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Up in the attic, Kakashi's eyes were tight with worry.
"Hidden Mist jōnin. Be careful."
"Forget the Mist-nin. Just get our people out."
"What I'm really afraid of is…"Kakashi trailed off.
The enemy might not be here to rescue anyone. They might be here to kill their own employer or have some other agenda. He had already sensed it a moment ago: their teacher had slipped away. And without him, the two of them alone couldn't take on a Mist jōnin.
"If that's how it is, we fight to the death. Make sure Kurenai gets everyone out," Leo growled through clenched teeth.
In the thick fog, Juzo Biwa let out a low, cold laugh.
"You brats think this mission is worth dying for? Drop your weapons and maybe I'll let you walk away. Otherwise… I'll butcher the lot of you."
They want to capture us?
Kakashi's stomach tightened.This was the worst possible situation.
The fog had grown so dense he could barely see three steps ahead.
"Stay close," Leo called quietly.
He could sense chakra leaking through the mist well enough to navigate, at least better than stumbling around blind.
Kakashi nodded silently and gripped White Fang, sticking close behind him.
The next instant, Leo blinked out of sight.
And right where they had stood—
Boom.
Kubikiribōchō carved through the floorboards in a single brutal sweep.
Leo and Kakashi flickered away again, reappearing near Kisame. Instead of running, they closed the distance and went for Hohzuki Mangetsu beside him.
Crackling sounds burst through the fog.
Lightning Style: Earth Current.
Kakashi matched Leo perfectly. Earlier, when the fog wasn't so thick, Leo had struck at Mangetsu once, and Mangetsu liquefied into water. The second time, when Kakashi used lightning with Leo's water release, Mangetsu had dodged.
He was afraid of lightning.
Mangetsu dodged again, but in that split second, the water pooled on the ground surged upward, twisting into a spiraling vortex.
Leo had turned the Water Formation Wall into a rotating current that wrapped around Mangetsu, not to defend but to trap him in a sweeping flood.
Kakashi pumped out more chakra. Lightning exploded across the puddles and through the air, energized by the fog until even the mist buzzed with static.
Water rose and smothered Mangetsu.
He tried to reform a water clone, but the swirling water sent droplets everywhere.The electric current followed every one of them straight back into his body.
Thunder rolled through his nerves and his mind went blank.
A dull thud echoed as Mangetsu lost focus and dropped out of the air, landing awkwardly against Kisame, who was still half tied up.
He hadn't expected it at all.
Only two or three exchanges and Leo had already read his weakness, then used his jutsu with such precision that Mangetsu hadn't even had time to react.
He couldn't move.
The water walls collapsed. Kakashi slashed down with a short blade but Mangetsu's liquefied body didn't take the hit; Water Form couldn't be cut.
Mangetsu re-solidified.
The next moment, a huge blade ripped through his head as Juzo slashed toward Kakashi.
The fog parted just enough to reveal Juzo's twisted expression.
But Leo was already there, crouched low, kunai in hand, bursting forward. The kunai sliced through Mangetsu's watery body and aimed straight at his heart.
So fast.
Juzo's pupils shrank. He kicked out in a split second, aiming to smash Leo's arm aside.
His speed was impressive.By Juzo's judgment, Leo had no way to dodge.
The kick connected.
Leo's right hand jerked back and the kunai went flying.
But then—
Leo grabbed Juzo's ankle.
"Watch out!" Kisame shouted, eyes wide.
He understood instantly.
This black-haired brat looked simple, but he was vicious. That kunai had never been the real attack. It was bait.
The real strike was the other hand.
Juzo realized it too late. His whole body tensed as Leo's grip tightened. He tried to pull back.
Too slow.
Leo's hold only lasted an instant before Juzo tore free, but that instant was enough.
His left fist moved even faster.
The killing strike closed in.
The only vulnerable spot in range—
The knee.
Leo chose instantly.
His fist dropped.
Chakra packed into his arm burst outward with a violent shockwave.
A sickening crack rang out.
Leo didn't have Tsunade's monstrous strength, but Juzo had never imagined this kid could hit with power like that.
Juzo's knee buckled.
Just one punch nearly dislocated the joint. Pain ripped up his leg and he barely kept himself from collapsing, jamming his blade into the ground to stay upright.
"Aaaaagh!"
One careless moment and he'd been completely blindsided.
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. His eyes were bloodshot with rage.
Juzo wanted nothing more than to chop Leo in half. But right now, survival mattered more than killing anyone.
Steel clanged as he moved Kubikiribōchō to block Kakashi's White Fang.
Leo charged again, relentless, his raw strength more terrifying than anything else.
Veins bulged across Juzo's forehead.
"Hōzuki! Are you going to sit there or are you going to help? Kill this brat!"
"The reason I didn't need to move before was because of you. The reason I need to move now is also because of you."
A voice floated through the mist from outside.
"Go!"
Leo's eyes twitched.Mangetsu was already starting to recover.
Kakashi stabbed him again. The strike didn't really hurt, but the lightning running through the blade sent Mangetsu right back into paralysis.
He had barely regained feeling when he froze all over again, forced to watch helplessly as Leo and Kakashi grabbed Kisame and ran.
As for Juzo, his effective range was now limited to half a step and wherever his massive sword could reach. Anything beyond that was impossible for him.
"Juzo, this is embarrassing."
Suikazan Fuguki laughed loudly.
A jōnin of their level, outplayed by a genin who smashed his knee and left him unable to move quickly.It was pathetically funny.
If Juzo had stayed calm and worked with Mangetsu from the beginning, they would have already taken their target.
Juzo's face darkened.
He had thought he could end it in a couple of moves. No one expected these two brats to be slippery and far from normal genin.
He looked ridiculous now. And if he got a second chance, he definitely wouldn't underestimate that dark-haired kid again.
But they needed to finish the mission first.
"Jiraiya could come back any moment. We need to grab them quickly,"Juzo growled.
"I don't need you telling me."
Fuguki moved surprisingly fast for his hulking frame. After a few body flickers, he was right behind Leo and Kakashi.
His hair shot outward, strands stiffening like thousands of senbon needles.
Kakashi's face instantly went pale.
They wanted to capture them alive.
"What do we do?"
Leo didn't answer.
He stepped in front of Kakashi and lifted Kisame like a shield.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Needle-like hairs pierced into Kisame's body.
Kisame's eyes filled with despair.
"....."