Compared to the destructive power of ninjutsu, the lives of ninjas are undoubtedly too fragile. As previously stated, even the strongest ninja, such as Uchiha Madara, an ultimate ninja capable of destroying the world, was ultimately killed by a single stab from behind by Black Zetsu.
Therefore, even the strongest ninja can easily die from a shuriken thrown by a genin if they are careless. Thus, the most important factor in classifying powerful individuals is never the so-called destructive ninjutsu, but rather life-saving or even reincarnation-type ninjutsu.
The Akatsuki members are undoubtedly masters of this. Sasori's infinite puppet heart transfer, Deidara's explosive clay clones, Kakuzu's five hearts, and Hidan's outright immortality. As for the remaining Six Paths of Pain, Konan's Dance of the Shikigami, Itachi's elusive crow clones, and Kisame's trump card, Samehada fusion—all demonstrated life-saving ninjutsu taken to the extreme.
And there's no need to mention Zetsu and Obito; one had almost infinite clones, and the other possessed a BUG-like jutsu like Kamui, which could hide his body in a sub-dimension. Orochimaru, who was once a member of the Akatsuki, undoubtedly also possessed outrageous life-saving secret techniques.
Of course, Shikamaru and the others couldn't know these secrets, but they did know one thing: the cash-purchased ninjutsu scrolls they held undoubtedly possessed incredibly powerful destructive force. Judging from the scale of the previous Swamp of the Underworld, the ninjutsu contained within were at least jounin-level. If these ninjutsu landed on a person, they would, without a doubt, turn them into a bloody, unrecognizable mess.
"Alright, have you all remembered my instructions? We'll take it slow, wave by wave of attacks."
Having finished his thoughts, Shikamaru quietly gave his orders, and the other team members around him nodded, either nervously or seriously, indicating they fully understood.
The female Grass ninja didn't delay for too long. Although the unexpected Swamp of the Underworld had indeed disabled her summoned snake, the ninjutsu itself had no offensive power; it was purely a restrictive ninjutsu meant to deal with large objects.
"The scent is around here. Are you planning to just hide? If you don't completely shake off your enemy, you won't be able to advance~"
Although she didn't immediately spot the hidden genin, the Grass ninja wasn't discouraged. She confidently stood on a tree trunk and mocked them. She was certain these little mice's chakra was nearby, so the next step was simply to find them one by one.
"Ninja Art: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Just then, accompanied by a low shout, an intensely blazing flame suddenly erupted from the Grass ninja's lower left. The crimson flame, like a fire dragon, lunged at the Grass ninja on the tree trunk, its claws bared. The release of this ninjutsu was undoubtedly quite skillful. Being a fire-style jutsu released from bottom to top, its spread and coverage were significantly increased. To completely avoid it, one would have to jump a considerable distance, but this would also exponentially increase one's vulnerability.
"Too naive! Water Release: Water Wall!"
Immediately recognizing the release technique of the ninjutsu, the female Grass ninja chuckled slightly, seemingly praising and mocking at the same time. As her hands formed hand seals with the speed of a gust of wind, the air around her quickly became damp, and then with a roar, a large volume of water erupted from the air.
The powerful water stream not only easily extinguished the incoming fire dragon but also, due to the water's own gravity, fiercely rushed towards the area where the fire release jutsu had originated. This ability to combine offense and defense, striking while neutralizing, was undoubtedly a technique only elite veteran ninjas could master!
But before her smile could fade, two other voices suddenly rang out from the tree branch opposite her!
"Fire Release! Great Fireball!"
"Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!!"
Accompanied by a sudden, fierce howling of air, an incredibly powerful giant fireball appeared out of thin air, striking the Grass ninja on the tree branch like a meteor. What was particularly deadly was that, because wind release could greatly amplify fire release, the powerful wind release that followed undoubtedly had a multiplier effect on the Great Fireball! What was originally just a meteor-like Great Fireball, after being amplified by the Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, stretched into a form resembling a fire whale, with countless scattered smaller fireballs around it, even rapidly igniting and charring the surrounding trees!
The wind fueled the fire, undoubtedly increasing the flame's expansion and speed by several times! And the fire fueled the wind, as the heat dispersion caused the ordinary wind to directly turn into a suffocating wind from a hellish oven. The strong high-temperature airflow could even instantly cook living tissue!!
