"War?"
To the Konoha ninja born in an era of peace, this word was entirely alien.
Daigan hooked a finger, sneering contemptuously. "If you aren't afraid of dying, then come and get some!"
Having said his piece, he bolted down his pre-planned escape route.
If he had to fight, it shouldn't be in such a disadvantageous spot. Enemies could appear at any moment, and just one or two Chunin would be enough to make Daigan bite off more than he could chew.
Behind him, a relentless Shino Aburame gave chase.
However...
Shino's speed was clearly inferior to Daigan's.
Seeing his quarry slipping away, an unwilling Shino waved his arms. Two rolling clouds formed of pitch-black Parasitic Destruction Insects surged toward Daigan.
"Don't treat me like Lady Saya, that girl who can't fight!"
The puppet Temari perched on his shoulder waved its folding fan repeatedly. Several tornadoes laced with vacuum blades blew the insect cloud apart, halting their pursuit.
Daigan, using the wind to accelerate, looked back and mocked the Konoha bug user.
"Your taijutsu is weak. You can't keep up at all. Do you neglect your training? Since I'm feeling generous today, I'll let you off..."
Before he could finish, two ominous black tornadoes swept toward him. The speeding Sand Ninja was forced to decelerate and arc his steps to dodge. In that brief delay, the lagging Shino caught up.
"More uninvited guests?"
Daigan's pupils constricted as he saw Kiba Inuzuka, using the Beast Human Clone technique, and Akamaru blocking his path.
"Mr. Puppeteer, Shino isn't fast enough for you, so how about I give it a try?"
Kiba, bearing ferocious claws and fangs, had been harboring resentment over his inexplicable loss in the Chunin Exam third test preliminaries. He wasn't about to let this chance to challenge a qualifying candidate slip by.
Compared to the monsters among the geniuses, Daigan was considered relatively easy to deal with. Moreover, tricks like main bodies, clones, and visual invisibility were useless before his super-enhanced sense of smell.
Trapped in a pincer attack, Daigan frowned as he looked at the panting Hinata Hyuga, who had just caught up. The teammates formed a triangle, boxing him in.
"Do you Konoha ninja always like bullying the few with the many? Three... no, four against one. Truly shameless..."
"Hmph!" Kiba didn't dignify the trash talk with a response. Hinata's eyes were firm, showing no intention of retreating.
Shino spoke calmly. "As you said, this is war. There is no need for courtesy."
"No room for negotiation, then? That is truly a pity..."
Daigan shook his head with a smile. Taking them on one by one, he wouldn't fear a battle of attrition. But one against three? Forget it. Even if he won, Temari wouldn't see it, so it would be a total waste.
"Since this is war, naturally, anything goes. Let me show you the Sand Ninja way of survival..."
As he spoke, Daigan pulled out several pellets and threw them in all directions without hesitation. Clouds of dark brown smoke rose and spread rapidly, covering a radius of nearly a hundred meters.
"Smoke bombs? How could that possibly work on us?" Kiba laughed dismissively. "You probably don't know how terrifying Team 10's tracking skills are..."
"Wait, Kiba, don't be rash! That's not a smoke bomb, it's a poison gas bomb..."
The Parasitic Destruction Insects, the first to make contact, transmitted a sensation of extreme danger to Shino, who hurriedly warned his companions.
Unfortunately, it was a step too late. The poison gas covered too large an area to evade in time.
"Are you satisfied with my gift? It's a shame I don't have time to entertain you further. If fate wills it, we shall meet again..."
As his voice faded, a massive object radiating the aura of Wind Release chakra suddenly shot out diagonally. With a thunderous roar and a shockwave that knocked the three members of Team 8 and the dog back, it sped away, disappearing from sight in moments.
"What was that?"
As the smoke cleared, a physically weak Hinata coughed uncontrollably. Akamaru had reverted to his original form, lying motionless on the ground, his chest rising and falling only to show he was still alive.
Kiba covered his mouth and nose, howling in pain, unable to control himself.
Only Shino, thanks to the chemical resistance of his insects, barely maintained his composure.
"We cannot pursue for now. We have all been poisoned. We must rest while my insects detoxify everyone..."
Fortunately, the poison wasn't fatal, and the enemy had been too busy fleeing to press the attack. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Is this war? It tolerates no negligence. Even with an overwhelming advantage, a moment of carelessness can cost you your life!
Reality had dealt the fledgling Konoha ninja a heavy blow. War was truly different from ordinary missions.
The massive roar attracted considerable attention. When people looked up, they saw only a blurry black shadow streaking across the sky, over the high walls of Konoha, and landing in the distant jungle.
"What the hell is that?"
The shadow looked like a magnified rain swift with inverted wings. It even generated a ring of mist as it flew. But wasn't it too fast? It was even more exaggerated than a peregrine falcon diving for prey.
On the battlefield, between life and death, there was no room for such doubts. Everyone soon returned to their life-and-death struggles.
Over a minute later, Daigan retrieved the puppet "Phantom," which had accidentally snagged on a tree canopy, and approached Temari, who was lying on the ground unable to rise.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Daigan crouched down and gently helped Temari up, asking with concern.
"Not great. I was defeated by Sasuke Uchiha..."
Temari, who had volunteered to stay behind and intercept the enemy so Kankuro could escape with Gaara, had evidently been no match for the current Sasuke.
She smelled of scorched flesh from a direct hit by an Exploding Tag, and her arms and cheeks were scraped. The external injuries were minor, but the shockwave from the explosion had likely damaged her internal organs. She wouldn't have much combat power for a while.
"Well... I'm a step late!" Daigan smiled bitterly. "Missed my chance for a 'hero saves the beauty' moment!"
"That mouth of yours... you never forget to spout nonsense, do you? You need to hurry and support Kankuro and Gaara. Sasuke is hard to deal with, and there are pursuers behind him..."
Temari was clearly wilting; she didn't even have the energy to retort properly.
"I know..."
"I need to rest for a moment. How are you? By the way, where did you run off to just now?"
"I was besieged by three Konoha Genin. Wasted a bit of time and used the Shadow Clone Jutsu once. My chakra reserves aren't too high..."
"Is that so? You've had it rough too! Can you keep going?"
"That... No problem!"
At a critical moment, how could he be useless?
For a ninja, injury was common; one could easily hurt oneself during training.
Temari's injuries weren't critical, but she was far from peak condition.
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