First Encounter with Ninja Combat

First Encounter with Ninja Combat!

"The treatment's finished. Thanks to the medicine little Shizune applied beforehand, there won't be a single scar left now~" Hezi said with a smile. "Little Shizune has a real gift for being a medical-nin."

"You flatter me, Sister Hezi." Shizune's little face flushed. She was happy to receive praise from Hezi, a medical-nin.

Shunren flexed his wrist. He wouldn't have cared about scars, but his internal injuries had healed completely, just as they appeared to have on the outside. Clearly, Hezi was an outstanding medical-nin.

"Thank you, Auntie Hezi."

"No need to thank me. We're practically family, after all~"

"..." Shunren's expression froze. Hezi had clearly recognized him, which took him by surprise. Although he lived with the Uchiha, he rarely went out, and with so many members in the clan, none of the Uchiha Clan members in the unit had recognized him. Yet Hezi had.

As if she understood the question on Shunren's mind, Hezi explained, "Don't worry. Auntie Hezi is like you, a blood relative of the Uchiha."

A blood relative and a clan member differed by only one word, but between the two lay the distance between heaven and earth.

Shunren's ancestors had intermarried with the Uchiha, so a thin trace of the Uchiha Clan's bloodline remained in him. Presumably, Hezi's status was similar to his own.

Hezi had said that to put Shunren at ease, and he understood her goodwill. In truth, he had no particular attachment to the Uchiha, but he wouldn't say he bore them any ill will, either. Though the Uchiha looked down on him, they at least gave him food and a place to live. If Shunren were to harbor resentment over a few cold remarks, that would be rather unreasonable.

Shunren smiled openly, showing that he hadn't taken any of it to heart. "Auntie Hezi..."

Suddenly, without the slightest warning, a cry of alarm came from outside the tent!

"Captain Fushan! Something terrible has happened! A large number of bodies have been found in the training area at the foot of the mountain. They're all Ninja Academy students and teachers!"

"Damn it! They even laid hands on young children. Who the hell did this?!"

"Damn it! Who else is around here? It had to be those Sand ninja bastards!"

Every Uchiha was furious upon hearing the report.

As the leader of the garrison, Fushan had to stay calm at all times. An unfathomable chill flashed in his eyes as he said gravely, "Wait! The Sand ninja are to the west, while the school's training area is to the east. If the enemy were Sand ninja, how did they get around behind us without being spotted?"

Their unit was stationed on the mountaintop, overlooking everything below. On top of that, the Land of Wind was an endless desert, affording an especially clear view. How could the Sand ninja have crossed the border right under their noses?

Had they infiltrated from another direction? But that wasn't right, either. The stronghold to the northwest was guarded by the Hyuga Clan. Though he hated to admit it, the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan far surpassed the Uchiha in detection. The Sand ninja couldn't have taken a detour through the northwest. As for the southwest, it was a marshland, a natural barrier. The Sand ninja were unlikely to go to so much trouble for so little gain.

Then where had the enemy come from?

Fushan couldn't make sense of it.

Or were the enemy not Sand ninja?

Fushan's expression changed. For some reason, a truly terrifying thought occurred to him. As an elder of the Uchiha Clan, he knew full well about the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha.

"Surely... it couldn't be them? No matter what, the Third wouldn't agree to laying hands on the students, on children," Fushan said uncertainly.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! It's the Sand ninja! They're coming up the mountain!" Another cry of alarm rang through the camp.

A dense rain of Shuriken followed!

"Aaah!" Several Uchiha ninja in the camp were caught off guard and wounded, but the rest reacted quickly and put up a defense.

They actually went straight for the garrison... But then, if it's them, an attack on the Uchiha is hardly surprising. Shunren hadn't expected that even after taking refuge with the garrison, he still wouldn't escape those people's purge.

That was his miscalculation. He hadn't considered that the garrison would be made up of Uchiha Clan members.

Hezi's expression turned solemn. She quickly gathered her medical instruments and said gravely, "I'm sorry, children. We've dragged you into the adults' war."

No! We were dragged into it long ago! By this time, more than half the students and teachers at the foot of the mountain have probably been killed already, haven't they?

"Then we should..." Kurenai, who had never encountered a real ninja battle before, was at a loss for what to do.

Shunren stopped the impulsive Kurenai and shook his head.

He knew exactly what he was capable of. Unlike a hot-blooded child, he didn't lose his head and clamor to join the fight. They weren't even Genin; joining the battle wouldn't add anything to the unit's fighting strength and would only hold it back.

Shunren took a deep breath and said firmly, "We'll make sure to protect ourselves."

Hezi felt a little reassured by Shunren's words. What she feared most was that these children, who knew nothing, would ignore instructions and act recklessly. She nodded and said, "Escape down the back of the mountain. Remember, no matter what happens, you must never interfere in a ninja battle!"

"Medical-nin! Come quickly, someone's badly hurt! Aaah!"

Hearing the cries for help outside, Hezi had no time to give them any more instructions. Without another word, she grabbed her medical bag and rushed out.

"Let's go!" Shunren said, his face grim. He led Kurenai and Shizune, both pale as earth, out of the tent.

"Clink, clink, clink, clink~" A ninja battle was already underway in the camp, a fierce fight between the Uchiha and the "Sand ninja." Shuriken flew through the air, filling the sky.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

The Uchiha ninja used the Fire Release Ninjutsu their clan was best at.

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

But they were suppressed by the "Sand ninja," every one of whom used Water Release.

Outnumbered, their ninjutsu countered, and caught by a surprise attack, the Uchiha ninja were quickly forced onto the defensive.

"Boom!" Explosive Tags went off across the battlefield. The enemy had prepared a large number of them!

"Clink!" Shunren knocked aside a stray Shuriken flying toward Kurenai with his Kunai and shouted, "Kurenai! What are you standing there in a daze for?!"

"Uh... I, I..." Kurenai stared blankly at him, her eyes wide, seemingly still unable to recover from the shock of what she had seen.

Shunren's face darkened. He turned his gaze to Shizune, only to see her trembling so badly she couldn't even move her legs.

Only then did Shunren remember that the two before him were merely little girls who had never set foot outside the village.