As the sound and music arose, the several Iwagakure Ninja who had been accelerating suddenly seemed to be hit by a paralysis technique, their movements becoming sluggish.
"Genjutsu?"
The Iwagakure Ninja Squad Leader's heart jolted.
Genjutsu is essentially a form of mental attack where a Ninja uses the flow of Chakra within their own brain's neural pathways to cast it upon a target.
When the brain is interfered with, the five senses consequently become disordered.
The best method to break it is to disrupt the flow of Chakra within one's own body, rather than indirectly controlling one's own Chakra flow through the brain as directed by the opponent's genjutsu.
To put it simply, it's a clash of will and consciousness.
Thud.
Soon, one of the Iwagakure Ninja Squad Leader's comrades fainted and collapsed to the ground.
He had been hypnotized.
His own consciousness also began to blur... In desperation, he immediately bit his tongue, the intense pain making him somewhat clearer.
"Something's wrong... There's no significant change in my senses. Instead, it's... my emotions." The Iwagakure Ninja Squad Leader detected an anomaly.
Because suddenly, catalyzed by the melody lingering in his ears, a feeling of 'laziness' actually sprouted in his heart.
Not only was his Battle Intent fading... but a trace of fear was even being amplified.
And the source of this fear was the mysteriousness displayed by the youth before him.
He was clearly a Medical Ninja, yet his practical experience and skill level were so terrifying... He could even use methods he had never seen before.
Now he could even employ genjutsu.
This was simply a bit unbelievable.
Just what else... was he incapable of?
Under the interference of the genjutsu, this thought in his mind gradually evolved into a palpitation and lingering fear towards the enemy's unknown abilities.
Yubi, while playing the ninja tool, stepped closer to the Iwagakure Ninja.
He could clearly see the constantly changing expressions on this Iwagakure Ninja Squad Leader's face: panic, timidity, struggle... and moments of regained calm. After the Imperial Armament was assimilated into a ninja tool, this large-scale control effect, like genjutsu, could be resisted or even broken depending on the Ninja's own level.
Clearly, this Iwagakure Ninja possessed decent Mental Energy... but not enough to completely shake off the ninja tool's interference.
Snap.
As Yubi arrived before him, the Iwagakure Ninja let out a furious shout. His previously sluggish body suddenly lunged forward, the Kunai in his hand stabbing towards Yubi's chest... But this weak, feeble strike was caught barehanded by the youth.
Thwip, thwip, thwip... As the flute sound vanished, several spurts of blood shot through the air.
Instantly striking the vital points of all the Iwagakure Ninja.
Dealing with them all.
In an instant, the entire Iwagakure squad standing before Yubi collapsed to the ground.
"Hmm... The effect is pretty good. The control over a single target isn't too strong, after all, any Ninja with a bit of skill knows how to deal with genjutsu. Given this guy's level, he might have regained his composure in a little while longer."
"Its true value lies in group interference... It doesn't consume excessive Chakra due to an increase in targets, and its power doesn't diminish. But if used against experts skilled in genjutsu or very powerful characters, achieving a decisive victory would probably be a bit difficult."
"However... this thing is originally a battlefield weapon against enemies. Using it in a one-on-one fight would somewhat waste its purpose."
"It's also a decent hidden card..."
After also disposing of the previously unconscious Sunagakure Ninja, Yubi concealed any traces.
He quickly left... Meanwhile, after taking the injured Sunagakure Ninja to a safe area, Itō immediately turned back to look for Yubi.
However, though he thought he was fast, upon returning to the battlefield, he found that part of the pursuing Iwagakure force was already dead.
Yubi and the remaining Iwagakure Ninja were nowhere to be found.
"This..."
Itō gazed at the large number of trees on the ground that had been severed and cut, his eyes flickering.
Such destructive power... Whose handiwork was this?
It looked like it was caused by some kind of Wind Release.
However, such a large area and power were definitely not from an ordinary Wind Release Ninjutsu.
The dead were all Iwagakure... "Was it Yubi?" Itō speculated.
When it came to Wind Release, the most proficient were naturally from their Hidden Sand Village.
But he hadn't heard that Yubi knew Wind Release.
There were also some traces of ground collapse on the scene caused by Earth Release.
