"Ryo, what are you trying to imply? That I'm a coward?"
Tekudō shoved Ryo aside and stood firmly next to Sasuke, facing forward. Although he was visibly frightened, he forced himself to appear calm.
He even tried to joke with a strained smile, "Captain, you're not thinking my strength is too low and that I'm a hindrance, are you? You don't want to abandon your dear, capable general to keep all the merit points from this S-rank mission for yourself, do you?"
Sasuke blanked for a second. 'Damn it, how did he know? He's absolutely right.'
If it weren't for the fact that the boy's knuckles, gripping a kunai, were already white from tension, his bluff might have been exposed. Sasuke smiled to himself.
'This kid is still quite adorable. He's scared to death, but he refuses to abandon his comrades. It seems he's a little man who values friendship and loyalty after all. And here I was, thinking he was just a resourceful coward, a master of the Way of the Survivor in its most basic form...'
Now that he had been able to make such a brave decision at a critical moment, Sasuke's previous assessment of him—that his limit was chūnin—could perhaps be revised upward. With his mastery of the "Money Escape Technique" and this newfound fighting spirit, it wouldn't be difficult for him to become a special jōnin in the future.
"Captain, Captain, let's stop the enemy together. We can definitely hold out until the mobile patrol team supports us. Yes, we can."
Chōmi trembled beside Sasuke, stammering words of encouragement for everyone. Although she was so scared her legs were shaking, she tried to be strong and cheer on her comrades.
'What a simple and kind girl,' Sasuke thought. 'She's terrified and still she thinks of comforting others. It's a shame she has no path to learn medical ninjutsu; with the character she's showing now, she would undoubtedly be an excellent medical-nin.'
"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Sasuke laughed heartily, a laugh that sounded genuine and powerful. He felt a lump in his throat and his eyes, to his own surprise, grew slightly moist. Seeing the three young people beside him, ready to fight and die with him, he was moved in a way he hadn't expected, an unprecedented joy.
As cruel and heartless as this ninja world was, there were always sparks of light like this, people who believed that bonds and justice mattered. And that, somehow, was enough.
Sasuke suddenly felt that his soul had been baptized and sublimated. It wasn't that he had awakened the Ninja Will or the Will of Fire, but that he finally felt a certain identity with this world. From a cognitive level, he began to accept it from the heart, experiencing a profound spiritual elevation.
"Alright, alright! Today, your captain will lead you in a beautiful, perfect ambush."
Sasuke waved his hand, his bearing exuding a heroic spirit he didn't know he possessed. For a moment, he felt an invincible impulse. Under the influence of this powerful aura, his three subordinates began to gradually calm down, their fear replaced by a contained serenity.
"Tekudō, don't hesitate to part with your 'wives.' Prepare every blade you have."
"Understood, Captain!"
Tekudō, who normally put his weapons before all else, was finally willing to sacrifice his "beauties" for the good of the team. He immediately took out several dozen more exploding tags and an arsenal of blades from his scrolls, quickly reinforcing the traps.
Sasuke added calmly, "Remember to mark the traps with our emergency evacuation signals and secret codes."
Tekudō was a bit confused by the order, but figuring his captain was always thorough and had a plan for everything, he didn't give it much thought.
"Next!"
Sasuke nodded and took out a large bottle of potion, tossing it to Tekudō. "Apply this to all the blades."
"Yes, sir!" Tekudō caught the bottle and observed the viscous green liquid inside. It had to be a powerful poison. He was elated; the captain was being so generous as to even share his personal treasures. He had to perform exceptionally so as not to disappoint him.
Quickly, Tekudō smeared the poison on each of his steel "wives," painting them a beautiful, lethal green. If it weren't for the fact that the exploding tags couldn't get wet, he would have covered them too.
Sasuke shook his head. That bottle was indeed a personal treasure, but it wasn't a deadly poison. Lethal poisons for ninja were scarce and extremely expensive, even on the black market. On the front lines, poor ninja weren't worthy of using poison, with the exception, of course, of the Sand Village, which was rich in toxins.
The bottle in his hands contained a biological protease toxin that he cultivated himself, feeding his water bats a controlled diet of snake venom, minerals, and poisonous herbs. It was somewhat similar to Hanzō's salamander toxin, but far less potent. To a civilian, it would be deadly, but for a ninja with chakra, its toxicity wasn't so terrible.
Its real power lay in its novelty. It was a biological toxin that paralyzed the limbs by targeting cellular activity. Since it was a new compound, the conventional antidotes of the ninja world were useless. A specific serum would be needed, and without a sample, it was impossible to create.
Although the toxin wasn't strong enough to be lethal and a ninja could suppress the paralysis with chakra, doing so would require a considerable amount of energy. And in a battle, a ninja without chakra, with their muscles and tissues paralyzed, was a lamb to the slaughter.
After a flurry of activity, everyone's weapons were poisoned, and the trap network was reinforced.
"Hide!" Sasuke commanded.
Ryo and Chōmi quickly hid behind a large tree near the riverbank. Then, Sasuke nodded at Tekudō, and with the tacit understanding forged on the battlefield, the two set off in unison. With chakra at their feet, they climbed a giant tree and positioned themselves at the corner of a thick branch, perfectly concealed.
After hiding, Sasuke gestured with his hand to Ryo and Chōmi. Both instantly suppressed their auras, concealing their presence and breath. Tekudō, as a veteran, had already done so without being told. He was a genius with traps, and that included the art of concealment.
In an instant, the forest fell into an expectant silence, broken only by the buzzing of cicadas, which dragged out a long tremor and filled the air with the humidity of the humus. The sound of mycelium bursting under rotten leaves sounded like the footsteps of microorganisms crushing spore sacs.
The forest seemed peaceful and natural. But beneath that peaceful veneer, a cold, sharp, murderous intent lurked in every shadow.