The moment the gate opened, we rushed in, disappearing within the forest, taking the scroll from the proctor without him ever seeing us disappear.
"What we got?" I asked, while we were sprinting across the dark forest, angling towards the direction where the Amagakure team would probably appear.
"Heaven," Minato answered simply, putting the scroll away, picking up speed while I followed a step behind him.
Inside the forest, the view wasn't much different from what I was used to after living in this world for a decade-plus, only that it was... darker. Night-like, or maybe, closer to dusk here and there, where the sunlight, somewhat, managed to filter through. Running, the branches blurred beneath our feet as we launched ourselves upward when we got blocked by the thick shrubs; from then on, we stuck to the high canopy, not even slowing down.
"We are getting closer to the north-east quadrant they should be in," I muttered, barely audible as we moved, and Minato didn't even look at me, his eyes only shifting a bit, scanning the trees we whizzed past by.
"The moment we get close to them, we will have to decide fast on how to use the element of surprise to our advantage. If we linger, they will sense our presence."
"Just make the move," I said with a smile, "And I'll adapt."
"Okay..." He nodded, "Hopefully, we will cut them off without them expecting it."
"Don't worry, they won't see it coming," I whispered with a smile, "They'll hunt, or at least, that's what they think they are here for. They won't expect to be hunted, right from the start."
"I hope so," Minato nodded once, "Which means they'll choose terrain that favors ambushes, so we will have to watch out for those if we want to find them."
"The whole forest is like that..."
"Heh... That's true."
Still, we were pretty much confident of it all and, true enough... We sensed something after ten minutes, immediately shifting our pace from rapid traversal to a much more controlled, silent movement. Every step we took was to be done with the least possible noise, moving across branches that twisted into such random pathways that they obscured the vision of anyone looking up from below, while offering us pretty good coverage.
I was looking around too, when I noticed that Minato raised a hand and we both landed, freezing like statues. The moment we did, I activated my Sharingan, and I could see clearly a faint mark along the bark, being a slightly darker impression where chakra-enhanced steps had pressed too hard, discoloring it. Then, there was a cut vine, some disturbed leaves... counting the clues, I was sure.
"Three individuals, going in a close formation, using the trees like us. These had to be their trail," I muttered while my fingers kept brushing the surface of the branch. "I don't think actual Genin groups would move this fast, besides us."
"Take up the lead," Minato agreed, "Your eyes are better for this... I'll follow."
"Gotcha."
We moved again after the switch, with me becoming the leader, following the trail. We were going slower this time, trying to stay as quiet as possible. The forest grew darker as we advanced, if that was even possible. I watched the canopy grow thick enough now that only fragmented strands of light reached through. It also caused shadows to begin stretching unnaturally, shifting with the movement of leaves, creating constant false motion at the edges of my vision... Tsk. Is this place also designed to interfere with someone's Dōjutsu? Good thing that Fugaku has been training me for this, so I managed to ignore those false movements that were made by the light.
Then... Suddenly, I knew I wasn't seeing a dancing shadow... No, I spotted three figures for real. I immediately raised my hand, signaling to Minato that, towards the western side, around a mid-branch level, we had something. I held my breath slightly, as we watched and perked our ears up... Sure enough... Target confirmed.
We shadowed them the moment we felt them pulling away from us, matching their pace and trying to see what they were doing or get a sense of their style. The first one, probably their leader, moved with a hand always close to his body, probably where a concealed weapon was. Or... he was a hidden jutsu user, something that gave him a unique instinct that showed in his movements. No matter, he will go down like anyone if hit hard enough. Speaking of them, the second guy on the left had much lighter and shorter steps...
"That's a she." I signaled to Minato with an incredulous look, because I couldn't have guessed.
"And?" He signed back at once.
"She is almost bald! Damn..."
"Focus." He added, rolling his eyes hard. "When Shikaku told us their names, it should have been enough. Jiraiya-sensei is sometimes right about you..."
Well, true, but I didn't put it together... Eh. Looking and examining them... she was damn quick and probably a great assassin. I guess she will be the speedy one we will have to deal with first? We will see. As for the third, that guy stayed a step off the rest, protecting the rear. He had a broader build compared to the others, but he wasn't someone who was bulky... Just... more physical. I guess he was a taijutsu specialist? Or something like that. I just wonder, which of them uses lighting? Water? What was the last one? Ah, yes, wind.
"Definitely not Genin," Minato sighed as we had been tailing them for several minutes. "Neither of them..."
