"Captain... I'll work harder from now on."
After a thorough round of motivational reassessment, Inuzuka Rō quickly realized the inadequacy of his own processing power and humbly acknowledged that he still had much to learn from his captain.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
Just then, his ninken, Kyūtamarō, let out a series of urgent barks, snapping Rō out of his daze.
Immediately, Rō began sniffing the air intensely, analyzing the biological pheromones to gather intel on the approaching enemy.
Meanwhile, Umino Yoru formed the Tiger Seal with one hand while pressing the other against his summoned water bat, activating Sonic Radar Resonance to amplify his perception.
"Captain, the traps are set."
Shukudō, having just finished his frantic preparations, wiped his brow.
But Rō's face suddenly paled, as if he'd just smelled death itself.
"Bad news—!" he hissed. "Aside from the three puppeteers, there are six more unfamiliar scents. All shinobi."
His heart sank. His intel failure had just doomed the squad.
This wasn't a three-man puppeteer team—it was a full nine-man Sand elite squad, the standard size for a Sand infiltration unit.
All nine carried the distinct scent of Wind Country's desert winds and the metallic tang of dried blood.
And none of the Aoba Squad's familiar scents lingered.
They'd been wiped out.
Nine elite Sand shinobi. Three full squads.
At minimum, all were chūnin-level, with the three squad leaders likely being jōnin—or at the very least, special jōnin.
And what did they have?
One chūnin and three genin.
They wouldn't just lose—they'd be annihilated before they could even retreat.
"What?! Nine elite Sand-nin?!"
Shukudō's eyes burned crimson, veins bulging along his thick neck as his entire body tensed like a drawn bowstring.
"Yes." Rō's right hand unconsciously gripped Kyūtamarō's fur so tightly his knuckles turned white, making the ninken whimper.
Their current ambush point was a gap in the Aoba Squad's rear defensive line—a downwind zone, which actually enhanced olfactory detection.
There was no mistake.
A full Sand elite squad was coming.
"Heh."
Yoru's expression darkened—but inwardly, he smirked.
The Inuzuka's sense of smell was impressive, but in terms of precision intel, it couldn't hold a candle to the Byakugan.
The Byakugan offered 360-degree vision, X-ray透视, and the ability to track chakra flow up to a kilometer away.
It was basically a walking X-ray machine.
Only the Uzumaki clan's "Kagura Mind Eye" could rival it.
But his Sonic Radar wasn't far behind.
It couldn't match Hyūga Hinata's 5-kilometer Byakugan range, but at 3 kilometers, it surpassed the average Hyūga's limits.
Like the Byakugan, it provided 360-degree vision and limited透视—the only difference was it couldn't see chakra flow.
But in terms of reconnaissance, it was just as deadly.
So while Rō thought they were facing nine Sand elites, Yoru knew the truth:
Three Konoha intel operatives fleeing from Wind Country, pursued by six Sand hunters.
The original Sand squad had likely been a full nine-man team, but one squad must've been delayed or destroyed by the Konoha operatives.
And if six Sand-nin still hadn't caught three Konoha-nin, those three had to be elite chūnin at minimum.
If they played this right, they could hold out until reinforcements arrived—or even wipe out the Sand team with a well-placed ambush.
"Captain... what do we do?"
Kogure clutched Yoru's sleeve, her face ghostly pale, her mind blank with terror.
But Yoru's expression shifted—his eyes burning with what seemed like the Will of Fire.
"Fall back. I'll cover you."
Jōnin-level combat was risky. Better to send the kids away so they wouldn't get in the way.
"No way!"
Rō immediately objected. This was his fault—how could he abandon his captain to die alone?
"I'm staying with you! Shuku, take Kogure and go!"
His voice was steel.
He cast one last, longing glance at Kogure, searing her image into his heart forever.
Then he stepped forward, standing beside Yoru, his eyes filled with resolve.
"Oh?"
Yoru's eyes gleamed.
He recognized this phenomenon.
This wasn't just the Will of Fire—it was something deeper.
The Will of a Shinobi.
A mental state awakened in the crucible of battle.
The Third Hokage might've been mediocre in many areas, but politically, he was a genius.
He'd merged this innate shinobi will with his "Will of Fire" ideology, creating something greater than the sum of its parts.
Other villages had since copied the concept—like Iwa's "Will of Stone," which had produced countless jōnin (even if some were questionably qualified).
And now, Rō had awakened it.
With this, his promotion to chūnin was guaranteed.
And if he survived?
Given his bloodline, jōnin was inevitable.