Chapter 20: The Truth is Revealed
"Ye, what should we do?"
Seeing the Sand ninja regrouping, Kagejirō panicked, his first thought turning to retreat. He was just about to suggest he take the intelligence and fall back, but Ye pulled him closer to Sasuke, clearly intending to fight.
"Kagejirō, they're all poisoned," Ye said calmly. "We might actually have a chance to win this."
In Ye's mind, although the patrol captain was only a chūnin, the tactical skill he had just displayed was undeniable. The Sand ninja were either poisoned or incapacitated, their chakra heavily depleted. It was perfectly reasonable to downgrade their combat power by a full rank. On their side, all six of them were still at full strength.
Three versus six. The advantage was theirs.
"Hmph!" Kagejirō snorted, clearly unhappy with the idea of staying to fight. Even with the enemy weakened, he saw a jōnin and a special jōnin. The risk was still too great. A gentleman does not stand under a crumbling wall.
He shot a hostile glare at Sasuke. If this guy hadn't transformed into a fake Uchiha, he thought, I could have evacuated with the intel already. It's because of this hateful guy that I lost my chance to escape.
"Huh? It's the poor kid from the Umino family!" Kagejirō looked Sasuke up and down and finally recognized him. Wasn't this the boy who used to deliver fish to his family home? The Umino family, who sold fish, had actually produced a ninja? Impossible. How could a low-class family like that produce such a capable shinobi?
"Damn it!" The thought made Kagejirō's blood boil. He, the second son of the Sarutobi family, had just been saved by a stinking, fish-selling outcast. Didn't that just reflect his own incompetence? And worse, this outcast had transformed into an Uchiha, not a jōnin from his own Sarutobi clan. Did this commoner think the Uchiha were stronger? And if not for his deceptive transformation, they wouldn't be in this dangerous situation in the first place!
Sasuke noticed Kagejirō's growing hostility and was baffled. I just saved this guy, he thought. And besides, my family used to be Sarutobi vassals. Where is this hostility coming from? Is he just jealous that I stole his spotlight?
"Kagejirō, be careful! I'll take the Sand Village jōnin!" Ye, assuming Kagejirō's jealousy had flared up again, took the initiative and charged the strongest enemy, leaving the second-strongest special jōnin for Sasuke.
Sasuke nodded. This Ye was truly reliable. He quickly assigned his own tactical orders. "Tekudō, you three are responsible for containing the bald-headed chūnin. Be careful of his Earth Style. I'll handle the black-faced special jōnin."
After assigning the tasks, Sasuke glanced at Kagejirō, a silent indication that the remaining, half-crippled puppeteer chūnin was his responsibility.
"Damn it!" Kagejirō felt insulted. A servant was giving him, the master, orders? He was so furious he wanted to stand aside and watch them all die.
Unfortunately, the enemy didn't give him that option. The Sand ninja seemed to agree with the matchups, and both sides, either actively or passively, engaged their respective opponents.
"Dance of the Crescent Moon!" Ye directly used the secret kenjutsu of the Gekkō clan, transforming into three shadow clones and attacking the porcupine-headed jōnin.
Impressive! Sasuke thought, admiring Ye's swordsmanship. At the same time, he felt a pang of regret. Ye was using his clan's secret techniques, while he could only use a common sword style derived from basic samurai swordsmanship—a technique he'd learned from killing fish.
The black-faced special jōnin saw Sasuke's "murderous" fish-killing style and immediately took a defensive stance.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two clashed, kunai flashing and sparks flying. The special jōnin was hesitant, his eyes filled with doubt. This Konoha tool-master's physical skills seemed average. Aside from his great strength, he was only at the level of a common chūnin. Is this another tactical fraud?
After several more rounds of testing, he finally confirmed Sasuke's "true" strength. Seizing an opportunity, he pushed off from Sasuke's blade, leaped into the air, and quickly formed two hand seals.
"Wind Style: Fierce Wind Palm!"
A violent gust of wind wrapped around the kunai he threw, sending it hurtling towards Sasuke's chest.
Dammit! Sasuke thought. Fortunately, his sonar had already perceived the special jōnin's tactical intentions. In the split second he had, his hands blurred, completing the seals for the life-saving Substitution Technique.
BOOM!
The Fierce Wind Palm obliterated a wooden log. Sasuke reappeared five meters away, having narrowly avoided the critical blow.