Chapter 43: Psychological Advantage
The battle had already ended the moment the three-man Rain ninja squad failed to break through the sea of clones.
Admittedly, the Genin who could participate in the Chunin Exams in another country were no weaklings. But against Sakura, who could even kill a Chunin, they were nothing. The Rain ninja squad had truly kicked an iron plate this time. Even though Sakura had just been through a major battle and had not yet fully recovered, her hands and feet weak and tired, it would have been very troublesome if they had gotten close to her. But with just ninjutsu, it was more than enough to take care of the three of them.
The sea of clones broke up their formation, and the Rain ninja were defeated one by one.
The first to be taken down was the short, stout one who had fallen behind the other two.
His short, thick limbs and stout figure made it clear he was not a taijutsu-type ninja. His ninjutsu, however, was cast quite quickly. The moment he met the clones, he used a Water Substitution to dodge their charge—however, after substituting and leaping onto the river surface, he found that this was the very place Sakura was using to create her water clones.
Under the indifferent gaze of seven or eight pairs of eyes, feeling the chilling cold from the dozens of sharp blades pressed against his skin from behind, the stout ninja raised his hands without hesitation. "I'm sorry, I surrender!"
Next was the black-haired girl with a high ponytail who had rushed to the front.
Her speed and strength were both formidable, and her taijutsu was outstanding among Genin. Sakura's water clones couldn't even last a single round against her. But in the face of a sea of clones, her merely decent taijutsu could only earn her the evaluation of "struggled rather fiercely." Even though the high-ponytail girl could take out four or five clones every second, another seven or eight would swarm in. Within a few short seconds, she was surrounded by water clones, and then, unsurprisingly, an ice blade pierced her shoulder from behind—that ice blade was from a clone in the second row of the encirclement, which had used its comrade's body as a shield, stabbing through both its comrade and the enemy to injure her.
Then, facing the sharp blades of the water clones, she also raised a white flag without any hesitation.
The spineless surrender of his two comrades, one after another, made the rooster-haired ninja with the earring grit his teeth in hatred. After cursing a few times, he, fighting alone, took a slash from a clone to leap into the air, pulling out the umbrella from his back and about to open its mechanism.
A silver light flashed past. The sturdy umbrella, along with his high and mighty rooster-crest hairstyle, was instantly sliced in two by a water cutter and scattered with the wind. Plop! The rooster hair fell to the ground. He stared blankly at the broken handle of the umbrella in his hand, then foolishly touched his head, which had been transformed from a rooster crest to a crew cut. After a moment of silence, with a thud, he knelt on the ground in a dramatic pose:
"I'm sorry, honorable ninja-sama of Konoha! Please forgive our unreasonable offense. This is our scroll. Please accept it as our apology!"
You're clearly the most spineless one of all... Sakura rolled her eyes and complained silently in her heart.
After taking the scroll, Sakura did not deliver a killing blow but let them go directly. After all, she was not the type to kill for sport. Moreover, a ninja's last-ditch struggle could sometimes be very terrifying. Since she had gotten the scroll, Sakura didn't want any more trouble.
After all, the enemies were not just these three.
After stopping the water clones, Sakura leaned lightly against a large tree, her right hand pressed against her chest, silently sensing the remaining stamina in her body. In the battle against the three-man Rain ninja squad, even though the chakra required for a single clone had been minimized as much as possible, the massive number of clones still consumed ten percent of Sakura's chakra.
The young girl, who had only recovered a small half of her stamina, was once again in a critical state!
Sakura took a deep breath.
"Come out! I can feel you... you little mice!" The girl looked towards a dark corner and said coldly!
"Are you the rookie who declared herself the strongest?" The ones who jumped out were the Sound Trio. They had been searching the Forest of Death all night and had recently discovered the ruins left after the battle between Orochimaru and Team 7. Then they discovered the signs of this battle and had rushed over at the first opportunity.
Having personally seen that messy battlefield and then witnessed the scene of the silver light cutting the umbrella, the three Sound ninja were already certain that the girl before them was the culprit who had destroyed a large patch of the forest earlier. Although the Sound ninja were arrogant, they also admitted that they couldn't do something so exaggerated! That mountain of snake corpses was beyond their imagination. A powerhouse who could withstand such a tide of snakes and kill such a number of poisonous snakes and giant pythons was not someone they could afford to provoke!
The only good news was that this powerhouse had just been through several consecutive battles and should be very tired by now!
The gap in their strength made them silently accept Sakura's derogatory nickname for them without daring to refute. They could only cautiously probe her.
"Even if you are the strongest Genin! The consecutive battles must have consumed most of your stamina. As long as the three of us attack together, we can definitely defeat you now!"
