The combat strength of both sides was roughly equal, but the Cloud ninja were towering, barrel-chested brutes. Their dark skin and heavily muscled frames gave them an inherently intimidating physical presence.
On the Leaf side, only Shinku Yuhi appeared to be a steady, seasoned veteran. The rest of the squad—a young man and two young teenagers—looked significantly outmatched by comparison.
While the two sides were locked in a tense standoff, a silhouette was tearing through the forest at breakneck speed. Moving like a gust of wind, the figure made absolutely no sound; the only proof of their passing was the flurry of dead leaves kicked up into the air in their wake.
Faced with the Cloud Jonin's taunt, Shinku didn't take the bait. He decisively barked the order, "Fall back!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Given the disparity in their physical presence and experience, the Leaf squad was clearly the weaker party. The only thing Kurenai could do right now was ensure she didn't become a burden to her father. Knowing that acting as the rearguard was incredibly dangerous, Kurenai obeyed the order instantly and began to retreat, followed closely by Genhai and the older Chunin.
Shinku's hands blurred through a rapid sequence of signs. He intended to cast a wide-area Genjutsu to buy his team enough time to escape.
Just as he prepared to release the illusion and fall back himself, the Cloud Jonin he had been staring down suddenly dissolved into a crackle of static electricity.
A Lightning Clone?! Where is the real body?! Shinku's heart dropped. "Shit!"
"LOOK OUT!" he screamed, spinning around to warn his team.
Hearing the sheer panic in her father's voice, Kurenai, whose heart was already heavy with anxiety for him, snapped her head around. Genhai and the older Chunin reacted even faster.
The real Cloud Jonin erupted from the earth right beside their retreat path, lunging directly at them with a katana wreathed in violent, crackling electricity.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
"Water Style: Great Water Bullet!"
One prioritizing defense, the other offense, Genhai and the older Chunin cast their respective jutsu simultaneously.
A thick earthen wall rose from the ground to block the Jonin's path. The Jonin simply vaulted over it, only to be met point-blank by a massive, high-speed water projectile.
BOOM!
The water bullet slammed into the Jonin... and the Jonin exploded into another burst of lightning.
Seeing this, Shinku, who had sprinted back to help them, realized the horrifying truth instantly. Both of those attacks were decoys. The enemy's true target was Shinku himself; the Jonin had used Shinku's desperate love for his daughter to bait him out of position.
A lethal wave of killing intent spiked from his right flank. Capitalizing on the fraction of a second Shinku was distracted, the real Cloud Jonin lunged from the shadows, his longsword aiming to decapitate the Leaf veteran.
CLANG!
In a split-second display of pure reflex, Shinku twisted his torso and threw up his kunai to deflect the blade!
Riiiip!
His flak jacket and undershirt were shredded. Although he had narrowly avoided a lethal strike to his neck, Shinku paid a heavy price: a deep, bloody gash was carved from his right shoulder all the way down his arm.
"DAD!" Kurenai's terrified, heartbroken scream echoed through the forest.
The Cloud Jonin landed and immediately bounded back to a safe distance. Although he had successfully used the father-daughter bond to inflict a severe wound, casting two Lightning Clones as feints had drained a significant portion of his chakra.
"STAY BACK!" Shinku yelled, cold sweat pouring down his forehead as he saw his daughter turning to run back to him.
However, in a moment like this, Kurenai obviously wasn't going to listen. Seeing Kurenai turn back, Genhai didn't hesitate for a second and charged back into the fray with her.
The older Chunin who had recently joined the squad hesitated. With three people acting as a buffer, if he ran now, he had a very high chance of escaping and delivering the intel to the camp.
But abandoning his comrades to die? The thought paralyzed him for a moment.
Kurenai reached her father and grabbed his arm to support him. Shinku had intended to scream at her for disobeying orders, but seeing the raw, desperate concern shining in her tear-filled eyes, the words died in his throat.
Watching this touching display of familial love, the Cloud Jonin let out a cruel laugh. His two Chunin and the Genin had also managed to break free from Shinku's lingering Genjutsu and regrouped with their captain.
"Hahaha! Such a touching display of father-daughter affection! Well then, since you love each other so much, you can all die together!" He laughed maniacally before his face twisted into a mask of cold fury. He barked the order, "Kill them!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The Cloud squad unleashed a massive volley of projectiles. In an instant, the sky was blotted out by a localized storm of kunai and shuriken raining down upon the Leaf ninja.
Even though Shinku was severely wounded, the Cloud still deeply feared his Genjutsu; they preferred to turn him into a pincushion from a distance.
Genhai stepped to the absolute front, gripping a kunai tightly. His hands were a blur as he frantically wove signs, desperate to cast a Water Wall to block the incoming iron storm.
Kurenai held onto her bleeding father, staring up at the inescapable rain of blades.
Is this it? Are we going to die here? For some reason, in that final moment, Kurenai thought of Saiki. If Saiki were here, things wouldn't be like this. He was so strong; the battle would have ended already. But where are you, Saiki?!
Facing certain death, Shinku didn't try to push Kurenai away or use his body as a human shield. Instead, a faint, relieved smile touched his lips.
He felt a sudden gust of wind—a wind carrying a very familiar, terrifyingly sharp chakra signature.
At that exact moment, Genhai remained planted firmly in the front, his eyes burning with absolute resolve. He was forming the final hand sign. Even if the Boss wasn't here, he was going to protect his team.
Just as Genhai finished the final seal and prepared to release his jutsu, a familiar, calm voice spoke directly into his ear.
"I've got this, Genhai. Step back."
A figure wrapped in a localized gale materialized in front of them out of thin air. The only sound was the crisp, metallic shing of a sword leaving its scabbard.
"Wind Wall!"
With a single, upward flick of his blade, the boy unleashed a concentrated hurricane from the earth. The pressurized gale shot skyward, forming an impenetrable, roaring wall of wind.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The storm of kunai and shuriken slammed into the wind wall, only to be effortlessly deflected and blown away into the surrounding trees.
"Saiki!"
He was wearing standard, unremarkable winter ninja gear. He had no flashy accessories, his ninja pouch was smaller than average, and the sword at his waist was completely different from his old one. Yet, looking at the boy's back, Kurenai recognized him instantly.
"The Thunder Fang of the Leaf! How is this possible?!"
As the gale slowly died down, the Cloud Jonin finally got a clear look at the silhouette standing behind the wind wall. His voice trembled with shock.
"Thunder Fang?"
Hearing the nickname, Saiki grimaced in distaste. He completely ignored the terrified Cloud Jonin, turning instead to flash a bright smile at his teammate. "Good job holding the line, Genhai!"
"BOSS!" Genhai yelled, his voice a mix of overwhelming joy and absolute awe. Saiki nodded at him with a grin.
Then, completely disregarding the four Cloud ninja behind him, Saiki turned his back to the enemy to greet his other teammates. "It's been a few days. Captain Shinku. Kurenai."
Seeing Saiki's relaxed, confident smile, the crushing weight of terror vanished from the Leaf squad's hearts. It felt as if, as long as Saiki was here, nothing in the world could harm them.
Seeing him again, Kurenai—were she not currently supporting her wounded father—would have thrown her arms around him and hugged him tight. Just a second ago, she had truly believed she was going to die.
However, someone was highly offended by this casual reunion and decided to launch a sneak attack.