Jonin Attack

Somewhere in the dense forest.

"Captain, we've checked everything out. Just like the intelligence said, there's only one Genin squad with the caravan," reported a ninja whose headband bore a slash across it. He appeared to be a rogue ninja from Sunagakure.

"Good. A Konoha Genin squad has one Chunin leading three Genin. We can take them without any trouble," the lead ninja said with a nod.

He had clearly forgotten—or never known—that Konoha also formed squads of recent graduates. Those Genin squads could be led by Jonin.

"Do we strike now, or wait a little longer?" the lead ninja asked the black-robed figure beside him, who had yet to speak. A hood covered the figure's head, and the robe concealed him from head to toe.

"We can't wait. Any farther and we'll be too close to the city," the black-robed man said firmly. "Strike at once."

"Good!" The lead ninja gave a signal. Five more ninja emerged from the surrounding woods, checked their equipment, and headed straight ahead of the caravan to set an ambush. They had come prepared and knew the terrain well.

The caravan traveled on for nearly half a day without incident. Unlike before, there were no attacks every so often.

Before long, evening arrived. The setting sun still clung stubbornly to the distant horizon, refusing to sink completely. Its remaining crescent cast a blood-red glow across the land.

Masao Ishihara directed the others as they chose a place to camp. Everyone's taut nerves gradually began to relax.

Travel had already worn them down, and they had spent most of the day fending off attacks. Exhausted, they all wanted to rest as soon as possible.

But Taiichi, standing atop a wagon and surveying the surroundings, grew tense. Evening was when birds returned to their nests, yet the woods around them were far too quiet.

Taiichi was about to warn Masao Ishihara to stay alert when—

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Five explosions erupted across the caravan in quick succession. Explosive Tags had been detonated.

Damn it. Ninja are attacking! Taiichi thought.

The caravan plunged into chaos. Startled packhorses dragged their wagons in every direction, and the drivers' desperate efforts to control them did little good.

The scattering wagons tore the guards' formation apart. They were still trying to regroup, but the enemy gave them no chance.

A horde of bandits charged out of the surrounding woods, outnumbering the guards.

But bandits were still bandits. Their numbers let them hold their own against the guards, but Taiichi cut them down with ease.

After finishing off several bandit lackeys nearby, Taiichi scanned the area, his short sword dripping blood. Despite their numbers, the bandits had only fought the guards to a standstill. The ninja who should have appeared were nowhere to be seen.

No—Saori's in danger. Taiichi left a Shadow Clone to help the guards and raced toward the center of the caravan.

The distance was only a little over a hundred meters, but the chaos slowed him down. It took Taiichi more than a minute to get there, and he cut down several frenzied bandit lackeys along the way.

From a distance, he saw Captain Yamaguchi locked in combat with three ninja: one Jonin and two Chunin. Their faces were twisted with rage, as though they were the ones who had been ambushed.

Saori was in worse trouble. Four Genin had surrounded her. She kept forcing them to defend by making attacks that risked her own life, but they had the advantage in numbers. Several Kunai wounds already marked her body.

Then two of the Genin suddenly fell back to weave hand seals while the other two pressed in close. The pair finished their seals together and spat a volley of Wind Blades.

Taiichi's eyes went red. Saori was pinned down and couldn't dodge; the two Genin had timed their attack to drive her straight into the incoming blades.

Ignoring the drain on his chakra, Taiichi rapidly formed hand seals. Water Style: Great Water Prison Technique!

A wall of water took shape around Saori, enclosing and protecting her. Its rapidly swirling currents stopped the incoming Wind Blades.

Only then did Saori recover from that brush with death. She looked at Taiichi, her eyes full of gratitude.

The four Genin, who had pulled back, were startled by the technique. None of them had ever seen it and had taken its caster for a formidable opponent. Once they saw that he was just a kid, they relaxed.

One of them moved to stop Taiichi. The other three prepared to surround Saori again and kill her quickly.

Taiichi didn't care which one came at him. He used Body Flicker to flash beside the approaching Genin and swept his short sword across the man's throat. Without losing even a second, he charged toward Saori.

The Genin fell with disbelief still written across his face. How could there be such a gulf between two Genin?

Damn it. The rogue ninja leader cursed the intelligence agents and every generation of their ancestors.

They had called this a Genin squad, but its captain was a Jonin—an Elite Jonin at that. And as for the Genin, whatever the little girl's strength might be, the boy who had just arrived was no weaker than a Chunin.

"Sakata, Okamoto, take care of that boy! I'll keep this Jonin busy," the rogue ninja leader ordered the two Chunin who had been supporting him.

Captain Yamaguchi saw the two Chunin trying to leave the fight and gang up on Taiichi. He moved to stop them, but the rogue ninja leader cut him off with a reckless barrage of attacks.

Taiichi showed no fear as the two Chunin charged him. He rushed forward, forming hand seals as he went. Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire! Fireballs filled the air and rained down on the two Chunin in a dense, indiscriminate barrage.

While the fireballs obscured their vision, Taiichi created two more Shadow Clones.

By the time the two Chunin dealt with the fireballs, they were no longer facing just one Taiichi.

Taiichi sent one Shadow Clone to tie up a Chunin while he and the other clone attacked his companion.

The two sides collided in an instant.

Taiichi's Shadow Clone lunged forward and blocked the Chunin's swinging Kunai, relying on the fact that it was only a clone. Taiichi slid to the man's flank and, hidden behind his clone, drove his sword into the Chunin's chest.

Pop! The Shadow Clone vanished.

Thud! The Chunin hit the ground.

Taiichi had killed a Chunin in the blink of an eye. The other Chunin recoiled in alarm and hurriedly backed away from the Shadow Clone.

Taiichi's Taijutsu was a level above a Chunin's. Even his Shadow Clone could hold its own against one.

Taiichi was about to go after the remaining Chunin when he heard the enemy Jonin shout, "Retreat!"

The Chunin and three Genin immediately threw down several smoke bombs, then used the crowd as cover to withdraw. Once the rogue ninja leader saw that his men had escaped safely, he retreated too, without even stopping to make a threat.

"Captain, I'm here! Saori, hold on!" Yohei called from afar.

Taiichi wasn't the only one who had dealt with a Chunin. Yohei had made his way over from the rear of the caravan.

The rest of the fight held no surprises. With Taiichi and Yohei joining in, the guards quickly steadied themselves and drove home their advantage, cutting down nearly all the bandits.

This time, the guards showed no mercy. They even chased the fleeing bandits until none remained in sight.

With the bandits driven off, Taiichi and Yohei left the pursuit to the guards and headed together toward the center of the camp. Yohei was pale but excited, talking nonstop about the fighting at the rear of the caravan.

A single Tomoe slowly revolved in each of his crimson eyes. Yohei had awakened his eyes during the battle, though in his excitement he still hadn't noticed the change.