Chapter 16: The Master Tactician
"Five seals a second! With a hand seal speed that fast, he must be an elite jōnin who specializes in ninjutsu!" Kagejirō exclaimed, his confidence soaring.
The other Gekkō chūnin was equally impressed. "Without a doubt, an elite jōnin."
He had only ever heard of such speeds, never witnessed it. To see it now, the hands blurring into afterimages, was awe-inspiring. A ninja with that kind of speed had to be a master of ninjutsu, a specialist in large-scale battles who could wipe out scores of enemies with a single technique. Their mission, he thought, was now safe.
Hyūga Asuka, however, just rolled her Byakugan. Elite jōnin? she thought, her internal monologue dripping with sarcasm. That faker is a master of deception, I'll give him that.
Through the meridian-seeing perspective of her dōjutsu, she could clearly see that the chakra in the fake Uchiha's body wasn't moving at all. How could he possibly be releasing a ninjutsu? This Kagejirō was just spouting nonsense. It was becoming increasingly clear that besides being strong-willed, short-tempered, and jealous, he was also a braggart with little real strength.
How did I end up on a team with someone so unreliable? she wondered, the poison in her system making her feel faint. Her Byakugan's range had already shrunk to less than a kilometer. She could only hope the fake Uchiha could hold out a little longer.
Meanwhile, the Sand ninja were having a very different reaction.
"To use such a despicable trick! He has no master's style at all!" the bald-headed chūnin raged, furious at having wasted so much chakra on a useless defensive jutsu.
"Iwago, calm down," the porcupine-headed jōnin said, his combat experience allowing him to see the deeper meaning. "This is a level of tactical thinking that only an elite jōnin could possess. He's not just showing off; he's buying time to prepare a more powerful and complex water technique. What a master tactician!"
He was convinced that the previous series of sneak attacks were just the opening act. To be so cautious even with such an absolute advantage meant their opponent was a veteran of hundreds of battles.
Sasuke, listening in with his sonar, was delighted. I've completely fooled you, you master tactician.
Seeing the battle was stable for the moment, the Gekkō chūnin, Moonlight Ye, moved to stand beside Kagejirō to protect the intelligence scroll. He glanced over at the wounded Hyūga. "Asuka, are you okay?"
"Yes… I'm not dead yet," she replied, her voice weak.
Ye nodded, then turned back to Kagejirō, whispering, "Given the length of those hand seals, what level of Water Style do you think that is? It can't be an A-rank like the Great Waterfall Technique, can it?"
The Gekkō clan specialized in kenjutsu; the Sarutobi clan, on the other hand, were masters of various ninjutsu styles.
"No, definitely not the Great Waterfall," Kagejirō said, shaking his head, feigning expertise.
"Then what advanced Water Style is it?" Ye pressed. "You don't know either, do you?"
"What? How could I not know!" Kagejirō jumped as if his tail had been stepped on. He quickly calculated, reasoning that a sequence that long couldn't be A-rank; it had to be S-rank. There were only a few S-rank water jutsus in the Book of Seals. The answer revealed itself. "I saw it from the beginning," he said with absolute confidence. "This is undoubtedly the legendary S-rank jutsu: the Hard Whirlpool Water Blade."
Asuka just rolled her eyes again. What Great Waterfall? What Hard Whirlpool Water Blade? It's all fake!
Just as she was about to pass out from the poison, her thoughts turned grim. My teammates are unreliable. I can only hope this fake Uchiha can hold on.
"Ye," Kagejirō said, examining the battlefield, "look, those three are already poisoned. They won't last much longer. We're going to win."
"Kagejirō," Ye replied, his perception much sharper, "have you noticed that their special antidote pills are ineffective? They're relying solely on their own chakra to resist the poison." He then made a tactical decision. "The intelligence mission is more important. Kagejirō, you retreat first and deliver the information. I will stay here and support the Uchiha jōnin."
In his mind, his own combat power was much greater than Kagejirō's. He would be more useful here. Besides, Kagejirō was the Third Hokage's relative. If anything happened to him, it would be difficult to explain.