Passing

While Qian-kun was thinking, Furukawa had already pulled away and said, "Take your time discussing it. I'll be going on ahead."

With that, he was about to turn and leave.

However, the moment his words fell, Qian-kun had already lunged out, pulling several Shuriken from his Ninja Tool Pouch on the way.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

The Shuriken shot out.

He used most of them to seal off Furukawa's escape routes, while only two flew straight for Furukawa's throat and heart.

Qian-kun's attack was swift and fierce.

If it had been another Genin, that sudden assault might have seriously wounded them.

But Furukawa was different.

Just as Qian-kun had thought, although Furukawa had suppressed his strength to the Genin level, his Battle Experience was not something an ordinary Genin could compare to.

The instant Qian-kun made his move, Furukawa reacted.

With two crisp clangs, the two Shuriken flying at him were precisely blocked by the Kunai in his hand.

But that also gave Qian-kun an opening.

Seeing Furukawa's center wide open, Qian-kun, who had already closed in, did not hesitate at all. He immediately swung his Kunai, stabbing straight toward Furukawa's chest and abdomen.

Feeling the biting chill before his chest, Furukawa smiled faintly, then with only a light step backward, he avoided Qian-kun's attack.

The difference in physique between an adult and a minor was laid bare at that moment. Qian-kun's perfect strike was easily neutralized by Furukawa simply because of the disadvantage in body size.

Qian-kun had few complaints about that.

After all, once on the battlefield, who cared whether you were an adult or not?

Since his physique was inferior to his opponent's, then he had to think of a way to turn that disadvantage into an even footing, or even an advantage, rather than blame the heavens and others.

At that thought, Qian-kun's figure swayed slightly. Like an ape, he nimbly circled to Furukawa's side, dodging the other man's counterattack.

Then he kicked diagonally with his right leg, striking straight toward Furukawa's back.

Why not kick the back of his head?

Qian-kun wanted to, too. Unfortunately, he was not tall enough, so he could only kick Furukawa's back.

Yet even that kind of opportunity, Furukawa was unwilling to give him.

Furukawa lowered his body, avoiding Qian-kun's diagonal kick while thrusting out his elbow, aiming straight for Qian-kun's face.

Not good!

Qian-kun's heart tightened, and he hurriedly raised his arm to block.

Thud—

A muffled impact rang out. Qian-kun only felt his arm go numb, and his whole body flew backward uncontrollably.

In midair, Qian-kun adjusted his posture and finally landed on the ground in a pose that could still be considered graceful.

"Qian-kun!"

"Qian-kun!"

Only then did Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko react. They hurriedly drew their Kunai and came to stand in front of Qian-kun.

"Qian-kun, are you okay?"

Ryosuke stared fixedly at Furukawa and asked without turning his head.

"I'm fine."

Qian-kun slowly got to his feet and replied.

Not far away, Furukawa put away his Kunai and said in an even tone, "Qian-kun, your strength isn't bad, but with you alone, it's impossible to take the Scroll from me."

With that, he bounded away in a few leaps, leaving everyone's sight and disappearing into the depths of the Dense Forest.

"Whew—"

After Furukawa left, Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko both let out a breath in spite of themselves.

Although they had stepped forward just now, facing a Jonin still inevitably made them a little timid.

Qian-kun did not particularly mind that.

The reason he had made a move just now was only because he wanted to take a shot at it first. If it worked, that would be best; if it did not, he could use the chance to probe Furukawa's "strength."

That way, he would have a baseline in mind.

"Qian-kun, what do we do next?"

Ryosuke withdrew his gaze, looked at Qian-kun, and asked.

Not only him—Mizutani Shizuko also turned her gaze to him.

Clearly, the two of them already regarded him as their backbone.

This was also one of Qian-kun's goals.

Only by showing your own strength would others listen to you. Otherwise, with nothing but empty words, why should anyone follow your ideas?

Things were good now. After that little display just now, his two companions would presumably act according to his plan.

Although Qian did not care about the position of captain, the fewer troubles there were, the better.

Thinking of this, Qian looked at the two of them and said, "Since Teacher Furukawa said this is a test, there won't be any fatal danger. Next, we just need to give it everything we've got."

"Yeah, how did I not think of that?"

Ryosuke smacked a fist into his palm and shouted excitedly, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry up and go!"

"Ah, if only it were that simple."