"Not even close." I agreed, because the way they used their chakra and movement was closer to Jōnin than being a Genin. Were they actually Jōnin? I didn't think so, but they weren't amateur Chūnin either.
"You were right," Minato said through his signals, "They have to go, this reeks of a ploy..."
"Good thing we are here," I smiled, mouthing it wordlessly, "Time to clean up the competition for the others. For, you know, fairness's sake!"
We watched for another minute, doing our best to recognize their patterns, how they liked to move subconsciously, when the frontman signaled once, and they finally slowed down.
"Trap incoming," I said without making a noise, as we watched how the girl's hand flicked almost imperceptibly, throwing out a thin needle that had a wire attached to it, along with a tag, probably explosives or something similar. They were setting up an ambush. "…Plan?" I glanced at him while asking.
"We split." Minato answered, his blue eyes scanning the figures while we stayed hidden, "I'll engage first, and while looking at me, you surprise them. I will take the leader to stop them from re-grouping. You keep the other two from helping him out, and after I finish, we can go one-on-one."
"Understood." I nodded, "And Minato? They're not normal, so make sure to go all in."
"I know." He smiled, "But we aren't normal either."
We moved at once. While Minato launched himself at their leader, I had dropped on the guy at the back with no warning and making no sound at all. My idea was to try to knock him out at once... easy. But... The moment my foot hit the branch beneath them, the rear guard reacted instantly, because despite it all, he still felt the vibrations. Tsk!
"Contact—!" He didn't finish more than that, though, because I was already on him and my fist drove forward, aiming to clock him on the jaw. Simple, effective... and blocked. His arm met mine mid-strike, the impact sending a sharp shock up my shoulder, making me raise a brow because I was surprised by how many muscles were hiding under his clothes and skin. Huh.
"Scatter!" the front man said, also already turning, facing off Minato, expecting a frontal clash like mine was, but then... Minato simply vanished as the leader's eyes widened just slightly...
Too late, buddy. By then, Minato appeared behind him, a kunai already aimed at his throat. It was then that my eyes caught it, still in the middle of an exchange with their rear guard. The girl reacted almost instantly, while Minato was still attacking. Huh, she was even faster than I expected.
"Down!" I barked at Minato, and he, without question, broke off his attack and dropped.
That was when a thin needle, the same kind she used for the wire-trap, whistled through where his neck had been just a fraction of a second ago, disappearing in the dark. Poison? I wouldn't be surprised if it was coated in something nasty. That was when the girl broke off, turning towards me, and, just with a short hesitation, she changed targets, now attacking me, seeing that their third member was being pushed back by me.
Still, their teamwork was impeccable, as the leader moved the moment she disrupted Minato's attack, trying to regain control. From where I stood, I saw him bring out a blade from his sleeve, coated in lightning. It was slightly curved, thin, and he aimed precisely at Minato's landing point...
Clatter!
Steel met kunai, but I couldn't watch any more, because I had to focus on my fight.
The girl moved again, now coming at me, moving surprisingly fast. She slipped between us, her fingers striking toward my chest, wanting to... tap me? Tsk! It was indeed poison, eh?! I grinned, twisting away, seeing her plan before she even enacted it. Not much experience in fighting against someone with a Sharingan, is there, girl? Your movements are all out on display. I didn't know exactly what her poison did, but I didn't need to. I decided that I should just leave her for last. While dodging, the rear guard came at me again, of course, as his fist slammed toward me, which I ducked away from, while the air behind me exploded as it connected with a tree trunk and shattered it.
"Let's pick up the pace, shall we?" I smiled as my Sharingan revolved once, and the world slowed down to a crawl for me.
I watched as the guy kept coming at me, and this time I stepped in instead of backing up. Already reading his pattern, my hand shot forward, redirected his strike, and then I used his own momentum and drove my elbow into his ribs. It was a solid hit, yet he didn't even flinch, and his knee began rising to drive it into my stomach.
"Boy..." I thought to myself, "That was a stupid move."
It was, because I slapped down with my hand, holding a kunai in it, sending it through his thighs, while dodging, splattering blood everywhere. As I was distancing myself from the grunting man, having a kunai lodged into his leg, I threw a glance towards Minato.
He was just finishing a seal when he disappeared, then reappeared right behind their leader. His kunai... connected at once, causing another flash of blood, splattering in the air. It wasn't fatal... but it went into his back, piercing him in a way that had to hurt and probably... immobilize him for good. But... my eyes caught something else. I didn't even have time to smirk at Minato's clean hit before everything shifted again in the fight.
