A Sudden Attack

Asuma dragged Pingsan along at a run. Pingsan was completely baffled and had no idea what had gotten into Asuma today.

At the school gate, they ran into Obito and Rin. Obito hadn't been late today, which was rare. Before Pingsan could even greet them, Asuma pulled him into the school.

"Asuma, what are you doing?" Pingsan asked as they ran.

"Come on, hurry! I got something good today. Let's get to the classroom!" Asuma said, chuckling foolishly. He looked downright lecherous.

There weren't many people in the classroom when the two of them entered.

"Okay, okay, hurry up and show me. And just so we're clear, you know what'll happen if I'm not satisfied." Pingsan shook the hand Asuma had grabbed hard enough to hurt.

"Don't worry, don't worry. It's that thing you mentioned last time," Asuma whispered to Pingsan.

"What is it, anyway? Why all the secrecy?"

"Here, take a look." Asuma reached into his clothes and pulled out a Crystal Ball. It was about twenty centimeters across and completely transparent.

Asuma chuckled foolishly. "Didn't you say my dad's Crystal Ball was amazing—that it could see all of Konoha? I snuck into his study last night and took it. But, uh, how do you use this thing?"

"Let me see." Pingsan reached for it, and Asuma fumbled, letting him snatch it away. Pingsan studied it for a long time without figuring anything out, but he could make out countless faint Sealing Jutsu formulas on the Crystal Ball. It had to be the real deal.

After studying it for a while without making any headway, they decided to find an "expert" to take a look after class.

The morning passed just like that. At noon, the two of them headed to the public baths with their arms around each other's shoulders, looking for that man: the lecherous old Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin.

As for how Pingsan knew Jiraiya had returned, Jiraiya had come back from a trip just yesterday and gone out of his way to find him. The reason? He wanted some of Pingsan's kidney-strengthening tonic. Pingsan had once used Jiraiya to test how well a certain brand of kidney tonic worked. The result? Well, you can guess.

Sure enough, Jiraiya was once again hiding in that tree, spying. That tree was practically his home. He sensed the two of them, glanced their way, then went right back to drooling as he watched the bathhouse.

About ten minutes later, Jiraiya reluctantly climbed down from the tree.

As soon as he landed, he rubbed his hands together with a lecherous grin. "Little Pingsan, what kind of treasure have you got to share with your big brother Jiraiya?"

Pingsan gestured for Asuma to take it out. Reluctantly, Asuma pulled out the Crystal Ball. Jiraiya's eyes lit up the instant he saw it. He recognized this treasure.

Jiraiya hurriedly signaled for Pingsan and Asuma to follow him. Then he leaped onto the wall and ran off. Asuma and Pingsan followed.

By the time the three of them stopped, they had reached the civilian district on the outskirts of the village. Jiraiya rubbed his hands together and said to Asuma, "Hurry, hurry! The old man usually won't even let anyone touch this treasure, and you two managed to get your hands on it!"

Asuma and Pingsan both rolled their eyes at Jiraiya. After taking the Crystal Ball, Jiraiya muttered to himself and fiddled with it. Then he formed several Hand Seals so quickly that Pingsan couldn't make them out.

When Jiraiya finished, mist rose inside the Crystal Ball, and images appeared. The three of them saw the inside of the Hokage Building.

Jiraiya formed the Tiger Seal and swiped a finger across the Crystal Ball. The image shifted, racing from the central street toward the outskirts. At last, it stopped on the public baths. Jiraiya stared at the Crystal Ball like a pig in heaven, and Pingsan and Asuma did the same.

They had only been watching the Crystal Ball for a little while when the lecherous grin vanished from Jiraiya's face. He grew solemn and motioned for them to be quiet. Then he gestured that someone was nearby. Pingsan and Asuma froze, but immediately understood: someone was hiding close by.

Pingsan and Asuma were both extremely nervous. Pingsan feared spies from another village, while Asuma was afraid his dad would catch him and beat him.

Jiraiya gave Pingsan a furtive look. In a childish voice and with painfully wooden acting, Pingsan said, "It's getting late. We should head home."

Asuma awkwardly chimed in, "Yeah, yeah. My mom told me to come home for dinner."

Jiraiya slapped his forehead. It was only noon! That was way too obvious.

Clap, clap, clap. Five or six people stepped out from behind the tree. Two of them each had someone in their grasp, apparently the hidden guards assigned to protect Pingsan and Asuma.

"As expected of Jiraiya of the Sannin. You found us so quickly." The speaker wore black ninja clothes and held a short blade. The others were dressed similarly, all with their faces covered.

"Who are you? How dare you cause trouble in Konoha?" Jiraiya, Pingsan, and Asuma stood back-to-back. Jiraiya planned to stall for time while preparing a large-scale jutsu.

To avoid the Third Hokage, the three had run to the civilian district at the very edge of the village, far from the inner village. But it was close to the village barrier, and the Barrier Team patrolled the area regularly. They just had to hold out until the patrol arrived.

"Dead men don't need to know so much. Kill them!" The leader leaped backward, tossing a handful of shuriken as he went.

To protect the two children, Jiraiya didn't dodge. He quickly formed Hand Seals. "Fire Style: Flame Bullet!" A huge fireball erupted from his mouth, knocking down all the shuriken and Kunai flying toward them.

After using Fire Style, Jiraiya drew a Kunai and engaged two attackers who rushed at him. As he fought, he shouted, "Call for help! They're an elite Sand ninja squad. I sense at least two elite Jonin!"

Pingsan and Asuma were stunned. How could they have run into an elite Sand ninja squad in Konoha? But they quickly snapped out of it. The attackers weren't about to spare two kids who stood there dazed.

A ninja wielding a long blade swung it at Asuma. Pingsan yanked Asuma aside, but he was too slow. The blade cut into Asuma's shoulder. Luckily, it wasn't poisoned.

Two other ninja were rapidly forming Hand Seals, apparently preparing to take all three of them out with a wide-area jutsu.

The pain jolted Asuma back to his senses. He gripped his Kunai and desperately parried the long-bladed ninja's attacks. Pingsan bit his finger, rapidly formed Hand Seals, and slapped his hand against the ground. With a bang, a small, silvery-white snake appeared.

"Pingsan, what is it?" the little white snake asked in a soft, sweet voice.

"Xiangxue, quickly ask Teacher Orochimaru for help! We're under attack!" He didn't wait to see if the snake had understood before releasing the Summoning Technique.

But in that instant, the Sand ninja behind them had already unleashed their jutsu. A low shout rang out behind them: "Wind Release: Sickle Weasel!"

A massive, invisible blade of wind swept through. Pingsan threw himself to the ground, barely keeping his footing, while Asuma took another cut but narrowly dodged the wind blade.

Jiraiya handled things far more easily. Even while fighting two opponents, he dodged the Wind Release behind him and threw a Kunai that disrupted the jutsu of the ninja leader from earlier.

But there were six opponents: two elite Jonin and four Chunin, surrounding one elite Jonin and two children.

Jiraiya was pinned down. Sarutobi Asuma had been struck twice, once in the shoulder and once below the ribs. The three of them were surrounded, and the situation was on the brink of collapse.