A Most Auspicious Draw

The violent explosion behind them made Chen Yang and Tan Gong, who had been sprinting at full speed, pause for a moment.

That level of explosion…

Had they perished together?

How terrifying. In a one-against-two situation, he had actually forced one of them to die with him!

For a moment, both of them could not help but regret it.

Had they known he was this formidable, they should have stayed behind!

Maybe they could have picked up some benefits. Even if not, saving that kid at the end could have helped them build a connection.

But now that they had run, they had missed out on everything!

"Only one is left, and they were forced to have one person self-destruct. Maybe we still have a chance."

Almost every Reincarnator had something of a hyena’s nature. Many were opportunists, and if there was a chance to gain something, they would naturally take a bite.

But when the two turned back, they could only stare dumbfoundedly at the cold figure pulling an arm from the chest of the scattered Sand Beast, then flinging the corpse aside.

Blood stained his face and body, giving him an indescribably horrifying appearance.

One of them really had self-destructed just now!

But that explosion, whose tremors could be felt even from here, had failed to take him down? Instead, the last one had been killed before he even had the chance to self-destruct!

This…

They could understand the first one being killed in a counterattack. He had been an ambusher, after all—skilled at hiding but limited in strength, completely countered by the Sharingan.

But they had fought those latter two personally. They had used every trump card they had just to barely hold them off.

Otherwise, why would they have retreated so decisively?

In their eyes, even if this Uchiha Clan brat was stronger than the two of them, he should not have been able to overturn his disadvantage on the battlefield!

Was an Uchiha Clan member with the Three Tomoe Sharingan really this terrifying?

But at this point, they could no longer simply leave. They could only bite the bullet and walk back, awkwardly forcing smiles as they greeted him.

"As expected of a genius of the Uchiha Clan. You’re incredibly powerful."

"Yeah, we originally thought this was just a normal scout battle, so we wanted to make a strategic retreat."

With just a few words, they pushed the blame onto the mission.

They were a scout team responsible for gathering intelligence, not a unit that had to fight to the death.

"Mm. A wise choice."

After cleaning up the battlefield, Xu Yue replied indifferently, seemingly having no intention of pursuing the matter. The two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, they decided that no matter what happened afterward, they had to wisely cling to this powerful backer!

He had killed two people in succession, and they had been those self-destructing lunatics. Even if he was not Jonin-level, he had to be among the best of the Special Jonin—an utterly terrifying existence capable of killing a Jonin head-on.

After all, even Jonin would die if they were killed!

As long as they could hold onto the thigh of someone like this, and someone from the Uchiha Clan at that, both the legion mission and their own rewards would yield a huge harvest.

"Then… let’s continue the mission."

Watching Xu Yue clean up the battlefield with pained expressions, the two finally made their suggestion, suppressing their greed for the spoils.

What a waste. When natives killed Reincarnators, aside from certain special items from this Mission Space, most of the drops were worthless junk. It was nowhere near as profitable as having people like them collect the loot with their bonuses.

After such an intense battle, even retreating now would have counted as neither merit nor fault. After all, they had killed a hunter squad!

But considering the powerful backer beside them, and wanting to keep gaining benefits while improving their standing with him, they still suggested continuing forward.

Naturally, Xu Yue had no objection as he gathered the spoils.

Damaged Sand Pot: A strange treasure capable of manipulating sand. Current ability: Summon Sand Beast.

Summon Sand Beast: Can be used three times per Mission Space. As long as it is not dispersed, the Sand Beast possesses self-healing abilities. Duration: one hour. While enveloped by the Sand Beast, the user can travel through sandy terrain.

Wind Blessed Curved Saber: Ignores wind resistance, light as air, and incomparably sharp. Grants an attack bonus against lightly armored targets.

Xu Yue gathered these items and sealed them directly into a Sealing Scroll. Well, as an intelligence ninja, shouldn’t he collect strange items whenever he came across them?

The two men, though visibly heartbroken, had no excuse to say anything.

In terms of gains, the sand pot was likely a B-rank item, while the curved saber was probably among the best C-rank items. At least it somewhat made up for the spoils, giving Xu Yue, who had collected a dozen Explosive Tags, a little consolation.

But just as the three of them had started moving again and leapt forward to continue on their way, while all sorts of thoughts churned through Chen Yang and Tan Gong’s minds, Xu Yue’s ear twitched.

The enhancement brought by the Sage Body was comprehensive!

Because of the sand dunes, he might not be able to leap over and see for himself, but his hearing and perception would not be wrong.

There was something below!

It had remained hidden even through that intense battle, and it should have been concealed here long before then!

Without the slightest warning or hesitation, Xu Yue stomped fiercely on the sand dune where he was about to land.

The Monster Strength Technique he had learned from Tsunade erupted directly from his leg.

The entire sand dune was stomped apart as though it had been struck by a meteor!

The two Reincarnators, who had yet to react, were sent sliding outward in embarrassment as if surfing on sand. They raised their hands to shield their faces while their feet rode the waves of sand beneath them.

Just as they were about to question him, they saw shattered parts mixed in with the sand!

The occasional broken blade gleaming green carried a chilling killing intent.

Beyond that, both of them were filled with horror at the sight of the sand dune, now transformed directly into a sand valley.

They simply could not imagine that this attack had been launched by a boy who looked less than twelve years old.

They had already thought highly enough of him before, but they had never expected him to be this powerful!

Even the famed Kakashi could not achieve such an effect with a single attack, could he?

Meanwhile, using the recoil from that stomp, Xu Yue shot into the air, flipping rapidly before landing more than ten meters away.

What he had just shattered was only a puppet!

It looked like a violent attack, but it had actually been self-rescue. The moment he sensed something wrong, he had already entered the enemy’s ambush!

If the other side had not been about to make a move, he would not have been able to sense an inanimate object like a puppet.

They had been lying in ambush here all along? Yet they had not attacked at first? They were not from Sunagakure!

So that was it. This hunter squad had probably not specifically come after scout teams. More likely, they had come here searching for some sort of clue!

Sharingan!

Without the slightest hesitation, three Magatama appeared in Xu Yue’s eyes and began spinning continuously. He also caught sight of the exposed Chakra threads.

But most of them were buried beneath the sand, and Chakra threads extended from all directions. He could not determine the enemy’s exact location at all.

"Well, well. Setting up a trap on this scale without a sound, with such excellent concealment, and even knowing how to protect oneself… looks like I drew an exceptionally good lot…"

"But why are you still here now…"

Someone with such methods, capable of controlling puppets yet not from Sunagakure—at this point in time, Xu Yue knew of only one possibility!

Looks like things were about to get rather interesting…