"Five hand seals in one second! Such speed—this has to be an elite jōnin skilled in ninjutsu!"
"No doubt about it. Definitely an elite jōnin."
Sarugei Kagerō and the Moonlight chūnin, witnessing Umino Yoru's terrifying hand-seal speed, felt their confidence surge.
Five seals per second—something they had only heard of but never seen—was now unfolding before their eyes.
Truly, this was beyond ordinary shinobi.
While most took five seconds for a single seal, this "Uchiha jōnin" was performing five in a second, his hands a blur. As expected of an elite jōnin—even his hand seals were on another level.
With speed like that, he had to be a master of ninjutsu.
And an elite jōnin skilled in ninjutsu was a force to be reckoned with in group battles. A single technique could wipe out waves of enemies. This intel mission was as good as secured.
Meanwhile, the Hyūga branch member, his Byakugan scanning the battlefield, couldn't help but roll his eyes—repeatedly. His expression remained tense.
This fake "Uchiha" was too convincing. Even among elite jōnin and above, few could achieve such terrifying hand-seal speed. No wonder the Sand shinobi didn't suspect a thing.
That kind of speed was just too persuasive.
"So underhanded! Is this really the behavior of a high-ranking shinobi?!"
The bald chūnin, having wasted a significant amount of chakra on a useless jutsu, seethed with anger.
"Ganrō, don't act recklessly! This is tactical mastery at the elite jōnin level or higher. He exploits even the slightest advantage—don't give him an opening!"
The spiky-haired Sand jōnin, battle-hardened and sharp, immediately grasped the situation. His eyes widened in realization.
So that's his game—using tactical deception to buy time for a more complex Water Release jutsu!
What a tactical genius!
The previous ambushes hadn't even fully showcased this man's strategic brilliance.
And despite his overwhelming advantage, he remained cautious, squeezing out every possible edge. This had to be a veteran elite jōnin with countless battles under his belt.
Umino Yoru smirked inwardly.
Perfect. This is exactly the kind of opponent I wanted to fool.
An average shinobi wouldn't even think at this level.
Seeing the battle stabilize, the Moonlight chūnin leaped to Sarugei Kagerō's side, ensuring the safety of the intel scroll before turning to the injured Hyūga.
"Tsubasa, you alright?"
"Yeah, I'll live," Hyūga Tsubasa muttered, leaning against a birch tree, his face pale from poison. His Byakugan flickered weakly, but his tone was as stubborn as ever.
Moonlight Yoru nodded, then positioned himself protectively in front of Kagerō. Instead of joining the fight directly, he observed the battlefield while whispering:
"Kagerō, judging by the number of seals, what level of Water Release is this? It can't be the A-rank Great Waterfall Technique, can it?"
The Moonlight clan specialized in Konoha's sword style, excelling in close combat. But the Sarutobi clan, with their mastery of elemental techniques, had far more expertise in ninjutsu.
"No, definitely not Great Waterfall Technique," Kagerō shook his head firmly.
"Then what high-level Water Release is it? Don't tell me you don't know either?"
"Wha—? Of course I know!"
Kagerō bristled, as if his pride had been pricked.
Truthfully, he was the weakest of his Sarutobi peers—a total fraud when it came to advanced ninjutsu. But he'd never admit it.
His mind raced.
This many seals… Not A-rank, so it must be S-rank!
The only S-rank Water Release techniques on the Forbidden Scroll were Water Severing Wave and Spiraling Hard Water Blade.
Given the river behind him, it couldn't be Water Severing Wave.
That left only one answer.
Kagerō's face lit up with smug realization.
"Yoru, I've had it figured out from the start. This is the legendary S-rank Spiraling Hard Water Blade*!"*
Hyūga Tsubasa: "#￥%@&"
His Byakugan rolled so hard it might've fallen out of his skull.
A-rank Great Waterfall? S-rank Spiraling Hard Water Blade? All nonsense!
Fast hand seals meant nothing when his Byakugan's chakra vision clearly showed the fake "Uchiha" wasn't even circulating chakra! How could he possibly execute a jutsu?
Kagerō's just spouting nonsense!
Come to think of it, aside from being prideful, hot-tempered, envious, and questionably skilled… Kagerō was also a blatant liar.
Huh. Why does it feel like this guy's completely unreliable?
Recalling how Kagerō had needlessly provoked the Sand shinobi earlier and nearly blown their cover with the explosive tag trap, Tsubasa's suspicion deepened.
The realization almost made him pass out from rage and poison.
If my teammates are this useless, I can only hope this fake Uchiha holds out a little longer.
Admittedly, the fake "Uchiha's" tactics were impressive, and his hand-seal speed was unprecedented.
But this deception wouldn't last forever—certainly not long enough for the Sand shinobi to succumb to the poison.
At best, it'd drain their chakra and supplies.
It wouldn't bridge the gap in their actual combat strength.
Tsubasa's Byakugan grew hazy, his vision shrinking to less than a kilometer due to the toxin.
Otherwise, he might've spotted the approaching patrol reinforcements—and realized the fake "Uchiha's" true plan wasn't just stalling for the poison to take effect.
It was a threefold strategy, with the minimum goal of buying time until backup arrived.
"Yoru, look! Those three are already poisoned. They won't last much longer—hahaha! We've got this in the bag!"
Kagerō scanned the battlefield, his confidence soaring as he burst into arrogant laughter.
"Kagerō, notice anything? Their antidotes aren't working. They're just barely holding on with chakra alone," Yoru observed sharply.
"Hahaha!" Kagerō's smirk widened before he suddenly proposed, "Yoru, why don't you take the intel and retreat first? I'll cover you this time."
"That's—"
Yoru hesitated, unsure how to respond.
With victory so close, leaving now meant missing out on mission rewards. But intel missions took priority—they couldn't afford even the slightest risk.
"Kagerō, you should withdraw with the intel. I'll stay and support this Uchiha jōnin."
Yoru raised his sword, making the tactically sound choice.
In his eyes, he was clearly the stronger fighter—his presence would be more useful in battle.
Plus, Kagerō was the Third Hokage's relative. If anything happened to him, how would Yoru explain it to command?