The Cloud Ninja Attack

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Four figures darted through the forest. Uchiha Hikari was the fastest, leaving everyone far behind.

Tsunade and Shizune were next. Although they didn't often travel at such a pace, their basic ninja training was solid, so they could keep up.

Tokiju, on the other hand, was having a miserable time. He wasn't used to leaping from branch to branch, and now they were speeding along too. He could only watch as the others left him far behind.

Watching their figures recede into the distance, Tokiju cursed inwardly. Damn it, these stupid branches are the bane of my existence.

Tsunade noticed her little brother falling behind and slowed down.

Once she had caught up with Tokiju, she grabbed him and tucked him under her arm like a sack.

Seeing this, Tokiju's face and neck turned bright red with embarrassment. He began squirming around.

When she saw he wouldn't hold still, Tsunade rapped him on the head and scolded him. "You little brat, stop moving around. You're too slow right now."

After taking the blow, Tokiju immediately settled down, though he still pouted and sulked.

He'd made up his mind: once things settled down, he would develop the ability to fly as soon as possible.

Once Tokiju had calmed down, Tsunade pushed off with her legs and quickly caught up with Shizune and Uchiha Hikari.

Shizune didn't say anything about Tokiju being slow.

She knew he hadn't undergone systematic ninja training, so it was normal for him to be slow.

The solution was simple: send him to the Ninja Academy for a year or two, and the problem would be easily fixed.

Besides, Tokiju was currently in the body of a six-year-old, so sending him to the Ninja Academy would be perfectly appropriate.

And so, without Tokiju knowing it, his big sister had already planned everything out for him.

After traveling for most of the day, the sky had long since turned crimson.

Seeing that it was getting late, they stopped and decided to spend the night there.

After finding a clearing, Tsunade set Tokiju down from where she'd been carrying him and said, "We'll rest here for the night."

Tokiju rubbed his aching lower back after being jostled all afternoon and complained, "Ow! I almost got shaken to death."

Tsunade patted him on the shoulder and laughed. "You little brat, the amount of chakra inside you may be at the level of an elite jonin, but your basic ninja skills are still terrible. You'll have to study hard once we're back in Konoha."

Tokiju could only nod helplessly. He knew that was true.

He was the sort who knew plenty of advanced techniques but had almost no grasp of the basics.

"I know. I'll study hard when we get back," Tokiju replied earnestly.

While Tsunade and Tokiju chatted, Uchiha Hikari and Shizune had already started setting up the tent and building a campfire.

With nothing to do, Tokiju volunteered to fetch water from the river and catch some fish.

He still had plenty of snacks in his System Space, but he couldn't explain where they'd come from, so he didn't take any out.

Fortunately, they'd chosen a good campsite, and Tokiju soon found a stream nearby.

As Tokiju bent over to catch fish, he suddenly sensed several clusters of chakra moving not far away.

The largest chakra source was fairly strong, with a total amount roughly two-thirds of Tokiju's own.

They also seemed to have a clear target: they were heading straight toward him.

The sudden sensation startled Tokiju, but he quickly realized that he must have awakened the Mind's Eye of the Kagura.

Before he could get excited, he heard something slice through the air.

The moment he heard it, Tokiju had no time to think. He abandoned his catch and quickly jumped backward to dodge.

Whoosh!

A Kunai struck the spot where Tokiju had just been standing. If he hadn't reacted immediately, he might already have been bleeding.

Tokiju scanned the area and spotted three figures darting through the nearby trees.

Though they moved quickly, Tokiju still caught sight of what they were wearing.

From their outfits, with white cloth hanging from their clothes, they were clearly Cloud Ninja from the Land of Lightning.

Once they drew closer, Tokiju got a good look at their faces. All three newcomers were muscular, dark-skinned men.

That confirmed it: they were Cloud Ninja.

But this should have been the Land of Fire.

How had these Cloud Ninja infiltrated this far? And what were the border guards doing?

"Hey! You're Cloud Ninja, right? Why did you attack me?"

Standing on the opposite bank of the stream, Tokiju called out to them, hoping to get some information.

The three Cloud Ninja exchanged glances, then immediately spread out and attacked Tokiju without a word.

They fanned out in a triangular formation, each drawing Shuriken and hurling them straight at him.

The nine Shuriken were positioned perfectly, almost completely blocking every possible route Tokiju could take to dodge.

At this, Tokiju smiled faintly. His dynamic vision had been honed to a high level through his daily sparring with Uchiha Hikari.

Defending against such a simple Shuriken throw would be easy.

Tokiju clenched his right hand, and a short, blue-green blade suddenly appeared.

Clang, clang, clang!

Tokiju swung the short blade and precisely deflected the Shuriken they'd thrown.

As soon as he'd blocked the Shuriken, Tokiju counterattacked.

He turned the short blade in his hand and hurled it straight at one of the Cloud Ninja.

Thud!

The blue-green blade became a streak of light and plunged into the Cloud Ninja's left shoulder, spraying blood everywhere.

Seeing this, Tokiju clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Damn it, I missed!"

He'd been aiming for the man's neck, but since he'd barely practiced his aim, he'd only hit his shoulder.

A shoulder wound was no big deal for a ninja. The injured Cloud Ninja immediately tried to pull out the blade.

At that moment, the corner of Tokiju's mouth lifted. He snapped his fingers at the Cloud Ninja and shouted, "Explode!"

As soon as Tokiju spoke, tiny orange-yellow sparks appeared in the center of the blue-green blade.

Boom!

With a deafening blast, the Cloud Ninja's entire left shoulder and arm vanished, reduced to a pile of flesh and blood.

The Cloud Ninja had already collapsed to the ground, barely clinging to life.

The other two Cloud Ninja stared in shock for a moment, then erupted with fury.

One of them drew the long blade from his back and charged straight at Tokiju, stepping across the stream.