Chapter 15: The Advantage is Mine
Sasuke's expression remained unchanged as he continued his arrogant Uchiha charade. It was clear he had practiced this particular brand of bluffing to perfection. It just went to show that even a basic academy technique, if practiced to a high enough level and used correctly, could have miraculous effects. These Sand ninja didn't possess any dōjutsu, so they had no way of seeing through his transformation.
Even the two Konoha chūnin nearby, who knew something of the Uchiha, had no doubts. Only the cat-masked chūnin, with his Byakugan, saw through the disguise.
"Hahaha! It's one of our village's Uchiha jōnin!" the hawk-masked ninja cheered. "We're saved!"
The cat-masked Hyūga just rolled his eyes. Some Uchiha jōnin, he thought. Judging by the chakra and the underlying attire, it was clearly just a regular chūnin from a sentinel squad. He gritted his teeth, took his kunai, and began cutting at the poisoned wound on his waist, trying to physically remove the venom.
"Hmph!" the monkey-masked chūnin sneered, his initial joy turning to a cold sneer. "Damned Uchiha!" he whispered with sarcasm. If not for Sasuke's sonar-enhanced hearing, the barely audible voice would have been lost.
So, Sasuke thought, looking them over, you three are all from ninja clans.
The monkey mask had to be a Sarutobi; only someone close to the Third Hokage would speak of the Uchiha with such disdain. The hawk mask was a Gekkō, a master of the Konoha-style kenjutsu, judging by his distinctive cough. And the cat mask, with his Byakugan, was clearly a Hyūga, and from a branch family, judging by the cursed seal marking his forehead.
Three clan chūnin. Their combat power was guaranteed.
But just then, one of his new pig-headed teammates started causing trouble.
"Hahaha!" the Sarutobi chūnin laughed, his earlier despair replaced by a brash arrogance. "You damn Sand ninja, you've come all this way just to die!" He taunted them, his own arrogance now rivaling Sasuke's Uchiha persona. "The intelligence is right here! Come and get it, if you have the skill!"
"Kagejirō, the mission is what's important!" the Hyūga chūnin hissed, his heart pounding with anxiety. He was terrified that Kagejirō's taunts would provoke the Sand ninja into discovering the Uchiha jōnin was a fake.
Sasuke was furious as well. He had half a mind to stuff that idiot's own stinking socks into his mouth. Can't you see the Hyūga is practically sweating bullets?
The situation was balanced on a knife's edge. He didn't have the advantage. His three genin could, at best, contain the bald-headed chūnin. That left his three chūnin allies to face a jōnin with a broken hand, a special jōnin puppet master, and another chūnin puppeteer. This wasn't an advantage; this was digging his own grave!
But Sarutobi Kagejirō's taunts were effective. The Sand ninjas' rage exploded.
"Aaargh! Even if we die, don't think you'll have it easy!" The lead jōnin's chakra flared, his white hair standing on end like a porcupine's quills. He ripped off his tattered shirt, revealing three parallel scars running diagonally across his chest—honor marks from a past battle with Shimura Danzō. His Will of the Wind erupted, a vow to fight to the death.
Seeing this, Sasuke felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu. A porcupine-headed jōnin, stripping down for a death charge… The death flags were practically waving.
He immediately leaped backward, landing gracefully by the river, and Tekudō followed in a tacit understanding.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" Sasuke shouted, and his hands began to fly through a long sequence of hand seals.
"Not good! It's an advanced Water Style!" the porcupine-headed jōnin yelled, and the bald-headed chūnin immediately slammed his hands on the ground.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
This was the third time he had used the B-rank jutsu. With a chūnin's chakra reserves, he was now completely drained.
But the expected Water Dragon Bullet never appeared. The battlefield fell silent, save for the sound of the Sand ninjas' rapid breathing.
What happened? Did it fail?
"Be careful! It's not the Water Dragon Bullet! He's still forming seals!" the lead jōnin shouted.
Sasuke's hands continued to blur, as if he were preparing an even greater secret water technique.
"Pfft," Tekudō, beside him, slapped a hand over his mouth, trying to hold back his laughter.
His captain's bluff was a masterpiece. Not only had he bought them at least half a minute of time, but he had also tricked the enemy into wasting the last of their Earth-style user's chakra. It was a win-win.
Fuentes