The vast desert stretched endlessly beneath a scorching sun, heat waves distorting the air as the sand baked under its glare.
A Sunagakure convoy of more than twenty ninja moved steadily across the dunes. This was a supply transport unit.
At the center of the formation, three Sunagakure ninja carried massive scrolls strapped to their backs—high-capacity storage scrolls used to transport military provisions.
As the group approached a tall sand dune, the leading Sunagakure ninja suddenly raised his hand.
"Stop."
He was a middle-aged man with two deep scars carved into his face. His sharp, hawk-like eyes swept across the dune with intense vigilance.
"An ambush!"
His expression shifted instantly. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled a shuriken wrapped with an explosive tag toward a suspicious patch of sand beside the dune.
Almost at the same moment, another shuriken shot out from atop the dune, striking the explosive-tagged shuriken midair.
Boom!
The explosion tore through the sand, and several figures burst out from beneath the dune.
"Take down the Sunagakure ninja!"
A Konoha ninja wearing dark sunglasses shouted from above, leaping forward as he charged.
Behind him, multiple Konoha ninja sprang into action, shouting battle cries as they rushed toward the convoy.
Yet one figure remained motionless atop the dune.
Uchiha Gen.
Arms crossed, he observed the battlefield coldly, his brows slowly knitting together.
The two sides collided, weapons clashing in a violent melee. But Uchiha Gen quickly noticed something was wrong—the Sunagakure ninja were retreating in an orderly fashion, deliberately drawing the Konoha forces forward rather than breaking formation.
Soon, the Sunagakure ninja fell back into the narrow space between two dunes, seemingly surrounded.
Then—
The sand on both sides exploded outward.
Four dark figures burst forth, hurtling toward the Konoha ninja.
"They're puppets!"
The clatter of hidden mechanisms echoed as countless projectiles erupted from the puppets' bodies—shuriken, kunai, and poison needles raining down like a storm.
Screams rang out instantly.
Several Konoha ninja were struck before they could react, bodies pierced through like pincushions.
In the next instant, segmented arms extended from the puppets, each tipped with gleaming blades, and they lunged forward with terrifying speed.
The battlefield shifted dramatically.
Caught between the Sunagakure ninja and the puppets, the Konoha forces were thrown into chaos.
The four puppets were non-humanoid in shape, compact and agile. Their frames were coated in reinforced metal; kunai and shuriken sparked uselessly against their bodies, and even ninjutsu left only shallow marks.
In the confusion, Aida Kai narrowly dodged a slashing strike from a Sunagakure ninja—
—but another enemy appeared behind him, driving a shuriken toward his back.
Bang!
A powerful gust swept through as Senju Gen flew in, kicking the attacker away. He immediately formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Bullet!"
Several compressed water projectiles blasted forward, forcing nearby Sunagakure ninja to retreat.
Suddenly—
Clatter! Clatter!
The sound of rapidly approaching mechanisms.
Senju Gen grabbed Aida Kai and leaped back just as an eight-armed puppet slammed into the spot they had occupied moments earlier, its blades spinning violently.
The puppet twisted midair and pounced again with frightening speed.
"Water Release: Water Stream Binding!"
A stream of water shot from Senju Gen's mouth, coiling tightly around the puppet like a rope.
Seeing an opening, Aida Kai roared and charged—
—but an iron spike shot up from the sand, piercing his left calf.
At the same time, a Sunagakure ninja hurled another explosive-tagged shuriken at him.
In that critical moment—
A shuriken flew in from afar, knocking the explosive into the air.
Almost simultaneously, the water binding shattered.
The puppet tore free, its eight arms flashing with cold light as it engulfed Senju Gen.
The backlash from his disrupted ninjutsu sent Senju Gen's chakra surging chaotically, slowing his reactions.
Just as the blades were about to fall—
Boom!
A figure descended from the sky like a meteor, smashing into the puppet with overwhelming force.
The puppet shattered instantly, exploding into countless fragments.
"Gen."
Senju Gen exhaled in relief.
It was Uchiha Gen.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Suddenly, shuriken and kunai flew in from every direction.
"Kill him! That's Konoha's Uchiha Ferocious Tiger!" a Sunagakure ninja shouted.
Uchiha Ferocious Tiger.
Uchiha Gen stepped forward.
His movements appeared slow, yet each step placed him precisely between incoming weapons. Shuriken and kunai passed harmlessly by as if he were strolling through a garden.
He was mildly surprised.
So Sunagakure had already given him a name.
In the next moment, his figure blurred and vanished.
An afterimage.
The Sunagakure ninja felt only a fleeting shadow rush past.
Then—
their strength drained away.
Thin red lines appeared across their throats.
Blood sprayed.
Bodies fell one after another.
"Retreat!" the Sunagakure leader shouted.
He crossed shuriken with Uchiha Gen in a rapid exchange, blocking a horizontal slash before stabbing forward at Gen's face.
Uchiha Gen deflected the strike and kicked him squarely in the chest.
A puppet swooped in, catching the leader midair while opening multiple nozzles, unleashing a dense volley of poison needles.
Uchiha Gen sprang backward, vaulting high into the air.
"Don't let them escape!" a young Chunin shouted.
Just as the Konoha ninja gave chase, a puppet slammed into the ground ahead of them—
—and detonated.
Thick black smoke spread instantly, carrying a sharp, toxic stench.
Two Konoha ninja at the front inhaled it and collapsed, faces deathly pale.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" "Wind Release: Gale!"
Several Konoha ninja worked together, dispersing the poisonous fog.
But it was already too late.
The remaining Sunagakure ninja had vanished into the desert.
Uchiha Gen walked over to Senju Gen, who was bandaging Aida Kai's wound.
"I didn't expect this supply team to hide a puppet master," Senju Gen said grimly. "Controlling four puppets at once… at minimum, he's Special Jōnin level."
He glanced at the fallen bodies being recovered.
"Still—we intercepted the supplies. The mission is complete."
A Konoha ninja approached Uchiha Gen.
"Captain. Thirteen enemy casualties. We lost five comrades."
This was Uchiha Gen's third month on the Sunagakure front.
Countless battles—large and small.
Every day, comrades fell.
Every day, Sunagakure ninja died by his hand.
His strikes were swift as lightning, his killing intent fierce and relentless—
like a tiger stalking the battlefield.
And so, gradually,
the Sunagakure ninja began to call him—
The Ferocious Tiger.
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