Strong Opponent
"Yes, we're still dozens of miles away from Konoha's front-line camp. Even if they sent reinforcements, they wouldn't come this far out. At best, their patrols don't stray more than ten miles from their base."
The last tall and broad-shouldered Amegakure Chūnin nodded in agreement with the older ninja's assessment.
"And besides," the middle-aged Chūnin added, his voice bitter, "those ninja from the great nations have no idea what it's like for us small countries! These three brats must be Konoha's new generation of elites. If we eliminate them here, it'll be a small act of revenge for everything the Leaf has done to the Land of Rain!"
The tall Chūnin clenched his fists as he recalled Uchiha Mingjing's dazzling display of shurikenjutsu, unrelenting ninjutsu, and formidable kenjutsu in their previous skirmish. Envy gnawed at him.
Why do shinobi from great nations like Konoha get to grow up in peace, with structured academies and abundant jutsu scrolls—while he had to survive in the war-torn Rain, piecing together scraps of ninjutsu and barely scraping his way to Chūnin?
If he had been born in Konoha or Kumo, would he be a Jōnin by now?
"Everyone! Over here!"
A nearby Genin pointed to a faint bloodstain on a rain-washed leaf.
The middle-aged Rain-nin stepped over, dipped a finger into the blood, and touched it lightly to his tongue.
"Still fresh. They're nearby. Move! We keep the pressure on!"
---
A few minutes later, somewhere in the dense forest…
Hyūga Tiemen crouched in the underbrush, his Byakugan active, veins bulging around his eyes as he scanned the surrounding terrain.
"They're here," he whispered.
Moments later, a squad of Amegakure shinobi appeared in the clearing.
In a bush opposite them, Uchiha Mingjing activated his Sharingan, the tomoe spinning slowly in his red eyes.
Laid out before him on a strip of cloth torn from his own shirt were dozens of shuriken—gathered from all six of his teammates. He would open the battle.
As the enemy stepped into range, Mingjing flicked the corner of the cloth upward. The shuriken launched into the air, their trajectories crystal clear under the Sharingan's enhanced perception.
"Uchiha Style: Shuriken Control Technique!"
His hands blurred as he manipulated the shuriken mid-flight, weaving them into a coordinated barrage. Varying the speed and angles, he created overlapping patterns that struck from multiple vectors, giving the illusion of a giant serpent made of steel hurtling toward the enemy.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!" ×2
Two Rain-nin responded instantly, raising defensive barriers to intercept the storm of projectiles. The middle-aged Chūnin stood between them and his Genin students, ready to intercept any attacks that slipped through.
But Mingjing's ambush was far from over.
"Fang Passing Fang!"
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"
Inuzuka Ryo and Hyūga Tiemen sprang from cover, targeting the Rain-nin who had just cast jutsu. Their aggressive taijutsu assaults weren't guaranteed to win, but they would definitely disrupt and delay.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Mingjing unsheathed his blade and charged at the umbrella-wielding middle-aged Chūnin.
"Let's help them!" one of the Rain Genin shouted, but just as they moved—
A swarm of black insects surged from the foliage, clouding their vision.
"Don't panic!" their leader barked. "The bug-using girl is wounded and weak in close combat! If we rush her, we can still win!"
But before they could close in, two more Konoha Genin burst out of the trees—Fengjie Jingtai and Inuzuka Zhu—flanking Aburame Nami.
"Damn it! Weren't there only three of them?! They said Konoha wouldn't send troops this far!"
Now outnumbered and caught in a pincer attack, the Genin had no choice but to fight.
"Why is that white-eyed brat's taijutsu so damn tricky?!" the tall Rain-nin spat, rubbing his bruised shoulder where Tiemen had struck with precision.
Hyūga Tiemen stood with one hand behind his back, the other extended in a calm but dangerous Jūken stance.
Elsewhere, the injured Rain-nin found himself on the defensive against Inuzuka Ryo's relentless attacks.
He gritted his teeth. All they had to do was hold out until the middle-aged Chūnin took care of that Uchiha brat.
That Chūnin, however, was a problem of his own.
Mingjing's opponent was the strongest Chūnin-level ninja he had ever faced—barring only Kato Dan, the Jōnin he once sparred with during a bell test.
"Uchiha Style: Flash Mist Slash!"
"Uchiha Style: Swift Flame Blade!"
"Uchiha Style: Gale Blade Strike!"
One after another, Mingjing unleashed kenjutsu techniques tailored to the Uchiha, but the Rain-nin met every attack.
The man's umbrella sword twisted and turned with deceptive speed—revealing hidden senbon launchers and serrated blades that extended from the ribs of the umbrella when it opened. It was a weapon built for misdirection.
If not for the Sharingan's ability to anticipate and track movement, Mingjing might already have been taken down.
Instead, he was being steadily pushed back.
He twisted to evade a volley of hidden senbon and raised his sword just in time to parry a sweeping arc—
The umbrella opened again. This time, crescent-shaped blades sprang from its edge, slashing directly toward him.