Mamoru Uehara, who was hiding in the shadows, understood the urgency of the situation and immediately signaled to Kōki and the other two.
"I'll go first. You three tie down one Sunagakure ninja. Just hold out."
Without any further explanation, he shot out of his hiding place, his hands rapidly forming hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears Technique!"
Several sharp, conical boulders erupted from the ground, thrusting toward the Sunagakure ninja nearest Mamoru Uehara like spearheads.
The nearby Sunagakure ninja had never expected Konoha ninjas to be lurking in the area. Caught off guard, he took a direct hit to a vital spot from the Earth Release ninjutsu. The sharp tip of an Earth Spear pierced straight through his body.
The other three Sunagakure ninjas had not expected enemy reinforcements to appear at this moment either. Their attention had been drawn to the Anbu ninja trying to break through their encirclement, leaving them unable to help their comrade in time when the attack came.
"Ryōsuke!"
Seeing their side suddenly lose a comrade despite their overwhelming advantage, the other three Sunagakure ninjas seethed with anger and stopped holding back.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" After using Wind Release ninjutsu to force back the approaching Konoha Anbu, the ninja named Kira continued forming hand seals. "Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
Several high-pressure wind spheres shot from his mouth, heading straight for the gravely wounded Anbu ninja. With injuries that severe, the Anbu had no way to dodge them.
"Die, Konoha Anbu."
The other two Sunagakure ninjas did not stand idle either, moving to stop the Anbu Captain and Mamoru Uehara from coming to the rescue. They wanted the Konoha ninjas to feel the pain of losing a comrade too.
Unfortunately, their plan might have succeeded if Mamoru Uehara had been the only reinforcement, but there were others hidden nearby.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!" A yellowish-brown earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking the high-pressure wind spheres' path.
The wind spheres slammed straight into the wall. The technique's power blasted through its surface, but unfortunately, the wall was too thick to penetrate completely, and they ultimately dissipated inside it.
Kira had been brimming with confidence, expecting to see the Anbu ninja die, only for the sudden appearance of the earthen wall to shatter that pleasant prospect.
But he was, after all, a veteran of countless battles, and he immediately realized that more enemy ninjas were hiding nearby.
"Over here!"
One of the Sunagakure ninjas, whose senses were particularly keen, detected chakra fluctuations in the woods. He immediately hurled a kunai deep into the trees, with an already burning explosive tag tied to its end.
After the kunai disappeared into the woods, a violent explosion rang out. Together with the shock wave and flying rubble, it forced Kōki and the others out of the trees.
But when Kōki and the others appeared before the Sunagakure ninjas, they were merely a little disheveled and had suffered no real injuries.
"Brats. What a nuisance." Kira spoke disdainfully, but inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief.
They had feared another Jonin-level Konoha ninja. Now, seeing these brats and the Jonin who had appeared earlier, they understood that this was a standard Konoha ninja squad.
"Brats, you must have a death wish to show yourselves in a situation like this."
Realizing that these were all the reinforcements Konoha had, the three Sunagakure ninjas exchanged glances, cruelty gradually emerging in their eyes.
"Kira, you handle those three brats. Leave the Anbu and that Jonin to Jun and me. Make it quick," the apparent captain of the Sunagakure ninjas instructed the other two.
"Understood, Captain."
Having given his orders, the Sunagakure captain charged straight at Mamoru Uehara, taking on the newly arrived Jonin himself. The Sunagakure ninja named Jun took on the Anbu.
After engaging the two Sunagakure ninjas, Mamoru Uehara and the Anbu Captain ran toward the woods in tacit agreement.
Mamoru Uehara and the others ran because they were at a disadvantage. They tried to spread out the battlefront as much as possible so that someone could escape if they lost, while also reducing the intensity of pursuit and increasing their chances of getting away.
The Sunagakure side held the advantage, and their reason for going along with the Konoha ninjas was simple. They could not let a single Konoha ninja return to Konoha alive, so they had no choice but to pursue. They also trusted their teammate to quickly finish off Kōki and the others, then immediately come to their aid and overwhelm the remaining enemies with numbers.
And so, in silent agreement, both sides ran deeper into the forest, disappearing from Kōki's sight before long. Still, the occasional explosions made it clear that the battle was continuing.
"Brats, your Jonin instructor abandoned you and ran away. Are you scared?"
"I'll dismember you with my specialty, Wind Release techniques. But don't worry. I'll take it slowly. You'll have plenty of time to feel the pain in your bodies." Kira looked at the three of them, his voice full of regret and mockery.
At the same time, the cruelty in his eyes grew even stronger. He could hardly wait to cut Kōki and the others into pieces with the Wind Cutter Technique.
Unfortunately, his verbal attacks did not shake them.
"Katsuto, Yui, I'll lead the attack. You two back me up." Kōki completely ignored the Sunagakure ninja's words and laid out a strategy for his two teammates beside him. He was completely immune to such simple psychological tactics.
As soon as he finished speaking, Kōki charged straight at Kira. The current situation allowed him to hesitate further. The appearance of Sunagakure ninjas signaled a change at the front, so he immediately brought out his trump card. In an instant, he gathered the chakra in his body into his fist and struck the Sunagakure ninja's body.
But the instant his fist met the body, Kōki realized that the impact felt wrong. Before he could react, he heard Yui shout from nearby, "Kōki, watch out!"
Kira suddenly appeared behind Kōki, thrusting a kunai toward a vital spot.
Fortunately, Katsuto, who was providing support nearby, clearly saw the Sunagakure ninja's movements and immediately hurled the kunai in his hand straight at his face.
As a Jonin, Kira considered trading his life for an ordinary brat's beneath him, so he easily tilted his head and shifted aside to dodge the kunai.
That brief pause was enough for Kōki to escape danger. With several quick movements, he regrouped with his two teammates.
Out of danger, Kōki felt a surge of lingering fear. He had still been a little too impulsive. After Kira provoked him with words, he had actually charged straight in with taijutsu, never considering the possibility of a trap.
Moreover, when he felt that something was wrong with the impact, he had not immediately used the Substitution Technique to evade the attack. If the enemy had been more ruthless and willing to trade lives, he really would have died here.
Kōki reviewed his mistakes in his mind. After letting out a long breath, he apologized to Yui and Katsuto. "Sorry. I was careless just now."
Katsuto and Yui both replied, "It's all right. We're a team. We won't just stand by and let anything happen to you."