Naruto: The Scientific Ninja

"Is something wrong?" asked the Sand jōnin.

The spiky-haired ninja halted the retreat. A cold, calculating glint appeared in his eyes as his gaze tried to pierce the visual barrier of the Iron Gate, trying to discern if the monkey-masked ninja's revelation was the truth or yet another deception.

Seeing that the Suna-nin were about to uncover the truth, Ye, the Gekkō chūnin, felt a pang of anxiety. However, his face showed no expression as he smiled calmly and said, "Kagejirō, you've gotten smarter. You know how to use false information for a tactical fraud," he said, and as he uttered the word "false," he paused almost imperceptibly. "But there's no need, they won't believe it."

Sarutobi Kagejirō, who understood nothing, remained silent.

"That's the expression," Ye continued, as if praising a masterful performance. "You did it so well that even I believed it. But it's useless. Master-level tool proficiency, a speed of five seals per second, and a tactical level superior to a jōnin's are irrefutable proof of this Uchiha jōnin's true identity. Faced with such obvious facts, how could they believe your bluff?"

Hiding behind the iron gate, Sasuke touched his chin, a little embarrassed. 'Wow, this Ye is good. His logic is so twisted that he almost convinced me.'

Looking at the situation from his perspective, Ye reached a simple conclusion: the enemy was wounded and exhausted, while on their side, there were six who were fit to fight. 'They are four, but they're finished. We are six. The advantage is mine.'

"Hmph!" Kagejirō snorted coldly, clearly unhappy with the idea of staying to fight. In his opinion, facing a jōnin, a special jōnin, and two chūnin, no matter how weakened, was still a great risk. A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, and he did not want to take risks.

A new, sour and resentful thought formed in his mind. He looked at Sasuke with a hint of hostility. If this guy hadn't transformed into a fake Uchiha, he could have retreated with the information long ago. It was this hateful character's fault that he had lost his chance to escape!

Then, observing him more closely, he recognized him.

'It's the poor devil from the Umino family!' Kagejirō thought, incredulous. Wasn't this the boy who used to deliver fish to his house? The fishmonger family had produced a ninja? And such a powerful one? Impossible!

"Damn it!" he instantly became enraged. He, the second son of the noble Sarutobi family, had been saved by a stinking, fish-selling outcast! Didn't that reflect his own incompetence? And to top it all off, this nobody had transformed into an Uchiha, instead of a jōnin from his own Sarutobi clan! The insolence!

Sasuke noticed Kagejirō's growing hostility and was bewildered. 'I just saved his life. And although my family no longer serves the Sarutobi, deep down, we both serve the Third Hokage. Where is all this hatred coming from? Could it be simple, plain jealousy for stealing his spotlight?'

"Kagejirō, be careful! I'll handle the Sand jōnin!" Ye said, assuming it was just jealousy. He took the initiative to face the toughest enemy and left the special jōnin to Sasuke. With that, he charged with his longsword at the spiky-haired ninja.

Sasuke nodded. Ye was certainly reliable. He quickly assigned the remaining tasks. "Tekudō, the three of you contain the bald chūnin! Watch out for his Earth Style! I'll take care of the special jōnin puppeteer."

After giving the orders, Sasuke glanced at Kagejirō, implying that the remaining half-crippled chūnin puppeteer was his responsibility. He was the weakest of all, a fitting opponent for someone of Kagejirō's "intelligence."

"Dammit!" Kagejirō thought, feeling deeply insulted. A servant giving orders to him, his master! But the enemy gave him no choice; the Suna-nin had already launched their attack, and the battle began.

"Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

Ye used the Konoha Style's secret sword technique, his body splitting into three blurry images that attacked the Suna jōnin.

"Impressive," Sasuke thought, while also feeling a pang of regret. While Ye used such an elegant sword art, he could only wield his kunai with a fighting style perfected by gutting fish. It wasn't an art; it was a butcher's trade.

Still, his killing intent, polished by thousands of scaly sacrifices, was intense. The special jōnin puppeteer, seeing him charge, went on guard as if facing a great enemy.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sasuke used his "fish-cutting knife technique" and clashed with the special jōnin. The cold light of the kunai flashed, the shadow of his short sword was like lightning, and the blades cut the air with a metallic sound.

'Huh?' the special jōnin was confused. This supposed tool master seemed to have rather average physical skills. Except for his great strength and solid fundamentals, he was only at the level of an ordinary chūnin. 'Another tactical bluff? No, I can't be careless. I'll test him again.'

After several more exchanges, he finally confirmed Sasuke's true strength. He was a chūnin, no more, no less. Seizing an opening, the special jōnin used the force of their clash to push himself backward, creating distance. As soon as he was airborne, he threw his kunai, quickly formed two hand seals, and clasped his hands together.

"Wind Style: Fierce Wind Palm!"

A violent gust of wind wrapped around the kunai, which flew towards Sasuke's chest at a speed almost impossible to track with the naked eye.

'Shit!'

Fortunately, Sasuke's sonar radar had perceived the jōnin's intentions. With a speed of five seals per second, he hastily used his life-saving skill: the Substitution Jutsu.

POOF!

The violent gust of wind and the kunai shredded a wooden log. Sasuke reappeared five meters away, having narrowly avoided the critical blow.