"Don't turn your back!"
The warning came out of my mouth on instinct, but I was already too late. Minato was already aiming to jump towards me, while behind him, their leader moved again, and I saw his hand shift to his mouth... He ate something! Not even looking and trusting me wholly, Minato's body blurred, pivoting instantly. I saw how the man he had just stabbed straight through his back was already standing, moving just as fast as before as he swung his weapon at him, cutting through Minato's mirage.
"…" Minato didn't say anything, but I knew he was surprised and curious what was going on... And he could tell that the man stopped bleeding from his wound and for sure wasn't feeling any pain at all. Whatever he took wasn't healing him, but it was suppressing his injuries for the fight.
Without any words between the two, Minato's grip tightened on his kunai as they clashed again, restarting their dance.
I didn't look any further, because I couldn't, as my own problems just doubled again. The bastard, still with my kunai lodged clean through his thigh, had reached into his pouch and bit down on something small and dark, and the next moment he put his weight on both legs, no longer feeling pain. His bleeding slowed, but with my weapon stuck in him, it didn't stop fully... but it tried to.
"Yeah," I muttered, rolling my shoulder slightly, "you do know after I beat you both down, that will now hurt extra well, eh?"
Neither of them said a word and just kept coming at me, from both sides. The guy lunged straight in, his damaged leg not even slowing him down as his fist tore through the air toward my head. At the same time, the girl vanished, well, kind of, she wasn't as fast as Minato. She simply tried to keep herself away from my gaze as she dipped low, disappearing beneath my line of sight as I leaned back to avoid the strike... Ah. I felt it; I didn't have to look at all, because the pushing air told me she had come back up behind me.
"Please!" I chortled and dodged as her fingers brushed my side, smelling the poison's foul odor emanating from her fingers. Getting caught by that would be... bad. I don't think it would kill me, but it would definitely paralyze my body.
As I was dodging her, the rear guard came at me again, and, again, I deflected him, redirecting his punch for a counter. Oh? This time, he tried to get a hold of me, his grip landing on my arm. Before he could squeeze his fingers close, I dropped my weight instantly, twisting my body sideways and driving my knee upward into his ribs... The same move he tried to do to me, but I actually hit him at the exact same point as before. Heh.
I heard the crack. If the first attack hurt, this was twice as painful, and he grunted out loudly, too, blood emerging from his throat. Still, I had to give it to him... he didn't let go, because the girl was coming at me again.
"Enough..." I whispered as my Sharingan spun, and glanced at the man's face, stopping him dead in his tracks, then turned towards the girl, just for a fraction of a second.
That was enough, because our eyes met and her movement stuttered, too. It was clear I succeeded by how quickly her body froze, and I made sure they were seeing the forest around us getting dissolved, turning into dark water. She was standing knee-deep in it now, her reflection warped beneath her feet as she began sinking... The grip on me also loosened at once, as I ripped my hand free, smiling. Yeah... this is the first time you face someone with my eyes, huh? Let's end this! I stepped forward, ignoring the rear guard for just a moment, deciding that the girl had to be dealt with first.
But just then, a sharp sound cut through my illusion, making me squint when I heard its chime. Bells...! Her fingers moved, barely, but enough for the thin wires, tight around her wrists, to snap and for the small metal bells attached along their length to fall off and give out the sound. It was probably a countermeasure prepared for this kind of genjutsu-like scenario. They came prepared, huh? When they chimed, her eyes sharpened at once, getting out of my trick, along with his partner. I was impressed. Really.
"I don't know why you guys were sent in here," I muttered, stepping back just in time to avoid her strike, dodging a coated kunai that flew past the ridge of my nose, "But be happy we ain't killing you lot... The last thing we need is to cause a headache to the Hokage."
By then, the rear guard slammed into me, forcing me further back across the branches as the two of them synchronized instantly, trying to bring me down. But so be it; I will test something I have been working on, then! It was an idea that came to me when I fought the bastard, trying to kidnap Kushina, and this was the perfect moment to see if it worked... So I grinned slightly, surprising them.
The air changed almost instantly as they also faltered, sensing my chakra surge forward. They didn't know what I was getting to do, but they didn't hesitate.
"Suiton: Pressurized Bullet!" The man cried out as water condensed instantly around his fist, spiraling outward before launching toward me in a compressed, high-speed blast.
