Watching the rabid Ryohei, a glint of pity, cold and fleeting, passed through Harumi's gaze.
"Pity. Such an easy-to-train hound is rare," he mused, voice a low purr. "Shame we can't bring him back to the village. Guess we'll just have to play with him here in Konoha for a couple of days."
The other Mist-nin's eyes stayed locked on the unfolding slaughter. "You sure they'll come, Harumi?"
"Worth a shot." Harumi shrugged, a casual, cruel gesture. "At this point, the forest perimeter's probably cleared out. Those two are dragging a wounded Jūzō. They can't have gone far. If they see the signal… they might just take the bait. A pair of bleeding-hearts, aren't they?"
Their mission was twofold: kill their own teammates, and collect ten heads from other villages. Failure meant death back home.
After stumbling upon the pathetic waste of space that was Ryohei, they'd set their sights on Chiba and Gokai. They didn't look too strong.
What choice did they have? Only two of them left. They had to pick the soft targets. The cannon fodder. Like Ryohei. Like Chiba.
"Give it twenty more minutes," Harumi proposed. "If they don't show, we kill these two and bounce. Whoever's left standing gets to claim all the heads. Sound fair?"
"Fine by me." The other Mist-nin grinned, a hollow, nasty thing. "Too bad I'm not from another village. I'd gift you my head. Someone like me… ain't gonna make it out anyway."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the woods.
Gokai crouched low, parting the undergrowth with careful fingers. A tripwire, tied with an explosive tag, glinted in the dim light.
"Sharp as ever, Gokai-senpai," Chiba praised, impressed by his veteran instincts. "See? Told you it was a trap." He clapped his hands together briefly, a silent, hopeful gesture. "Praying it's Suna, Kumo, or Iwa up ahead."
They moved on, Gokai leading the way. He guided them past every hidden snare and trigger, their approach a ghost's whisper through the trees, headed straight for the fading memory of that flare.
"It's… them."
Not long after, the figures in the clearing ahead came into focus. Chiba's pupils contracted. Four of them. And all… familiar.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Just as Chiba and Gokai settled deeper into cover, the two Mist-nin turned. Their heads snapped towards the underbrush. Hands flickered. Seven, eight shuriken sliced through the air.
A trap. Triggered. Some hidden snare they'd missed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Gokai was moving before the thought finished. He leapt in front of Chiba, a fluid pivot, his blade a silver arc. One clean sweep. The shuriken fell, useless, to the forest floor.
"Well, well. You actually came."
Harumi's tongue flicked out, wetting his lips. His smile stretched, a predator's grin. "I've been itching since I missed you last time. Twisting up inside. Now look at you. Delivered right to my doorstep."
Who… is it…?
The sudden shift in the air jerked Uzuki Yūhi from her daze. Her head lolled, pain and blood loss fogging her mind. She forced her eyes to focus.
Chiba. It was Chiba.
"CHIBA!" The scream tore from her ravaged throat, every ounce of her strength behind it. "RUN! IT'S A TRAP! THEIR POWER IS—!"
Thud.
The sound was wet. Final. A long blade erupted from her chest, a crimson flower blooming on her tunic. Behind her stood Ryohei, his face a mask of twisted, jealous rage.
"Chiba. Chiba." Twisting the hilt of the blade still embedded in her, he spat the name like poison. "How sweetly you call for him! Still thinking of him, you bitch? DIE!"
He'd forgotten. Forgotten how she'd stayed, binding his wounds, saving him mere minutes ago. All that remained was the festering humiliation. The fury of being treated like a dog.
He couldn't raise his blade against the strong. So he turned it on the weak. On Yūhi. On Chiba.
Schlick!
Ryohei yanked the blade free. A brutal kick sent Yūhi sprawling into the dirt. He planted a foot on her back, pinning her, and glared at Chiba. A surge of vicious triumph flooded him.
See? He was still strong! He had them right where he wanted them—this traitorous woman and the boy she pined for—crushed beneath his heel!
This lawless exam… it had scraped away the thin veneer of his humanity, leaving only the ugly, cowardly core.
"That bastard…" Chiba's voice was ice. "He needs to die."
Beside him, Gokai's expression was grim. Ryohei. A piece of trash. No courage to face an enemy, but swift and ruthless when turning on his own.
"I brought your prey! I killed the woman! My life is my own again!"
Ryohei kicked Yūhi's limp form once more for good measure and began backing away. When the two Mist-nin made no move to stop him, he let out a shuddering breath.
"Kill them, sirs! Make them feel the pain I felt! Let them suffer!"
He snatched up his severed arm from the ground and vanished into the trees, seizing his chance to flee while the hunters were distracted.
"Tch. Gokai-senpai. Let's make this quick."
