Sand Ninja: I Can Counter-Kill

Exactly, and who knows if those two understand the concept of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Well, it doesn't matter. Even if they didn't understand before, I believe they will soon enough.

A whistling wind reached the ears of the two Sand Ninja chunin.

"Damn it, there are more enemies!"

Realizing something was wrong, the two chunin reacted quickly, instantly dodging the trajectory of the hidden weapon.

Turning to glance behind them, they saw the object thrown by the newly appeared enemy.

An oval-shaped thing, the size of a goose egg. What was that? They had never seen it before.

Was it a new type of ninja tool developed by Konoha?

That was it? A kunai would have been more practical than that.

While looking at the object, they also saw the guy who had thrown it—a wet-behind-the-ears brat. Was he a Konoha ninja too?

The two chunin's thoughts ended there, because... the hand grenade exploded.

Following a sound even more violent than an exploding tag, both Sand Ninja chunin were blown away by the incoming shockwave.

Their bodies were riddled with over a dozen bloody, mangled holes—scars caused by the shrapnel from the hand grenade tearing into their flesh.

At close range, a hand grenade was enough to kill the vast majority of "glass cannon" ninjas in the ninja world, barring those who didn't play by the rules.

Being able to bring out such a trump card was all thanks to the lesson Yuhi Shinku had taught him earlier that day.

The cost of the exploding tag traps had far exceeded the reward for this mission, but Yuhi Shinku had done it anyway.

"When facing a powerful enemy, if you're dead, what use is a trump card? Should you leave it for the enemy as a trophy?"

That was Yuhi Shinku's exact phrasing.

As the grenade detonated, Kawaki Aoba felt that while losing a trump card on two small fries was a bit painful, the sheer satisfaction of taking out enemies so easily was real.

Perhaps this was the joy of being a "camper."

The joy on Kawaki Aoba's face as he threw the grenade was impossible to hide. He didn't know if explosions were art, but they were certainly fun.

Ten meters behind him, around another corner, his two companions standing next to Kawaki Aoba's original body were also dumbfounded.

That's right, the Kawaki Aoba who threw the grenade was a Shadow Clone.

After all, hand grenades had a delay, and timing them precisely was a dangerous business. If he used his real body and it blew up in his hand, he didn't know if he—someone who could use Kido—would turn into a Soul Reaper after death. After all, he really didn't have any spiritual pressure.

Therefore, it was better to play it safe.

Speaking of spiritual pressure, there was that Spirit Transformation Technique in the village. He wondered if he could learn it. If he could, he wondered what he could exchange for it at the altar after sacrificing it.

Finding ways to acquire more high-level ninjutsu was a matter for the future; the immediate priority was to deal with the last Sand Ninja.

To be able to go toe-to-toe with Yuhi Shinku even after four of his puppets had been destroyed, this guy was undoubtedly an elite jonin.

How did the saying go? When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Since he dared to come looking for trouble, he should be prepared to be buried here.

"Damn it, what was that?"

Such a shocking noise could not go unnoticed.

Not to mention the Sand Ninja, even Yuhi Shinku was startled.

Both of them diverted their attention, deeply concerned about the situation over there.

The loud bang sounded similar to an exploding tag, but wasn't it a bit too loud? And the power was significantly greater.

"Cough, cough. Aoba, is this the disposable ninja tool you developed using exploding tags? That's a bit excessive, isn't it? And weren't we supposed to attack together?" As the smoke from the explosion cleared, three small figures emerged from the corner.

Those are... Konoha ninjas? Damn it, it's a rookie team with brats.

The Sand Ninja's pupils constricted. While his heart burned with rage, he also thought of a clever way to break the deadlock.

With the ambush turning out like this, capturing Yuhi Shinku alive was out of the question; he might even have trouble escaping himself.

But if he could capture the Konoha brats, there might still be a chance for a comeback.

Clinging to the thought that he could turn the tables, the Sand Ninja abandoned Yuhi Shinku and lunged toward Kawaki Aoba and the others.

Seeing this, Yuhi Shinku hurriedly moved to intercept, but his actions had been anticipated by the Sand Ninja, who controlled his two puppets to drag Yuhi Shinku down, even at the risk of them being destroyed.

However, the Sand Ninja was indeed multitasking. With most of his focus drawn to Kawaki Aoba's trio, his control over the puppets dropped significantly. Although he could still hold Yuhi Shinku back, it was only a matter of time before the puppets were completely destroyed.

As for Yuhi Shinku, even though he watched an elite jonin charging toward his three students, there was no sign of panic in his eyes.

He even focused intently on dealing with the two puppets in front of him.

At some point, a Fuma Shuriken appeared in Yuhi Shinku's hand, and without a word, he began hacking away at the two puppets.

The Sand Ninja naturally sensed this movement, but he gritted his teeth and endured it. To him, the value of two ordinary puppets was clearly not as high as the three brats.

However, just as he reached the halfway point, the three brats he had targeted made their move.

Way of Destruction No. 4: White Lightning!

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!

And... three shuriken.

Well, in this situation, Yuhi Kurenai's genjutsu was indeed useless.

"Hmph!" With a disdainful snort, the Sunagakure ninja easily dodged the attacks from the three brats.

Whether it was Asuma's wide-range Great Fireball or Kawaki Aoba's White Lightning, known for its speed, both missed their mark entirely.

This was only natural. Even though a puppeteer's strength mostly stemmed from the quality of their puppets, a jonin was still a jonin. Even without relying on puppets, there was a massive gap in strength between them and a chunin, let alone an elite jonin.

The White Lightning that Kawaki Aoba used to toy with two Hyuga Clan chunin in Konoha was, in the eyes of an elite jonin, nothing more than a convenient and practical low-level ninjutsu.

Crack!

A fissure appeared on the glowing red chakra core. The hand holding it trembled slightly, revealing that its owner's heart was far from calm at this moment.

The young man with short crimson hair glared with a sinister gaze at the chakra core in his hand—the one with the highest success rate, which had failed once again due to external interference—his eyes practically spitting fire.