Hunter

In desert terrain, especially when the other side was no weakling, there was simply no comparing Konoha and Sunagakure when it came to concealment.

Since that was the case, they naturally had to make full use of the advantage of spotting the enemy first and unleash everything in the opening strike.

Before they charged over the dune, the shuriken meant for harassment had already scattered ahead of them.

Tan Gong, acting as the temporary captain, even formed hand seals directly.

Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique

The shuriken reached the midpoint just as he finished forming the seals, perfectly combining the advantage of speed to seize the initiative in the first strike.

Only after the sky filled with shuriken did the three of them rush over the dune, charging toward the three-man Sunagakure squad below, whose rhythm had been thrown into disarray by the sudden attack.

Chen Yang’s long hair streamed behind him. It was unclear what ability he possessed, but a pair of invisible, dreamlike wings appeared over his shoulders. His speed suddenly exploded as he swept low through the air.

With that sudden acceleration, he actually arrived at the same time as the storm of shuriken.

His katana flashed, striking the kunai his opponent had hurriedly drawn.

Sparks flew.

Because of Chen Yang’s astonishing speed, the figure who had barely managed to block his attack could no longer deal with the shuriken.

After avoiding the vital spots, three shuriken Xu Yue had thrown earlier embedded themselves directly in his body!

His body swayed from the impact.

Yet Chen Yang still felt a flicker of disdain. Shuriken were a basic skill every ninja possessed. Although they were generally used to harass and interfere, after he had deliberately pinned down the enemy, the attack still failed to kill upon landing. That was far too unreasonable!

If they had been his shuriken, then so long as the enemy did not defend, even avoiding vital areas would have resulted in considerable damage. They would not have merely stuck into the surface like this.

Still, since those three shuriken had ultimately affected his opponent, an excited smile appeared on his face.

A free kill was still a kill!

Just as he prepared to add more force, twist the blade, and launch another combo—

A scorching sensation came from behind him. He immediately abandoned the idea and used his speed advantage, flapping those transparent dreamlike wings as he dodged the attack from behind.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

"What are you doing?!"

Chen Yang had just angrily jumped up to vent his rage when he quickly realized something was wrong.

The Great Fireball Technique swallowed all three figures without encountering any resistance.

Yet there was no struggling.

They actually remained in their guarded stances. The other two, whom Chen Yang had not attacked, continued blocking kunai and shuriken in an orderly manner. Only their clothes had caught fire!

When the flames subsided, the person Chen Yang had attacked turned out to be a charred puppet beneath his body, which still bore traces of flame!

Xu Yue, having finished breathing fire, showed little expression as he looked at the puppet before him.

With the strength from his advanced Sage Body combined with advanced Body Mastery, shuriken he threw at an unguarded flesh-and-blood body would definitely leave fist-sized holes straight through it.

If they only caused the target to sway, then aside from someone like the Raikage, the most likely possibility was that it was not human.

So they really were puppets.

All three of them were puppets?

No!

The next instant, several more shuriken appeared in Xu Yue’s hand. After charging them briefly, he used the method of the Monster Strength Technique to create three umbrella-shaped sonic booms in the air, firing them straight at the "puppet" who alone wore equipment unlike standard Sunagakure gear.

They were merely shuriken, but with the Monster Strength Technique’s enhancement, they were like heavy artillery shells.

The roar of the air was ear-piercing.

"Hmph! Lucky you."

The figure who had stood blankly within the fireball like a puppet suddenly sprang in another direction, brushing past the three artillery-like shuriken.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The shuriken plunged directly into the sand, but the fierce gust they generated still scraped past the figure, scattering the burned remnants of his clothing and revealing a lean, hardened body beneath.

He had actually remained motionless in the flames, taking the attack head-on with his own flesh and blood in order to disguise himself as a puppet!

Seeing the figure’s true appearance, cold sweat broke out all over Chen Yang’s body. If it had not been for that Uchiha Clan boy, he would very likely have become the opponent’s next prey!

Who would have thought that the three-man squad they had seen earlier was actually just one person? That one person had controlled two puppets to pose as an ordinary three-man scouting team!

If that was the case, then his strength…

"Everyone, be careful! He’s a hunter who specializes in targeting scouts!"

Chen Yang’s voice carried a note of terror as he rapidly retreated using the speed of his wings, regrouping with Xu Yue and the others. It was precisely because of his caution that he avoided a sudden barrage of poisoned needles.

Even Reincarnators understood the importance of intelligence. During the Ninja War, apart from direct confrontations, nearly everything revolved around intelligence warfare!

Moreover, it had already become a structured and systematic practice. First, large numbers of cannon-fodder ninja were spread out like a net to mislead the enemy and divide their attention, while occasionally seeing whether they could retrieve some intelligence.

