"Hmm?"
Not long after, Arai, who was still running, immediately sensed that something was wrong.
The enemies... actually caught up!
"Only two..."
Arai glanced back and saw two figures sprinting toward them from behind.
"No... neither of these two is the one who locked onto and sensed us."
Arai narrowed his eyes without stopping, and immediately said to Yubi and Scorpion, "The enemy squad must have split up, letting their two strongest members accelerate recklessly to engage us first. There must be an unknown number of enemies trailing behind..."
Jonin?
Too fast... Yubi glanced back after hearing this.
With just that glance, the two Konoha Jonin who had been chasing them moments ago were now running side-by-side with their squad, one on the left and one on the right.
At first glance, the five of them looked like they belonged to the same team.
But the two men's combat uniforms, as well as their headbands, were distinctly different from those worn by the three of them.
"It's you... Arai!"
The two Konoha Jonin did not immediately attack. After catching up, they maintained a certain distance and scrutinized Yubi and Scorpion.
This person had a long scar on his cheek and seemed to recognize Arai, calling out his name.
"Ryosuke."
Arai was expressionless.
"Instead of staying by the Kazekage's side, you came out to protect these two brats on a mission to the Land of Grass... Heh heh, are they rising stars specially cultivated by your Hidden Sand Village? Or... the descendants of some important figure or family in your Village?"
Ryosuke raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a malicious smile.
His eyes began to gleam menacingly as he focused on Yubi and Scorpion.
"New faces, huh... I didn't see these two brats when our two Villages were fighting fiercely before... They don't look very old, did they just graduate from the Ninja Academy?"
The other Konoha Jonin chimed in, deliberately creating psychological pressure.
Arai remained composed, letting his gaze linger between the two, and whispered, "You two go first."
His meaning was abundantly clear.
He intended to hold off the two Konoha Ninja, creating an opportunity for Yubi and Scorpion to escape.
"Don't think about running away... Are you planning to sacrifice yourself to protect these two brats?"
However, as soon as he finished speaking.
Ryosuke instantly leaped forward, blocking the path of the three.
Next, he quickly formed hand signs and slammed his palms onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Cracking Earth Palm!"
With a soft shout, just as the three, including Yubi, stopped, the ground beneath their feet instantly cracked open, sending rocks and dirt tumbling.
The rapidly widening fissure resembled a dark, gaping maw of an abyss, threatening to swallow Yubi and Scorpion.
The same Ninjutsu, when performed by individuals of different strengths, yields vastly different effects and power.
It's not just the amount of Chakra output... but also the control and variation of the Ninjutsu's form.
The moment this Jonin made his move, Yubi and Scorpion felt like they were facing a natural disaster, enduring the wrath of nature.
The dust and dirt sprayed up by the rupture left them no room to dodge.
Even so, Yubi and Scorpion instinctively jumped up to avoid the scope of the Earth Release... However, the moment they leaped, two Kunai attached with explosive tags accurately flew toward their faces.
The timing was perfectly executed.
He had anticipated the pair's evasion trajectories and positions.
Clang, clang... With two crisp sounds, Arai struck the two flying Kunai, knocking them away.
He then formed hand signs with both hands and unleashed a furious Wind Release.
A fierce curtain of wind swept up, clearing away all the dust and nearby rolling dirt.
He grabbed the unsteady Yubi and Scorpion, who were falling from the air, and with a flash, landed in a safe area.
He set them down.
"I'll keep him busy, you deal with those two brats... He seems very concerned about their safety," Ryosuke said to his companion upon seeing this.
Neither of them intended to kill Yubi and Scorpion immediately.
After all, Arai was there.
He was, after all, a Kage Guard and an Elite Jōnin of Hidden Sand Village.
"We've been targeted... For them, Arai is no longer the primary target; the danger lies with Scorpion and me. In this situation, the likelihood of Scorpion and me escaping is low... Furthermore, if Arai were alone, he wouldn't face such great pressure dealing with these two. But in this specific circumstance, Scorpion and I have become his burden... As long as the enemy uses us to affect or restrain Arai, Arai's combat strength will definitely be 'weakened'."
Yubi's expression was cold.
During this long chase, a considerable amount of his and Scorpion's stamina had been depleted.
"What's more troublesome is... the effect of my data observation ability on Jonin is... quite poor," Yubi thought internally.
In the short time span of less than a minute, from the moment the opponents appeared to when they attacked, he had already tried to 'establish data,' but... the templates for both targets were blank.
The physical functions and various attributes they displayed externally were also vague and impossible to judge.
Scorpion rotated a scroll in his hand.
Immediately, as the scroll was unsealed and he adopted a fighting stance, he released Chakra threads from his hands... controlling several puppets.
"Puppeteer... Heh."
Ryosuke sneered upon seeing this.
Without any further nonsense, he immediately charged toward Arai.
The battle instantly began!
Arai also actively moved to meet his opponent, leaving Yubi and Scorpion's side.
The issues Yubi could consider, Arai naturally understood as well.
Compared to being restrained and attacked, the best solution was to first focus on taking down one opponent... deliberately ignoring the presence of Scorpion and Yubi.
Although doing this might put Yubi and Scorpion in mortal danger.
But this was the optimal way to solve the problem.
At this moment, deliberately protecting the two might lead the squad into a more troublesome situation.
As for Yubi and Scorpion, they could only rely on their own capabilities.
They had to try to stay alive until he took down one enemy... What Arai was more wary of was not just these two Konoha Jonin, but also the reinforcements rushing up behind them.
The number of people was unknown.
They had to finish the fight quickly, otherwise... if they were stalled, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Bang, bang, bang.
Arai and Ryosuke, the two Jonin, instantly engaged in close combat and began fighting fiercely.
Meanwhile, the other Konoha Jonin, like a hungry wolf targeting a lamb, appeared behind Yubi like a ghost.
"It's not that I can't capture the data... it's that... I can't see him."
Yubi's eyelid twitched.
Body Flicker Technique... A high-speed movement performed as a burst of Taijutsu, enhanced by Chakra.
Frighteningly fast!
This is the gap... For a Jonin... ordinary Chunin and Genin are practically instant kills.
Yubi already felt cold, sharp spikes piercing into his body near his back... "Hmm?"
Konoha's Jonin Otani's pupils contracted.
He also thought this strike would kill the boy.
He knew even better that the boy before him... had no way to react to his attack.
However, what was interesting was that... facing the onset of death, the boy remained extremely calm.
Although his body movements were delayed, he was neither paralyzed by fear nor had he lost his fighting spirit.
Instead, while slightly turning sideways, he forcefully crossed and gathered his hands, turning his back to the attacker... pulling the threads attached to his fingertips.
Simultaneously, a gust of wind struck from the side.
A puppet with a wooden human head, but embedded with three eyeballs and multiple arms, 'opened' its mouth, spitting out poison-tipped spikes that flew towards him.
"These two brats..."
Otani's heart tightened.
Although... the two boys' reactions were half a step slow, they had undoubtedly... managed to barely keep up with the 'rhythm' of the battle.
Judging by their age... and the abilities they displayed in this instant.
The potential of these two boys as Ninja was immeasurable.
They had definitely entered the ranks of geniuses.
"Therefore..."
"We must... kill them here!"
Otani's gaze was icy.