The genins from Taki stopped talking as they saw thick mist appearing out of nowhere and completely obscuring them and their surroundings.
One of the Taki genin muttered in confusion, "What is this?" His voice sounded nervous as he tried to look around but could barely make out his own teammates.
Another one shouted with alarm, "Are you an idiot or what? Obviously this is a jutsu and we are under attack." He sounded angry and ready to fight as he reached for his weapons.
The last one of their team said with worry in his voice, "It is the hidden mist jutsu. It must be those Kiri shinobi. They specialise in this kind of technique." The three of them stood close together, backs touching so they would not lose each other in the thick fog.
The first one almost soiled his pants as he heard it was the Kiri shinobi. He remembered those terrifying genin, especially the one that had the appearance of a shark with sharp teeth and blue skin.
His legs shook a little as fear took over. "We should just give them the flag. They would just kill us if we do not," he mumbled terrified.
He wanted to run away or surrender quickly to avoid any fighting with such dangerous opponents.
The leader of the team shook his head and replied firmly, "You really are an idiot. The Kiri shinobi are not known for their kindness. Even if we give them the flag there is no way they would spare us. So our only choice is to fight."
He tried to sound brave even though the mist made everything feel more dangerous. Their leader weaved hand signs quickly and called out, "Wind Style: Breakthrough Jutsu."
A strong gust of sharp wind blew away the mist in front of them, clearing a path so they could see again. The genins from Taki looked around in confusion and surprise as there was no one to be found. The area around their flag was empty except for the trees and bushes.
"Where are they?" one of them asked while turning in circles. "They must be scared of us," another replied with some confidence returning to his voice.
"Yeah, those Kiri guys probably ran away when they saw real fighters like us," the third one added with a laugh. "No one wants to face a strong team from Taki in a fair fight," the first genin said, trying to build up their courage.
"We probably scared them off with our reputation alone," the leader claimed as he looked around proudly. The three of them stood taller now, feeling better after the mist disappeared without any attack. They started laughing together, thinking they had won without even fighting.
"Wait, where did our flag go?" one of them suddenly shouted. At that, the three genins turned to see that where their flag was supposed to be, the pole was empty of their flag.
The red cloth that marked their territory was completely gone. "Damn those Kiri shinobi. That bloodthirstiness was all an act. We were fooled. Those Kiri shinobi are cowards. They are thieves," the leader said angrily.
He kicked the ground in frustration as he realized they had been tricked. "They used that scary mist to steal our flag like common bandits instead of fighting like real shinobi," another one complained loudly.
"Yeah, what kind of monsters pretend to be terrifying and then run away with our points? They have no honor at all," the third genin added while shaking his head.
"I bet that shark guy is laughing at us right now while hiding somewhere," one of them said with a bitter laugh. "We should have attacked the moment the mist appeared instead of talking. Now we look like fools who lost their flag without landing a single hit," the leader groaned as he punched a nearby tree.
The three of them continued complaining for several minutes, their voices mixing anger with embarrassment at how easily they had been robbed in the middle of the forest.
The real thief Shunsui disappeared with a flash step as he tugged the flag in his kimono. He moved quickly and silently through the trees, leaving the confused Taki genin far behind.
Shunsui thought, 'There is no need for killing others just for an exam when you can just take their flag and run off.'
He believed it was smarter to avoid unnecessary violence and focus on gathering points efficiently.
Shunsui had heard the sound of Kiri shinobi shouting in the distance, "Damn you Kiri," and "Coward shinobi of Kiri."
He mumbled to himself, "They should keep it down. They would be alerting everyone of where they are including chakra beasts of the forest. And they think that Kiri shinobi stole their flags." The mistaken blame made him smile under his straw hat as he continued moving.
Shunsui was deep in silence as he thought about something. 'I can use that,' Shunsui thought as a dark plan formed in his mind.
He transformed himself into each of the Kiri genin one by one and then used hidden mist jutsu and targeted other genin and took their flags before they could even realise.
--
Everyone would just see a glimpse of the appearance of the Kiri shinobi running away.
They would curse and shout. "Those Kiri cowards stole our flag," one team from a small village yelled as they saw a blue skinned figure disappear into the mist.
"Come back and fight like real shinobi instead of running like thieves," another genin shouted angrily while waving his fists.
"My hard work for three hours gone just like that. Damn that shark faced guy," a third one complained loudly as he searched the empty pole.
"They are not even strong enough to face us directly. They just use tricks and run away," a fourth genin said with frustration in his voice.
Shunsui targeted only those genins which he knew were not much strong or were not having a sensor in their team.
This careful choice helped him avoid fights and collect flags efficiently without drawing too much attention to himself.
As Shunsui who was currently transformed into Zabuza looked at the dozen flags with him, he mumbled, "Well this should be enough to go to the next round. Now we would just have to protect our flag."
------Author Notes---------
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