Three days later.
The eastern outpost at Kikyo Mountain.
Inside Team 9's tent, four military beds stood in neat rows, their blankets folded into perfect squares.
But no one was lying down.
Guy crouched on the ground, polishing his blade. Ebisu adjusted the angle of his Forehead Protector in the mirror, while Genma leaned against the corner, a fresh toothpick in his mouth.
What had they done over the past three days?
On the first day, they familiarized themselves with the terrain.
Choza took them on a tour of the area within five miles of the outpost. They checked everywhere someone could hide and every spot where they might be ambushed.
On the second day, they familiarized themselves with the procedures.
They learned when supplies arrived, where they were delivered, who handled the handoff, what to do in an attack, and how to send an emergency signal.
On the third day, they familiarized themselves with the wounded.
They saw everyone lying in the medical tent: those missing arms, those with broken legs, those with holes in their stomachs, and those whose faces were wrapped in bandages.
The first time Ebisu saw the wounded man with a hole in his stomach, his sunglasses nearly fell off.
The man lay there with a huge hole in his stomach, wrapped in thick bandages, blood still seeping through.
Ebisu threw up on the spot.
Afterward, he wiped his mouth and said quietly,
"I'm fine."
Then he went back with them the next day.
By the third day, he could pass bandages around without changing expression.
Guy watched him putting on a brave face but said nothing.
He just patted him on the shoulder.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the tent.
The flap lifted.
Choza's round face appeared, his expression serious.
"Gather up."
The three of them paused, then immediately got to their feet.
Choza had already turned and walked away.
The three hurried after him.
Choza stood outside the tent, holding a map.
"Our supply line has been ambushed four times in the past three days."
He pointed to a red line on the map.
"This is our supply route. From here to here, it's thirty miles in all."
His finger moved across the map.
"This stretch is lined with dense forest on both sides. It's the easiest place to ambush us."
"This stretch is open ground, so we're vulnerable to long-range attacks."
"And this stretch is unavoidable. There's no way around it."
He looked up at the three of them.
"Your mission is to follow me along the supply line."
"This time, I'll take you with me."
"Next time—"
He paused and gave them a long, searching look.
"You'll have to go on your own."
Guy nodded.
Ebisu swallowed.
Genma took the toothpick out of his mouth, then put it back.
"We leave now." Choza folded the map away. "Bring your gear. Travel light."
"Yes!"
The three of them turned and went back into the tent.
Thirty seconds later, the four of them had left the outpost with the supplies, heading east along the foot of the mountain.
The path wasn't difficult to travel.
But dense forest stretched along both sides.
The trees were tall and thick, severely limiting their view.
From time to time, they heard birds calling in the distance and the low growls of some unknown animal.
Choza led the way.
Ebisu and Genma followed behind him.
Guy brought up the rear.
After about half an hour, Choza suddenly raised a hand.
Everyone stopped at once.
Guy's hand was already on his sword hilt.
Choza cocked his head and listened for several seconds.
Then he shook his head.
"It's nothing. Keep moving."
The group continued onward.
Another half hour passed.
Choza raised his hand again.
This time, he didn't shake his head.
He stared into the forest on the left, his eyes narrowing.
"Something's there."
The words had barely left his mouth when—
"Whoosh!"
A kunai shot out of the forest, heading straight for Ebisu.
Ebisu didn't react in time.
But a flash of blade cut through the air.
"Clang!"
The kunai was knocked aside.
Guy had already stepped in front of him.
"Enemy attack!"
Before the words were out, ten people burst from the forest.
Their Forehead Protectors bore the mark of Iwagakure.
They wore gray combat uniforms.
They gripped kunai and short swords, and two of them carried Ninja Blades.
The one leading them had a scar across his face. He was in his thirties, with a sinister look in his eyes.
The moment he saw Choza, the corners of his mouth curled up.
"An Akimichi Clan member? Lucky us."
He waved his hand.
"Attack!"
All ten charged at once.
Choza's eyes tightened.
But the next second, they relaxed again.