The problem was, he now didn't know where Yubi and the remaining Iwagakure Ninja had moved to.
It wasn't easy for him to search either.
After all, this was within Iwagakure's warzone.
If he lingered too long, it would be troublesome once Iwagakure reinforcements arrived.
In the end, Itō could only leave first and go back to report.
And not long after he left, several dark figures sped over from the distance.
Landing on the chaotic battlefield.
The sight that met their eyes caused the expressions of the Iwagakure people to change drastically.
The person leading them gestured with a hand signal.
The others immediately scattered, beginning to inspect the battlefield and the bodies.
"Yubi... How did this brat... manage this?"
The Iwagakure Squad Head took a deep breath.
His stern tone held a trace of barely suppressed shock and doubt.
They had rushed here as fast as possible after receiving the news.
According to the intelligence, the outpost squad here was facing... only that Sunagakure brat alone!
And he was a Medical Ninja at that.
"Captain, we found a mark, to the northwest."
Soon, an Iwagakure Ninja returned and spoke.
This was a special mark left by their Iwagakure.
"Pursue!"
The Iwagakure Squad Head commanded.
The group swiftly dashed towards the northwest.
After a while, they arrived at the second'scene'.
Once again seeing several fallen comrades, lifeless.
"..."
Everyone fell silent.
All killed... not a single survivor.
The problem was... the enemy had ended the battle in such a short time.
"One-hit kills."
After examining the cause of his comrades' deaths, an Iwagakure Ninja spoke with a trembling voice.
Just like the comrades who died in the previous area... no extra injuries.
It seemed they didn't even have room to resist or struggle.
All seemed to have been pierced through vital points by some kind of sharp weapon.
However, judging by the time of death, the battle should have just ended not long ago.
"Find... you must find that brat for me!"
The Iwagakure Squad Head clenched his fist and said firmly.
"Yes!"
..."What?!"
Returning to the base, Itō reported the intelligence to Shimizu.
Upon hearing that Yubi was missing, Shimizu, as the overall commander, immediately felt a tremor in his heart.
The thing he least wanted to see had still happened... According to Itō's description, the child Yubi had chosen to'sacrifice' himself.
It wasn't that Itō was incompetent; he just hadn't expected Yubi to be so resolute.
But the situation wasn't bad to an unacceptable degree. At least... from what Itō observed upon returning, Yubi should still be alive and had killed quite a few Iwagakure Ninja.
It's just... being in the Land of Birds, the longer this dragged on, the bigger Iwagakure's actions would certainly become.
By then, whether Yubi could escape safely would be an unknown.
Rescuing him later would already be meaningless.
Iwagakure had already fully reacted.
This kind of operation could only be carried out once.
"Should we go to war..."
Itō glanced meaningfully at Shimizu.
The war he spoke of meant mobilizing an entire Sunagakure force to press against Iwagakure's defensive line in the Land of Birds.
Launching a full-scale assault, a decisive battle!
"Unnecessary."
At this moment, compared to the tense crowd, the usually taciturn Sasori suddenly spoke.
"Don't worry, he won't die... He's not foolish enough to actively seek death."
"Moreover, even if he died, we would receive the news here. Iwagakure would be eager to use this to demoralize us... As long as there's no news from Iwagakure, it means he's safe."
"After we receive definite news of his death, we can proceed with subsequent battle arrangements."
Sasori had actually spoken several sentences in one go.
He was the person present who knew Yubi the best.
That guy Yubi... although in the eyes of outsiders, he was enthusiastic, kind, and amiable.
A genuine nice guy that everyone liked... but Sasori knew clearly that guy was cunning, unusually smart.
According to Itō's words, Yubi's'sacrifice' of himself was righteous and awe-inspiring, imbued with a heroic will, commanding admiration.
But upon hearing this description, Sasori's first reaction was... something's fishy.
Yubi must have his reasons for doing this.
Back when Yubi said he wanted to go rescue people, using the duty of a Medical Ninja and other such pretexts, Sasori had smelled the scent of a 'lie'.
He had cooperated... and hadn't exposed it.
"He actually didn't tell me..."
Sasori's gaze turned cold.
And now, that guy was secretly causing trouble behind his back...