The three stayed alert as the thick fog rolled toward them. They hadn't even spotted the enemy yet, but they could already feel a massive surge of chakra coming from the distant bridge.
"Is Kakashi in a tough fight too? Looks like they picked their moment perfectly. We're at an intelligence disadvantage, and they exposed us first." Mizuki felt a surge of anxiety. They couldn't count on Kakashi, and Ibiki was hard to read, either. An ambush would be difficult under these circumstances. In a face-to-face fight, they'd have to rely on their strength.
The three were gradually swallowed by the fog. They formed a triangle, standing back to back as they kept watch.
"The enemy has four people," Mizuki said. He was the only one of the three who could scout through the fog. "It's the Mist Assassination Squad. This is bad."
"Should we charge?" Gekko Hayate asked Aoba Yamashiro. Aoba was the strongest of the three.
"Let's see if we can negotiate first. Fighting Kirigakure Ninja directly could start a war. We should ask what they want."
Four indistinct figures gradually emerged from the fog. The one in front looked very young and had white hair. The other three had red, green, and blue hair.
"The primary colors of light. There's no hair color you won't find in the Shinobi World." Looking at the four masked figures, Aoba Yamashiro spoke first. "You're from the Mist Assassination Squad, right? What brings you to a Konoha mission site?"
A hoarse, unpleasant voice came from the white-haired figure at the front. "Our targets are the rogue ninja Zabuza and the Kubikiribōchō he's carrying." He placed particular emphasis on the last part.
"So we have no intention of making an enemy of Konoha. Just leave."
"We can't do that. We're on a mission, and we have to see it through."
"Oh? So you intend to interfere in Kirigakure's internal affairs?"
"Tch. Is a rogue ninja even still a Kirigakure ninja?" Mizuki retorted.
"So there's no negotiating, then? It'd be best if we each got what we wanted. Since you won't cooperate..." The figure spoke ominously. "Fine. We'll kill all of you and loot the Land of Waves."
The negotiations had failed, and the battle immediately grew fierce.
Among the three Konoha ninja, Aoba Yamashiro was the strongest, but his ninjutsu wasn't suited to this environment. Gekko Hayate was skilled with a sword and decent at ninjutsu, but his health was a liability; he couldn't fight for long. Mizuki was average, but that also meant he had the fewest weaknesses of the three. He had the best physical condition, and with the scouting ability of a few aquatic Summoning creatures he'd prepared, he was actually the one best able to use his strength.
"Their leader is a skilled swordsman. You take him," Aoba Yamashiro told Gekko Hayate.
"Got it. Leave him to me." Gekko Hayate sprang forward.
Mizuki and Aoba Yamashiro were actually gaining the upper hand against the other three. Their opponents didn't seem especially strong and were barely holding on with some kind of combination technique.
The battle reached a stalemate. Mizuki glanced at the other fight. The white-haired boy seemed to be a decent swordsman and was evenly matched with Gekko Hayate. But he was young, so he was probably at a disadvantage in stamina. Of course, Gekko Hayate's health was poor too, but for now, it wasn't a problem.
With that in mind, Mizuki said to Aoba Yamashiro, "Buy me some time." He took out a Summoning creature scroll, bit his finger, and began forming Hand Seals.
Aoba Yamashiro hurriedly stepped in front of Mizuki. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A huge fireball tore through the fog and flew toward the three enemies, erupting in a massive explosion. It didn't do much damage, but it forced them back.
"Summoning Technique." Mizuki didn't waste the opportunity. A trail of runes spread across the water, and faint specks of light appeared beneath the surface. Unless you looked closely, you couldn't tell that their bodies were completely indistinguishable from the water.
"Get ready to charge. Follow me." There was no tank, so he'd have to play the part himself. The enemy weren't experts, either, so their chances were good.
He threw three shuriken at the enemies, then charged straight at them. The three were about to dodge when they suddenly cried out in unison. One was struck by a shuriken, which slashed into his arm and rendered it useless. Mizuki rushed right up to another and plunged a Kunai into his chest. Aoba Yamashiro stabbed the third in the stomach, leaving him too badly injured to fight. The Venomous Jellyfish were no joke.
"Nice work, Mizuki."
"We're safe here for now. I'm going to help over there. Be careful."
"Right."
Mizuki caught his breath, then ran toward the other battlefield.
"We'll take them by surprise and end this quickly."
Gekko Hayate had been fighting the white-haired boy for a long time, but neither had gained the upper hand. His Konoha Style Swordsmanship and his physical condition weren't suited to this kind of battle. A single, decisive strike was what he excelled at. Despite his clear advantage in skill, the poor visibility and environment had dragged him into a drawn-out fight.
"Hmm? Is there something underwater? Is it one of Mizuki's Summoning creatures?" Gekko Hayate couldn't help feeling delighted. "They won over there. Help is here."
He cautiously fought his opponent while watching for the signals from beneath the water, gradually luring him into a trap.
"Sealing Art: Binding Formation!" Several beams of light suddenly flashed from beneath the water, surrounding the white-haired boy and binding him so he couldn't move. Gekko Hayate didn't waste the chance. He performed Dance of the Crescent Moon: one slash cut the boy's throat, another stabbed into his chest, and a third severed the hand holding his sword.