He surveyed the ten enemies.
One Chunin.
The rest were all Genin.
The strongest was the scar-faced Chunin.
"Good."
"Good thing I came with you this time."
Choza breathed a sigh of relief.
But soon, a thought flashed through his mind.
What if I hadn't come with them this time?
He glanced at Ebisu and Genma, who were tense, and Guy, who had already gripped his sword.
What would happen to these three kids against ten people?
One Chunin and nine Genin.
He didn't dare think about it.
After spending three days with them, he had a rough idea of what the three kids could do.
Guy was strong, with powerful kicks. He was quick to react and wasn't afraid to fight.
But he was too slow.
Ebisu had a solid grasp of theory.
But he had almost no real combat experience.
Genma was accurate with shuriken and level-headed.
But his chakra reserves were limited.
Could they beat that Chunin?
Probably not.
Not yet, at least.
But—
Choza glanced at the nine Genin.
They couldn't beat them all.
But what about three?
He took a deep breath.
Then charged straight into the fray.
His body rapidly swelled in midair.
"Expansion Jutsu!"
His enormous hands slammed down like two massive doors.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two Iwagakure Genin were sent flying. They crashed into a tree, slid down, and lay motionless.
Choza didn't slow down.
He barreled into the five other Iwagakure ninjas, including the Chunin, scattering them to the other side.
Only three Genin remained, still unable to react.
"They're yours!"
Choza's voice rang out from the melee.
The three of them froze for a moment.
But the next second, they understood.
This was their chance!
Choza was giving them a chance to practice!
A battlefield wasn't a training ground.
If they wanted to survive, they had to fight.
If they wanted to get stronger, they had to spill blood.
Nothing could be better for their "practice" than these three Genin.
Guy took a deep breath.
"One each."
Ebisu swallowed, then nodded.
Genma took the toothpick out of his mouth and clenched it in his fist.
The three Iwagakure Genin finally recovered.
They glanced over at Choza.
The burly Akimichi Clan man had already knocked their five comrades around like toys.
Then they looked at the three kids in front of them.
Eight? Nine?
The tallest one was pretty big, but he still had a baby face.
Ten at most... right?
The Iwa Ninja leading them was in his twenties, with a broad, fleshy face.
He grinned.
He laughed awkwardly.
"Let a bunch of brats get some practice on us? What a joke!"
He waved a hand.
"Kill them!"
The three of them charged at once.
Guy took the lead.
He ran at the very front, his steps growing faster and faster.
Ebisu and Genma followed close behind.
The distance closed.
Ten meters.
Five meters.
Three meters.
Guy abruptly bent forward and swept out with his right leg.
Whoosh—
The wind howled.
The three Iwa Ninja instinctively retreated, forced to scatter.
But Guy's goal had never been to land a kick.
He just wanted to split them up.
"Leaf! Great Whirlwind!"
That's right. He wasn't using an ordinary sweep.
It was a combo!
An advanced Taijutsu technique derived from Leaf Hurricane.
Konoha Great Whirlwind!
It was a three-stage, wide-range kicking technique.
The first stage: a low kick!
A sweeping leg attack at the enemy's lower body, intended to trip them or force them back.
The goal had been achieved.
The second stage: a middle kick!
Guy leaped up and drove his right foot forward with all his strength.
"Thump!"
The kick landed hard in the stomach of the Genin in the middle.
His eyes bulged, and his body doubled over like a shrimp.
But it wasn't over yet.
The third stage: a high kick!
Using the recoil from that kick, Guy sprang into the air again.
His body spun a full circle.
Then—
"Thump!"
He kicked down from above, striking the man in the back.
The man spat out a mouthful of blood and flew three meters before crashing to the ground and rolling twice.
He didn't move.
It had taken less than three seconds.
One of the three Iwa Ninja was down.
His life or death was unknown.
Guy landed and steadied himself.
He caught his breath, then turned to look at Ebisu and Genma.
They were already fighting the remaining two Genin.
On Genma's side, he had already thrown three shuriken, forcing the Iwa Ninja to retreat again and again.
