"What a formidable Ninja Will!"
As expected of a jōnin from the Sand Village, the will he unleashed with his roar was so intense that it seemed to affect his comrades, almost like a small-scale illusion that instilled courage.
Unlike Konoha's Will of Fire, whose core concept is "where leaves flutter, fire also burns," emphasizing sacrifice and inheritance, Suna's will was different. It could be called the Will of Wind, and its motto was "listen to my roar."
Its core was based on the law of desert survival, a creed that emphasized the potential to erupt with explosive force in desperate situations, becoming a sandstorm to protect the oasis and the tribe. Although it was also a protective will, it differed from the Will of Stone of Iwagakure. The Will of Stone sought strength in internal fortitude, reflected in superior defense. The Will of Wind was the complete opposite: an explosive outward pursuit of power, reflected in an attack power as violent as a sandstorm.
That's why, when facing a hopeless situation, Sand ninja could often display extraordinary combat power. However, on this occasion, the explosive effect of their will was considerably reduced by the poison running through their veins.
Besides, his barrage of attacks had already left them in shambles. If Sasuke were truly the Konoha jōnin they believed him to be, they would have no chance of victory. Their will was strong, but useless against a force that crushed them. After all, they were already practically defeated.
The situation was clear: of the original six members of the pursuit force, one chūnin had been cut in half by the Fūma Shuriken, and another's legs had been severed by the steel wire before being finished off by a rain of senbon. Two direct casualties, leaving only four. And of those four, three were poisoned, rapidly consuming their chakra to suppress the paralysis. The jōnin captain, the strongest, couldn't form hand seals. The only one left in almost optimal condition was the puppet master, but he had lost one of his puppets, which was like losing a limb in combat.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" he roared, as if to prove he wasn't finished yet.
The puppeteer, a special jōnin, formed hand seals with astonishing speed, almost four per second, and executed a C-rank Wind ninjutsu. A whirlwind erupted from his mouth, dispelling the smoke and dust from the battlefield. Frightened by the sneak attacks, the first thing they did was not to move, but to clear their field of vision. They regrouped, forming a cooperative defense.
'Didn't check the almanac today, such bad luck,' Sasuke thought. Discovering that the puppeteer was also a Wind Style expert was a setback.
After his offensive, although the Sand ninja were now a remnant force, they had become more dangerous. On Sasuke's side, there were seven in total: his team of four and the three from the intelligence team, though the cat-masked ninja seemed about to pass out from poison. Six versus four. They had the numerical advantage and were in better shape, but their opponents were elites with a suicidal determination. In a head-on fight, the advantage was unclear.
Their only trump card was that the enemy still didn't know their true strength; they believed they were facing a jōnin who specialized in traps.
"A Konoha jōnin?" Sasuke snorted to himself, a self-deprecating smirk curling his lips as he unconsciously rubbed a ration pill in his pouch. "I'm barely high-level cannon fodder with a bit of luck and good planning."
If it weren't for the ambush, the help from Tekudō's "Money Escape Jutsu," and his own sonar radar to control the situation, he would never have dared to stay. Luckily, he just needed to hold on a little longer. Support from the mobile patrol shouldn't be long.
"Charge!" the Suna captain roared. "Retrieve the information at all costs!"
Ignoring Sasuke and his team, the Sand ninja maintained a tactical formation and charged like madmen toward the monkey-masked ninja.
"Still thinking about the mission at this point..." Sasuke shook his head, but a cold light flashed in his eyes. "Since you're unwilling to retreat, I'll give you more to deal with."
He ripped the largest sealing scroll from Tekudō's waist and, with an almost predatory excitement, reminded him loudly, "Tekudō, it's time for your revenge!"
Tekudō looked at the remnants of his steel "wives," scattered across the ground, and the sight deeply stimulated him. His eyes turned red, and the veins on his neck bulged. "Ah! My great Fūma wife! My little paper wife! My...!"
With every "wife" he named, Tekudō's rage ascended to a new level, his chakra swirling around him in a palpable fury. He blamed all the damage on the Suna ninja, conveniently forgetting that he himself had been the primary culprit in their destruction.
"You damned Sand-nin, go to hell!" he screamed. He grabbed the other end of the scroll, pulled it, and the seal opened.
"Ningu: Tsurugi no Ranman!" (Ninja Art: Heavenly Blade's Full Bloom)
A deafening roar was heard. Tens of thousands of ninja tools erupted from the scroll, not as a simple volley, but as a volcanic eruption of steel and death. They condensed in the air, forming a metallic tsunami that covered the sky and blotted out the sun.
Poisoned senbon buzzed like a swarm of locusts. A deluge of shuriken, caltrops, kunai, and chain scythes fell like meteors over the battlefield. Heavy swords, iron balls, and steel hammers crashed down directly onto the Sand ninja's formation.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
The bald chūnin was prepared this time. He quickly executed a B-rank defensive ninjutsu, protecting himself and the two puppeteers.
But the Sand Village jōnin at the lead did not hide. He moved with astonishing fluidity, as if dancing on a razor's edge, dodging the larger projectiles.
Clang, clang, clang...
The longsword in his one good hand moved like a blur, deflecting the poisoned senbon one by one with incredible precision. He showed absolute confidence in his strength, staying out in the open to avoid being trapped with his comrades and to continue controlling the rhythm of the battle.