"Commander, leave them to us."
While moving through the desert, Temari's team came face to face with a group of masked ninja—the same ones Takeshi had encountered earlier in the forest.
"How many of them are there?" thought Takeshi, his hand resting calmly on his katana.
"Who are you?" Temari asked, unfazed. "What do you want?"
The group ignored the kunoichi's question as their commander stepped aside with the other ninjas, leaving behind only three.
"Finish them quickly and catch up."
Watching them leave, Takeshi felt a bit relieved—there were three jonin in the group, and fighting them in his current state would have meant certain death. Thankfully, the ones who remained appeared to be chunin.
In moments like this, Takeshi was truly grateful to have the system.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Clearly irritated at having been ignored, Temari rushed to stop them. As she opened her fan, stone spikes shot in her direction.
"Be patient, sweetheart."
A rough voice, laced with arrogance and disdain, rose as the three assumed battle stances.
The Suna desert stretched endlessly, burning under a merciless sun. The sand crunched beneath the feet of Takeshi, Mei, and Temari, their bodies tense as they faced the three masked ninjas.
The enemies stood in a triangle, hands ready to strike the earth. Takeshi, katana drawn, exchanged a glance with Mei—her red hair fluttering in the wind—and Temari, her fan folded with a predatory smile on her lips.
One of the chunin clapped his hands onto the ground.
"Doton: Silent Mole Technique!"
The earth trembled, and he vanished beneath the sand, swift as a shadow. Takeshi squinted and summoned a shadow clone.
"Mei, cover me. Temari, get ready to sweep."
Mei nodded, forming hand signs. A gust blew forth—her Wind Release lifting a curtain of sand to obscure the enemy's view.
Temari snapped open her fan, chakra crackling.
The ground beneath Takeshi exploded. The stealthy chunin shot out, a stone spear aimed at his side. Takeshi parried with his katana, the blade grinding against the rock.
Sparks flew, but a second attack came: a stone golem, summoned by another chunin, charging with massive fists smashing into the sand.
Mei reacted swiftly. "Wind Style: Wind Blade!"
A razor-sharp gust sliced off one of the golem's arms, crumbling it into rubble. But the golem remained standing, counterattacking. Its fist grazed Mei, who rolled to dodge, sweat-covered sand sticking to her skin.
Perched on a dune, Temari opened her fan fully.
"Wind Style: Devastating Tempest!" A howling cyclone swept across the desert, lifting sand clouds that shredded the chunin's skin.
One of them, caught in the storm, summoned a Stone Guard, a rocky shield that barely protected him.
Sand seeped through the cracks, and with a smirk, Temari intensified her jutsu. The shield cracked, and the man screamed, his face slashed, blood dripping onto the sand.
Still grappling with the stealth ninja, Takeshi felt the earth tremble again. The chunin reappeared, launching more stone spikes. Takeshi leapt, letting his clone take the hit—it burst into smoke.
"You're really annoying!" he growled, charging forward.
His katana, infused with chakra, sliced one of the spikes in two. But the chunin evaded, diving underground again. Takeshi created two clones, who stabbed their blades into the ground, forcing the ninja to resurface.
He emerged, panicked, and Takeshi drove his katana into the man's shoulder. A bone cracked, blood spurting in crimson arcs.
The ninja collapsed, groaning, his arm limp.
But the other two chunin kicked things up a notch. They combined their jutsu:
"Earth Style: Stone Golem!"
A larger golem erupted from the ground as a barrage of stone spears rained down. Mei dodged, but one of the spears cut her thigh, blood trailing down her pale skin.
"Shadow Clone!"
Takeshi used the chaos to summon a clone that drew the golem's attention.
"If I just kill the summoner, this ends," he muttered, using his newly learned technique—Body Flicker.
He vanished into the blinding dust of the desert.
"Prepare the Earth Barrier!" shouted one of the chunin. But before he could finish his sentence, a searing sensation shot through his neck.
"What the—?!"
His vision twisted as the world spun around him. For a brief moment, he saw his own headless body spewing blood.
"Shit—"
Those were his final words.
"We're under attack! Scatter, scatter!"
Another nearby, seeing his comrade's lifeless body, panicked and tried to flee.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Takeshi's voice was cold with a hint of amusement—like he enjoyed seeing his prey frightened.
Instinctively, the ninja activated Stone Guard, which saved his life. The sound of the blade striking his hardened skin sent a shiver down his spine.
The tide had turned.
"What's going on?" asked Temari, watching the enemies panic and swing at what seemed like a ghost.
"They're done for," Mei chuckled, pointing.
Temari looked carefully—and then she saw the ghost: Takeshi, appearing and disappearing across the battlefield, tormenting the two enemies.
He had willingly led them into close combat, not killing them immediately but leaving deep wounds with each pass. Overwhelmed by emotion, they couldn't form any strategy.
"Takeshi, we need to move on," Temari said, folding her fan and getting ready to continue.
Ding Ding
[System] — Enemies eliminated, 200 merit points added.
[System] — Enemies eliminated, 200 merit points added.
With agility worthy of top athletes, he finished them off quickly, earning 200 points for each.
"No doubt about it, Body Flicker pairs perfectly with kenjutsu."
A satisfied smile formed on Takeshi's face as he sheathed his blade.