"Hmph!"
Sarutobi Eijirou let out a derisive snort through his nose, clearly misinterpreting Gekkou Yoru's well-intentioned advice. In his mind, this was just another power-hungry Uchiha trying to steal his mission merits.
Though inwardly seething, Eijirou kept his expression righteous as he declared:
"Do I look like the kind of man who abandons his comrades? We should finish off these Suna remnants—they're poisoned and won't last much longer!"
Hyuga Tobiu almost choked hearing this. The sheer hypocrisy—this reckless fool must be mocking me!
Both were poisoned, but while Tobiu's toxins had reached his heart, his Byakugan flickering on the verge of collapse, the Suna-nin were still forcefully suppressing their venom with chakra.
Eijirou, you hypocrite. First, you preach "mission above all" and ditch the captain to play hero alone. Now you're drooling over scraps of credit, gambling with intel security?
Some things never change—you're as unreliable as ever.
The Suna team burned with fury upon hearing the Konoha-nin's plans to transfer the intel, but survival took priority.
"Stop his seals! Don't let him complete that S-rank Water Release!"
The spiky-haired Suna jonin's eyes bulged as he pointed at Umino Yoru's rapidly weaving hands. Such an elaborate sequence could only mean one thing—a cataclysmic water-style ninjutsu was coming.
And with that monkey-masked Konoha-nin being a Sarutobi, his intel about the technique being "Vortex Water Blade" had to be accurate.
The bald chunin and puppeteers abandoned cover, scrambling atop their Earth-Style Wall.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
The special jonin puppeteer moved fastest—four hand seals per second—unleashing a B-rank wind jutsu to disrupt the impending disaster.
A hyper-compressed storm sphere formed, its surface swirling with vacuum-sealed winds capable of shredding flesh from bone.
Meanwhile, the others hurled kunai and shuriken laced with wind chakra, their edges gleaming lethally.
The jonin himself slammed his sword into the earth, flinging a barrage of projectiles—two of which carried explosive tags.
Typical Suna poverty. Only a jonin would rate such "luxury" munitions.
Had his left hand been intact, he'd have obliterated this Uchiha with an A-rank wind technique. Instead—
"Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!"
The bald chunin roared as he ripped a house-sized boulder from the earth, its surface pulsing with condensed chakra.
"CRUSH THEM!"
The onslaught converged:
A storm sphere ripping air molecules apart. A mountain of stone screaming through the sky. A hailstorm of blades and explosions.
"Eijirou... is this really 'Vortex Water Blade'?"
Gekkou Yoru's brow furrowed. Over a hundred hand seals? Since when do S-ranks need this much prep?
Sarutobi Eijirou gulped, scrambling for an excuse—
"INCOMING!" Yoru shouted instead, heart pounding. Even for an Uchiha, surviving this was—
"He's dead."
Hyuga Tobiu's Byakugan twitched. That fraud's chakra reserves were pathetic. Not even his Rotation could withstand this A-rank barrage.
And that genin clinging to him? Dead weight.
"Hmph! Damn Uchiha."
Eijirou smirked, already calculating the mission points he'd claim once these Suna fools exhausted themselves.
Amidst the storm of steel and stone—
"Tekkou. It's your turn."
Umino Yoru's fingers never stopped moving.
"Roger, Captain!"
With grim resolve, Tekkou hurled his last scroll skyward.
"Twin Iron Prison Gates!"
BOOM!
Two colossal doors materialized—
The first: 10 meters tall, 5 meters wide, 1 meter thick—a literal fortress wall. The second: Even larger, its surface etched with demonic Rashomon visages.
The ultimate shield against annihilation.
(¬‿¬)