Suien, his mind a whirlwind of frantic calculations, settled on a single, desperate plan— to seize one of Kakashi's Genin as a hostage. He had never anticipated the situation to devolve into this, with his strongest allies now nothing more than lifeless husks, while his other, lesser subordinates were occupied with the captured villagers on the opposite side of the hidden village.
As he stood there, Kakashi Hatake began to walk toward him, his movements slow and deliberate. The rhythmic tapping of his footsteps echoed through not the eerie silence, each one a hammer blow against Suien's composure, who didn't want to fight Kakashi here. In Kakashi's left hand, a tantō gleamed, having been summoned from his inventory seal.
Kakashi's presence was that of a predator. The crimson glow of his Sharingan gave him a truly menacing appearance, and with every measured step toward Suien, the rogue ninja felt the need of something to get out of this situation.
His gaze frantically darted to the Genin. First, he landed on Sasuke, whose eyes, a shade of red similar to Kakashi's, bore a single, swirling Tomoe less. Suien internally shook his head. He recognized the Sharingan and, even if Sasuke was just a brat in his eyes, he was not willing to risk another failure.
His gaze then shifted to Naruto, who was casually rubbing the side of his nose with his right index finger, his expression carefree. Suien's mind was made up in an instant. He would go after Naruto, who looks like an idiot.
He didn't even spare a glance for Sakura, and a direct confrontation with Kakashi was out of the question— not after witnessing the effortless manner in which the man had dispatched his three best people just moments ago. This entire thought process took few seconds, and then he flickered toward Naruto, who was surprised to find Suien had vanished from his sight.
"NARUTO! MOVE AWAY!!"
Sasuke's eyes, however, caught Suien's movement. His Sharingan was able to read the opponent's speed, though he knew he couldn't reach Naruto in time. The warning was all he could offer as he stood at some distance to Naruto. Kakashi also saw the movement but did not move immediately. He understood Suien's desperate ploy— a simple hostage game.
But Kakashi was sure of two things— Naruto wouldn't be an easy target, and two, he wouldn't allow any harm to come to his student. Naruto, despite not understanding where Suien had gone or why Sasuke had shouted, instinctively made a hand sign and thrust his palm forward.
"Wind Style: Gale Palm Jutsu!"
A wild, wide torrent of wind erupted from Naruto's palm. Suien, who had been closing in with a small smirk, his right hand outstretched to seize Naruto's throat and a kunai in his left, was left completely stunned. The powerful gust of wind was not what he expected from a Genin of Naruto's age.
The moment the Jutsu made contact, Suien was smashed backward, sent flying through the air. His face stretched taut like a rubber sheet, with the skin pulled back toward his ears and hairline, creating a wide, almost unnatural grimace. Kakashi, with a single hand seal, created a small Earth Wall behind the trajectory of Suien's flight.
Suien slammed into the wall, his bandana flying off his head, but it prevented him from being sent into the lake. He landed squarely back in the spot where he had been standing before rushing at Naruto. However he still didn't take much damage, but his eyes were wide with shock as he looked at the boy, who was now standing closer to Sasuke and Sakura, all of them refraining from interfering in what was now clearly Kakashi's battle.
Suien's gaze returned to Kakashi, who was walking slowly toward him, the tantō still held in his left hand, his Sharingan ever-active. Suien wasn't a coward, neither afraid of Kakashi in any way; he was a formidable, strong, and experienced Jōnin from Takigakure.
However, he was also keenly aware of Kakashi's rumours and legendary strength, a fact that had just been brutally demonstrated. He simply did not want a head-on fight. His sole objective was to get his hands on the Hero Water, a powerful substance only Shibuki knew the location of. He knew that a fight with Kakashi, whether he won or lost, would mean the end of his goal.
'Fighting him here isn't worth it,' Suien concluded internally. 'He too is a formidable shinobi. I must go after Shibuki first.' He nodded to himself, the plan forming rapidly. 'Once I get my hands on the Hero Water, my strength will be comparable to any of the Five Kage from the great nations. Then, I'll be able to take down Kakashi and these brats with ease.' He turned his back and attempted to flicker away, toward the location where his other goons guarding captured villagers, who were being held.
"Please... Don't run, I don't like to chase!"
However, he hadn't even taken two steps when Kakashi's calm but threatening voice came from directly behind him, just inches away. The tanto in Kakashi's left hand slashed toward Suien's back. Suien quickly replaced position to a wooden log to the side to dodge and immediately put distance between them, biting his thumbs and slamming his hands on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Two medium-sized fish summons appeared from the ground on Suien's left and right; one is a giant black Koi-fish, named Rainenmaru and other is a catfish with white markings and long spiny whiskers, named Konenmaru.
"Looks like I have to take you down first." Suien said, with a stern look, creating a water release sword in his hand, ready for the inevitable battle against Kakashi now.