Chapter 19: The Rhythm of the Battlefield
"What's going on?" the porcupine-headed jōnin muttered, a cold glint in his eyes. He halted the Sand ninjas' retreat. His gaze seemed to pierce through the iron gates, trying to discern the truth of the situation behind them. Was it really a transformation technique, a bluff, just as the monkey-masked Konoha ninja had leaked?
Seeing the Sand ninja were about to uncover the truth, Moonlight Ye became anxious. He quickly tried to smooth things over, a calm smile on his face. "Kagejirō," he said, "you're getting smarter. You know how to use false information for tactical deception. But there's no need for this; they won't believe you."
When Ye said the word "deception," he seemed to pause for a moment, whether intentionally or not.
What? Kagejirō thought, confused. Why don't I know what's going on?
"Yes, that's the expression," Ye continued, as if praising Kagejirō's masterful acting. "You played it so well even I almost believed you. But it's useless. The master-level tool manipulation, the five-seals-per-second speed, and the tactical acumen that surpasses a jōnin's—all of this proves the true identity of this Uchiha jōnin. With such obvious information, how could anyone believe your tactical bluff?"
Hidden behind the gates, Sasuke touched his chin and felt a little embarrassed. Heh, he makes a good point. It seems even I'm starting to believe it.
Ye's battlefield response was excellent. Unfortunately, even a timely solution might not have a positive effect. A Sand Village jōnin's insight was not comparable to that of an ordinary ninja.
The Sand ninja, hearing Ye's analysis, were thrown into confusion again, their brief resolve to retreat wavering. They were caught in a dilemma.
"This..." the bald-headed chūnin muttered, his mind a mess.
"Yanlang, don't be fooled again," the porcupine-headed jōnin said, his combat experience finally cutting through the confusion. He suddenly realized the truth. "This has to be a transformation bluff. It's not the Uchiha's style to hide like this."
He thought it through. A ninja with five-seals-per-second speed should have cast hundreds of seals by now, yet the imaginary ninjutsu had never been launched. What kind of jutsu takes that long to cast? It has to be fake, he concluded. All of it is fake. We've been deceived again.
They had been played from the very beginning. The enemy ninja had controlled the rhythm of the entire battlefield, leading them by the nose until they ended up here, crippled and confused. If the other party wasn't an Uchiha jōnin, then their initial assumption was correct: he was a Konoha jōnin who specialized in mechanical tools. He was likely poor at ninjutsu and close combat, relying instead on tactical deception, transformation techniques, and perception skills to launch sneak attacks.
And now, this tool specialist had expended a massive amount of his resources. His combat power was at its lowest. Their mission to retrieve the intelligence was not lost after all.
"What do we do?" Tekudō gestured anxiously to Sasuke, asking if it was time for a strategic withdrawal. Their three-pronged assault was spent, their exploding tags and blades nearly consumed.
Sasuke just shook his head and gestured for him to wait. Kagejirō was a reckless fool, but his companion, Ye, seemed quite strong and reliable.
"I want to see who you really are!" the special jōnin puppet master shouted. He quickly formed hand seals. "Wind Style: Sand Dust Dance!"
Two spiraling vacuum winds, carrying a large amount of sand and dust, split to the left and right, rolling toward the rear of the Iron Prison Gates.
"Let's go!" Sasuke grabbed Tekudō, and they leaped from the tree, landing on the giant boulder in front of them just as the two sandstorms collided behind the gates, blasting the area with fine grit.
"A regular Konoha patrol chūnin?"
The Sand ninja stared in disbelief. They finally saw the true appearance of the ninja on the other side, and the uniform was all too familiar. They had just wiped out an entire squad wearing the same thing.
"Another transformation," the porcupine-headed jōnin declared, refusing to believe his eyes. "A Konoha jōnin's transformation skills... I'll admit, I consider you the strongest!"
He scanned him again and again but could find no flaw. "Everyone, don't be careless!" he warned his subordinates. "This must be another tactical deception! First, he transformed into an Uchiha jōnin to make us overestimate him and waste our chakra. Now, he's transformed into a common chūnin to reverse the tactic, to make us underestimate his strength and grow careless. Don't be fooled!"