Nono's expression turned grim as she watched the Grass Fruit elders rush toward them.
"Everyone, be careful!" After warning Kurenai and the other two, she struck first.
Several kunai with explosive tags attached flew from her hands.
The elders were forced to scatter and dodge.
However, one of them pressed forward with unstoppable momentum, easily avoiding the attack and closing the distance.
Facing him, Nono showed no fear. She focused chakra into her hands.
Chakra Scalpel! This was one of the few offensive techniques available to medical ninjas.
"We need to help too!"
Seeing the remaining elders continue their charge, Kurenai and the others drew their own kunai and threw them.
Although the three were now specializing in medical ninjutsu, they had still mastered the basics at the Academy—Substitution, Clone, basic taijutsu, and shuriken techniques.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
When facing Nono, the elders still had to dodge. After all, explosive tags were no joke.
But when it came to Kurenai and the others, they showed no such caution.
They drew their own kunai and easily deflected every attack.
"Just three genin—do you really think you're our match?" The sneer hadn't even faded when three elders charged at them.
They intended to capture the girls first and use them to threaten Nono and Aoshi.
"Don't even think about it!" Shizune reacted instantly, spitting several poison needles from her mouth.
They were fast—but the elder dodged them all.
"What a vicious little brat," he said with a sinister grin.
His bearded face twisted in arrogance and contempt as he continued forward.
Shizune didn't panic. She leapt back while swiftly pulling up her sleeves, revealing the hidden shuriken launcher beneath.
This time, she fired poisoned senbon.
Not only were there more of them—they were even faster than the needles.
The bearded elder's expression changed instantly.
The attack was too sudden. He dodged some of the senbon, but not all of them.
The moment he was struck, numbness spread through his body. The poison had taken effect.
"Damn it! I actually got hit by a genin!" He roared in fury and humiliation.
But anger couldn't change the fact—his lips were already turning purple.
Having lived in power for too long, he had forgotten what real combat felt like. Combined with his carelessness and contempt, this humiliating result was inevitable.
On the other side, Rin leapt back to evade her opponent's strike.
She scattered a handful of caltrops across the ground, forcing her pursuer to halt and limiting her movement.
Then, without hesitation, Rin pulled out several explosive tags and tied them to shuriken. She lit them and hurled them forward.
Her opponent was an elderly woman with a full head of white hair.
The white-haired elder cursed furiously, her words almost incoherent with rage. "Damn it! Where are all these ninja tools coming from?!"
Ninja villages never supplied large quantities of tools.
Shinobi had to buy their own. So while they earned well, their expenses were just as heavy.
For a genin to have so many tools was almost impossible—unless they came from a powerful clan.
And Rin was no clan heir. She was a civilian ninja.
In truth, these tools had been given to them by Aoshi on the way to Hozuki Castle. They were system rewards—he didn't spend a single ryo on them.
Since he rarely used such things himself, he'd simply handed them to the three girls so they could make better use of them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several explosive tags detonated in succession, badly injuring the white-haired elder's arm.
Shizune's and Rin's successes made the black-clad elder fighting Kurenai stiffen.
The contempt in his eyes vanished, replaced by pure seriousness. He no longer dared underestimate these three genin.
"So you still have tricks up your sleeves," he sneered. "Then I won't give you another chance!"
As his voice fell, he formed hand seals.
Fire Style: Azure Fire Technique!
A pillar of blue flame roared from his mouth, surging straight toward Kurenai.
It was so fast that she was swallowed in the next instant.
"Kurenai!" Rin and Shizune cried out in alarm.
But in the very next second, Kurenai appeared unharmed at another spot. She had used the Substitution Jutsu at the last moment.
Only then did Rin and Shizune finally breathe again.
At the same time, Kurenai's hands completed their seals. Her genjutsu took effect.
Before studying medical ninjutsu, she had learned several D-rank illusions from her father, Shinku Yūhi.
Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!
Though only a D-rank genjutsu, it manifested the target's deepest fears, striking directly at the mind.
No matter how strong a ninja was, unless they were truly fearless, this technique would always expose a weakness.
The black-clad elder was no exception. Unprepared after his attack failed, he fell straight into the illusion.
In his vision, Aoshi Hirakawa appeared—fierce, demonic, charging straight at him.
Terrified, he clutched his head and ran, begging for mercy. In reality, he stood frozen in place.
Kurenai stepped forward and drove a kunai straight into his heart.
It was her first kill. Yet she showed little reaction.
During her internship at Konoha Hospital, she had already witnessed too much blood and death.
After dealing with him, Kurenai immediately moved to support Rin and Shizune.
Together, they finished off the bearded elder and the white-haired woman one after another.
Three genin—three Grass Fruit elders.
If word of this spread, it would shock countless people. And in truth, Aoshi had played a part in this as well.
Not only had these elders already been injured earlier by him, but he had also given the girls special combat training whenever he could.
After all, even medical ninjas were still ninjas. The battle was unavoidable.
The Grass Fruit Faction had only a dozen elders in total.
Several had already fallen at Aoshi's hands earlier. Now, Kurenai and the others had taken down three more.
Only five remained. Their faces were dark with rage and fear.
"Bastards!" they cursed.
But anger changed nothing. It only made them look more desperate.
Nono showed no mercy.
Although the remaining elders still had numbers on their side, their strength had long fallen below true jōnin level.
At best, they were special jōnin.
Moving decisively, Nono cut down two of them in quick succession.
Seeing Kurenai and the others closing in as well, the last three elders exchanged glances and fled at once.
Their courage had completely broken. They no longer dared to fight.
When Nono saw that Kurenai and the others were not only unharmed but had even killed their enemies, she praised them again and again.
"You three did great!"