Genma moved quickly, but was clearly conserving his chakra. He wasn't using any ninjutsu, only keeping the enemy at bay with shuriken.
Ebisu was having a rougher time.
The Iwa Ninja facing him was two heads taller, gripping a Kunai and stabbing at him over and over.
Ebisu dodged left and right. He nearly got hit several times, but still gritted his teeth and held on.
Guy stayed where he was.
He didn't move.
He glanced over at Choza.
Choza was fighting the Chunin, while several Genin lay unconscious nearby.
The Chunin was clearly no match for Choza, who was beating him back, but it would still take a while to finish him off.
The battle was completely one-sided.
Choza didn't need his help.
Guy looked away and kept his eyes on Ebisu and Genma.
He knew that stepping in now would only do them harm.
This was their fight.
Their first real battle against an enemy.
Ebisu needed a chance to turn all that theoretical knowledge into muscle memory.
Genma needed a chance to learn how to control the pace in a real fight to the death.
He couldn't take that chance away from them.
Unless—
They were really about to die!
Only then would Guy help.
He stood there, watching both fights with complete focus.
Genma was starting to fight back.
He seized an opening, blocked the Iwa Ninja's escape with three shuriken, then closed in and stabbed the man in the thigh with a Kunai.
The man cried out and staggered backward.
Genma didn't pursue. He retreated two steps to maintain distance and kept the pressure on with his shuriken.
He was so calm, it was hard to believe he was only eight.
Ebisu was still holding on.
But he was holding on.
The Iwa Ninja tried several times to break through his defenses, but Ebisu managed to dodge each attack by the skin of his teeth.
Ebisu was drenched in sweat, and his sunglasses had slipped halfway down his face, but his hands didn't shake and his feet didn't falter.
He dodged a thrust and countered with a Kunai.
He missed.
But he forced the Iwa Ninja back a step.
Ebisu's eyes lit up.
"I can do this!"
He charged again.
Watching him, Guy's lips slowly curled into a smile.
Almost.
Almost.
Just a little longer.
"Thump!"
Genma's fight was over.
He kicked the Iwa Ninja in the back of the knee, sending him sprawling.
Genma followed up with a Kunai to the back of the man's neck.
The man twitched twice, then went still.
Genma got to his feet, panting, and turned to look at Guy.
Guy nodded to him.
Then he turned his attention back to Ebisu.
Ebisu was nearly done too.
Somehow, he suddenly seemed to have figured it out.
After dodging a strike, he rolled along the ground, picked up a stone, and hurled it at the Iwa Ninja's face.
The man froze in surprise.
In that instant, Ebisu was already back on his feet, Kunai in hand.
"Fire Release—"
He formed Hand Seals.
"Great Fireball Technique!"
A fireball burst from his mouth and hit the man squarely in the face.
The man screamed and staggered backward, covering his face with both hands.
Ebisu didn't give him a chance.
He charged forward.
One Kunai.
The man fell.
Ebisu stood still, breathing hard.
He looked down at the fallen man, his hand trembling.
Then he looked up at Guy.
"I... I won."
Guy grinned.
"I saw."
Ebisu froze for a moment.
Then he smiled.
He was smiling so hard that tears came to his eyes.
"I won... I really won..."
He wiped away his tears and pushed his sunglasses back into place.
"Hmph. That's how an elite ninja does it!"
Choza had finished too.
He knocked out the Chunin with a punch, dusted off his hands, and walked over.
He looked at the three Iwa Ninja lying on the ground, then at the three kids.
Guy stood there, his sword still sheathed.
Genma was panting, still gripping his Kunai.
Ebisu was covered in sweat and tears, but stood straight.
"You were even faster than me..."
Choza's expression was hard to read.
"Not bad."
Choza spoke calmly, though his tone had changed.
He turned and started walking.
"Follow me."
The three of them exchanged glances.
Then they hurried after him.
The fourth day at Kikyo Mountain.
Team 9's first battle.
Enemies: three Iwagakure Genin.
Result: Victory.