Red sand dust

The morning light penetrated the dense leaves and fell into the dim forest of death. The constant sound of frogs and insects all night stopped, and the chirping of birds began to make a noise in the jungle.

After running frantically for a long time, Konoha Genin Team 10, who felt that they were far away from the dangerous Hyuga Neji, hid behind the bushes and kept panting.

"I don't know if it's luck or misfortune, but we were able to escape smoothly because we were too weak. It's really ironic!"

Nara Shikamaru collapsed on the ground, showing his usual lazy expression.

“I don’t know what kind of trouble I will encounter next!”

After taking a breath, Akimichi Choji tore open a bag of snacks and took a few big bites to calm himself down:

"Shikamaru, let's just wait here. We will automatically be disqualified after five days! Anyway, we probably won't be able to find a weaker team than us."

The hope of passing is not great. If you want to give up midway but are not allowed to do so, you might as well just deal with it passively.

Nara Shikamaru crossed his arms, thought for a while and said:

"There is still hope. For example, Naruto and the others are not so good. Maybe we still have a chance!"

Yamanaka Ino retorted:

"Naruto and Sakura can't do it, but they still have the very powerful Sasuke. With the two of you, whether they can beat them or not is a question."

It was such a waste to arrange Uchiha Sasuke to be teammates with Naruto and Sakura. Yamanaka Ino has always been brooding about this result.

Ino Yamanaka, who has completely emerged from the shadow of yesterday, did not forget to revel in the beauty of Uchiha Sasuke in the midst of her busy schedule:

"You two, do you smell something? I wonder what kind of beautiful flower it is. It smells so good..."

The little girl who runs the flower shop at home is very familiar with all kinds of flowers. This is the first time she has smelled such a strange fragrance.

"smell?"

Nara Shikamaru sniffed it with his nose, and suddenly his expression changed drastically.

"No, retreat quickly."

As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind mixed with fine wind blades struck, shattering the bushes in front of him and sending three less alert Konoha genin flying backwards, knocking them down against a big tree not far away. Next to them, tiny wind blades cut the arms of the three people protecting them with blood.

Daimaru, who succeeded in the attack, slowly appeared, and Temari, the puppet on his shoulder, retracted his folding fan and sat on his shoulder.

Yeme and Qian, one on the left and one on the right, followed, looking at the embarrassed Konoha Genin Team 10.

"I seemed to have heard something interesting just now! Was he generously let go by a senior from the same village? How lucky he is!

However, we sand ninjas are not that compassionate. We don't feel embarrassed about defeating the weak to seize the scroll. Even if we are superior in strength, we still have to sneak attack, and we still think it is natural. I'm so sorry that we were so ruthless..."

"Hey, Daimaru, you say that as if we are some heinous villains. It's so embarrassing!"

Yemu is a good boy with pursuits, how can he accept the stigma that surrounds him.

"Don't worry, it's all on me from now on!"

Daimaru shrugged indifferently. Anyway, there were too many lice and there was no need to worry about too many debts.

Facing the approaching opponents, Akimichi Choji and Nara Shikamaru hurriedly stood up and stepped forward, pulling out their kunai guards and protecting Yamanaka Ino behind them.

"You are really haunted, why are you always staring at us?"

Yamanaka Ino asked sternly.

When I think of the horror of being locked in Qian's sea of ​​consciousness yesterday and unable to escape, my voice can't help but tremble with lingering fear.

"You can't blame us. You were the one who made the first move yesterday and wanted to steal our answers. Who can blame you for not being as skilled as others? As for today, it's just your bad luck. Who told you to get close to us? Did you find it?"

"You make it sound like it's all our fault. Are you trying to seize our scroll?"

Nara Shikamaru secretly winked at his teammates while stalling for time:

"Are you so sure that you can win against us?"

In the first try, I was caught off guard. If I really wanted to take action, the famous "Inar, Deer, and Butterfly" combination in the ninja world would not lose easily to others.

"You are wrong about this."

Daimaru sneered and took out a pair of "Scroll of Heaven" and "Scroll of Earth".

"We have already gathered the scrolls and other things. We are looking for you just to practice our skills and measure the strength of the Konoha ninjas. Of course, if you lose, it is natural to take your scrolls as trophies."

"Practice your hands? You really dare to say that!"

Nara Shikamaru's pupils shrank, and even Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka Inochi, who felt underestimated, were filled with anger.

"Then give it a try!"

"Very good, seems to have some fighting spirit!"

Daimaru chuckled lightly and formed a seal with his hands,

"Earth Escape·Sand Dance!"

The ground was like waves on a flat lake, with layers of sand and soil surging, rushing towards the three Konoha genin on the opposite side.

Nara Shikamaru, knowing that he was invincible, ordered his companions to disperse and avoid.

Waves of sand rushed through the open space between the two teams. Steel wires invisible to the naked eye were torn off, and several hidden detonating charms and numerous traps were scattered.

"This kind of superficial trap is of no use to me. If you place your hopes on such small means, I will be disappointed."

"Hey, is that really the case?"

Nara Shikamaru spat lightly,

"Ino, Choji, don't stay too far away from me!"

If you are at a disadvantage in a duel duel, it will be over if you are defeated by each one.

Daimaru looked in the direction of Nara Shikamaru and signaled to Yami and Chi that they could take action.

"Qian, I'll leave that female ninja to you, don't be careless; Yeme, you'll have to deal with that big fat guy, be careful, he's very strong, don't be reckless."

As for the last brainiac, Daimaru, who couldn't wait for a long time, naturally took action himself.

"I've wanted to slap your face flat for a long time. A guy who thinks he's smart enough to look down on others is really unpleasant to look at!"

When fighting Nara Shikamaru, you naturally can't get entangled in what he is good at. Fighting wits with smart people is not a good choice.

Daimaru's choice was, of course, to go straight ahead.

"Eat my iron fist!"

As he spoke, Daimaru threw several smoke bombs at Team 10, and the thick smoke instantly covered the area.

"Is your iron fist releasing smoke? You're a liar!"

The choking smoke made Nara Shikamaru cough non-stop. Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka Ino, who were approaching him nearby, were intercepted by the enemy. The isolated Nara Shikamaru was knocked away by a wave of sand and managed to roll over a few times. After rolling, he fell to the ground.

"In this case, I didn't attack directly at close range. Instead, I used ninjutsu to consume my physical strength and chakra. It seems that the opponent is not as reckless and unwise as he appears." 』

The hope of using the shadow binding technique to make a comeback in the thick smoke was in vain. As the sun rose, the available shadows around him gradually became less and less.