Ninjas' methods of combat were actually very simple.
Use as little effort as possible to injure the enemy while preserving themselves.
Those later beam clashes in NARUTO were no longer Naruto at all.
Up until the Chunin Ninja Exams, the ninja world had still been quite normal. Or rather, before Six Paths Pain appeared, the ninja world had still belonged to ninjas.
So now, they could fight using ninja methods.
First came the intelligence war.
The enemy knew nothing about them, while they knew everything about the enemy. That intelligence advantage gave them the initiative from the very start.
Did Jiraiya, one of Konoha's Three Legendary Sannin, really leave the village so often to travel the world just to find writing material? His ability to gather intelligence made him one of the world's finest Kage-level ninjas. It was precisely because he later risked his life to gather information on Pain that Naruto was able to match Pain evenly in the early stages of their battle.
Just as this group had relied on the ninjas' unfamiliarity with their weapons and equipment to easily kill those Chunin and Genin, they had merely learned the surface of ninja techniques and thought that was how ninja combat worked. How naive.
Before Oguri Hayashi, who understood the capabilities of their equipment, every move they made would be seen through.
The four Shadow Clones had indeed only been bait, but apparently only the two people who spoke up had seen through it. The enemy's head-mounted display equipment was truly impressive, while another of them clearly had real skill. The man who rashly charged in to attack the Shadow Clones had his vision blocked by them, allowing four kunai to score at once and stab him to death in midair.
Kunai and shuriken were two types of thrown weapons, one heavy and one light. They were ninjas' two favorite projectiles; not even Senbon or Pinwheel Shuriken could replace their importance among ninjas.
Shuriken had low killing power, but many could be thrown at once. With the shuriken techniques of the Konoha Uchiha and a pair of Dojutsu, one could easily create an enormous threat even without using Chakra.
Kunai, on the other hand, were heavier and had strong armor-piercing power. Sometimes, they could even break through the reach of Ninjutsu and strike the enemy. Held in a reverse grip, they became daggers and were extremely useful in close combat.
The enemy had not expected their teamwork and throwing techniques to be so good. By the time they reacted, their teammate was already hanging from a tree by his own wire like a dead chicken.
"Behind the huge tree on the left, beneath the tree roots ahead, in the canopy on the right, and one more..."
What a convenient thing. Listening to Ruan Takou call out positions for his teammates, Oguri Hayashi curled his lip. The enemy had so easily gained the functions of the Byakugan. That was truly unfair. As expected, technology was the primary productive force.
But even so, could his teammates really react in time?
The Genin scattered according to their tactics, pulling slightly away from them before beginning to throw shuriken.
Who didn't carry twenty or thirty shuriken on them in case of emergencies?
Especially during wartime, shuriken and Soldier Pills were indispensable supplies.
Yes, the G36 rifle was quite formidable. The short-barreled G36 was like a submachine gun, firing 5.56 rounds at a submachine gun's rate of fire. But could they really shoot down all these shuriken?
If they had the ability, then shoot them down!
Oguri Hayashi stood motionless atop the treetops, as quiet as a leopard about to pounce.
Ling Chaozong spotted Oguri Hayashi, but he could not move.
Not only could he not move, he had to remain where he was.
That was right. This squad's weakness was its poor defense. Their equipment made it clear that they were all attack-oriented fighters. Whether it was the Omni-directional Mobility Gear or the G36 rifle, Oguri Hayashi had even boldly guessed that their captain was an offensive close-combat fighter. Now, it seemed he had been right.
What was strange, however, was that the enemy captain and that special forces soldier simultaneously stepped forward and back to shield the person behind them. Then the short fellow pulled a wand from his sleeve and shouted, "Protego!"
The others were not protecting the short fellow. They were narrowing his casting range so that he could protect them!
Now, the final link in the enemy team had been filled.
But could this really make them my match?
Oguri Hayashi's eyes were dangerously sharp, his pupils even slightly slit, like a tiger staring at its prey and waiting for the instant the enemy exposed an opening.
Yet he was also like an alpha wolf, directing his pack to constantly tear at the enemy.
The spell formed a transparent wall, causing the shuriken to bounce away as though they had struck an actual wall. The instant they bounced away, the spell wall vanished, and Ruan Takou, holding the G36, began wildly spraying the others with bullets.
Oguri Hayashi remained expressionless. No matter how many G36 rounds the enemy had, they were limited. At most, he could suppress one person. Of the other two among the three, could they not throw shuriken?
Two shuriken flew toward Ruan Takou from two tricky angles. He was startled, but trusting in his captain, he did not bother with them. He only saw Ling Chaozong's arms stretch out like an ape's, revealing the dark gauntlets on his hands. With a left punch and a right punch, he instantly knocked both shuriken away.
The strongest one on the enemy side really was the captain.
It was not only Oguri Hayashi; the three Genin reached the same conclusion in their hearts.
But they were neither flustered nor surprised. After all, their own strongest captain had yet to make a move. Merely through command, he had already caused the enemy to lose one man and fall into disarray.
"Three!" Oguri Hayashi raised his hand and held up three fingers, startling his three subordinates, who could see him even as they shifted positions.
One represented projectile tactics, two represented taijutsu, and three represented Ninjutsu tactics.
Ninja Chakra was extremely precious, consuming both mental and physical energy, so it was generally not used unless necessary. But since Oguri Hayashi had decided to use Ninjutsu tactics, his subordinates did not begrudge their Chakra in the slightest.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Genin were already capable of learning C-rank Ninjutsu. Aside from the Transformation Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, and Substitution Jutsu, Genin would generally learn one or two C-rank Ninjutsu suited to them and specialize in them. When their Phoenix Sage Fire Technique and Great Breakthrough combined, they formed a Fire Tornado Technique with immense killing power that could also instantly rob the enemy of their vision.
Meanwhile, Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld could trap them in a swamp, leaving them unable to escape for a time.
This was the way ninjas fought!
Before you continue