Genius are all tsundere; their patterns are almost identical. Their innate sense of superiority shapes their character.
From Uchiha Suien and Kakashi, to later Sasuke and Hyuga Neji, they all share a common flaw: self-importance.
If we use Sasuke as the baseline, Uchiha Suien's tsundere nature is below him. As for Kakashi, hehe! Currently, he is definitely above Sasuke, completely self-centered and oblivious to others. If it weren't for the incident with Uchiha Obito, it would take him a very long time to mature.
"Tsundere Masked Man," Inoyue had already given him that nickname in her heart.
Kakashi is already a Chunin and is about to be promoted to Jonin; his strength is indeed very strong, so even though the Sand Ninja were very careful, he still discovered them.
Obito is basically a blockhead right now. After Kakashi made a gesture, his brain took a beat to catch up, and he immediately pulled out a kunai and got into position. As for Rin Nohara, her reaction was commendable; although she is a Medical Ninja, she was not much slower than Obito.
As for the fifteen-year-old Genin next to them, he was truly just a background character; I don't even bother describing him. He was the slowest to react. For a Genin with such reaction speed to live to fifteen, one has to say his luck is truly good.
The thought processes of geniuses, like those of stragglers, are somewhat unusual, especially for the current Kakashi, the masked man who acts like a straggler. With a flick of his right hand, a kunai was drawn.
The twenty-meter distance was quickly covered. The first hidden Sand Ninja's eyes widened in disbelief. Just as he reacted, and before he could even finish half a hand seal, Kakashi's kunai plunged into his heart.
Having successfully eliminated the first, Kakashi naturally charged towards the second. The current Kakashi was like a mad bull, only knowing to charge head-on, completely disregarding his teammates behind him. Two Sand Ninja had already directly attacked Obito and his two companions.
...
Kakashi's target, the second Sand Ninja, was not far, less than ten meters away.
Although the second Sand Ninja should have had ample time to react, he was still half a beat too slow and was also killed by Kakashi's kunai. At this point, the remaining two visible and one hidden Sand Ninja were all stunned. Kakashi himself was also stunned because it was too smooth. He felt as if the Sand Ninja's movements were half a beat slower, and Kakashi, who had never experienced such smoothness, finally felt that something was amiss.
Something is wrong! The hidden Sand Ninja finally discovered the reason. Unbeknownst to them, they had fallen into a very powerful illusion. The illusionary environment was almost identical to the real one, but it was just half a beat slower. In a confrontation between masters, victory is decided in an instant, and it's the same for Ninja. Half a beat slower? Even a Chunin could kill a Jonin.
Kakashi didn't care about any of that. Although he didn't understand the reason, he had the advantage now, and at the very least, someone was definitely assisting him from the shadows.
Inoyue formed hand seals, continuing to activate her Instantaneous Illusion. Just then, Kakashi's kunai had already reached the third Sand Ninja.
Just as the third Sand Ninja was about to die by the kunai, Inoyue's heart suddenly skipped a beat. An inexplicable sense of crisis enveloped her entire body, startling her. She immediately rolled to the right with all her might. She heard a ripping sound, and a sharp pain shot through her left rear shoulder. A Sand Ninja had appeared behind her at some point, and the kunai in his hand was stained with blood.
That downward stab just now was from this Sand Ninja. If Inoyue hadn't dodged quickly, it would have definitely pierced her from the top of her head.
"Oh! Your body reacts really fast. To have such a reaction at this age, Konoha truly produces many geniuses!" The missed attack was clearly unexpected by this Sand Ninja. But he didn't immediately pursue, instead, he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Inoyue's mental energy is more than three times that of an ordinary person, and as a child, her mental energy is still gradually growing. Such powerful mental energy gave her extraordinary perception, which allowed her to barely escape this danger. Just now, Inoyue's Instantaneous Illusion was activated, and although it was interrupted, the third Sand Ninja was still significantly affected, and Kakashi also successfully eliminated him.
The Sand Ninja who ambushed Inoyue was a strong individual. Inoyue didn't even dare to look when she dodged, rolling and then rapidly jumping backward, fearing that the Sand Ninja behind her would continue to pursue.
There were a total of five Sand Ninja; three had died, leaving only two. One was the visible team leader, and the other was the one who had been hidden in the shadows, the one who almost killed Inoyue.
Inoyue's sudden appearance startled everyone, especially the remaining visible Sand Ninja, who immediately jumped back to his companion's side, no longer bothering Obito and his two companions. Kakashi clearly hadn't expected his hidden helper to be a Little girl younger than himself. After a moment of surprise, he immediately rushed in front of Inoyue.