Qian was certain the road ahead would definitely not be easy, but he did not say anything more. It was best if his teammates could keep up this kind of enthusiasm.

As for everything else, they could talk about it later.

With that thought, Qian said, "All right, let's move out. I'll take the front, Shizuko stays in the middle, and Ryosuke, you keep an eye on the rear."

"What?"

Hearing Qian's arrangement, Ryosuke asked in confusion, "Didn't Teacher Furukawa say he wouldn't take the initiative to attack? Why do we still need to watch the rear?"

"You can't go wrong being careful."

Qian replied.

"All right!"

Ryosuke nodded somewhat reluctantly, barely agreeing to Qian's arrangement.

"What about you, Shizuko?"

Qian asked.

Mizutani Shizuko shook her head and said timidly, "I have no problem with it."

"Then good. Let's move out."

With that, Qian took the lead and chased in the direction Furukawa had left.

Mizutani Shizuko and Ryosuke followed closely behind.

And underground, where Qian and the other two could not know, Furukawa used Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique, hiding himself beneath the earth as he secretly observed their every move.

When he heard Qian say, "You can't go wrong being careful," he nodded in satisfaction.

For a ninja, caution was a quality one had to possess at all times.

After Qian had been told he would not take the initiative to attack, he still acted this way, which was enough to show the caution in his nature.

If that were all, it would have been one thing.

But taken together with the attack he had initiated earlier, it was clear that he was by no means lacking in a spirit of risk-taking.

"Cautious and prudent, yet also bold and decisive. He's a natural-born ninja."

Qian had no idea that he had merely acted according to some memories from his previous life, yet had earned such a high evaluation from Furukawa.

However, even if he knew, he would not care.

Other people's evaluations were only other people's opinions. To strike iron, one still needed to be hard oneself. As long as he raised his own strength, then anything he did would make sense.

Let us turn our gaze back to Qian and the others.

Qian's group of three sped through the forest, using the knowledge taught by their teachers at school to search for the traces Furukawa had deliberately left behind.

They encountered quite a few traps and dangers along the way, but through the efforts of Qian and the others, they eliminated them one by one.

Near noon, the three finally arrived at that mountain peak, and also saw Furukawa, who had arrived one step ahead of them.

Seeing them, Furukawa tossed the scroll in his hand and said, "There isn't much time left. What are you going to do?"

"What are we going to do?"

Qian and Ryosuke exchanged a glance, then rushed out together, pouncing toward Furukawa from the left and right.

At the same time, Mizutani Shizuko forced herself to focus and swiftly threw several Shuriken and Kunai, restricting Furukawa's movements.

Furukawa's figure flashed in succession, avoiding Mizutani Shizuko's attack.

Seizing the opportunity, Qian arrived at the other man's side. The Kunai in his hand slashed straight out, cutting directly toward his waist and abdomen.

Clang~

A crisp sound of metal collision rang out as Furukawa blocked Qian's attack with his Kunai.

At that exact moment, Ryosuke charged over, the Kunai in his hand stabbing straight toward Furukawa's back.

It looked like it was about to hit, but whether because he was afraid of injuring Furukawa or for some other reason, his movement hesitated for just an instant.

But it was that instant of hesitation that cost him the opportunity, allowing Furukawa to turn sideways and dodge.

"Kid, when facing an enemy—"

After dodging the attack, Furukawa was just about to say something when he suddenly saw Ryosuke smile faintly. His left hand shot toward the chest where Furukawa had hidden the scroll at extreme speed, his movements far more nimble than before.

"Not good!"

Furukawa cursed under his breath, "Sly brat," and hurriedly leaned backward.

Because of their positions and height difference, Ryosuke's left hand could only just barely touch Furukawa's chest; it was nowhere near enough to take out the Scroll.

Seeing this, Furukawa let out a long breath and thought to himself, That was close!

However, at that moment, Ryosuke reversed the Kunai in his right hand and, in one clean motion, stabbed it into Furukawa's lower abdomen.

"Ah!"

When he saw this, Qian, who had been the first to rush up, cried out in alarm. His form then changed, shifting from Qian's appearance into Ryosuke's.

Seeing this, Furukawa lowered his head and glanced at Ryosuke in front of him, a trace of admiration appearing in his eyes.

Then his body turned into a cloud of Chakra smoke.

A Scroll fell from the smoke—it was precisely the mission target for Qian and the others.