Chapter 13 - Enemies

Before long, those three splits from Kakashi when they reached the forest and soon began to follow South. Sasuke kept his Sharingan active to find traps along the way and soon he found some snakes there. Without hesitation, he threw shurikens at their heads… they still exploded.

(You received 30 Experience.)

"We need to hurry up, we will have to dispose of this and every time we do, we will reveal our positions," Sasuke said. "We can't ignore them either since they might follow us and surround us."

"Why would they follow us? Aren't they ordinary snakes?" Naruto asked.

"Ordinary snakes wouldn't allow others to casually put explosive sticks on their bellies," Sasuke said. "They were summoned by someone to fool us and perhaps buy some time."

As the team pressed forward, the same situation happened repeatedly: Sasuke would dispose of any snakes they encountered. Each encounter forced them to make multiple breaks in their journey, slowing their progress considerably. While Sasuke's quick action was crucial in neutralizing the threat, the frequent pauses began to wear on his nerves.

Sakura, in particular, grew increasingly nervous with each passing encounter. She couldn't shake the feeling of unease as they approached the enemy's base. The fact that the enemies were aware of their approach added an extra layer of tension to their mission. Approaching head-on like this, with the enemy anticipating their every move, was a far cry from the element of surprise they'd hoped for.

Sakura understood the danger they faced. Without the advantage of ambushing their opponents, the battles could quickly escalate into a deadly and unpredictable confrontation. The thought of facing their enemies head-on, with no room for error, sent a shiver down her spine. As they continued on their path, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if they were walking into a trap and, if so, whether they would emerge unscathed.

"You guys don't have to worry about anything; just cover for me, and I will handle them," Sasuke declared. "It doesn't matter if you get used to it eventually. I can dispose of all the enemies. Consider that my responsibility."

Sasuke didn't say it as the captain of the team, but Naruto felt like Sasuke had said it anyway. Still, he soon calmed down since he wasn't that eager to kill the bandits.

Around noon, the group eventually reached the enemies base. It was hidden behind some large trees and long bushes as well. It was the kind of hideout someone like orochimaru would use to keep his test subjects. It was essentially a massive hole created by a massive snake.

"I can't find the chakra of anything around, so the enemies must be waiting for us inside," Sasuke said. "Usually, this kind of place is supposed to be massive, so we will have to hurry up before night comes."

They nodded, and soon they headed to the hideout. When they reached the entrance, they couldn't see anything deep down. The bottom was that deep. Still, Sasuke couldn't see any vestiges of chakra now.

Still, without hesitation, he jumped in and after falling for a while, he eventually landed and then realized that there were torches around. The smell of smoke was still lingering in the air. Before long, Sakura and Naruto jumped and landed nearby.

"I am going ahead, and you guys can light some torches and keep your distance. Only approach if you hear the sound of battle starting," Sasuke said.

At the first level, the sharingan is already pretty useful. The Sharingan grants the user heightened visual perception, allowing them to see things more clearly and in greater detail than the average person. This includes the ability to perceive chakra, allowing the user to discern chakra signatures, even through obstacles.

One of the most notable abilities of the Sharingan is its predictive capabilities. With the Sharingan activated, the user can anticipate an opponent's movements by reading subtle cues in their body language and chakra flow. This allows the user to react more quickly and effectively to attacks, giving them an edge in combat. So, ambushes were pretty much useless against Sasuke. 

Sakura and Naruto lightened up their torches and then began to follow Sasuke. They could barely see his silhouette ahead, so they felt a bit tense. Before long, they heard some doors on both sides of those massive corridors, but they didn't have time to check them all. Sasuke also confirmed that they were empty since there were no signs of chakra in them. 

Still, soon enough, he found a large area ahead that had a weird atmosphere in it. So, Sasuke stopped for a moment and showed some hand signs for the others without turning around to tell them to keep their guard up.

Before long, Sasuke approached the large room and then crossed a large distance and appeared in the middle of it after using the Body Flicker Technique… when he looked around, he saw a bunch of bandits close to the walls and ready to attack. They hadn't noticed his sudden advance. Without hesitation, Sasuke made the hand signs of the Great Fireball technique and then hit all of the enemies on one side with it.

The bandits began to scream in agony as their bodies began to burn. As for the enemies on the other side, they could only open their eyes widely in shock. 

Chapter 45 is already out on my Patreon page.

Hey, everyone! Author here! Thanks for reading my book! I would like to make some announcements. First of all, I opened a Patreon for those who want to read ahead. Currently, there are 80 chapters on Patreon, and I will be posting three chapters daily. If you are willing to support me in becoming a full-time writer, you already have my thanks! The second announcement is that I am planning to post one chapter daily here, but for every 500 power stones, I will post one extra chapter, and there are no limits on how many I can post! It is up to you all! 

Here is the link for the patre on: patre on.com/WritingMachineG

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