Yoru quickly formed the Tiger Seal with one hand while pressing the other against his summoned water bat, closing his eyes to focus his sensing.
Below the tree, Inuzuka Ryō sniffed the air aggressively, his partner Akitamaru following suit, both straining to detect any traces of the enemy.
"Damn it—it's Suna's puppet brigade!"
Inuzuka Ryō's expression darkened as he picked up the unmistakable stench of puppet joint lubricant—a revolting, oily scent unique to Sunagakure's puppeteers.
Shukudō, Yoru's longtime subordinate, scrambled up the tree and hesitated before speaking.
"Captain… should we assist? With Suna puppeteers involved, maybe we should—"
Yoru cut him off, his voice firm. "We're going. No hesitation this time."
Shukudō: "…???"
What the hell? Did Captain eat something weird today?
This isn't like him at all.
Knowing there are puppeteers and still charging in? Since when did he care about the Will of Fire?
A shiver ran down Shukudō's spine.
I'm not some sacrificial leaf to be burned for the village! Captain, you better not be planning to use us as cannon fodder!
Even the usually naive Kogure sensed something off.
Since when is Captain this bold?
Inuzuka Ryō, however, seemed inspired. His eyes gleamed with newfound determination, as if Yoru's uncharacteristic bravery had reignited his own resolve.
"Where the leaves dance, the fire burns eternal."
"You doubt my Will of Fire?" Yoru glared at Shukudō, though his bluster lacked real conviction.
Truthfully, he hadn't suddenly embraced Konoha's ideals—his "Will of Fire" was… flexible.
Sacrificing his team for glory? No.
But profiting from a high-stakes mission? Absolutely.
Using his water bat's chakra, Yoru had already mapped the battlefield with echolocation.
This wasn't a Suna infiltration—they were chasing a Konoha intel squad.
And if Suna sent puppeteers… that intel must bevaluable.
Assisting could mean:
B-rank mission merits (minimum). A-rank rewards (if they play a key role).
With enough credit, he could exchange for chakra nature development scrolls—the key to unlocking a second elemental affinity.
More chakra → Faster promotion to jōnin.
Worth the risk?
Yes—but only because he knew something his team didn't.
The "Strongest Genin" was nearby.
The Real Reason He Chose This Post
Did anyone actually believe he picked this high-risk patrol zone out of patriotism?
Please.
He was here because Maruboshi Kosuke—Konoha's "Eternal Genin" and de facto elite jōnin—was assigned to this sector.
Yoru knew the man's real strength:
Elite jōnin-level combat skills. Peak physical condition (possibly borderline Kage-tier).
As long as they held out for a few minutes, Maruboshi would arrive.
And thanks to his bat's echolocation, Yoru had already confirmed:
Maruboshi was en route.
A Forbidden "Original" Jutsu
Of course, he couldn't explain this to his team.
Revealing his "Echo Radar Sensing" would raise too many questions—like how a civilian-born chūnin developed a technique suspiciously similar to:
Inuzuka Clan's heightened senses. Bat-based echolocation (a known but rare ability).
Problem: Konoha hated unauthorized jutsu development.
Clans guarded their techniques fiercely, and the village enforced a strict merit-based jutsu exchange system.
If caught "stealing" a clan's secrets?
Even the Hokage wouldn't save him.
How He "Borrowed" the Technique
Stuck with only:
Three Basic Academy Jutsu. C-rank Water Prison Technique.
…Yoru had nothing else to train.
So he mastered them to an insane degree.
His breakthrough came after observing:
Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra (vs. Gaara). Inuzuka's Human-Beast Fusion (via Ryō).
Conclusion:Transformation Jutsu could mimic summons if combined with their chakra.
Through trial, error, and obsessive training (plus his freakish chakra control), he achieved:
Object transformation (even weapons). Limited living-form shifts (with summon chakra).
His "research" led him to contract water bats—not for power, but for their echolocation.
Now?
Time to cash in on that gamble.