I stopped on the nearest thick branch, hidden in the moon's shadow. My heart was still pounding from the fight, but now there was only one problem demanding immediate attention.
The finger.
I looked at it — it was still bent the wrong way. The skin around it had already begun to swell, and every pulse throbbed with a sharp flash of pain.
"Damn…" I hissed through my teeth.
With my left hand, I grabbed the injured finger. I froze for a moment — inhaled. Held my breath.
One.
I yanked sharply.
CRACK.
The sound was unpleasant, even disgusting. The pain flared so suddenly that I almost swore out loud. For a moment, the world before my eyes darkened.
But the finger was back in place.
"There we go…" I exhaled, shaking my hand to release the residual spasm. "Live, my friend. We still have a fight ahead."
I exhaled slowly, letting my breathing settle. I needed to act while my body still held together.
The guy lay nearby, trying to recover. He was conscious but completely knocked out of the fight: his breathing was ragged, his gaze unfocused. The lightning no longer flickered on his skin — the chakra had evaporated along with his remaining strength.
"Don't move," I said, approaching and dropping to one knee. "You made this harder for yourself."
He tried to raise his hand, as if to say something or even attack, but his fingers only twitched.
"Lie down," I said, moving his hand aside and covering his wrist with my palm to immobilize it.
With one motion, I rolled him onto his side and pulled a scroll from his belt. The thick fabric gave way, snapping its fastening. I checked — "Earth." Exactly what I needed.
"Beating the creature up won't be enough," I muttered, tucking the scroll into my backpack and securing it so I wouldn't lose it by accident.
Too bad you can't relax in this world — someone's definitely watching.
Without wasting time, I pulled a thin coil of fishing line from my pocket. With my left hand, I tied his wrists to the nearest tree bark. A few wraps around the hands, a couple around the ankles, and a knot under the root — tight and secure.
I needed to return to my team.
With a movement, I activated the flicker technique, and the forest swallowed me again. The shadows of trees, the scent of damp earth, the remnants of ozone in the air — all merged into the familiar pattern of the night forest.
Moments later, I was running along the branches, hearing dull impacts in the distance — Genma and Gai were still fighting.
I stopped on an upper branch, crouching so my silhouette blended with the dark bark. And at that moment, a huge fireball illuminated the clearing.
The flames exploded above the ground, sending a wave of heat like molten fire. Tree shadows scattered, and everything around blazed for a second, as if day had returned with the force of fury.
Genma crouched, shielding his face with his hand, but managed to see the direction of the attack.
I saw it too.
Fire technique.
For a moment, I just stared at the flashes before a thought hit me like a fist:
What the hell? He only controls Earth.
Later, I would think calmly, coldly.
Now — I needed to act. The situation was deadlocked: in this darkness, insects were almost invisible. That became immediately obvious.
Then… I needed to stop the one using them.
I stepped forward, barely touching the bark.
Flicker movement ripped me through the trees — not straight, but in a zigzag, so even the wind couldn't reveal my trajectory. At the last moment, I canceled the technique, landing softly on a root.
Close.
Very close.
I extended my hand, creating a clone — it appeared beside me, a ghost in the dense air. It lunged forward, and I threw a stone in its path, loud enough to draw attention.
And it was drawn.
"Hm?" Aburame turned his head slightly. His hand twitched. Part of the swarm bent like a black shadow, changing its trajectory.
I was behind him before the clone vanished.
Almost point-blank.
My chakra-filled leg struck his body with deafening force.
BOOM.
Genma, standing nearby, let out a stifled cry — the sound merged with the rustling swarm hit by the wave of force.
The enemy shuddered, his body arching sharply, glasses sliding down his nose. The controlled insects froze for a moment, seemingly trying to comprehend what had happened.
I gave no chance for recovery: my fingers were already forming seals, creating a new short impulse of wind.
The wind rose, swirling leaves and insects that tried to return to their master. But now they lost formation, swarming chaotically, unsure where to go.
I lunged, using flicker movement — right into the shadow beside Genma. The wind around me compressed into a dense, barely noticeable stream, preventing the swarm from regrouping.
My hand slid under his head — precise, firm, without hesitation.
BAM.
The opponent's nape hit the ground, and he went out instantly — as if someone had cut the thread holding his consciousness.
His body relaxed.
The swarm completely scattered, losing shape, and vanished into the darkness.
"You wore him down well," I said, approaching Genma and retrieving my kunai.
My voice resonated calmly in my chest, though my body was still tense.
"Annoying opponent…" Genma muttered, covering his leg, which bore several bite marks. "These insects are worse than poison."
I nodded, silently agreeing.
Before I could even inhale, the shadow above shifted — and Gai appeared as if jumping out of it.
"Hey! You finished too?" he asked, holding a beaten participant by the scruff like a kitten.
"Finished," Genma replied, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Too bad they didn't have the scroll."
Gai sighed loudly enough to shake the leaves. His disappointment was always theatrical.
"I found it alone," I said, twirling the scroll between my fingers, showing the brown "Earth" symbol.
Gai grinned.
"Great! Then let's head straight to the center. Now that we have the full set — no time to waste!"
"Agreed," Genma nodded. "The sooner, the better… I don't want to run into anyone again at night…"