This is a Victory for Shadow Clones

Kawaki Aoba's forehead was covered in black lines. Although he was merely a shadow clone sent over by his original body, seeing his teammates so decisively abandon him to buy time against the enemy's pursuit made him feel like they didn't even consider him a person.

Next, he prepared to vent all his fury upon this Sand Ninja.

Way of Destruction No. 4: White Lightning!

He might not be able to land a hit on a Jonin in peak condition, but couldn't he handle a severely wounded one?

Did he not remember how those two Hyuga Chunin were worn down to death?

Although he was just a shadow clone, aside from shattering upon a single hit and possessing only half the chakra of his original body, he could still unleash the full strength of his original body's normal state.

Before his chakra ran dry, replicating a war of attrition shouldn't be a problem.

Kawaki Aoba charged toward the Sand Ninja rushing at him.

Hm? With his kidney shattered, the opponent could still dodge the White Lightning attack? It seemed this would be a tough battle.

As the two closed in, a kunai sliced through the air, grazing Kawaki Aoba's neck.

With a bang, the shadow clone exploded into a sky full of white mist.

In the distance, the corner of Kawaki Aoba's original body's mouth twitched. Damn, is this his true strength without using cheats? Is he really that pathetic?

The Sand Ninja who had just finished off Kawaki Aoba's shadow clone had the same thought.

Was this brat really the same person as the one from before? How was he as weak as a Genin, vanishing in a single move without even getting to use the ninjutsu he had been secretly preparing?

Forget it, never mind that. He had better hurry up and capture a brat to use as a hostage.

Pressing one hand against the bloody hole in his waist, he threw a kunai with the other, aiming for the thigh of one of the brats.

In his current state, he really wasn't suited for continuous, violent movements, because he would literally spray blood.

After throwing the kunai, the Sand Ninja reached into his ninja tool pouch for a shuriken.

However, just as his fingertips touched the shuriken, his movements froze.

What had he just seen?

After the kunai successfully hit its target, one of the two brats also exploded into a large cloud of smoke.

Another shadow clone? Was Konoha really that incredible? Could any random brat learn such a high-level ninjutsu?

If two out of the three brats were shadow clones, then the last one...

The last one remaining was Asuma. After witnessing Yuhi Kurenai explode right beside him, he ran even faster. Most absurdly, he had even self-taught a serpentine dodging pattern.

But as he ran, Asuma glanced back. Huh? Why hasn't that guy caught up?

His speed gradually slowed until Asuma finally stopped, locking eyes with the Sand Ninja. For a moment, the world was deathly silent.

No one knew what Asuma was thinking, but after standing there in a daze for a moment, he actually walked back as if possessed.

He charged toward the Elite Jonin who had lost all his puppets and was suffering from severe injuries.

Asuma formed hand seals before his chest, just like Kawaki Aoba had done before, wanting to use this guy to gauge his own strength.

Whoosh, whoosh...

Two shuriken were thrown by the Sand Ninja, flying straight at him. Asuma didn't fear them in the slightest. What a joke—mere shuriken! Back at the Ninja Academy, not a single shuriken had ever managed to hit him. So what if they were thrown by an Elite Jonin?

They were all the same to him. He had to remember, he was Asu—

Bang!

These two shuriken were simply too fast. Asuma couldn't dodge a single one; after being struck, he exploded into a large cloud of white mist.

Opposite him, the Sand Ninja took a deep breath. Although he knew it was impossible, he had still held a sliver of hope after throwing the shuriken, but now... not a single thought of turning the tables remained.

"Konoha ninjas, you really don't consider me a person, do you?" The Sand Ninja turned his head to look behind him, his expression becoming unnaturally calm.

Sure enough, behind him, Yuhi Shinku had already dealt with his last two puppets, and beside him appeared those three annoying brats. He just didn't know if they were still shadow clones or not.

Shadow clones, shadow clones... today, he had truly been defeated by shadow clones.

This group of people was all sick. From the leading Jonin to that female ninja who looked the weakest, everyone had a shadow clone.

If he remembered correctly, didn't Konoha's shadow clones split the original body's chakra? Were these people's chakra reserves really that abundant?

Things having reached this point, he knew he couldn't escape. So, even in death, he would die as a Sand Ninja with dignity.

"You despicable, shameless Konoha ninjas, I lost this time. But don't get cocky; our comrades in the Sand will avenge me on the battlefield sooner or later. When that time comes, you so-called geniuses will definitely die on the cruel battlefield."

The reason he said this was simply to allow himself to die with some dignity; after all, being defeated like this, he could at least maintain some semblance of composure.

As his opponent, Yuhi Shinku looked at his wretched state and felt a sense of melancholy.

This was an Elite Jonin. In any ninja village, they were top-tier existences who even had voting rights on major village affairs, yet he was in such a miserable state now.

First, he had a teammate taken out by his own clone.

Then, he was ambushed by an explosive tag trap, which crippled his primary combat strength.

Then, he was ambushed by his own disciple hiding in the shadows, who sent away his last two teammates.

In the end, he was caught off guard by his most outstanding disciple, who crippled one of his kidneys and left him severely wounded.

Finally, he had been toyed with by those three little brats.

If one were to discuss how an elite jonin could be played into ruin, Yuhi Shinku couldn't help but twitch his eyelids as he recalled the process.

He cast a sidelong glance at Kawaki Aoba beside him; this was the true culprit behind it all.

Had Kawaki Aoba not used sensory ninjutsu to detect the enemy's presence from seven kilometers away, he would never have had so much time to prepare.

Furthermore, the speed that brat Aoba had unleashed earlier, along with the taijutsu he displayed, had truly startled him.

Especially at the very end, before the kid made his escape, Yuhi Shinku's heart had been in his throat. Fortunately, the boy was fast enough to get away in the end, and he had even managed to severely wound that fellow.

This was truly... wonderful.

Right now, Yuhi Shinku was no longer thinking about how to finish off the Sand Ninja before him, but rather, whether it was possible to capture him alive.

An elite jonin, even if they didn't hold power in a village, was still considered a member of the upper echelon. Given the massive stir the Sand Ninja had caused recently, the man surely knew a great deal.

"Heh, you want to capture me alive? Don't get too arrogant, Konoha ninja." The Sand Ninja naturally read the intent in Yuhi Shinku's gaze.