CHAPTER 45

In the darkness, Orochimaru had already sensed the enemy's presence. Some of the enemy ninja were mere wanderers—self-taught and unrefined in their skills. Their lack of proper training made it easy for Orochimaru to detect them.

However, he did not intervene.

"You've got guts," Orochimaru muttered under his breath, watching from the shadows. "Attacking a caravan protected by Konoha shinobi… a handful of Genin and a barely competent Chunin dare to take this risk?"

He chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"Forget it. I'll leave this to those three. Uchiha Kiyo should be able to handle a Chunin by now."

Unaware that Orochimaru had already detected their attackers, Uchiha Kiyo and his team continued preparing their defense. However, even if they had known, they wouldn't have expected him to help. From the beginning, they had agreed that they would complete this mission on their own. Orochimaru was merely observing—a test to see how much they had improved.

Yes, a test.

A test to gauge their training results.

---

The Attack Begins

As Uchiha Kiyo and the others set up their formation, Yagi Nobuto, the enemy leader, cursed under his breath.

"Damn it… are these brats really this sharp?"

He had expected them to be less aware, easier to ambush. But their reaction was swift, professional—far beyond what he had imagined.

"So this is the standard of ninja from the Great Shinobi Villages?" Yagi Nobuto muttered. "Even kids are this skilled…"

The situation was more troublesome than he anticipated. A part of him regretted attacking. He should have been more cautious.

"But there's no turning back now. Damn it… if I pull this off, I'll have enough resources to train for half a year."

The thought of the potential rewards made him grit his teeth and commit to the attack.

A Chunin and three Genin—against ordinary bandits or samurai, this would have been overwhelming force. If he had been properly trained in a hidden village, he could have done much more.

But that was just a fantasy. He wasn't a village-trained shinobi. His knowledge was incomplete, his techniques lacking. Worst of all, he didn't even realize how weak he truly was.

Suddenly—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A volley of kunai and shuriken sliced through the air.

Uchiha Kiyo's eyes sharpened.

"They've started."

A wave of relief washed over him. The fact that the enemy initiated with a ninja tool assault rather than overwhelming force meant this wouldn't be an instant loss for them.

The enemy's throwing technique was crude—unrefined and inefficient. The three Genin dodged with ease.

At the same time, Kiyo pinpointed their approximate location.

"Follow me. Over there."

Nawaki Senju and Sarutobi Shuo nodded and followed Kiyo into the dense forest.

Kiyo took the lead, cautious of possible ambushes while scanning for enemy traces.

Yagi Nobuto's team was smart enough not to use chakra unnecessarily. They remained still, relying on natural camouflage rather than chakra-based concealment techniques. This made it difficult for Kiyo and the others to detect them through chakra signatures alone.

But hiding forever wasn't an option.

Realizing this, Yagi Nobuto decided to strike first.

"Earth Release: Earth Bomb Jutsu!"

Several large chunks of hardened earth, each the size of a human head, shot forward at high speed.

This was the only ninjutsu Yagi Nobuto had—a C-rank technique he had obtained at great cost through the black market.

Uchiha Kiyo's eyes narrowed.

"…That's it?"

At first, he was surprised—not because the jutsu was particularly powerful, but because of how weak it was. Even among C-rank techniques, this one was among the lowest in strength.

The initial shock made him hesitate for a split second, delaying his reaction.

Yagi Nobuto saw this and smirked.

He froze!

So the rumors were wrong—Konoha's shinobi weren't as fearsome as they were made out to be. If even the strongest of these three was this slow to react, the other two wouldn't pose much of a threat.

Nawaki Senju and Sarutobi Shuo, however, instinctively dodged.

Meanwhile, Kiyo analyzed the attack.

The power gap was evident. A C-rank jutsu from a self-taught rogue ninja couldn't compare to the techniques available in Konoha.

If an average person's power level ranged from 0 to 10, a C-rank ninjutsu generally had a power level of 20 to 100.

But the Earth Bomb Jutsu?

At best, it was a 30 or 40.

By contrast, Kiyo's Earth Shield Jutsu—a C-rank defensive jutsu—had a durability of at least 80.

This realization came too late to dodge properly. Faced with three earth bombs blocking his escape routes, Kiyo acted swiftly.

Without forming a complete seal, he adjusted his chakra flow.

"Earth Shield!"

Two shields of hardened earth emerged, positioned at an angle to deflect the oncoming projectiles.

Boom! Boom!

The shields absorbed most of the impact before shattering. The force of the deflection sent the remaining earth bombs veering off-course.

Kiyo didn't stop. In one smooth motion, he rolled forward, slipping through the gap left between the attacks.

Orochimaru, watching from the shadows, raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm… impressive."

His focus wasn't on Kiyo's defensive maneuver, but rather how he executed it.

"…Did he just perform a one-handed seal?"

Orochimaru's lips curled into a smirk.

"I hadn't considered that possibility before… but it works."

His tongue flicked out, a clear sign of his growing interest.

"One-handed seals… how fascinating."

For the past four years, Kiyo had been developing his ability to perform jutsu with one hand. Though still incomplete, his progress was evident.

The downside of one-handed seals was that certain jutsu required simultaneous control of multiple chakra movements, making them difficult to adapt. Furthermore, using one hand often increased the number of required hand signs—for example, a technique that normally required three seals might need five when done with one hand.

Because of this, it was mostly useful for lower-rank jutsu.

Still, in battle, even a minor advantage could be crucial.

---

The Tables Turn

Having dodged the attack, Kiyo locked onto Yagi Nobuto's position. Nawaki Senju and Sarutobi Shuo did the same.

The enemy had been exposed.

Yagi Nobuto realized too late that his attack had failed. If not for a warning from one of his subordinates, he wouldn't have even noticed the three Konoha ninja closing in on him.

Kiyo didn't want to waste time with drawn-out tactics. He rushed in directly, engaging in close combat.

Yagi Nobuto was forced into a direct fight.

But compared to Kiyo—a trained elite Chunin-level ninja—his skills were severely lacking. His attacks were wild and aggressive, but ultimately ineffective.

On the other side, the battle was even more one-sided.

Nawaki Senju and Sarutobi Shuo made quick work of the enemy Genin.

Nawaki's Water Arrow Jutsu incapacitated two opponents in an instant. Sarutobi Shuo's Wind Release: Gale Palm finished off the third.

Yagi Nobuto turned pale.

In mere moments, his entire team was gone. He had no chance of winning.

He needed to escape.

But by then, it wasn't up to him.

With seamless coordination, Kiyo, Nawaki, and Shuo cut off all escape routes.

In the end, Yagi Nobuto fell to Sarutobi Shuo's wind jutsu, his body lifeless on the forest floor.

The battle was over.