Half a month later.
The Land of Grass, the battlefield where Konoha and Iwagakure clashed.
Yubi and Sasori were hidden behind a mountain hollow.
They watched a rescue team, consisting of Konoha Medical Ninja and logistics Ninja, carrying seven or eight severely wounded comrades back to their stronghold from the front lines.
"That is..."
At this moment, the captain leading the team scouted ahead.
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He saw several drops of blood-colored liquid floating in mid-air under the sunlight.
Is that... blood?
This strange sight made the Konoha team captain instinctively pause.
Whoosh!
However, in the next second... a drop of blood in his vision suddenly elongated and shot towards him.
Without any defense, it pierced through his glabella and exited from the back of his head.
He died instantly!
"Enemy! Enemy attack!"
The Konoha team, maintaining their alert formation, reacted instantly, and the man right behind them immediately shouted.
He hadn't even seen what killed the captain.
Nor did he realize there was danger hidden nearby... Whoosh!
Another drop of blood shot through the air, carrying terrifying speed and penetrating power, killing the Konoha Ninja who had warned his comrades.
At the same time, the rear of the squad was also attacked.
Nearly ten grotesque puppets launched a sudden assault from various angles, from the ground and high in the air. Besides close-combat puppets, there were also puppets responsible for long-range attacks, releasing a large number of hidden weapons. Their 'firepower' coverage was extremely exaggerated, and the bizarre and diverse mechanisms made them difficult to guard against.
Not to mention, there were many injured people in the team, and Medical Ninja and logistics Ninja themselves had limited combat power. Only a few people could truly fight.
"Puppeteer! It's someone from the Hidden Sand Village!"
Someone shouted.
His tone was filled with surprise and uncertainty.
Why would people from the Hidden Sand Village come to the Land of Grass to attack them?
Also, how was their battlefield route exposed?
A nimble and small figure dashed out from the shadows at the foot of the mountain.
The young boy pulled sharp threads with both hands, instantly pouncing towards the gathered Konoha squad members. With the movement of his arms, a silver glint seemed to interweave and flash in the air... but against the sunlight, it was somewhat unclear for a brief moment.
Unable to capture the erratic trajectory of the threads... Seeing the Konoha squad had already skillfully adopted a battle-ready stance, Yubi first flicked his hand, throwing a large number of flying knives.
When the Konoha Ninja in front struck down the blades, thinking the hidden weapons had failed.
Suddenly, the fallen daggers shot up.
Precisely hitting several people's vital points... severely injuring them.
They were caught off guard.
On the other side, Sasori's puppets also tore open the Konoha squad's defensive formation, breaking through.
With the two attacking one after another, the Konoha team instantly collapsed, their positions in disarray.
Amidst the figures, Yubi was like a nimble dancer, his posture twisting and turning, flying knives combined with threads quickly strangling all surrounding enemies.
Boom!
Fireballs erupted, and waves of heat assailed them.
He dodged them one by one.
The opponent's Fire Release did not work.
As figures fell... with Yubi and Sasori's cooperation, this Konoha squad was completely annihilated with overwhelming force.
"I still killed more, you lost again..."
After completely wiping out the enemy, Sasori leaped over from a distance, looking somewhat smugly at Yubi, who was covered in blood.
His puppets were art... elegant in battle.
In contrast, Yubi's close-combat style, using special weapons combined with Ninjutsu, was a bit brutal and bloody.
Anyone cut by his threads had their flesh severed into several pieces.
"Yes, yes... you're really in high spirits, still not tired of it yet..."
Yubi looked at Sasori, who was very competitive, shrugged his shoulders, and said helplessly.
His Ninjutsu and methods could also kill without getting blood on him... he was even better at underhanded tactics.
He just wanted to finish the battle quickly... to cooperate with Sasori's Puppet Jutsu, it was best for one person to pin down the front lines to prevent anyone from escaping.
"Someone's coming..."
Just as the two were about to start their usual bickering, they suddenly heard movement. Their expressions changed, and they instantly retreated, leaving the battlefield... The mission they were carrying out this time was still against Konoha.
The location was still the Land of Grass.
However, this time it was closer to Konoha's operational area and more dangerous.
And the battlefield intelligence the Village received actually came from Iwagakure.
It goes without saying that Iwagakure, currently locked in fierce combat with Konoha, would be more aware of Konoha's deployments in the Land of Grass battlefield. Their willingness to share this intelligence was simply to use the Hidden Sand Village to create trouble for Konoha... Otherwise, Yubi's team would not have been able to accurately strike their targets.
Although... the Hidden Sand Village and Iwagakure also had conflicts, compared to Konoha, the tension was not as strong.
This is how battlefields in the Ninja World are.
Sometimes... the enemy of your enemy is your friend.
This sharing of intelligence incurred no loss for Iwagakure; on the contrary, it benefited them.
Why not?
Furthermore... this mission was not one they actively sought.
Rather, it was assigned by the Village.
They were to operate on the Land of Grass battlefield for a considerable period... in addition to targeting Konoha, their team was also responsible for collecting intelligence from this area.
Of course, for safety's sake... the battlefield area they frequented was quite far from the main battlefield of the Land of Grass; it was another line of engagement.
After all, the one stationed in the Land of Grass battlefield on Konoha's side was Orochimaru, one of the Sannin.
Their team still had to keep a respectful distance... otherwise, once they attracted his attention, the consequences would be beyond what they could bear.
"Well done... Although the target was just a logistics team with many injured, it's clear that your combat experience has a solid foundation. What makes me happiest is that your cooperation is becoming more and more synchronized."
As Sasori and Yubi were sprinting, their captain, Arai, caught up to them from nearby.
He had been observing and protecting the two from the shadows the entire time.
Unless something special happened... he wouldn't intervene.
His main purpose was to train the two juniors.
Sasori was indifferent to Arai's praise.
In his heart, Arai was a Kage Guard and a direct subordinate of the Third Kazekage... not to be trusted.
"Lord Kazekage instructed that he wants you to try and see the upper limit of your Bloodline Limit's flexibility in various combat scenarios, facing different situations and opponents, within your capabilities... This flexibility doesn't refer to incorporating changes in Ninjutsu, but purely to what extent you can use blood."
Arai looked at Yubi.
"Understood... I understand."
Yubi nodded.
Arai smiled slightly, "Let's go... to another, smaller front line. The Konoha forces here will soon know of our presence, and continuing here would be dangerous. Our mission this time is actually quite simple: to harass Konoha's various small front lines and try to cause them some trouble."
In short, it was hit and run.
This was safer.
Although it couldn't cause any serious impact on Konoha, the different battlefield environments and the nature of the harassment operations could still provide excellent 'nourishment' for Yubi and Sasori at this stage.
The entire Land of Grass is not large, but there are many large and small battlefields between Konoha and Iwagakure.
Both sides, for ultimate victory, have been carrying out sequential combat deployments over a long period... Today's battlefield was not formed overnight.
As long as they don't get close to the main battlefield area, it's enough for their squad to grind experience.