Silence.
The air suddenly solidified as if it were tangible.
Yano's students had just landed from the trees and were about to move, circling into the dense fog outside the forest.
The three figures formed a triangular formation, positioning themselves around them, encircling them.
Although a bit startled, when Yano jumped down, his students instantly gathered beside him, adopting a defensive posture.
Yubi, Sasori, and Arai each stood on a tree, looking down at them from above.
"The war between Sunagakure and Konoha has ended... Do you intend to reignite the conflict? Kumogakure has retreated, and this war has officially concluded. If it's just you from Sunagakure, there's no chance of victory against our Konoha. Given Sunagakure's current situation, you probably don't have the resources to sustain a large-scale war, do you?"
Yano's eyes flickered as he looked up at the three, swallowing before speaking.
"He... seems to know a lot about our Sunagakure. It appears... Konoha hasn't collected any less intelligence on us."
Yubi's lips curled into an arc as he chuckled.
Sasori said nothing.
Because the Konoha Ninja in front of him threatening them with war was simply laughable.
This Ninja World War had indeed ended, but the conflicts between the various Villages had never ceased.
To say such a thing didn't mean the opponent was brainless... it meant they were truly out of options.
"He recognizes us."
Arai said calmly.
He saw a hint of resolve and apprehension on the other party's face.
Such an expression, in a situation where the difference between enemy and ally was clear... meant they had made an estimation in their heart.
They were ready to die.
Yubi's gaze swept over the Konoha youths who were about the same age as him.
Hmm?
When he glimpsed one of them, he suddenly raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
Who?
Yubi's heart stirred.
Anyone he found familiar... was most likely a plot character.
It's just that they were still quite young now, so... it was hard to tell.
"I think I've seen you before."
Yubi smiled slightly, pointing at the familiar-faced youth.
The latter tensed up, appearing somewhat uneasy.
Hearing Yubi say that, the youth was startled.
"I don't know you."
The youth replied with a dry mouth.
Sasori glanced at Yubi, wondering what he was thinking.
As a Sunagakure Ninja, how could he know someone from Konoha... Yubi had never been to Konoha.
"What's your name?" Yubi asked.
"Aoba Yamashiro."
The youth looked at his teacher and actually answered.
Evidently, Aoba Yamashiro didn't want to appear spineless, so he answered quite firmly.
It's him.
Yubi was enlightened upon hearing this.
He remembered, it was the character who, like Uchiha Itachi, liked crows, and would become a Special Jonin of the Konoha Intelligence Division in the future.
When he grew up, he liked to wear sunglasses.
He often appeared with another minor character, Raido Namiashi, and the two seemed to even have a combination technique.
"Could he be Raido Namiashi?"
Yubi looked at the boy standing shoulder to shoulder with Aoba Yamashiro; he didn't recognize him.
Now that Aoba Yamashiro had spoken, Yubi felt that this guy's appearance was somewhat similar to the vague image of Raido Namiashi in his memory.
His impression of Raido Namiashi was of the scars on his face.
"My apologies, I was mistaken."
Yubi laughed, rubbing his hair, and said casually.
Sasori frowned, "What are you dawdling for... just kill them all..."
With that, his fingertip moved.
Several Puppets instantly broke through the air from the tree canopy above the Konoha squad, descending.
"Scatter!"
Yano shouted, "Run!"
He knew very well that the squad stood no chance against the three in front of them.
At this moment, the Hiding in Mist Technique cast by the Hidden Mist outside the forest, ironically, could provide a form of protection for Aoba Yamashiro and the others.
There was another Jonin comrade there, which was better than their small squad facing the opponents alone.
Bang!
A smoke bomb shot from Yano's gauntlet, exploding at his feet. A large amount of dense smoke immediately billowed up, obscuring their vision.
He was creating an opportunity for his students to escape.
This type of Ninja tool, like explosive tags, was very common on the battlefield.
Without any communication, Arai and the other two instantly moved.
Arai directly engaged the Jonin, while the three Genin were confidently left to Sasori and Yubi.
When encountering enemies on the battlefield... since they met, there was no need to leave anyone alive.
Especially since the other party had already recognized them.
In the smoke, Aoba Yamashiro had just started, darting several meters, when a dark shadow precisely intercepted him.
It was Yubi.
"So fast! Teacher Yano released the smoke bomb first, and given their distance and positions, it should be more difficult for them to land and interfere with us."
Aoba's heart trembled, but his hands didn't stop. He gripped his Kunai tightly, attacking Yubi's vital points.
After several consecutive stabs, finding that the opponent easily dodged them, he instantly lowered his body, using his hands and feet to launch a series of Taijutsu moves at Yubi... attempting to force him back.
Aoba's flexible body spun in the air, his legs sweeping.