Of course, at the same time, the girl made her move too, her hands forming rapid signs.
"Fūton: Cutting Thread!"
The wires she had on her snapped outward, becoming chakra-infused wind, which she used to direct the attack, slicing along their length as they expanded toward me like invisible blades.
To their surprise, I didn't move; my hands simply came together, finishing the last seals, which ended in the tiger seal.
"Katon…" I inhaled, "…Ember Mantle!"
For a split second, nothing happened; maybe they expected me to breathe fire at them. Well, not exactly, but fire did emerge from all around me, forming a cloak. Flames erupted across my body, keeping my clothes intact, clinging tight to my form like a second skin. They were burning gold at the edges, deep crimson at the core, as intense as any other fire. Summoning them was still a bit slow; I will have to work on that part, but they were following the same principle as the Rasengan. Honestly, that jutsu's steps were the best to follow to create something new. I just had to adapt the theory to whatever I wished to make, no matter if it was an offensive jutsu or not.
As my cloak formed, the incoming water strike hit first, giving off loud hisses as steam exploded outward as it collided with it, the flames evaporating it instantly before it could even touch me. Turns out, my jutsu is stronger than his... Then, the wind threads followed, and they did cut through the flames, and got weakened enough for me to shrug them off, and where my cloak got ripped open... it just reformed at once, covering me from head to toe.
It wasn't a Susanoo... but I can't lie, it was a bit of inspiration, except all those ribs and whatnot, turning it into a flaming, ethereal clothes. Drip. Or armor, if I really want to be precise.
"Well then!" I smiled at the two. "Try to ignore the damage from this!"
And then I disappeared, reappearing between them, while the flames followed me like a billowing cape. The man tried to anticipate me, looking out for the appearance of the light from my flaming visage, sensing its heat ahead of me, before I would even show up. He stepped in, choosing to meet me head-on, his fist coming crashing toward my chest with enough force to shatter it, I guess. But... I didn't dodge, and for a split second, the impact pushed me back half a step, followed by the sizzling sound of flesh. His arm was instantly engulfed in the flames where it touched me, the fire clinging to his arm like glue, spreading upward in a hurry. He jerked it back with a half-surpressed scream... he was shocked, well, burnt to be accurate.
"What—?!"
Too late... I wasn't letting him go, so I caught his wrist, held it, and drove my other fist straight into his chest, at the same point for the third time. And this time, it wasn't just a simple impact, but an actual explosion.
BOOM!
A burst of fire erupted at the point of contact, as his body was shot out, flames licking against his body, crashing through two layers of branches before slamming into a trunk hard enough to shake the surrounding canopy...
He didn't move anymore.
"One down," I whispered, already turning, seeing as the girl's wires snapping outward again, infused with wind chakra as they cut through the air toward me from multiple angles.
Guided by her wires, it hit me on my arm, shoulder, and side. I even noticed as the wires themselves tried to coil around me... But it was not strong enough.
FSSSHHH—!
The flames surged again as I thought about it, causing the wires to glow red, then snap and melt. Her eyes widened at that, but I was already in front of her. She reacted fast enough, but... chose the wrong response. Her hand came forward again, fingers aiming for another precise strike, but I caught it, and I didn't let her finish any more moves as my knee drove into her midsection.
"Sorry, girl," I whispered while my flames spread across her body, burning off pieces of flesh from her exposed skin, "Your poison can't even reach me now."
Before I would kill her with my flames, I flung her away as she was thrown back, watching as she hit a branch, rolled off the tree, and landed down below, already unconscious.
With a deep breath, I turned around, seeing Minato land close by, looking at me with raised brows.
"You are looking ridiculous." He said, but I could see the desire in his eyes, wanting to have a go at me.
"You mean, awesome?" I asked, glancing behind him, seeing the third man, literally nailed to a tree, still alive but... knocked out. With a smile, I shook my body, dispersing the flames, but it took a few minutes to wholly go out, still flaring up here and there. "It's still... half-completed. It drains me a lot."
"I guess. Well... We should go," He chuckled, but then quickly began sighing, holding up a scroll in his hand, "Heaven."
"Oh well!" I shrugged, no longer caring about the trio, "Let's move then. We need to find an Earth scroll, or our dream for an unbeatable record is gone!"
He didn't say anything; he simply flashed away while I rushed after him, leaving the cleanup to the proctors... not even knowing that we'd just flipped the table on two popl, thinking their plan was foolproof.
Too bad that I like being the fool.