thanks to the automatic substitution ability of the Yatagarasu, he didn't fear being hit; instead, he used this opportunity to practice his parrying skills.

However, seeing more and more shuriken flying toward him, Uchiha Kurohane felt he had reached his limit. He leaped sideways to the right.

Watermelon Head cheered, waving his arms in excitement.

"Haha! He actually ran right in front of the Fuma Shuriken! That's the stupidest move he could have made!"

"Shuriken have low power; even if you get turned into a pincushion, you won't die. But if a Fuma Shuriken hits you, even if you survive, you'll be crippled. He's such an idiot..."

Before Watermelon Head could finish his sentence, Uchiha Kurohane reached out and grabbed the incoming Fuma Shuriken.

The sight shocked everyone.

What was he doing? A high-speed, spinning Fuma Shuriken was razor-sharp; it would grind anything it touched into pulp.

Did he not want his hand anymore?

The very next moment, to their bewilderment, Uchiha Kurohane's hand passed through the center hole of the Fuma Shuriken, and he easily caught the massive weapon in his grip.

"He actually caught a high-speed spinning Fuma Shuriken with his bare hands? Is he even human?"

Watermelon Head and Winter Melon Head broke out in a cold sweat; the two kidney-deficient youths were instantly drenched.

Pumpkin Head did not give up. He immediately shifted the direction of the ninja tool scroll, firing all the remaining shuriken at Uchiha Kurohane.

Uchiha Kurohane hid behind the giant Fuma Shuriken, easily deflecting the hundreds of incoming projectiles.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang...

Another round of loud, metallic ringing filled the air.

A few seconds later, the ground beneath Uchiha Kurohane was piled high with fallen shuriken.

Pumpkin Head had fired all eight hundred shuriken from his ninja tool scroll.

(Genin from the Village Hidden in the Rain could throw tens of thousands of senbon during the Chunin Exams, so don't even suggest that 800 shuriken were too expensive to throw.)

He had summoned so many shuriken in such a short time that he had exhausted a massive amount of chakra.

His originally rosy complexion turned pale, and he hung his head, gasping for air and looking utterly exhausted.

Winter Melon Head asked in a panic.

"He actually blocked all eight hundred shuriken; he's a monster! Should we retreat?"

Pumpkin Head felt fear in his heart as well, and the thought of retreating crossed his mind.

But he was unwilling to accept it.

Their opponent was just a dead-last student from the Ninja Academy; if word got out that three genin had run away from a fight they couldn't win, it would be too humiliating.

They would have no face left to show in the ninja world.

They couldn't run; they had to fight to the death!

They weren't just genin who had passed the Ninja Academy exams; they had also passed the trial set by the Third Hokage and earned the qualification to go to the battlefield.

Next week, they were heading to the Land of Rain to fight for Konoha.

This was proof of their strength; they weren't ordinary genin, but great warriors!

Pumpkin Head trusted the school teachers, and he trusted the Third Hokage's judgment even more—he wouldn't be wrong!

Three warriors against one student—the advantage was overwhelming!

With such a massive advantage, how could they be cowards?

After quickly analyzing the situation, Pumpkin Head said calmly.

"Don't panic. He was only able to break our Shuriken Hell because he has the Sharingan; he can see through the trajectory of the shuriken in advance. Our shuriken were countered."

"But besides shuriken, we have kunai. Use a triangular formation to surround him and engage him in close-quarters combat!"

Watermelon Head agreed with his assessment.

"That makes sense. One person cannot break a triangular formation; even if his Sharingan can see through our attacks, he won't be able to dodge."

"Alright, then let's go together!"

Watermelon Head and Winter Melon Head used the Hokage run to reach the sides behind Uchiha Kurohane, forming an equilateral triangle with Pumpkin Head. With kunai in hand, they charged at Uchiha Kurohane simultaneously.

Uchiha Kurohane had also learned this three-on-one formation at the Ninja Academy.

He knew it utilized the principles of geometry.

When an enemy is surrounded by a triangular formation, they can only defend against the attacks of two people at most at any given time.

No matter how they position themselves, they will always expose their back to the third person.

It was the legendary guaranteed-win tactic for three-on-one.

However, Uchiha Kurohane thought that the teachers at the Ninja Academy were just too young and too naive.

The flaws in this formation were glaringly obvious.

Uchiha Kurohane didn't even need to use the power of Yatagarasu to break it.