"What...?!"
The female Grass ninja's eyes instantly widened. For her, previous analyses of the situation had certainly taken place. She had indeed guessed that the Earth Release used by these genin earlier was a ninjutsu scroll, but the problem was: she knew very well who made these scrolls and the expensive price of these ninjutsu scrolls, which was absolutely unaffordable for ordinary genin.
Although this group of genin acted collectively and might have pooled funds to buy some for victory, at most two would be the limit, as twenty thousand Ryo was already an astronomical sum for these genin who had just graduated.
Therefore, upon seeing these two mutually amplifying fire and wind release techniques heading directly towards her, the Grass ninja knew that she had indeed underestimated this group of genin. And undoubtedly, the most terrifying aspect was the sequence of ninjutsu combinations!
The perfectly timed Dragon Fire Jutsu earlier had forced her to choose to defend in place, but being on a high tree branch, she could only use ninjutsu to neutralize it. And right after she had just finished releasing her Water Wall, the other side immediately seized that moment to release two mutually amplifying Wind and Fire Release ninjutsu!!
Such coordination and timing were as if three elite jounin were ambushing her!!
"You wretched brats!!"
Realizing she had fallen into their trap, the Grass ninja's face contorted horribly, but her hand seals did not stop. Even an elite jounin would need a recovery period after casting a ninjutsu of the Water Wall's scale, but for this Grass ninja, that recovery time seemed nonexistent!
Before the surging, chaotic blast of fire and wind arrived, the Grass ninja's hand seals were finally complete. Her entire body seemed to suddenly turn into mud and sank into the tree branch beneath her feet. Although the next moment the raging fire and wind charred and scattered the tree she had just stood on, it clearly hadn't caused her any truly effective damage.
"Underground! Five o'clock direction!"
However, although Hinata wasn't here at the moment, Sasuke's Sharingan was also not to be underestimated. Even without the ability to see through objects, the Sharingan possessed the function of tracking chakra, so he clearly saw the female Grass ninja's chakra position underground!
"Still couldn't finish her! No matter! Keep going!"
Shikamaru, frowning tightly, murmured, but immediately continued to give his orders. The terror of this female Grass ninja was utterly unexpected; they had to kill her while she was caught in the trap!
"Earth Release! Stone Plate Coffin!!"
"Water Release! Starch Syrup Capture Field!!"
Sakura and Ino, who had been waiting, both pulled out a scroll and fiercely opened it in the direction Sasuke had indicated. As strong chakra was released from the scrolls, a powerful tremor rapidly erupted in the designated area.
Four solid stone plates rose from the ground like the walls of a coffin, lifting the shocked female Grass ninja like a small snake in a jar. And a thick, viscous chakra liquid, like cement, poured into the area of the stone plates, firmly gluing her in place!!
Tch~ Originally, Water Release should be used with Lightning Release for the best effect, but none of these ninjutsu scrolls purchased by the group contained Lightning Release ninjutsu. This was probably due to the "Toad Sage" who created the scrolls not possessing Lightning Release chakra.
Looking at the female Grass ninja trapped in the Stone Plate Coffin, Shikamaru didn't feel at ease. His intuition told him that this individual still posed a powerful threat. So, the pineapple-headed boy gritted his teeth and vigorously waved his arm, telling his teammates to continue attacking!!
"Wind Release! Vacuum Wave!!"
"Fire Release! Fire Dragon Flame Bomb!!"
Seizing the opportunity while the female Grass ninja was firmly restrained by the Stone Plate Coffin and Starch Syrup Capture Field, Shino and Choji on the other side both released the ninjutsu scrolls in their hands. Similarly, with mutual amplification, the power of Vacuum Wave and Fire Dragon Flame Bomb doubled directly. Moreover, both were ninjutsu with wide area coverage and strong single-hit damage. This was clearly also a consideration for the final, desperate evasion the Grass ninja might attempt, which was why these two ninjutsu were used at once!!
"Don't underestimate me!! Summoning Jutsu!!"
The female Grass ninja trapped in the Stone Plate Coffin clearly knew she couldn't evade. Furthermore, these two ninjutsu were not Sasuke's Dragon Fire Jutsu from the original story, but ninjutsu scrolls created by strong individuals comparable to her, which were enough to injure or even kill her!
