“I’ll handle the enemy captain with Kurozuna. Shalmin, you go take care of that brat throwing shuriken.”

  The towering Sand ninja with face paint gave a brief nod before rushing into battle alongside Matthew against Yamanaka Haiichi.

  On the other side, hearing his captain’s command, Shalmin didn’t hesitate. Just a brat—should be easy.

  As the enemy closed in, Shimizu Miketsuki didn’t back down. He drew the Mistcutter and engaged head-on.

  Sure, he dreamed of being a mage someday, but this was the battlefield. Even with the Six Eyes boosting his chakra efficiency to near perfection, his underdeveloped body meant chakra still had to be used sparingly.

  That said, Miketsuki wasn’t some fragile support ninja anymore. Maybe he’d been soft in the past—his defenses practically nonexistent until st year—but since his second wish came true, he’d become tough as hell.

  Not bad, right, System? Kinda magical, huh?

  Miketsuki deflected Shalmin’s kunai with the Mistcutter, while his left hand secretly formed seals.

  A blinding fsh of lightning burst along the bde—like a thousand thunderbirds screeching in unison.

  Shalmin’s instincts screamed danger. He tried to retreat, but a jolt of electricity shot through his limbs, paralyzing him just long enough.

  “Shit!”

  Panic gripped him. That much power—when the hell did this kid even make hand signs? Silent ninjutsu? What kind of monster is this?

  “Rasengan!”

  Miketsuki wasn’t about to waste the opportunity. A glowing Rasengan smmed into Shalmin’s left chest, bsting him off his feet and straight into a tree.

  Half his torso was gone. Dead beyond a doubt.

  “Knew it,” Matthew muttered as he gnced over from the distance. Seeing Shalmin’s corpse, he wasn’t surprised. Geniuses like that—if you don’t have intel, even seasoned warriors can get caught off guard.

  Shalmin still had a few cards up his sleeve. But in a ninja battle, it’s not about who’s got the deepest pockets—it’s about who walks away alive.

  “Ruri, go help Heiji. I’ll assist Haiichi-sensei!” Miketsuki called out before darting toward his teacher’s direction.

  Uchiha Ruri didn’t say a word—just nodded and turned toward Hyuga Heiji.

  “Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!”

  While Heiji was keeping the puppet occupied, Ruri unched a massive fireball at the enemy’s real body.

  The Sand puppeteer hadn’t expected his teammates to fold so quickly, and scrambled to evade the incoming fmes.

  But in doing so, his control over the puppet faltered—its movements stuttered.

  Heiji seized the chance. Switching from defense to offense, he closed the gap in an instant.

  “Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!”

  The puppet shattered into pieces under the Hyuga’s relentless assault.

  With his Byakugan active, Heiji had already noticed that Miketsuki had eliminated his target with a clean kill. And now, with Ruri backing him up, it was two-on-one—and the enemy had just lost their puppet.

  The advantage was theirs.

  Heiji didn’t hold back. Sensei had only asked them to stall, but if they could take an enemy out, all the better.

  As for Haiichi-sensei—he’d be fine with Miketsuki joining the fray.

  And thank god he did—at least, that’s what Haiichi was thinking now.

  He’d been struggling. The two Sand ninja facing him weren’t pushovers. Their captain wielded powerful Wind Style jutsu, and the other—a tall brute with face paint—was a taijutsu specialist.

  Long-range and close-quarters pressure—it was hell to keep up.

  “Earth Style: Earth Core Quake!”

  Miketsuki smmed his palm into the ground. The earth beneath the tall Sand ninja’s feet colpsed without warning.

  Haiichi immediately hurled a kunai and leapt back, detonating the explosive tag tied to its end.

  A thunderous boom rocked the battlefield. Smoke billowed from the crater Miketsuki’s Earth Style had created.

  Haiichi regrouped with Miketsuki and warned, “Don’t let your guard down. I can still sense chakra down there.”

  Unlike Haiichi’s perception, Miketsuki could see it clearly. The tall Sand ninja had reacted fast—diving underground using an Earth Style technique just before the bst.

  Suddenly, a barrage of poisoned projectiles shot out of the smoke, their edges gleaming with a purple sheen.

  Even with medics on their team, Miketsuki had no intention of letting mystery toxins get the better of him.

  “Chidori Current.”

  The sound of screeching lightning returned, louder than before. This time, the brilliant arcs of energy wrapped around Miketsuki’s entire body.

  No more pying games.

  With a burst of speed from the Chidori Current, Miketsuki shot forward, materializing right in front of the tall Sand ninja as he emerged from underground.

  “Chidori Stream: Fsh!”

  Lightning danced obediently along the Mistcutter’s bde as Miketsuki brought it down in a fierce arc.

  “He’s fast.”

  The Sand ninja—Kurozuna—knew he couldn’t dodge. He tried to brace himself with a defensive Earth Hardening jutsu, but he underestimated the raw force behind that strike.

  Boom!

  The ground around him charred bck from the lightning. His arm was nearly severed by the blow.

  The injury was devastating—but Kurozuna didn’t lose consciousness. Gritting his teeth, he clenched his muscles tight, locking the Mistcutter in pce and preventing Miketsuki from pulling it free.

  “Secret Technique: Sand Flow Prison!”

  He stomped hard. The earth beneath Miketsuki liquefied into flowing sand, binding him in pce.

  This kid… he couldn’t be allowed to grow stronger. The Sand Vilge couldn’t endure another White Fang of Konoha.

  With that thought burning in his heart, Kurozuna made his choice: even if he died here, this Konoha prodigy had to die with him.

  “Matthew! Hurry the hell up and attack, you bastard! And next time, maybe share all the mission intel beforehand!”

  Matthew’s face darkened.

  Even now, that idiot Kurozuna had time to compin. Always asking stupid crap on the battlefield—and now this.

  It all happened in a fsh.

  From the moment Miketsuki used Chidori Stream: Fsh to when he got trapped in the sand—it had been less than two seconds.

  “Damn it,” Haiichi cursed.

  He was never the fastest ninja. No way he could reach Miketsuki in time. All he could do was interrupt the Sand captain’s attack.

  “Mind Body Disturbance Technique!”

  The Yamanaka cn’s signature technique—finally unleashed.

  Haiichi hadn’t had a chance to use it earlier. With two enemies and one up in his face, he’d been under too much pressure.

  “A Yamanaka from Konoha, huh? But don’t underestimate my willpower!”

  Matthew fought off the mental interference, his hands still moving.

  He hurled several kunai, each tagged with explosives, toward the trapped Miketsuki—and followed up with a rapid set of hand signs.

  “Wind Style: Vacuum Ssh!”

  Bdes of compressed air whirled forward.

  “It’s over,” he murmured. “Sorry, kid. In another life—without war—you could’ve had a bright future.”

  Watching Matthew’s attack fly toward his captive target, Kurozuna actually felt a pang of guilt.

  When had war twisted him into the kind of man who could kill a child without hesitation?

  So—what was Miketsuki feeling, staring down certain death?

  Absolutely nothing.

  Because defense was never Miketsuki’s concern. Not since he turned ten.

  As the bdes and explosions closed in, Miketsuki made his move.

  “Full Counter!”

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