"A bunch of kids who haven't even grown their hair out dare to come after me? Today, I'll show you the cruelty of the shinobi world!"
Mizuyan slowly raised his hands, sneering as he began forming hand signs.
Swish, swish, swish.
At that moment, three figures landed on a nearby clearing with a gust of wind. Two stood on the ground, while the third perched on a tree, looking down at the battlefield.
Shikamaru and the others glanced over, their hearts sinking—it was Neji's team.
Lee exclaimed, "We made it just in time!"
Tenten sized up Mizuyan. "Neji, not bad for a 109-point target. He's got some skill!"
With one hand on his hip, Neji, standing atop the tree, said, "He's average."
Mizuyan's face darkened.
Not only was he stung by Neji's dismissive comment, but the number of kids had just increased.
Though he verbally scoffed at these Hidden Leaf academy students, deep down, he was wary of these young but formidable opponents.
Swish, swish, swish.
Suddenly, three more figures arrived from another direction.
Shikamaru's team's faces grew even grimmer.
This time, it was Yakumo's team. With Yakumo and Kimimaro's appearance, any lingering hopes Shikamaru's team had vanished.
Yakumo called out to Neji in the distance, "Neji, sorry, but we can't let you have this 109-point target!"
Neji's expression turned serious. "Then let's see who's got what it takes!"
Yakumo nodded decisively. "Fine, whoever grabs him first gets the points!"
Swish, swish, swish.
Just as Yakumo and Neji reached their agreement, three more figures landed, forming a triangular formation with Neji's and Yakumo's teams, trapping Mizuyan and Shikamaru's group in the center.
Shikamaru looked over and gave a bitter smile. "Seriously?"
The late arrivals were none other than Sasuke's team, who had rested for two full days and were eager to rack up points.
Seeing Sasuke's cold, grim expression, Kiba glanced at Mizuyan with pity in his eyes. "Man, you should've just surrendered earlier!"
Ino shook her head. "Tch, getting targeted by these monsters—you're really out of luck!"
Mizuyan was baffled by the pity on Shikamaru's team's faces.
It was just a few more kids, right? He figured that even if he couldn't take them all on, escaping with his skills shouldn't be an issue, so he didn't take it too seriously. His hands, which had briefly lowered, rose again to form seals.
Seeing Sasuke's arrival, Yakumo asked, "Sasuke, you okay?"
"Save the small talk!" Sasuke paused, eyeing Mizuyan in the center. "Those 109 points mean something, and no one's giving them up. Let's just get to it!"
Neji shouted, "Sasuke, want to team up?"
Sasuke nodded.
Even proud prodigies like Neji and Sasuke had to join forces against Yakumo and Kimimaro. The 109 points from Mizuyan were too significant—whichever team claimed them could shift the entire point standings.
"Move!"
With Sasuke's shout, the three teams sprang into action.
Sasuke didn't hesitate or strategize. He immediately activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and unleashed Susanoo.
In an instant, a purple skeletal giant appeared on the battlefield.
At the same time, Naruto, beside him, produced dozens of shadow clones in a burst of white smoke, each cloaked in orange-red tailed beast chakra!
On the other side, Neji, with his Byakugan activated, vanished from the tree with a whoosh.
Below, Lee clenched his fists. "Eight Gates, First Gate: Open! Second Gate: Heal! Third Gate: Life!"
As the Eight Gates opened one by one, Lee's body flushed red, his evaporating sweat mixing with his chakra to form a cyan aura around him.
Tenten unfurled her giant scroll, summoning an array of weapons in a puff of white smoke!
Yakumo smiled. "Shion, Kimimaro, looks like we need to get serious!"
Shion cracked her wrists. "Time to show off!"
"I'll handle Neji!"
Kimimaro darted toward Neji.
Yakumo wasted no more words, clapping her hands together. "Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"
Crash.
The ground shook as countless vines erupted from the earth, forming a sea of trees that surged toward the purple Susanoo!
"This… this…"
Mizuyan's hands froze mid-seal as he stared at the purple Susanoo, the overwhelming Wood Release, the terrifying tailed beast chakra, and the fearsome taijutsu.
Shikamaru sighed. "That's the power of 109 points!"
Mizuyan blinked, confused. "109 points?"
In a cave, Shizune and Ebisu stared in disbelief at the pile of bound rogue shinobi crammed inside.
After a long pause, Shizune asked, "These… are all from them?"
Shinji shrugged. "I'm not sure. You guys count them!"
Shizune turned to Yamato.
Clearly, she and Ebisu had been sent by headquarters to verify Shinji's team's points, as Yamato's reports were too outrageous.
But Yamato was no less stunned, still in a daze.
Or rather, ever since he was assigned to supervise and protect Shinji's team, he'd been in a constant state of bewilderment, wondering if he was on a mission in the Land of Hot Springs or just sightseeing!
With no other choice, Shizune began hauling the rogue shinobi out one by one, checking them against the wanted list.
As she worked, Ebisu muttered, "How did Uchiha Shinji capture so many rogue shinobi? This is insane!"
Shizune, exasperated, said, "Who the hell knows how he did it!"
After the count, Shizune approached Shinji. "We've tallied it—73 in total. But 12 aren't on the wanted list. Among them are 2 Jonin-level and 7 Chunin-level rogue shinobi. Whether your team gets those points is up to headquarters to decide!"
Shizune hadn't expected Shinji to not only capture a ton of listed rogue shinobi but also a bunch of unlisted ones, practically wiping out the rogue shinobi active in the Land of Hot Springs!
Shinji waved it off. "Two Jonin and seven Chunin? That's what, two or three hundred points? No big deal!"