Under the cover of those cannon-fodder ninja, Chunin squads like Xu Yue’s were the true core teams for gathering intelligence. Such squads might not even take the initiative to kill cannon-fodder teams they encountered. When meeting similarly ranked intelligence-gathering Chunin squads, they would first probe each other out. If their strengths were close, both sides would turn around and leave.

Only hunter squads specifically aimed at such intelligence teams would carry out interceptions and kills. They were usually made up of lone experts at least at the Special Jonin level, or elite Chunin squads.

Their primary objective was to kill scouts, an important component of intelligence warfare.

Though few in number, they were absolutely the type most hated by scouts on both sides.

There was no doubt that the man before them was one. Judging by the fact that he was alone, his strength was likely at least at the Special Jonin level!

"I originally wanted to remove your wings first. Didn’t expect I’d waste my effort."

With his clothes already burned away, the figure simply tore off the rest, revealing bronze skin marked by slight burns.

His muscles were sharply defined, and his skin gleamed with oil. It seemed that layer of oil was what had prevented Xu Yue’s Great Fireball Technique from seriously injuring him.

Even so, it was clear just how ruthless he was toward himself.

"This is really troublesome. It’s one of those lunatics."

Tan Gong, the temporary captain, wore a grim expression as well.

If a native heard that, they might assume he was referring to a Puppet Master. But Xu Yue understood that he was likely talking about someone from the Turkish Kebab Shop.

He had heard a little about them from the other Reincarnators along the way. Looking at how this man had remained inside the flames just to launch an ambush, along with the bloodthirsty expression on his face, he fully matched those descriptions.

"Damn it, it’s Adi, the ‘Puppet Master.’ He was trying to kill me first!"

Chen Yang, who had retreated in a rather bedraggled state, still seemed shaken with lingering fear. He had nearly fallen for the opponent’s trap.

"I’ve never heard his name. Do you know his traits?"

Xu Yue asked coldly. Chen Yang, who had let something slip, could not help feeling awkward. He had nearly forgotten there was a native beside them. Fortunately, he had not said anything that required the space’s concealment and would cost points.

In order to make full use of the native’s combat strength, he coughed and said,

"I only learned some information about him by chance. He was an elite Chunin back then, but I didn’t expect his strength to have improved again. He excels at controlling puppets and likes making them self-destruct. He’s also highly skilled with poisons."

"The enemy is too strong. Let’s withdraw first."

Tan Gong spoke with a grave expression.

Against another enemy, even a Special Jonin, he would dare to engage briefly with the combined strength of the three of them. But against these people who feared death not at all, Tan Gong felt it was not worth the risk.

"Withdraw? Where do you think you’re withdrawing to?"

Yet at that moment, a somewhat shrill voice came from behind them.

Before the voice arrived, a fierce gust of wind swept toward them.

The three of them leaped away at once.

An arm made entirely of sand smashed flat the place where they had initially been standing.

The sand then slowly assembled itself, forming a gigantic beast like a gorilla with two enormous arms.

Atop the Sand Beast sat a short man with a pockmarked face, holding a lamp pot.

Chen Yang and Tan Gong’s expressions worsened even further.

Having one Puppet Master was already enough of a headache, but now another had appeared!

The two had some reputation among the Reincarnators. Not only were they about to leave the ranks of Veteran Reincarnators, they were also outstanding among those of their generation.

They had been unwilling to make a move even against just one of them. Now that a second had suddenly appeared, they had to consider how to ensure they could retreat unscathed.

"Don’t get distracted. Didn’t your teachers teach you that squads usually consist of three people…"

As Xu Yue’s voice echoed beside their ears—

A massive roar erupted at their side the next moment.

Boom!

The Uchiha Clan youth had grabbed the face of a suddenly appearing figure wearing a headscarf and slammed his head directly into the sand.

The entire stretch of sand rippled like waves.

Crack!

Only then did the sound of a snapping spine reach the two of them.

The curved blade that had been sent spinning through the air finally plunged upside down into the sand.

With one strike, he had broken the ambush, disarmed the attacker, and directly crippled an enemy!

The Three Tomoe in his eyes slowly turned. Ignoring the corpse on the ground with its broken neck, Xu Yue slowly raised his head and looked toward the other two stunned enemies.

Trying to use that clumsy invisibility technique in front of the Sharingan? They had truly picked the wrong target…

And close-range ambushes were not a good choice either.

I’m a Special Jonin proficient in taijutsu now.

All I need is a pair of thick eyebrows… uh, no, I’m not putting those on…

La la la~, this is a strong recommendation! Please support me in every way!

Thanks to btllk, Daytime Moon, Zhang Family’s Glasses, Drifter World, Skeleton Angel, Magic Power, Everything Is Adding Wings, Devil’s Left Hand, Little ** Paper, Holy Tomb, and the other readers for the tips~

I have to go back to work tomorrow. Please comfort me~