"You okay?" Haseo turned his head sideways, asking the ninja he had just rescued.
"...Yeah... Not dying yet..." Dazed, the other stared at the forehead protector on Haseo's head. The Konoha insignia was clearly visible. The sight of a fellow Konoha ninja seemed to surprise him greatly. Then he realized he should probably say something more appropriate under the circumstances. "Thanks. There are a lot of enemies out there. Be careful."
Haseo nodded. For Konoha forces, this was completely enemy territory. Plus, this barrier was a carefully prepared trap set by the enemy. That the enemy outnumbered them was only natural... Haseo swept his eyes across the battlefield. Judging from what he could see, their side had about twenty ninjas in total.
Because of Haseo's sudden entrance, and how instantly he took down an Amegakure ninja, the enemies currently engaged in battle hesitated momentarily in their movements.
"Can you stand?"
Taking advantage of this rare momentary reprieve, the Konoha squad immediately withdrew from combat, and the remaining three gathered around the injured comrade. Their squad leader asked while extending a hand to help lift the fallen member up.
"No problem, Captain."
With the captain's assistance, the wounded squad member staggered to his feet, then immediately clutched the wound on his side. His injuries were serious.
Then, the captain directed another question toward Haseo. "Are you alone?"
"No. After hearing the sounds of battle from this direction, I rushed over at my top speed, but my squad members are slightly behind," Haseo replied.
Under normal circumstances, when two Konoha squads meet in a place like this, there would be a strict identification protocol to determine each other's identities and confirm whether they truly were allies. However, under current conditions, they certainly didn't have extra time to carry out every procedure.
Moreover, Haseo had just saved a man in a rather extreme situation, basically confirming that he was indeed an ally.
The captain looked again at the group of enemies standing ready in formation before half-carrying the injured soldier onto his own body. He then said to Haseo, "We'll fight as we fall back."
"I understand." Haseo immediately responded affirmatively.
Given their disadvantage in numbers, choosing to fight in a more flexible and mobile manner while moving made far more sense than fighting head-on against the enemy within confined space. Thus, Haseo agreed with the suggestion... Even though the barrier around them limited their mobility, moving was still better than standing still.
With just a single word, everyone without further ado began retreating into the forest.
At this point, the enemies also understood—there hadn't been any issues with their plan. Even if Konoha had sent reinforcements, at most it could only be one additional squad.
"Go!"
Of course, they launched immediate pursuit against the retreating Konoha forces.
But simply because of the front-rear difference, the Rain Village ninja's previously concentrated formation was now stretched apart.
Haseo brought up the rear of the Konoha squad, keeping a watchful eye behind him. Then, as if realizing something, he glanced to his right—then suddenly whirled around and hurled two kunai at the enemy in the lead.
Under the enhancement of Lightning Release chakra, his attack came swiftly and sharply, enough to block that enemy's advance using only these two throwing weapons.
However, it wasn't a technique meant to kill. Just as Haseo kept monitoring his back, the enemies behind were also closely watching his movements... This was how shuriken worked—Haseo could throw randomly, but enemies could dodge too.
As expected, the Rain ninja paused, sidestepped, and nimbly dashed onto the trunk of a nearby tree.
Just as he performed this evasive maneuver, Haseo—who was twenty meters ahead—suddenly spun around one hundred and eighty degrees. Simultaneously, intense lightning radiated from his body. Powerful chakra surged from beneath his feet, and in an instant, he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, piercing straight back toward the enemy.
"Daring enough to counterattack like that?"
The enemy never expected someone within the fleeing Konoha ninja group to be bold enough to take such a counterattacking move. However, he remained unafraid, for he knew plenty of teammates were closely following behind him, ready to cover him.
Yet, he had made two miscalculations.
First, he hadn't anticipated just how fast Haseo could be. He saw Haseo turn—but almost without any perceptible transition, that young opponent already stood directly before his eyes.
Even though the Konoha ninjas were already trapped like rats in a cage, no one should escape death so easily. At this moment, the enemy realized Haseo must've rolled some insane luck.
Second, when his feet landed on a new position on another large tree trunk, suddenly, he found himself completely unable to move. The counterattack he planned never materialized.
The previous shuriken thrown by Haseo weren't meant to slow the enemy—they were only meant to redirect his movement. Because once the enemy shifted direction slightly, he'd step right into the immobilization jutsu cast by Haseo's teammate.
After that, the outcome became inevitable. Haseo's [Lightning Release · Kurigara] effortlessly pierced through the enemy's chest cavity.
Haseo struck decisively and left immediately without hesitation. After instantly killing an enemy with a thunderous assassination move, he quickly pulled away from the spot. Almost the moment he vacated, thudding sounds of kunai and shuriken striking tree trunks filled the air, followed by wide-range attacks such as Wind Release and Fire Release techniques raining down from above.
The Rain Village ninja actually launched attacks without hesitation upon the area where their own comrade had been located moments ago... Because those following behind had seen everything clearly, and they understood their companion was already beyond salvation.
So when Haseo turned his head again, he happened to see a corpse falling from midair, utterly mutilated beyond recognition... He handled the killing, while the other side took care of disposing the body. Their teamwork was pretty tight.
"Pretty good synergy, our teamwork is actually on point," he then spoke aloud.
Of course, these words weren't directed at the enemy.
The other three members of his squad had already slipped into place behind Haseo. Judging by the timing, they really did arrive just when they were supposed to meet up with him.
"After all, our squad has existed for quite some time now. This level of cooperation is just basic expectation," Nagisa Nara responded. He didn't think such simple coordination deserved any special praise.
"Now... what's the current situation? What should we do next, Haseo?" He then asked.
"For now, let's just follow the Konoha squad ahead," Haseo replied.
Honestly, he didn't have a clear way out of this mess. At this moment, the only choice was temporarily moving forward together with another Konoha squad. As for what came next, they'd just have to take it one step at a time.
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