Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 28: Slacking Off in the Rookie Battle

Sato Yoshisuke stood up and confronted Black Scorpion: "First, the attitude of the servants; second, the surveillance by the city guards; third, the fact that the city lord has not dared to show his face; and fourth—the poison in this food."

"So you deduced that we're not Jonin?" Black Scorpion curled his lips into a sneer.

"If you truly possess the strength of a Jonin, you wouldn't need to make such unnecessary moves."

Black Scorpion suddenly laughed!

His laughter was loud, unrestrained, and arrogant: "That's right. But have you considered another possibility? I'm not a Jonin, but I'm confident I can take you all down."

Before he finished speaking, more than twenty guards appeared on the four walls of the house, each holding a crossbow with a green glow on the arrowhead, clearly poisoned.

Sato Yoshisuke's face darkened. He looked outside the door and saw the fat city lord hiding behind the guards, clearly already following the lead of those wandering ninjas.

"Release the arrows!"

At Black Scorpion's command, crossbows flew swiftly.

"Earth Release·Earth Style Wall!"

Sato Yoshisuke performed five hand seals in a second, instantly forming an earthen wall that rose from the ground, blocking most of the arrows. However, the wall's range was limited, and some arrows still managed to enter from the side.

Aburame Shichen dodged two arrows with a swift movement. Chuncao and Youshu also dodged, while Naoto used his kunai to block, the clanging sounds echoing incessantly.

After a volley of arrows, the room was a complete mess.

Sato Yoshisuke quickly issued orders: "Takikawa, you and I will hold off Kurosori. Ariki, you deal with the smaller ones; Haruka, the female ninja is yours; Naoto, clear out the guards."

"clear!"

The five people immediately dispersed, each locking onto their target.

Black Scorpion looked at Sato Yoshisuke and Aburame Shisei rushing towards him and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

He formed hand seals: "Earth Release: Rock Pillar Technique!"

Several sharp stone pillars suddenly rose from the ground. Sato Yoshisuke rolled to the side to avoid them, simultaneously throwing three shuriken. Black Scorpion easily dodged them, pulled a kunai from his ninja tool bag, and charged forward.

The two engaged in close combat, sparks flying from their clashes in the mist.

Yoshisuke Sato's physical skills were solid, and every strike was aimed at vital points; Black Scorpion clearly had not received formal training in physical skills, but he had the advantage of being stronger than his opponent, and his moves were ruthless and vicious.

The two are evenly matched in terms of strength, but Black Scorpion has an innate aura of fighting to the death, which gives him a significant advantage over Sato Yoshisuke.

Fortunately, Shisei Aburame was there to assist him, throwing a kunai or a shuriken. His attacks always managed to restrain Black Scorpion just right, without dragging him into the main battle.

After twenty moves, Sato Yoshisuke was panting heavily, and the doubt he had suppressed before rose up in his heart again.

There's no other reason than that Takikawa's performance... was off. It was too precise, so precise that it seemed like he was deliberately controlling the balance of the battle. He clearly had two opportunities to severely injure Black Scorpion, but each time he chose the most conservative approach of restraining him.

"Takikawa, stop holding back and attack with all your might!" Sato Yoshisuke shouted.

"Yes!" Aburame Shisei responded, but his movements remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, the battle between You Shu and Xiao Chong had reached a fever pitch. Although Xiao Chong was young, his moves were ruthless, completely disregarding defense and trading blows for damage, putting You Shu on the defensive. However, You Shu had received formal training and gradually regained his footing, beginning to counterattack.

The battle between Chuncao and Hongdie was completely different. Both were female ninjas, extremely fast, moving through the room with crisp, rapid sounds of short swords clashing against kunai; every exchange was fraught with danger.

More importantly, one of them is a ninjutsu-type ninja, and the other is a sensory-type ninja, so they are completely mutually restraining.

By this time, Naoto had already eliminated eight of the guards. His physical skills were the strongest among the other three, making him more than capable of dealing with these ordinary guards.

However, the number of soldiers was too large, and they charged forward relentlessly, completely disregarding their own lives, which gradually made him feel strained.

Black Scorpion fought and retreated, leading Sato Yoshisuke and Aburame Shisei deep into the abandoned house behind the lord's mansion.

Sato Yoshisuke pursued relentlessly, and the two exchanged several more blows in the abandoned house. His breathing began to quicken, and his body grew heavier and heavier...

Suddenly, he felt a heat in his nasal cavity.

I reached out and touched it; it was blood.

Not only his nose, but also the corners of his mouth started to bleed. His vision became somewhat blurred, and his hand-eye coordination began to decline.

"Poison..." Sato Yoshisuke suddenly realized.

The retreat just now was merely a ruse; his true tactic was the poisonous miasma he had already sown throughout the area! This was his home turf, a trap.

"You noticed?" Black Scorpion stopped in his tracks. "Too late. My scorpion venom is colorless and odorless. It enters the body through respiration and takes effect in ten minutes. Judging by the timing, now is just right."

Sato Kisuke staggered and knelt on one knee. He looked at Aburame Shisei, who was still standing there, seemingly showing no signs of poisoning.

"Why...?" Sato Yoshisuke asked breathlessly.

Aburame Shisei didn't speak, she just looked at him quietly.

Black Scorpion also noticed something was wrong, frowning as he looked at Aburame Shichika: "You're not poisoned? Impossible, you've been breathing the whole time—"

"Haha, I see. I didn't expect you to be so cautious, staying right outside the drug den. But whatever, I'll deal with you after I've taken care of him."

Black Scorpion believed he had seen through Aburame Shicheng's situation, regardless of whether he was genuinely cautious or whether there was a rift between them.

In short, he won this encirclement and attack.

It's a pity about this Chunin from the ninja village; he must have mastered far more ninjutsu than those Genin.

At that moment, Sato Yoshisuke coughed up another mouthful of black blood, and Black Scorpion seized the opportunity to launch a rapid and fierce attack. He could only wield two kunai and try his best to block. The blades of the kunai clashed, like ping-pong balls, and sparks flew everywhere.

Before long, Sato Yoshisuke was exhausted and knelt on one knee, revealing his weakness.

Black Scorpion grinned wildly, his eyes gleaming white. He flipped over and kicked away one of Sato Yoshi's kunai, while his other hand held a short sword horizontally, stabbing it into the opponent's chest.

Just then, the air around him suddenly froze, and for a moment all sound seemed to disappear, and the scene before his eyes also froze.

It's an illusion! How could this be? Knowing it was my poisonous miasma array, that helper still dared to break in. And how could he be so proficient in such powerful illusions? Is he more than just a genin?

Black Scorpion's mind was racing. When he came to his senses again, Sato Yoshisuke tightly gripped a kunai and forcefully slashed at his throat.

With a flash of cold light, his head was severed instantly, and blood gushed out.

Sato Yoshisuke was breathing heavily. He turned to look at Aburame Shisei, his eyes filled with unfamiliarity.

Aburame Shisei said softly, a gentle smile on her face:

"The captain suspects me, doesn't he?"