Uchiha En naturally understood these principles, so after hearing Aburame Shibi's command, he immediately created a Shadow Clone and, together with his main body, rushed to the location where the enemies were discovered to the front left.
Uchiha En approached very cautiously, and midway, he formed hand seals again to create a Water Clone.
After slowly scouting forward for over 400 meters, Uchiha En finally discovered traces of the enemy.
From their clothing and appearance, these five individuals were undoubtedly Kirigakure Ninja.
Uchiha En activated his Sharingan and, through the Double Tomoe in his left eye, confirmed the Chakra levels of these five people by observing their Chakra pathways.
Among these five, two had less Chakra than him, one of the remaining three had a Chakra level roughly equal to his, and the other two had more Chakra than him.
It's difficult to discern a Ninja's strength solely by their Chakra level. Uchiha En thought for a moment, left the Shadow Clone there, and then manipulated the Water Clone to continue running forward.
The Water Clone and the main body couldn't be too far apart, so Uchiha En also moved forward a short distance with the Water Clone, then manipulated the Water Clone to maintain a normal Ninja running posture, leaping through the treetops.
After a few leaps, the Water Clone arrived at the location of the Kirigakure Ninja.
After observing for a few seconds in secret, he confirmed that the two with less Chakra were likely around his age, at most Genin level. The one with Chakra equal to his was a bit older, and the other two appeared to be middle-aged.
"Who's there?" The Kirigakure Ninja below whose Chakra level was roughly equal to Uchiha En's stood up and threw a Kunai towards Uchiha En's Water Clone.
"A Sensing Ninja?" Uchiha En's Water Clone thought.
Then, the Water Clone pretended to be startled and turned to run.
His actions were naturally discovered by the Kirigakure Ninja.
The leading Kirigakure Ninja glanced at the panicked Water Clone and said, "Looks like a rookie who just graduated from the Ninja Academy."
"Captain, don't be careless. It might just be a Shadow Clone scouting ahead," the Sensing Ninja who discovered Uchiha En said.
"We'll know if it's a Shadow Clone by trying." With that, the leading Kirigakure Ninja stood up and used two Body Flicker Techniques consecutively to catch up to the fleeing Water Clone. Seeing this, the Water Clone was about to turn and resist when the leading Kirigakure Ninja directly slit its throat with a Kunai.
"Splash~" The Water Clone dissolved into a puddle of water and fell from the air.
After Uchiha En sensed the Water Clone dissipate, he quickly used two Body Flicker Techniques to create distance.
The leading Kirigakure Ninja muttered to himself after dealing with the Water Clone, "It was a Water Clone? Then this guy's main body is nearby."
With that, the leading Kirigakure Ninja leaped up and indeed saw Uchiha En's Shadow Clone fleeing.
"Found you!" The leading Kirigakure Ninja smiled cruelly and charged towards the Shadow Clone.
The Shadow Clone lowered its head, secretly activated its Sharingan, and turned around just as the leading Kirigakure Ninja was about to approach.
Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!
The leading Kirigakure Ninja paused. Seeing this, the Shadow Clone immediately threw the Kunai in its hand, striking the leading Kirigakure Ninja's throat.
"Splash~" The leading Kirigakure Ninja, whose throat was pierced, instantly turned into a puddle of water.
The next second, a voice sounded behind Uchiha En: "Little guy, you don't think you're the only one who can use Water Clones, do you?"
Uchiha En's Shadow Clone's expression changed drastically.
"Not many in the Uchiha Clan awaken the Sharingan at this age! You're quite a genius, it seems, but it's a pity you met me." With that, the leading Kirigakure Ninja gave Uchiha En's Shadow Clone no further chance, drawing the short sword from behind him and severing the Shadow Clone's head.
"Bang~" The Shadow Clone instantly dissipated into a puff of smoke.
The memory of the skirmish with the leading Kirigakure Ninja, along with the pain of being decapitated, was transmitted back to Uchiha En's main body.
"Hiss~" Uchiha En gasped, sucking in a cold breath due to the intense pain, contributing his part to global warming.
Uchiha En rubbed his neck, recalling the leading Kirigakure Ninja's movements, and muttered, "That guy just now is most likely a Jonin. He dealt with my two clones with just taijutsu and Body Flicker Technique. He's not easy to deal with!"
With that, Uchiha En swallowed a soldier pill, recovered some Chakra, then sped back to Aburame Shibi and relayed the information he had just probed to him.
Aburame Shibi pondered for a moment after hearing this and said, "If it's just one Jonin, we should be able to handle it. The key is that we don't know the situation of the other four."
"Didn't En say that two of the other four have less Chakra than him, one is equal, and another has more? Just looking at Chakra levels, only the last one with more Chakra than En, and their captain, need us to be careful, right?" Yamanaka Kagetsu said.
"Kagetsu, we can't judge a person's strength solely by their Chakra level, otherwise I wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to test them just now," Uchiha En said.
"Chakra level is important, but it's not suitable as a standard for measuring a Ninja's strength," Aburame Shibi also said.
"Then what should we do?"
"We still need to figure out their strength first." With that, Aburame Shibi patted the jar behind him, and a swarm of insects flew out, heading directly towards the Kirigakure Ninja.
"We follow, but don't get too close. Just ensure the Byakugan can clearly see their situation," Aburame Shibi said.
"Then we need to stop at about 300 meters. En just said there's a Sensing Ninja over there. If we're discovered at this distance, it'll be difficult to get away," Hyuga Asana said.
"We shouldn't be discovered. My Water Clone was only discovered when it got within 100 meters of them, and he didn't discover my main body or Shadow Clone, so their Sensing Ninja's detection range should be within 100 meters.
And if a fight breaks out, I'm confident I can instantly take out those two Genin with less Chakra than me, and I also have a chance to take out that Sensing Ninja.
Even if the remaining two are both Jonin, we're not without a fighting chance if we work together."
After hearing Uchiha En's words, Aburame Shibi pondered for a moment and said, "First, take out the Sensing Ninja. Those two Genin aren't important."
With that, Aburame Shibi followed the swarm of insects. Uchiha En and the other three quickly followed suit.
The swarm of insects flew to the area where the Kirigakure Ninja were at an extremely fast speed.
The leading Kirigakure Ninja was telling his companions about intercepting Uchiha En earlier.
"Shadow Clone + Water Clone? Captain, this guy most likely came to probe our strength," the Sensing Ninja said.
"I know, but I didn't find this guy's main body, so I can only... Hmm? What's that!" The leading Kirigakure Ninja stopped mid-sentence as he saw the swarm of insects flying in the distance.