Takuya looked up toward the front, having already received a signal from Snowy.
A large number of people were quickly approaching their position.
"Retreat, send up the signal flare."
The team's mission was to stall the enemy, not to fight to the death.
If possible, Takuya wasn't keen on rushing into a melee with the enemy.
Nawaki launched the signal flare, alerting the others that the enemy was coming, and the three quickly retreated.
The Sand ninja would have to deal with the various traps set along the way before they could advance.
These traps would delay the enemy considerably.
Boom!!
The signal flare exploded in the sky, and all the Konoha ninjas prepared for combat and possible retreat.
"Masa-sama, the enemy has discovered our presence."
Masa, whom they had encountered just days before, was also among this group. Seeing the signal flare in the sky, he said flatly:
"It doesn't matter; we have too many people to avoid detection by Konoha's ninjas.
Be cautious of the traps on the ground. Our mission is to delay them as much as possible, to stretch Konoha thin."
"Understood."
Hundreds of Sand ninjas halted and began clearing the traps.
One by one, the traps were quickly disarmed.
Of course, there were also some that triggered, and a few unlucky ones lost their lives as a result.
Hundreds of enemies—could this be a vanguard force?
Takuya wasn't sure what the Sand Village was planning.
All he knew was that they needed to stall this force as long as possible and take out as many as they could.
As more and more traps were cleared, the hundreds of Sand ninjas split into smaller squads and began infiltrating the area.
Soon, sounds of battle could be heard from other directions.
"Stay with me. Don't worry about the other areas, and don't touch the enemy corpses—especially you, Nawaki!"
At times like this, Takuya's priority was the safety of his own squad.
If it was possible to assist other squads, Takuya wouldn't hesitate to lend a hand.
But if circumstances didn't allow it, he wouldn't risk his squad by attempting a rescue.
"..."
In a moment like this, you're still keeping an eye on me?
Am I really that unreliable?
Why didn't you remind Minato instead?
Nawaki's face was contorted with frustration.
"They're here."
Takuya didn't have time to worry about what Nawaki was thinking.
Because the enemy had arrived.
"Let's see... just three little kids, huh?"
Unlike Takuya's squad, the enemy was a standard ninja team—one captain with three members, with the captain wearing a Sand Village jōnin vest.
Upon seeing Takuya's squad, the Sand jōnin's eyes lit up.
We're being underestimated again.
Nawaki felt a surge of irritation. Minato, though expressionless, was similarly displeased.
Takuya hated being called a kid, and Minato and Nawaki didn't like it either.
Against such opponents, there was no need for words—just action.
Activating his Sharingan, Takuya used a body flicker to close the distance.
In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of them.
Such speed with that body flicker... and those are... the Sharingan!
A young age, white hair, and a three-tomoe Sharingan—this must be Yagami Takuya!!
The Sand jōnin felt his heart plummet as his pupils shrank. He couldn't believe that what he thought were three easy targets included a deadly opponent.
Don't look into his eyes.
The Sand jōnin growled, swinging his sword in an attempt to force Takuya back while quickly lowering his head to avoid eye contact.
"Sakura Drop."
When those words echoed in his ears, the Sand jōnin's consciousness was already being dragged into a genjutsu. Before he could even comprehend what was happening, a sharp pain pierced his throat. Hot blood sprayed out, splattering even the nearby trees.
Am I... going to die?
Having suffered a fatal blow, the Sand jōnin's awareness snapped out of the genjutsu, but all that awaited him was rapidly fading life.
His vision darkened, and the world lost its color as his body slumped to the ground.
Silence fell over the scene.
The three Sand ninjas stared in shock as their captain's throat was inexplicably slit, his body crumpling to the ground. Their minds went blank, taking several seconds to process what had happened.
"Captain!!"
"He's already dead."
Takuya helpfully clarified, flicking the blood off his kunai. Without looking back, he said to Minato and Nawaki:
"These three chūnin are yours to handle."
Minato and Nawaki needed battle experience, needed to hone their skills, and they needed war merits.
After dispatching the Sand jōnin, Takuya left the three chūnin to them.
Both nodded, silently launching their attacks.
Panicked, two of the Sand chūnin rushed to meet them, while the third immediately fired a flare, signaling for reinforcements.
Seeing the flare, the surrounding Sand ninjas quickly converged on their location.
Takuya watched Minato and Nawaki's battle with a calm expression. If they needed help, he was ready to step in immediately. As for the approaching enemies, Takuya wasn't concerned.
Unless the entire Sand Village army arrived, this vanguard of a few hundred wasn't worth worrying about.
Minato and Nawaki's combat styles were polar opposites.
Minato relied on his exceptional body flicker technique, striking with lethal precision at the perfect moment.
His reflexes, nearly superhuman, allowed him to exploit even the tiniest opening to deliver a fatal blow.
On the other hand, Nawaki's approach was all about brute force.
Nawaki had an immense amount of chakra—maybe not on the scale of a "chakra sea," but definitely enough to be called a "chakra ton."
And being from the Senju clan, he had plenty of jutsu scrolls and notes at his disposal.
As a result, Nawaki's fighting style relied heavily on ninjutsu.
The legendary taijutsu and kenjutsu that made the Senju clan as famous as the Uchiha were barely visible in his approach.
Watching Nawaki unleash a barrage of ninjutsu, Takuya couldn't help but think that Nawaki might become the next Third Hokage.
The difference was that Nawaki didn't know as many jutsu, but he had an overwhelming amount of chakra to throw them around.
Thanks to his abundant chakra, Nawaki managed to turn the C-rank Water Release: Wild Water Wave into something akin to a B-rank jutsu.
A massive jet of water blasted out, smashing the enemy's corpse until it was unrecognizable.
The scene was almost too gruesome to watch.
Takuya covered his eyes, trying to avoid getting a headache.
He suddenly felt the same urge Tsunade often did—to just smack Nawaki around a bit.
"I won."
As Nawaki finished off his opponent and looked around for the last enemy, Minato appeared beside him, casually tossing aside a kunai with a nicked blade.
"...."
Damn it!
He beat me to it again!
Nawaki felt the urge to curse.
Both he and Minato were well aware that they couldn't compete with Takuya, so they ended up constantly trying to outdo each other, whether openly or subtly.
But most of the time, Nawaki ended up on the losing side.
Why does Minato always get there first?
Nawaki scratched his head in frustration.
Takuya, slightly annoyed, said:
"So what if you have more chakra? You threw out a whole series of jutsu, and by the time you were done, Minato had already finished the fight."
Nawaki's face turned red. "I'm not satisfied!"
"Then keep it up. More enemies are coming—let's see if you can handle them."
As Takuya's words echoed, the figures of Sand ninjas began appearing all around them. Nawaki's defiance turned into alarm in an instant.
Even Minato's smug expression vanished.
***********
Note: If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 200+ at patreon.com/Emik01. Don't forget to give a power stone for many bonus chapters