Two of them...
His arms hung naturally at his sides. Kaito scanned the two masked men standing apart from each other, his mind racing to formulate a plan.
I have to take one of them out as quickly as possible, otherwise I'll be overwhelmed and dragged into their rhythm. First, I need to divide their attention...
Just then, the masked men made their move. One threw a continuous stream of shuriken as cover, while the other calmly formed hand seals. "Ox - Monkey - Hare - Rat..."
By the time Kaito had deflected all the shuriken, the man's ninjutsu was complete.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A giant water dragon rose from the surface of the sea, its scales distinct and lifelike. Its mouth gaped open in a silent roar as its massive head charged toward Kaito.
Kushina, who had never seen such a sight, instantly squeezed her eyes shut and threw herself onto Tetsuren, hugging her tightly.
"Tch!" Kaito leaped into the air, holding his two swords high above his head. His body spun rapidly in mid-air, and a torrent of fire erupted from all over him, turning him into a wheel of flame that crashed into the water dragon.
With a loud boom, the water dragon was sliced in half. Unable to maintain its shape, it dissolved into a mass of water that fell to the ground, drenching Kushina. The high temperature of the Flame Wheel also evaporated the water it touched into steam, and a thick, white fog obscured Kaito's figure.
"Watch out!" one of the masked men shouted, retreating while throwing shuriken into the fog and toward where Kushina and Tetsuren were.
"These bastards!" Kaito, who had intended to hide and launch a sneak attack, was forced to return to block the hidden weapons for them.
This is bad. If this keeps up, I'll be the one left for dead here. Should I run...?
He took a deep breath, his heart wavering. If they were strangers, he wouldn't have to hesitate. But Tetsuren was, at the very least, his classmate and friend. With the soul of a modern person, he couldn't just watch her die.
"Kaito, you go. I'll protect myself and her."
A cool voice sounded from behind him. Kaito let out a sigh of relief. "Tetsuren, you're finally awake. If you hadn't woken up, I was about to abandon you and run away by myself."
"Cough, cough." Tetsuren coughed a few times and slowly stood up. "Stop talking nonsense and go."
"Here, your sword."
"No need. I'll use the scabbard. I'm just defending anyway, not trying to kill them."
"Alright then." Seeing the enemy beginning to prepare another ninjutsu, Kaito wasted no more time. Energy erupted from the soles of his feet, and his body instantly became a phantom, charging toward the enemy who was preparing the jutsu.
"So fast!" The man was shocked. He retreated rapidly, his hands never stopping their hand seals. "Ignore me! Go for the hostages! He can't kill me!"
"Got it!" Trusting his comrade, the other man drew the longsword from his back and turned to attack Tetsuren.
"Come on," Tetsuren said, tossing her wet hair back and gripping the scabbard with both hands, her gaze firm.
Using Quick Attack, Kaito was like a bolt of lightning. In the blink of an eye, he had caught up to his opponent, but just as his longsword was about to touch him, the ninjutsu was activated.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
A wall of water suddenly rose from the ground, blocking Kaito's sword. The masked man took two steps back, preparing to form more hand seals, when Kaito opened his mouth and spat out a large, roaring blaze, evaporating the water wall and once again shrouding them both in thick fog.
The masked man knew this was bad. Just as he was about to retreat, a flaming longsword thrust out from the fog, striking him squarely in the chest. As the flames sputtered, the masked man dissolved into a splash of water.
"A Substitution Jutsu?" Kaito snorted, and stomped his right foot forward heavily. A ripple, invisible to the naked eye, spread out from him, shattering the ground inch by inch and sending sand flying.
The masked man's battered figure emerged from the sand to Kaito's right front. In the next second, a sword covered in frost slashed down in front of him. He hastily drew a kunai to block, but the frost spread along the kunai to his arm. The sudden cold made his movements slightly sluggish.
The other fire sword swept across without hesitation. The masked man clutched his bleeding neck and collapsed to the ground. This series of actions was completed in an extremely short amount of time, the entire process taking just over a minute.
After successfully killing one enemy, Kaito spun around gracefully and, without stopping, rushed toward the other.
At this point, Tetsuren's situation was already precarious. She was no match for the masked man to begin with, and coupled with her poor condition, it was a miracle she had lasted this long. Seeing his companion fall and Kaito turning toward him, the masked man was startled, and his attacks became even faster.
Tetsuren grit her teeth. She knew she had reached her limit and couldn't hold out until Kaito arrived. Gazing at the enemy's longsword thrusting toward her, a flash of determination crossed her eyes. She released the scabbard in her hands and charged forward to meet it.
Squish!
The tip of the sword pierced through Tetsuren's body, emerging from her back, stained with fresh red blood.
"Big sister!" Kushina covered her mouth, her eyes welling with tears.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Tetsuren's hands gripped the man's arm tightly as she yelled, "Kaito, now!"
"..." Kaito narrowed his eyes, his pace quickening by another fraction, dust flying up behind him.
"You crazy woman!" The masked man raised his right foot and kicked Tetsuren hard in the stomach, successfully breaking free from her grasp. Tetsuren rolled on the ground several times, leaving behind splatters of blood. Her head lolled to one side; she had clearly fainted again.
At the same time, Kaito's figure flashed past the masked man. Without even looking at the result, he sheathed his sword and ran straight for Tetsuren.
"This is impossible!" The masked man froze in place, his head slowly separating from his body.
Arriving at Tetsuren's side, Kaito looked at the bloody hole in her chest and fell silent. From the amount of bleeding, even if it hadn't pierced her heart, it had definitely severed a major blood vessel.
"Big Brother Kaito, is she..." Kushina bit her lip, her worry plain to see.
"It's okay." Kaito slowly let out a breath, laid Tetsuren flat, and knelt down. He pressed his hand to her wound and used Ice Punch, freezing the continuously flowing blood and sealing the wound.
"Kushina, it's not safe here. Bad guys could come at any time. We have to leave and find a safe place. Do you know anywhere that's well-hidden?"
"I know. There's a rocky mountain over there that very few people know about."
"Good. We'll go there."
After quickly clearing their tracks, Kaito had Kushina climb onto his back. He carefully picked up Tetsuren and, following the direction Kushina pointed, traveled far away.
Over an hour later, two more masked men arrived at the beach. They saw the scene of the fierce battle and the tragic state of their dead companions.
"Number Seven and Number Eight are both dead..."
"There are traces of fire and water. The opponent is skilled in Fire Style. Captain, was it those two kids?"
"Hmm, unlikely. There's only one set of small, unfamiliar footprints here. Judging by the depth, it's more likely an adult woman."
"Should we still pursue them?"
The captain looked toward the village, where the commotion was gradually subsiding, and shook his head. "Forget it. The main force is about to complete the mission. Besides, the enemy's strength is unknown. We don't need to cause extra trouble. Continue to stand guard at sea and watch out for reinforcements from the Leaf."
"Yes, sir!"