Rin Nohara, being a Medical Ninja, quickly stepped forward to take out bandages and wrap Inoyue's wound. Obito was stunned again because the suddenly appearing Inoyue was much younger than him, and seemed even more capable. Clearly, his tiny bit of self-esteem was hurt again, but fortunately, he was still somewhat of a man. After a moment of stunned, he stood beside Kakashi, shielding Inoyue and Rin Nohara behind him.
There were a total of five people on the Konoha side, including Inoyue, and the background character could only stand trembling to the side. A fifteen-year-old Genin, still looking like that, Inoyue gave him a look of utter disdain: "What is this guy doing here?"
"We were careless! We originally thought Konoha's Genin were too strong, which is why it took so long to not even take out one person. We didn't expect to have fallen into such a powerful hidden illusion." This was said by the Sand Ninja who failed to attack Obito and his two companions. It seems he only just realized he was under an illusion. Otherwise, Obito, who hadn't awakened his Sharingan, and Rin, would not have been a match for this Sand Ninja. And even with Inoyue's illusion helping, the three of them barely escaped danger.
"Ah...! This illusion is indeed powerful. Even I only accidentally discovered it after Takeshita died." The Sand Ninja who attacked Inoyue spoke casually with his arms crossed. Three of his companions had died, yet there was no negative emotion on his face.
...
"Are you alright?" Rin Nohara quickly finished bandaging Inoyue and asked with concern.
"I'm fine!" Inoyue replied casually, then stood up and placed both hands on Kakashi's and Obito's shoulders, pushing them aside, and stood alone at the very front.
Rin Nohara was stunned. She hadn't expected Inoyue, a girl even younger than herself, to stand at the very front. She was about to step forward to stop her, but Kakashi and Uchiha Obito held her back and shook their heads.
Kakashi and Obito were both Chunin, and as Inoyue pushed their shoulders aside, she lowered her head and said something only the three of them could hear: "You two, escape quickly. I have S-rank intelligence that I need you to deliver." This sentence shocked them both. Inoyue also used a hidden gesture that only Konoha Chunin and above were qualified to know, and at the same time, she had already placed the intelligence on them, each receiving a copy. This placement also made them understand that even if they escaped, they might not make it out completely unscathed.
An 8-year-old Ninja with S-rank intelligence to deliver, this made the two exclaim in disbelief: "Is this 8-year-old fellow Ninja a Jonin or a Chunin? If she's a Jonin, that's just too incredible!" However, before they could finish their shock, what Inoyue said next made them believe.
"An elite among the Sand Ninja, the next Kazekage candidate, Rasa, how did you find the time to come here?" Inoyue calmly looked at the Sand Ninja who had just ambushed her, and said something that would scare anyone to death.
This sentence contained a lot of information: Sand Ninja elite, next Kazekage candidate. Any one of these was something that the current Kakashi and his two companions could not handle.
The person standing before them had short brown hair, wearing simple grey-green clothes and Ninja boots that exposed his toes, with bandages wrapped around his feet. This appearance, apart from Gaara's father, Rasa, there was indeed no second candidate.
"You know me?" Rasa finally lost his composure. He lowered his crossed arms. This Little girl knew too much, and he really wanted to capture her and interrogate her to see what else she knew.
"Of course, I know even more. Why don't you ask?" Inoyue preempted him, directly exposing Rasa's background, making him suspicious and unsure of her, thereby achieving the effect of delaying time.
The previous conversation was already shocking enough, and Kakashi and Obito also understood the seriousness of the situation. However, before preparing to retreat, they still asked Inoyue: "What about you?"
"Don't worry! The current Rasa can't kill me!" Inoyue smiled confidently, her tone a bit grand, yet at this moment, her words had a magical power that made people believe.
The three Konoha youngsters definitely believed her. Although they felt the Little girl in front of them was somewhat unbelievable, after her smile, they just had to believe it in their hearts. Her confident smile and calm demeanor were completely inconsistent with her eight-year-old age; she was just as confident as their teacher, Minato Namikaze.
"Hehe! Rasa, this child has a big mouth!" The Sand Ninja next to him clearly didn't believe it and said mockingly.
"No, Tamura, you should be careful too. I feel she's not simple." Rasa, surprisingly, uttered these words, directly putting the Sand Ninja next to him in his place.
Rasa is a quasi-Kage, the next Kazekage; he can tell whether a person is lying and whether that confidence is a pretense.
And just as Inoyue said that, he indeed believed her somewhat. And at the same time, he had already begun to treat Inoyue, this eight-year-old Little girl, as a true opponent.
He had a feeling that this Little girl knew a lot, and that when she said he couldn't kill her right now, it didn't seem like she was lying.
[ +1 Chapter, 10 powerstones (3/5) ]