Sorry, I'm the grandson.
Shiranui Genma was stunned, unable to even shake the senbon he had in his mouth. He truly hadn't expected the other side's sensory abilities to be so strong. He had only gotten a little closer, and he was already discovered.
Izumo, Kotetsu, and Shizune looked at him helplessly, their eyes filled with speechlessness.
What a surprise, Shiranui Genma coughed awkwardly, turning his head in guilt and not daring to look at the three of them.
Here's what happened: The four of them had planned to find the four Otogakure ninjas, secretly follow them, and wait for Sasuke to get out of danger before they made their move to subdue the four. This way, they could avenge the Third Hokage without going against Tsunade-sama's orders.
They were lucky. They hadn't walked far before they encountered them, and since Shizune, being a medical ninja, had good chakra sensory abilities, they had planned to follow from a distance. But then Shiranui Genma was spotted.
There wasn't anything unusual about it. It was sudden, and only Shiranui Genma was discovered—none of the others were. Now the eight of them were face-to-face, and a fight was unavoidable. But they couldn't act immediately, or they might accidentally hurt Sasuke, and that would be disastrous.
However, it was clear that the four from Otogakure wouldn't let them off the hook, so there was only one option left.
Shizune and the others exchanged a glance, determination flashing in their eyes. The answer was clear.
Shiranui Genma turned to the Otogakure ninjas, sneering as he spoke, "You four actually dare step into the Land of Fire's territory? Well, since you're here, there's no need to leave. Stay and experience the local culture of the Land of Fire."
Just act. Yeah, just act.
There was no choice. In this situation, acting was their only option. They had been discovered, so what could they do? They couldn't just ignore Sasuke and kill the four Otogakure ninjas. Tsunade had told them to take a detour, but they had headed straight for the four—if they went back now, they'd get an earful from her.
Even though they didn't fully understand Tsunade-sama's reasons for her orders, they all agreed that if they didn't want to get scolded, acting was the best choice.
The four Otogakure ninjas didn't realize anything was wrong. Jiroubo even sneered and said, "Konoha ninjas? This is bad for you."
He said it was bad, but his expression didn't reflect that at all. Instead, he seemed incredibly excited.
That's right. These four, like Yakushi Kabuto, had been brainwashed by Orochimaru. They thought Konoha was just a decaying, old place with declining strength, no longer the strongest ninja village. To them, there was nothing to worry about.
Yeah, nothing to worry about. A few Genin could easily kill all four Otogakure ninjas. Well, except for Yami, who lost—everyone else won.
Kidomaru raised his hand to stop Jiroubo, sneering as he said, "Jirobo, leave these guys to us. You just focus on protecting Sasuke-sama."
Jiroubo's sneer faltered, and he shook the huge wooden barrel on his back, his face darkening. "Tch, I also want to kill a few Konoha ninjas for fun."
"Leave it to us," Tayuya stepped forward, clearly not taking Shizune and the others seriously.
That attitude... tch, I really want to just kill them!
Shiranui Genma was furious. It wasn't just him; Izumo and Kotetsu felt the same. They were struggling to hold back their anger. If it weren't for Sasuke, they really wanted to directly strike down these four arrogant fools.
Are you this confident your family knows about this?
Oh, you don't have a family? Well, never mind.
Four orphans.
For some reason, Kidomaru suddenly became angry. Without waiting for Sakon and Tayuya to intervene, he activated his cursed seal. The dark chakra spread over his skin, and his powerful chakra radiated an overwhelming pressure toward the Konoha ninjas.
The four of them immediately became serious. Although they looked down on these Otogakure ninjas, they couldn't deny that the cursed seal did indeed boost their fighting power quite a bit. It was better to be cautious.
The following battle isn't worth going into detail. In the end, the four of them encountered three reckless ones. By the end of the fight, besides Izumo and Kotetsu symbolically suffering "serious injuries" and "having to" retreat, none of them were actually hurt.
The four Konohagakure ninjas reluctantly chose to retreat. Shizune and Shiranui Genma each carried a "wounded" person as they fled, moving so fast that the three Otogakure ninjas couldn't catch up, especially with them having to watch over Sasuke…
Kidomaru spat as he watched the four of them "flee in disgrace." "This is it? This is what Jonin from Konohagakure are like?"
Well… Actually, only Shizune was a Jonin, and she was a medical ninja Jonin. The other three were special Jonin.
Tayuya, looking quite proud, said, "Konohagakure is really falling behind. Their Jonin are weaker than the ones from our village."
They clearly ignored the fact that their own village's Jonin were slaughtered like crops during Konohagakure's destruction plan, and were now completely immersed in the joy of victory.
Sakon glanced at the two of them, his face showing little reaction. "Let's go. We need to leave the Land of Fire quickly. While Konohagakure is nothing to be afraid of, once these four report back, we might have more ninjas chasing after us."
"Bring one, I'll kill one," Kidomaru said confidently.
No one replied, probably because they were all thinking the same thing.
Hmph, Konohagakure, the largest ninja nation in the world, with the strongest ninjas. They thought they'd have an exciting life-and-death battle, but it turns out that these "Jonin" are no better than Genin. They couldn't even force out their Stage 2 cursed seal. Is this all?
Their huge confidence filled their minds as they marched home without a care.
On the other side, the "seriously injured" Izumo and Kotetsu glanced behind them, their pale faces devoid of any blood. "Are they catching up?"
"No." Shiranui Genma replied, then unceremoniously tossed the "injured" Izumo to the ground.
Once Izumo, who had looked pale, was thrown down by Genma, he suddenly seemed fine. His pale face had color again, and his injured body had healed, looking as good as new.
He touched his chest, feeling a bit of tooth pain. "Seriously, these four guys are pretty strong, especially that woman who uses Genjutsu. I bet Kurenai wasn't as strong at her age."
"It's different." Shizune shook her head as she let go of Kotetsu. "That woman's Genjutsu is too straightforward. At the same age, Kurenai would have been weaker, but if it came down to a fight, Kurenai wouldn't lose to her."
Don't underestimate Kurenai, Konohagakure's top Genjutsu expert! In ninja battles, she's a deadly weapon. If it weren't for fighting against people with high resistance to Genjutsu like tailed beasts or Uchiha Itachi recently, what would happen if she faced regular ninjas?
If Kurenai had met those four, they wouldn't even have had a chance to fight back before their heads were separated from their bodies.
"So where does their confidence come from?" Kotetsu scratched his head in confusion. "With their level, they're at most Chunin level. They can barely qualify as special Jonin. Why do they look down on us so much?"
It's really hard to understand where Otogakure ninjas get their strange self-confidence.
As for this, a knowledgeable fox would say: Orochimaru, you are truly evil!
....
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