So, at this moment, she unleashed her ultimate defensive ability!
"Rashōmon!!"
With a violent tremor, a grotesque steel gate violently erupted from the ground. The enormous demon-faced gate, like the gaping maw of a fiend, easily blocked the incoming Vacuum Wave and Fire Dragon Flame Bomb! Even though the Vacuum Wave and Fire Dragon Flame Bomb left craters all over the giant demon-faced gate, they were still unable to breach its defenses!!
"I never thought I'd feel this way again. The last time was against the elite pursuit squad from the Hidden Cloud Village."
As Rashōmon dissolved into smoke and vanished, the female Grass ninja, still trapped in the Stone Plate Coffin, spoke chillingly. Then, with an eerie twist and pull of her body, she slid out of the incredibly tight Stone Plate Coffin, giving the impression not of a human, but some terrifying soft-bodied creature.
"You're kidding... Seven ninjutsu scrolls didn't even scratch you..."
Shikamaru also calmly stood up from the bushes where he had been hiding. The pineapple-headed boy raised his hands, adopting a posture of surrender, and said: "Sorry, we really gave it our all. Since we still can't kill you... then, how about we hand over our scrolls, and you let us go?"
"Oho~ A clever move, indeed. In that case... hand over the scrolls."
The female Grass ninja indeed stopped, seemingly certain that Shikamaru and the others had no more resistance left. Shrugging, Shikamaru took a scroll from his ninja tool pouch and threw it towards the female Grass ninja: "Here... this scroll is very special, you'd better be careful..."
"Hm?"
These words made the female Grass ninja, who was about to reach out and catch it, instinctively pause. But immediately, a bad thought flooded her mind: "Could it be!! This one too??"
"Ninjutsu! Toad Oil Bullet!"
Shikamaru shrugged slightly as he watched the ninjutsu scroll open before he even threw it. "This is a special ninjutsu that Sage gave as a bonus, so it's quite unique, you know?"
Unlike the previous elemental ninjutsu, this scroll, thrown by Shikamaru, released a thick, brown toad oil. The extremely slippery oil instantly drenched the unsuspecting female Grass ninja. Just as a snake would lose its mobility in oil, the female Grass ninja stumbled and involuntarily knelt on the ground. The earth beneath her feet was soaked with toad oil; even a slight movement could cause her to lose her footing and slide to the ground!
At that moment, a piercing crackle of lightning echoed from the bushes behind the female Grass ninja. Sasuke, who had been waiting for a long time, darted out of the grass. The Chidori Lightning Ball in his left hand was like a bloodthirsty blade, piercing fiercely into the female Grass ninja's back, confirmed by his Sharingan!
"Take this!"
As if to dispel all his previous fear, a roaring Sasuke swung his left arm with all his might. The incandescent lightning rapidly extended into a slender lightning spear, then smoothly and accurately pierced into the female Grass ninja's back. The white lightning blade even protruded directly from her chest!
"Ah... how is this... possible..."
The female Grass ninja murmured in disbelief, staring at the lightning blade protruding from her chest. The light in her eyes faded, and she weakly lowered her head.
"Whew... Is it finally... dealt with?"
Seeing Sasuke succeed, Shikamaru collapsed onto the ground. The pineapple-headed boy muttered, "Seriously... This is the first time I've seen an enemy that made me use every single step of my plan... It was terrifying."
"It hit... Whew... This time, she's finished!"
Sasuke pulled out the Chidori Sharp Spear from his hand, gasping, and instinctively relaxed. In any case, this terrifying enemy shouldn't be able to get up again.
However, at that moment, the head of the female Grass ninja, who was clearly already kneeling, suddenly snapped around to face her back. Her bloodshot eyes stared at Sasuke, who was sitting there, with an indescribable, sinister grin.
"Indeed... you are excellent,
Sasuke-kun!"
"It was worth playing this game with you!"
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(PS1: Hmm~~ So, this is a Death Forest encounter that is both the same as the original and completely different from it~~)
Extra rant: I heard that if you add "True" before a name, you can upgrade it to a higher existence that has more gravitas than before, and also possesses the starting point of that previous gravitas~ Is that right?? Starry eyes eager for confirmation~~
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