"We won." Gekko Hayate, exhausted from the long battle, relaxed.
"Watch out!" Mizuki, who was helping him, sensed something was wrong. "Get back!"
The white-haired boy suddenly turned into a pool of water. Then a jet of water shot straight into Gekko Hayate's stomach, catching him before he could retreat quickly enough.
"Damn it, it's Hozuki Suigetsu! He's this strong at his age? There are way too many monsters in the Shinobi World. How has Orochimaru not captured him yet?"
Mizuki hurried to help Gekko Hayate.
The boy who should have been dead appeared again, raised the sword in his hand, and swiftly slaughtered the Turritopsis dohrnii Mizuki had spent ages cultivating.
"What a loss." Mizuki didn't dare linger. He helped the gravely injured Gekko Hayate toward Aoba Yamashiro. Mizuki wasn't much weaker than Hozuki Suigetsu at the moment—he might even have been slightly stronger—and Suigetsu had already used up a lot of strength. If Mizuki went all out, he could hold him off for a long time. But with a gravely injured Gekko Hayate to protect, it was a different matter entirely. Hozuki Suigetsu targeted Hayate with every strike, leaving Mizuki no room to dodge. He was completely on the defensive and gradually became covered in wounds. He couldn't hold out for long.
Mizuki was finally retreating toward Aoba Yamashiro when he spotted him ahead. He thought he could breathe a sigh of relief, but Aoba Yamashiro was in even worse shape than he was.
"What happened?" Mizuki exclaimed.
"Poison," Aoba Yamashiro replied weakly. He was kneeling on one knee on the water, with a hole in one thigh. He clearly couldn't keep fighting. "I thought we had it in the bag. I wanted to get some information out of the last one, and I let my guard down. All three of them are poisonous. Their blood spreads through the water, making it impossible to guard against."
"This is an unexpected turn of events. Who knew those useless guys could actually be useful?" Hozuki Suigetsu appeared. Of the three colors, only the red-haired one, whose arm had been injured by a shuriken, could still fight. The blue-haired one Mizuki had stabbed in the chest had died on the spot, and the green-haired one Aoba Yamashiro had stabbed in the stomach was too badly injured to fight.
"Lord Suigetsu!" The red-haired one came over to claim credit.
"You're a little useful." Suigetsu ignored him and turned, cutting off the green-haired one's head with a single stroke. "Might as well kill useless trash."
"What the hell is going on?" Mizuki was at a loss. He'd only meant to sit back and do the bare minimum, but now he had to charge into battle alone. They'd had an overwhelming advantage, only for a single Hydrification Technique to leave them in a sorry state.
"Mizuki, the tide has turned. Go. Get the captain and come back for revenge," Aoba Yamashiro said, knowing the situation was beyond saving. "I let my guard down. It's not your fault."
"Exactly, big brother silver hair. We're not after you, anyway. I won't stop you if you leave. I only care about getting the Kubikiribōchō." Hozuki Suigetsu had probably used up quite a bit of strength too.
Mizuki couldn't help giving a bitter smile. "Tell me, Aoba, Hayate—if I ran off on my own, would Lord Third let me get away with it?"
With that, Mizuki took out a Storage Scroll and pulled out a pile of green potions. He handed some to Aoba Yamashiro and Gekko Hayate.
"Take a gamble. Inject half a vial into serious wounds and apply it to minor ones. As for the side effects, that's up to your luck."
"What is this stuff?"
"Something that could save your life. A byproduct of my poison research. Use it or don't; I'm not responsible." As he spoke, he injected a vial into his right arm. A wave of agony hit him, and Mizuki screamed.
Seeing Mizuki go all in, Aoba Yamashiro and Gekko Hayate didn't hesitate either. They each injected the potion into their injured thigh and abdomen.
"Mizuki, what did you make this stuff from? It really packs a punch," Aoba Yamashiro said through gritted teeth.
"Right? Survive this, and I'll tell you."
Gekko Hayate also forced himself to his feet despite the pain. "The enemy can't keep this up much longer, either. We just need to hold out a little longer."
"But their poison is a problem," Aoba Yamashiro warned.
"Leave the poison to me. Can you still move?"
"Your potion works. Even if it hurts like hell."
"Good."
Mizuki took out another Sealing Scroll. When he unsealed it, a mass of blue liquid spilled out. He poured it into the water, then emptied the remaining Nutrient Solution and Fission Potion into it. He circulated his chakra to stimulate it rapidly. The blue liquid quickly spread in all directions, giving off a foul smell.
"Stand on this. Don't step outside the blue area."
"What is that?"
"A kind of tiny blue organism. I accelerated its reproduction so it can quickly consume the nutrients in the water. It should break down most biological toxins. If not, it can still serve as a barrier," Mizuki explained. There hadn't been much water eutrophication in this world, and few people had ever seen a green tide.
"Don't underestimate us, big brother. How about we call it quits? Your secret technique probably isn't invincible," Mizuki tried to end the fight.
"Not a chance. I'm determined to get the Kubikiribōchō."
"Then I guess there's no other way." Mizuki sighed. "I'll go first. You two recover as much as you can, and watch out for his Hydrification Technique. I'll buy you some time."
Before you continue