But Yubi, standing before him, merely raised his hands, blocking a few times, easily parrying all of his attacks... without even moving his feet much.
"Although very young, he quickly assessed the battle situation, prioritizing escape, and... his Taijutsu is very fluid, not bad." Yubi observed while blocking attacks.
This physical strength and Taijutsu level... were decent.
Whoosh, whoosh... several Kunai, pulled by steel wires, shot towards him.
Yubi tilted his head to dodge.
Unexpectedly, after the Kunai flew past his head, they surprisingly turned back to attack as Aoba tugged his hand.
Yubi was amused.
This method of controlling Ninja tools was very similar to his Blade Intent Manipulation, just cruder and less refined.
In fact, in the Ninja World's combat styles, there were many similar techniques, including the Puppeteers' Puppet Attack Blades in Sunagakure, which also used Chakra threads to control weapons and strike specific points on targets.
However, none of these techniques could achieve the flexibility and stealth of his flying blade manipulation, which could kill from a distance... nor did they have that level of agility.
Their speed and power... were also very poor.
Of course, the strength of a technique depends on the user's skill... here, Yubi was referring solely to the technicality of his self-created Ninjutsu.
"Taijutsu, shurikens, and Ninja tool usage... he has a foundation in all of them. This is a character with comprehensively developed combat abilities. Although he can't compare to those of Konoha's 'golden generation'... he still has great potential to become a Special Jonin..."
Yubi thought to himself.
Seeing Yubi dodge again as if he had eyes in the back of his head, Aoba, after spinning and landing, immediately formed hand seals.
Preparing to use Ninjutsu.
However, his hand seals were only halfway formed.
His entire body unexpectedly arched, his pupils dilated, and saliva sprayed from his mouth.
A sharp pain shot through his abdomen.
Yubi analyzed his movements and fighting style, closed in, and with a simple knee strike, almost made Aoba lose consciousness.
In the instant his body lost balance, Aoba endured the pain and raised his arm, attempting to counterattack.
But his wrist was seized by Yubi's hand, suppressing his counterattack with a grappling technique.
Then... another thread sliced across.
Thud.
Aoba's body fell to the ground.
Motionless.
A red line burst from the flesh of his neck, slowly oozing blood.
All this happened in about a minute.
Yubi handled it with ease... if he had wanted to, Aoba would have been dead the moment Yubi landed.
Because, from beginning to end, Aoba had no defense against his 'threads'.
He didn't notice them at all.
'Ding! Because the host killed a plot character, you gained negative experience points +200!'
Yubi heard the notification in his mind.
"So little?"
He was a bit surprised.
Aoba was, after all, a future Special Jonin of Konoha... although he didn't hold much weight in Konoha, he wasn't entirely a minor character.
"It's probably due to strength. For me right now, his level isn't worth much... so the experience points were reduced," Yubi speculated.
'Please note... Because the plot character killed by the host is a member of Konoha's special era and background, you gained Konoha Hatred +8, and will be targeted and met with hostility by some Konoha plot characters.'
Huh?
The system suddenly rang again.
Yubi's heart stirred.
Does this refer to... Konoha's golden generation?
Or... even more dangerous characters... Yubi thought for a moment, then shook his head.
Although there might be some trouble... it wouldn't have much impact.
Not just Konoha, but everyone in the Ninja World, besides him, was the same.
As long as their stances and factions differed, they were opponents... it didn't matter who the enemy was.
For Ninja, this was a world full of danger and cruelty, and the Ninja World had always been this way.
Times of peace were slightly better, but that was merely a temporary disguise.
The underlying logic remained the same.
Whoosh.
Yubi shot out, leaving a trail of white smoke.
Chasing other targets.
When he arrived nearby, he saw that another Konoha Genin had already been severely wounded by Sasori's Puppet, barely clinging to life.
The reason he hadn't been killed was because Sasori wanted to extract some current information about Konoha from him.
Any information they could get was better than none.
Even if the opponent couldn't know any important clues or secrets, understanding Konoha's current situation was still good.
"Why so slow?"
Sasori looked at Yubi as he approached, and spoke.
"Hehe."
Yubi gave an awkward laugh, offering no explanation.
Even with the smoke bomb interference, Sasori had instantly used his Puppet to take down one Genin, then targeted this one.
He walked over to the youth, who was slumped at the base of a tree, leaning against the trunk... his consciousness already somewhat hazy.
A small pool of blood had already gathered on the ground... Yubi knelt down, "You're Raido Namiashi, right?"
The youth's unfocused pupils constricted slightly upon hearing this.
Yubi understood.
"Did you get anything out of him?"
He looked back at Sasori.
Sasori remained silent.
Clearly, even facing the threat of death, Raido Namiashi showed no intention of betraying his Village.
"Rest in peace."
Yubi wasn't surprised, slowly standing up.
After saying two words, he cleanly ended his life.