Chiba's gaze flickered between the direction Ryohei fled and Yūhi's motionless body. His voice dropped to a sub-zero chill. He didn't like Yūhi. But Ryohei? That piece of garbage had danced on his last nerve. He wanted to chase him down. Wanted to end him.
Four pairs of eyes locked. Killing intent clashed in the air between them, sharp enough to strike sparks.
"Heh. Last time, you got lucky. Stumbled into a pack of Suna fools. Now? Who's gonna save you?"
Harumi pointed a thumb at the rushing stream beside them. His grin turned savage. "This… this is our domain! A Mist-nin's stage! The grave I picked just for you!"
"...Huh?"
Chiba and Gokai exchanged a look. It was a strange, almost pitying expression. Did this idiot even hear himself?
Gokai-senpai here is a genius taught by the unofficial Water Shadow himself, Senju Tobirama. If you're looking to die, at least don't hand your enemy the weapon.
"What's with that look?" The other Mist-nin scowled, mistaking their surprise for contempt.
He leapt, landing with a splash in the center of the stream. Hands flew into seals. "I'll show you the might of Kirigakure's Water Style!"
"Water Style: Wild Blade Barrage!"
Swish! Swish! SWOOSH!
Blades of condensed water materialized from the stream, a whirling storm of liquid scythes. They screamed through the air, hurtling towards Chiba and Gokai.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
Gokai's hands were a blur. A barrier of roaring water erupted from the ground almost instantly. In the same breath, Chiba's form shot forward—a streak aimed straight for Harumi.
Splash! Crash!
The fierce water blades smashed against the wall. The chakra within clashed, canceled out, and fell apart into harmless spray.
"What?! Water Style: Wa—"
The Mist-nin's eyes widened in shock. He tried to shift tactics, hands forming a new seal. But he was just starting. Gokai was already finished.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A dragon of churning water roared from the stream. It coiled and struck, massive jaws snapping shut on the space where the ninja stood.
"Shit! A Konoha genin? Better at Water Style than us?!"
He dodged, but too slow. The impact sent him tumbling through the air, completely helpless.
He was caught, utterly outplayed.
Damn it! Shouldn't have listened to Harumi! Followed that idiot right into a steel wall!
That was his last thought. The next second, Gokai's willow-leaf blade flashed. A clean line opened across his throat.
Thump.
The body hit the water. Bubbles, thick and red, rose to the surface, dyeing the stream crimson.
"Impossible!"
Harumi, locked in a frantic exchange with Chiba, gaped. That old man… that unassuming old man… had slaughtered his partner in two moves.
And that Water Style… what the hell was that sorcery?!
"Figured out whose main event this is yet?"
Chiba's smirk was cold. He pointed at the ground. "This. This is your burial ground."
Splat. Splat. Splat.
Feet slapped against the stream's surface. Chiba and Harumi raced across the water, trading blows, weaving hand seals.
"Water Style: Water Cutter!"
"Water Style: Water Shot!"
Harumi slashed his arm down. Razor-sharp streams shot out. Chiba just stomped. Jets of water erupted beneath his feet, scattering the attacks into mist.
"Water Style: Exploding Water Wave!"
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
Harumi roared. Waves of chakra-infused water detonated, crashing towards Chiba. Unfazed, Chiba raised a hand. Another wall rose, swallowing the assault.
No matter what Harumi threw, Chiba dismantled it with the most basic Water Style. His control, his fluid mastery of water-natured chakra, sent a chill down Harumi's spine.
"Damn it! DAMN IT!"
Harumi's composure shattered. His pride, his Water Style… outclassed by a Konoha brat?
…The hell kind of joke is this? Which one of us is from the Village Hidden in the Mist?!
"No! I won't die to some kid!"
With a final roar, Harumi launched himself from the stream. Suspended in mid-air, he drew a deep breath, chest swelling, and unleashed a rapid-fire volley.
"Water Style: Bursting Water Shotgun!"
The moment the last water bullet left his lips, he landed—and pivoted. He didn't look back. He ran.
One-on-one, he couldn't break Chiba. Now the old monster was free, already closing in. Staying meant death.
"Earth Style: Quagmire of the Underworld!"
Chiba didn't dodge. He charged towards the incoming barrage. His hands slammed into the muddy bank.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
Gokai blurred into existence before him, blade a silver whirlwind, slicing the water bullets apart.
At the same instant, Chiba's earth-natured chakra surged through the ground. It reached Harumi's fleeing feet.
Squelch.
Solid earth turned to grasping, sucking mud. A massive swamp yawned open beneath him. Harumi, never expecting an Earth Style of this scale from his opponent, lost his footing. His legs sank. Then his waist.
"Bastard!"
He thrashed, screamed, tried to pull himself free. But the swamp offered no purchase. The more he struggled, the deeper it dragged him down.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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