"What on earth was going on?"
Neji thought as he hurriedly said goodbye to Gaara. After that, all he wanted was to disappear into the night as quickly as possible.
But up ahead, three elite ninja were fighting!
It looked like a fierce battle. Neji hesitated for a long moment, then decided to hurry over.
"Good thing I wore this."
When Neji had left, he'd put on this outfit to hide his identity in case anyone spotted him meeting Gaara.
He hadn't expected it to come in handy now.
Baki gave a cold snort, the corner of his mouth curling as he raised his chin with an air of pride.
"I never thought Sunagakure would join forces with the Sound Ninja to attack Konoha!"
Gekko Hayate gritted his teeth, his gaze lowered, sharp and resolute.
He gripped his sword in both hands and glanced back.
A sinister-looking young man with white hair stepped out. Kabuto pushed up his glasses, murderous intent gleaming beneath the lenses.
"Brother Baki, I think we should take him on together and finish this quickly. If he leaks what he knows, all our hard work will have been for nothing!"
Baki sneered. "Sunagakure's elite ninja aren't that weak! I'll finish him with my next move!"
"Wind!"
Baki held out one hand and formed a Hand Seal!
Hayate watched, his eyes widening.
"Is that... a change in nature?"
Only elite ninja could easily master a change in nature, but against Kabuto and Hayate, Baki was by far the most seasoned fighter.
"Whirlwind Technique!"
As he spoke, Baki ran forward. A gentle breeze swirled around him, but it contained a large amount of chakra infused with Wind Style nature transformation!
"Secret Sword: Moon Shadow!"
Hayate formed Hand Seals at lightning speed and gripped his sword. Two afterimages identical to him appeared on either side.
"A Clone Technique—just a feint?"
Baki narrowed his eyes as Hayate charged straight at him.
Baki sent the whirlwind spinning toward him like a blade. Though Hayate's three swords were wielded by clones, each one slashed out a real sword shadow, cutting through the wind blades.
"I see. Specially made blades? They can even cut through wind!"
Baki was knocked back several steps. Hayate landed and glanced over his shoulder.
Kabuto was right behind him and could strike at any moment. He had to end the fight as soon as possible.
"Sun-Moon Style Swordsmanship: Dance of the Crescent Moon!"
Hayate swung his sword. The blades of the two afterimages beside him began to gleam, dancing in the moonlight like swords in a performance.
"Oh?"
The corner of Baki's mouth curled.
"Ha!"
As the moonlit shadows confused him, dozens of afterimages suddenly leaped through the moonlight. Then they attacked at once from three directions!
"Hmph!"
Baki formed Hand Seals in an instant. The wind twisted into a net of ropes, sweeping all the afterimages away.
But Hayate's real body broke through the obstacles. His chakra-coated blade slashed down, striking Baki squarely at the back of the neck.
"Oh? You think you can kill me just like that?"
Hayate's eyes widened. His strike had only cut through Baki's ninja uniform.
The man's entire body had hardened!
"What's the matter? Is your blade rusty? My turn now. Wind Blade!"
A blade of wind, sharper than steel, swiftly took shape in the air.
With one slash, it knocked Hayate back and tore open his ninja uniform, leaving a deep wound across his ribs.
Blood instantly soaked his clothes. Hayate pressed a hand hard against the wound, steadied his breathing, and stood upright.
It was two against one now. He was prepared to die!
"Then I'll send you on your way."
Baki formed Hand Seals as he walked toward him.
"Wind Blade!"
Dozens of Wind Blades appeared, sharper than before. Hayate would likely be done for if that attack landed.
"Pshhh!"
A figure suddenly dropped into view. The Wind Blades were thrown into disarray, as if a new whirlwind had swept them together.
Then the young Anbu who had appeared out of nowhere caught them all in one palm, and they vanished in his grasp.
"He's using Lightning Style chakra against Wind Style... This kid!"
Baki's eyes widened, his expression dark.
Kabuto was startled too. He stared at the sudden newcomer and exclaimed, "You again, kid?"
Hayate said, "You're..."
Neji glanced back but didn't answer Hayate.
The mask he was wearing belonged to Hayate's girlfriend, Yugao. In a way, that meant they were connected.
That was why Neji had rushed out to save him without hesitation. Of course, that wasn't the only reason.
"Another one?"
Baki's expression shifted. This attack on Konoha was part of a grand plan. Having someone overhear them had already been unexpected; if reinforcements arrived too, things could get troublesome.
He tensed, ready to end the fight quickly.
Kabuto couldn't sit back any longer either. He stepped forward and swung his arm.
"Mr. Baki, this guy is strong, but together, you and I should be able to take them down."
Chakra wrapped around Kabuto's hand, forming a sharp scalpel that seemed capable of cutting through the air itself.
"Be careful. Don't let him get close. He specializes in Taijutsu, and he's fast, with an extremely strange fighting style."
Neji shot Kabuto a sidelong glance.
This guy really was a thinker. To have become one of Orochimaru's trusted aides, he couldn't be taken lightly.
They'd only crossed paths briefly last time, yet Kabuto had already figured him out so thoroughly. This was going to be a tough fight.
After all, even fighting Baki alone, Neji wouldn't have much chance of winning. Now he had to face two opponents while one of them already knew his moves.
"Wind Release: Hurricane!"
Baki retreated and swiftly formed Hand Seals, then thrust both hands forward.
As he molded his chakra, twin vortexes of wind formed around his palms. The two storms converged and slowly expanded, blowing toward Neji.
Hayate got back to his feet, but the raging wind trapped both of them in place.
Neji lowered his arms, which he'd raised to defend himself, and realized the technique was only meant to restrict their movements.
Meanwhile, Kabuto had already closed in.
"Fwoosh!"
The chakra scalpel cut through the storm, its rush of air heavy and loud.
"Oh, I missed by a little."
Kabuto murmured, already switching to his other hand.
"Look out!"
Hayate leaped in front of Neji and used his sword to block Kabuto's attack.
"You're in the way!"
Kabuto kicked Hayate away with a single blow, striking him right in the wound.
Hayate was sent flying out of the storm and crashed to the ground. He rolled across it with a muffled thud, clutching his wound.
Neji tilted his head, listening to the rush of air beside him.
Kabuto's attacks came one after another, but his movements seemed restricted too. Through his Byakugan, Neji could see that the chakra in Kabuto's body—especially in his hands—was particularly abundant!
"In that case... Eight Trigrams: Body Strike!"
Kabuto's final slash struck home!
But it had no effect. A far stronger chakra enveloped him, then burst outward!
A tremendous force flung Kabuto away. Neji used the chakra's momentum to break free.
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
Neji knocked two Kunai to the ground with a pair of strikes from his Gentle Fist.
"I'll handle them. Find a chance to leave and tell the Third Hokage what happened today," Neji said calmly, standing over Hayate, who was lying on the ground.
Hayate only clutched his wound, fighting through the pain. He nodded firmly.
By then, Baki had stopped using his technique.
"Impressive. You only had to look at Kabuto once to figure out the technique's weakness—and then you used my own technique to escape?"
He gave Neji an admiring look, now even more convinced that the boy was a serious threat.
"This kid has to die!"
Before you continue