"Ninjas sent to capture me, huh? But they only sent a bunch of brats to deal with me... don't you think that's a bit insulting?"
Within the Five Great Shinobi Villages, being a chūnin might not mean much. But across the entire shinobi world, a chūnin was far from weak.
So it wasn't hard to understand why Okubo carried himself with such arrogance.
From his point of view, these three overly young kids posed no real threat. The only one worth his attention was their leader, Aoshi.
That's why, even as he began his counterattack, he never took his eyes off Aoshi, wary of a potential sneak attack. But what confused him was that Aoshi never moved.
From start to finish, Aoshi simply stood there quietly, unmoving, showing no intention of joining the battle.
It really seemed like he planned to let the three kids take him on alone. Once he realized that, Okubo nearly laughed out loud. He had already made up his mind—this Aoshi guy must be some arrogant fool.
But that was fine by him. He would deal with these three brats first, then focus on that overconfident Aoshi afterward.
With that thought, Okubo clashed with the three. Yet at the very first exchange, something felt off.
The three kids he had completely dismissed as weaklings turned out to be shockingly strong.
It wasn't that they overwhelmingly overpowered him, but for kids who looked to be no older than seven or eight, each one of them possessed strength not much weaker than his own.
When the three of them fought together, even he had to take them seriously. Otherwise, he might really get taken down here.
How is this possible?! Okubo couldn't believe what was happening—it made no sense.
How could kids this young already have such power? What, were they training in the womb or something?
Clearly, his outlook was far too shallow. He had never truly encountered what people called 'genius.'
"There's no way this is real!" He roared in frustration and finally began to take things seriously.
He wasn't just some low-level thug; he was a rogue who had roamed the shinobi world for many years. Once he went all-out, even three-on-one, they couldn't bring him down easily.
Clearly, he had real skill. And when it came to real combat and life-or-death battles, he was far more experienced than the three kids.
Soon, he gained the upper hand and started to overwhelm them.
Yet Aoshi, watching the whole thing unfold, still made no move to help. This mission was meant to train the trio—unless their lives were truly at risk, he wouldn't step in.
Besides, in his estimation, as long as the three unleashed their full strength, defeating Okubo shouldn't be a problem.
Especially Nagato. If he used all his abilities, he could instantly end the fight.
"You think the three of you alone can kill me? What a joke!" With the momentum on his side, Okubo roared as he kicked Yahiko hard, then followed up with a punch that knocked Konan back.
But when he went after Nagato, things didn't go his way—Nagato blocked his attack.
Even without using the Rinnegan or ninjutsu, Nagato's taijutsu was formidable. Being a member of the Uzumaki clan, he was born with immense chakra and vitality—he was a natural when it came to physical combat.
"What?" Okubo looked stunned.
But Nagato gave him no time to react. With lightning speed, he thrust a kunai toward him.
Clang!
Okubo just barely managed to block it in time. He quickly retreated to create distance between them.
Right then, Konan and Yahiko unleashed their jutsu, but he narrowly dodged both attacks.
Lightning Style: Silver Bolt!
Forming hand seals rapidly, Okubo shot a silver-white bolt of lightning at Nagato—too fast for him to dodge. Or so he thought.
Just as the lightning was about to hit Nagato, it suddenly shattered in midair.
At the last moment, Nagato activated Shinra Tensei. To avoid harming Yahiko and Konan, who were nearby, he only repelled the lightning instead of counterattacking.
To Okubo, the strange scene made no sense.
What technique was that just now? He stared at Nagato with growing unease. For the first time, his face showed serious tension.
Without understanding Nagato's abilities, he didn't dare to attack rashly again.
"Nagato, Konan—earlier, we were too reckless. This guy's not simple. We need to coordinate our attacks." Yahiko's words were met with agreement from the other two.
After fighting for a while, they had cooled down considerably. At the start, they were blinded by rage and charged in without a plan, failing to use teamwork.
Because of that, they hadn't been able to unleash their full potential.
Seeing this, Aoshi's expression, once emotionless, finally showed a trace of a smile. The reason he hadn't warned them to stay calm from the start... was because sometimes, words just don't work.
People won't learn from lectures—but they will learn from experience.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Konan hurled a flurry of paper shuriken, forcing Okubo to dodge in a hurry.
But at that exact moment, Yahiko and Nagato completed their hand signs—one for Water Release, the other for Earth Release.
Just as Okubo barely evaded the paper shuriken, a stone pillar suddenly shot up beneath his feet.
Reflexively, he bent his knees to stay balanced.
That's when Yahiko's Wild Water Wave slammed into him, knocking him off the pillar and crashing him into the ground.
The combination was relentless, giving Okubo no time to counter.
And it wasn't over yet. Just as he hit the ground, Konan's second wave of paper shuriken closed in.
This time, there was no way he could dodge. If he were hit, he would be impaled through vital organs and killed on the spot.
"Die, you scum!" Konan's furious shout rang out.
Fear of death surfaced on Kiya Okubo's face. He couldn't believe it. Was he really going to die at the hands of three brats?!
But at that critical moment, a fireball came flying from a distance, instantly burning all of Konan's paper shuriken to ashes.
"Who's there?!" The three immediately turned toward the source, shouting sharply.
Even Aoshi furrowed his brows. According to the intel, Okubo shouldn't have any companions.
Still, he stayed calm. Even if he does have backup... so what?
With Aoshi here, there was no way they would escape. He was confident in that.
But when he got a good look at the one who had intervened, Aoshi realized things were about to get troublesome.
Because he knew this person. A perfectly proportioned female ninja, around the same age as Aoshi, with flowing hair that was a mix of green and light brown.
And most notably—she wore a Sunagakure forehead protector. She was a shinobi from the Hidden Sand Village.
"Pakura of the Scorch Release!" Aoshi said her name aloud.