"I'm not sure what their objective is. Judging by their uniforms, they're probably Anbu from Kirigakure. Most likely, they were drawn here by Teacher Huiyi's mission."
Uchiha Kai scanned their surroundings warily.
"Huh? A mission? Didn't we already finish ours? That bald bastard's been chopped into minced meat. Don't tell me these Mist Ninja are Buddhists too and want to capture us for a sacrifice?"
Morino Kei's mind was a little too fanciful. In less than two seconds, he'd imagined a whole pile of bizarre scenarios.
Hyuga Rei, standing beside him, couldn't listen to any more and softly stopped him.
"What are you thinking? It's Teacher Huiyi's own secret mission. Otherwise, did you think he'd take a detour and bring us here just so we could enjoy ourselves?" The girl shot him an exasperated look.
"You know what Teacher Huiyi is like. We're lucky if he doesn't make us do extra training..."
At that, Morino Kei suddenly understood. His brain, barely bigger than a walnut, had finally managed to put two and two together.
"So what do we do now? The three of us can't take on all those people."
Morino Kei's scalp prickled at the sight of the Mist Ninja Anbu bearing down on them. He could only turn to Uchiha Kai for advice.
"Hard to say. We'll have to take things as they come. Maybe we can hold them off until Teacher Huiyi finishes on his end."
Uchiha Kai shook his head slightly, his voice heavy.
"Friends from Kirigakure, attacking members of another shinobi village in a neutral country... That doesn't seem very proper."
As he spoke, the boy's gaze shifted, landing at once on the man leading the group—Shikamaru.
Feeling the boy's hostile stare, Shikamaru stepped forward and drew his ninja blade.
"Drop the act, Konoha brat.