"Indeed... the previous battle consumed a lot of my stamina!"
The girl slowly walked towards the Sound ninja, speaking coldly.
"Now is indeed a good opportunity to take me down!"
The girl's voice was calm and indifferent, without a trace of fluctuation, as if she were not talking about a matter of her own life and death, but a trivial little thing.
The girl's footsteps gradually approached the Sound ninja, and her killing intent made one feel even colder.
Twenty-five meters. This was the preferred distance for most ninjutsu-type ninja, as the range of ninjutsu was generally greater than this distance. At this position, they could calmly cast their ninjutsu before the enemy approached. The girl continued to advance.
Although they believed they were the ones with the advantage, facing the girl's cold and stern gaze and her grave presence, the Sound ninja couldn't help but quietly take a step back.
"Come on! Don't you have... a numerical advantage?"
The Sound ninja's faces turned pale. The Rain ninja who had just been boasting about their numerical advantage were almost drowned by a sea of clones, while the girl in front of them was still unharmed. Who knew what means the girl would use to deal with them next?
The three of them couldn't help but take another step back.
Is she bluffing? The three Sound ninja initially thought the girl was just putting on a brave front, but facing her ever-stronger presence and her ever-approaching steps, they lost their confidence again.
Twenty meters. This was the dividing line for the optimal combat distance between ninjutsu-type and taijutsu-type ninja. Above this distance, the ninjutsu-type had the advantage; below it, the taijutsu-type had the upper hand. The girl crossed this line without hesitation.
Didn't you already use up all your stamina? Why don't you look weak at all!
Aren't you a ninjutsu-type ninja? Why are you still getting closer to us!
The spiky-haired Sound ninja, who was usually arrogant, roared in his heart, but he didn't dare to say his thoughts out loud. The fierce expression on his face became dull as the girl approached step by step.
A drop of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
The girl continued to approach, and the Sound ninja took another step back.
Fifteen meters. At this distance, it was already too late to use a normal high-level ninjutsu. Unless the hand seals were formed in advance, even a ninjutsu-type ninja could only fight like a taijutsu-type!
However, the girl's arms just hung naturally, her delicate hands, which could turn into deadly weapons in an instant, were relaxed at her sides, swinging gently.
The sky was already beginning to brighten. In the faint light, the Sound ninja could already see the girl's expression. Her delicate face was indifferent and cold, without a trace of fatigue. The coldness in her emerald eyes seemed as if it could freeze a person into a block of ice!
The consecutive great battles had not left any obvious wounds on her body. Only dark red bloodstains could be seen solidified on her body and clothes—it was clear that it was the enemy's blood that had splashed onto her—forming a stark contrast with her fair, white skin.
Is she really exhausted? This thought suddenly popped into the minds of the Sound ninja, who had been full of confidence just now.
The bandaged Sound ninja, with only his eyes showing, finally couldn't take the pressure anymore and roared, "Don't come any closer, I'm not afraid of you!" as he unleashed a shockwave at Sakura with all his might!
BOOM—! After the smoke and dust cleared, the girl, having retracted her ultrapure water, walked out completely unharmed!
Ten meters. This was already the Sound ninja's psychological bottom line.
"Your attack doesn't even count as an itch... What, is this all you've got?" The girl's tone even carried a hint of disappointment!
"Wh-what? It had no effect at all!" The pretty face of the long, black-haired female Sound ninja was filled with nothing but terror. "A monster, she's really a monster!"
The girl stepped within ten meters. Chakra quietly gathered in her hands, emitting a faint blue light!
"Run!" The Sound ninja were so scared by the glow of the chakra that their souls almost fled their bodies. With a single command, the three of them simultaneously disappeared from in front of the girl, fleeing from this place at top speed!
The girl snorted coldly and dispersed the chakra in her hands.
If the Sound ninja had really swarmed her just now, given her remaining stamina, she might have really lost! But the suspicious Sound ninja, facing the imposing Sakura, were intimidated by her.
In a sense, this kind of tactical talent could also be considered genius.
After standing for a while and confirming that the Sound ninja had indeed gone far away, Sakura turned to return to her hiding place to continue resting.
Facing two waves of enemies in a row in such a poor physical state, she was already extremely tired. There shouldn't be a third wave of enemies, right!
Right now, she just wanted to get a good night's sleep.
However, her wish was destined not to be realized in a short time.
Sakura, who had just started to walk, suddenly stopped.
A black line extended from the shadow of a nearby tree and connected to her own shadow—
"Shadow Imitation Jutsu... Success!"
Three figures landed behind Sakura!
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