"Tenten-nee-san is awesome!" Rinya and Megumi shouted in admiration.
The other Konoha ninja around them began murmuring among themselves.
"Tenten-nee-san? Who's she dating to earn that title?"
"You don't know? The Shinobi Slaughter Card Game you play every day was designed by her boyfriend. Only her family's ninja tool shop sells the latest edition!"
"The creator of the Shinobi Slaughter Card Game? Wait, isn't that the genius jōnin—Natsuki-sama?!"
"Just figuring that out? And inventing a card game is nothing. Natsuki-sama also defeated one of the S-Rank legendary Sannin—Orochimaru, who's on par with Tsunade-sama! During last year's Konoha Collapse, he turned the tide and saved the entire village. His title, Demon Blade of Konoha, is known across the ninja world!"
"And that's not all. Natsuki-sama was promoted straight from genin to jōnin by joint recommendation from multiple elite jōnin!"
"Wow! Amazing! No wonder Tenten-nee-san is so strong. She's worthy of being Natsuki-sama's girlfriend!"
Most of the ones talking were freshly graduated genin, buzzing with excitement and looking at Tenten with admiration. Tenten basked in the praise—after all, becoming a legendary kunoichi was her dream.
Though she was still known as Natsuki's girlfriend, now everyone acknowledged her strength too.
Boom!
Suddenly, a hand burst out from the ground near Sasori. Deidara crawled up from the dirt. No one had noticed exactly when he'd swapped himself with a clay clone.
Sasori's tone was impatient. "Deidara. This is what you call not disappointing me? I've waited half a day and you didn't take down a single one."
Deidara scratched his head awkwardly. "Sasori-sama, it's not that my clay art failed—it's just that Raitō: Kiba (Lightning Blades – Fang) counters me completely. My clay bombs couldn't even detonate!"
"Excuses."
Sasori's voice grew sharp. "True eternal art isn't thwarted by something as trivial as lightning. Since you're useless, I'll take over. These brats aren't worth the effort."
As he spoke, Sasori took several steps forward.
More accurately, his puppet Hiruko stepped forward. From its back sprang a metal scorpion tail—menacing and ominous.
Suddenly, the tail extended rapidly, lunging straight toward Tenten.
Tenten didn't hesitate. She immediately summoned a massive reinforced shield and braced herself.
Clang!
A deafening metallic crash rang out. The force shoved the shield backward, dragging Tenten several meters across the ground—proof of the scorpion tail's terrifying strength.
The tail curled again and swept toward the others.
Naturally, no one dared to take it lightly. They all scattered to evade.
Shikamaru, being a support-type, quickly retreated to the back. Ino and Choji moved up to form the classic Ino-Shika-Cho formation, ready to assist.
Shino leapt back and instinctively regrouped with Kiba and Hinata.
"Neji! Tenten!"
Lee rushed up and joined Neji and Tenten in the front lines.
Only Naruto and Sakura seemed unsure of what to do. They froze, unsure of how to help.
Megumi immediately shouted, "Sakura, come to the rear! We're the medical ninja—you must protect yourself. If any of our allies are injured, it's on us to heal them! Naruto, stay by Rinya and help protect us. Guarding the medics is essential, got it?"
"Right! We're coming!" Sakura replied, dragging Naruto back.
Naruto wanted to help—his hot-blooded nature wouldn't allow him to just sit back and watch.
But this level of battle was way beyond what he could recklessly jump into. And considering he was a Jinchuuriki, a primary target, Tenten, Shino, Neji, and Shikamaru would never let him charge in.
As for the other genin, the proctors were already escorting them to safety, keeping them far from the battlefield.
This wasn't abandonment—it was simply the reality of power levels. They couldn't help; they'd just be liabilities. The best they could do was retreat.
Hiruko's scorpion tail was fast and unpredictable. Its slashing and piercing attacks were hard enough to dodge—add in the threat of more hidden mechanisms, and the battlefield was a nightmare.
"I'll handle it!"
Shino unleashed a swarm of bugs, aiming to engulf Hiruko.
But Hiruko's mouth opened to reveal a barrel—FWOOSH!—it blasted a stream of flames, incinerating the bugs instantly.
Neji responded with a Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Air Palm), a surge of compressed chakra shooting forward.
But the scorpion tail intercepted it, tanking the impact without damage.
"That tail is too damn tough," Shikamaru analyzed. "It's not just regular metal—it's reinforced. This is bad…"
He and his team found themselves unable to approach easily. That tail was a major threat.
At this moment, Shikamaru truly understood the danger of Akatsuki.
First, Deidara's clay explosives—if not for Tenten's Raitō: Kiba, they'd have suffered heavy casualties. Now this weirdo, Sasori, had paralyzed them with just one move.
What if he had more?
They'd be wiped out.
"Tch! Didn't Kakashi-sensei say Asuma and Guy-sensei would be with us? Where are they now?! This isn't something a chūnin team can handle anymore! Even the strongest among us—Tenten, Neji, and Shino—are struggling. What do we do…?"
Then it hit him—Natsuki.
"Contact Natsuki!"
Shikamaru shouted, "Tenten! We'll cover you—call Natsuki now!"
Tenten looked back at him. "Call Natsuki? I thought we could handle this. We can't always rely on him. Otherwise, what's the point of getting stronger?"
Shino and Neji both nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We can't always count on Natsuki."
Shikamaru snapped, "This isn't about pride! If we want to survive, we need him. We're already struggling against their first moves—if they start getting serious, we'll be annihilated!"
Tenten bit her lip and said nothing.
He was right.
Their current strength wasn't enough.
Even with her lightning blades suppressing Deidara, they hadn't turned the tide.
She hadn't contacted Natsuki because she didn't want to trouble him again. She wanted to solve things herself—for him to see her strength and be proud.
Only then would she deserve the title of jōnin.
She didn't want to be a pretty accessory.
She wanted to grow stronger—strong enough for Natsuki to trust her, strong enough to protect his back.
But right now… she just wasn't there yet.
Their enemies were too powerful. At minimum, both were elite jōnin-level. Way beyond what she could handle alone.
(End of Chapter)
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