In the woods,
Shisui, wearing a mask, hurried to the front of the caravan and said gravely, "There's an ambush ahead. Everyone, stop."
The people in the caravan reacted just as quickly, stopping at once. Every face was solemn. They all knew what lay ahead was dangerous; one careless mistake could cost them their lives.
Naraku had also put on a mask and quietly taken up position at the rear of the caravan. The two guards behind him were trembling slightly.
Suddenly, a conspicuously powerful presence emerged from the woods. The other side didn't seem to be hiding at all. Eight figures slowly walked out of the trees, surrounding the entire caravan.
"Oh, you even hired help," said a middle-aged man with a scar across his face, his expression full of amusement.
"Nakada, I didn't expect you to come in person this time."
"Nomura."
Nakada Shun gritted out the other man's name, glaring at the speaker with hatred.
"Heh. Since you're here, you might as well not leave," Nomura, the scarred man who had just spoken, continued. His eyes were just as full of hatred as he looked at Nakada.
"It's time to settle our score."
"So that's how it is." Naraku, at the rear of the caravan, had heard their exchange too. It was obvious the two men had known each other for a long time. From this, it seemed Nakada Shun might not have had such innocent reasons for hiring them.
But now that things had come to this, abandoning the mission wasn't an option. They could only press on.
"Attack!" the scarred man suddenly shouted. He gripped a long blade and charged forward at incredible speed. Almost at the same time, the others moved as well.
Whoosh! Bang! Bang!
They were fast, but someone else was faster.
The moment the scarred man made his move, Shisui was already in front of him, short blade in hand.
The silver blade sliced through the air and came crashing down on the scarred man.
Clang!
In a panic, the scarred man raised his long blade to block the blow. The force numbed his arm, and his weapon nearly flew from his grip.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet."
Just as Shisui was about to press his attack, several mud bullets the size of basketballs came hurtling toward him.
The man beside the scarred man had made his move.
Rumble!
The bullets slammed into the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
When the dust cleared, Shisui had already vanished.
Clang!
The sound of weapons clashing rang out again. It was Shisui. He had appeared on the other side and was once again blocking an attacker.
"Damn Nakada, how did he manage to hire someone this capable?" the scarred man said furiously, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"I don't care who he is. No one's leaving here alive today." With that, he charged toward Shisui, long blade in hand.
The man beside him took in the situation and followed.
The Stone Ninja Village had sent almost all its elite fighters on this mission: four Jonin and four Chunin.
They were the village's best. Losing even one would be a huge blow to the Stone Ninja Village.
The man Shisui was holding off was only a Chunin, and he was visibly losing ground. Without help, he would be defeated in moments.
From their brief exchange, the other man had also realized Shisui was no ordinary opponent. He was certain Shisui was stronger than the scarred man, who was nearly the strongest among them. He couldn't afford to let anything happen to him.
The scarred man and his companion soon arrived, and the two of them engaged Shisui once again.
Meanwhile, Nakada was fighting the two remaining Jonin.
As for Naraku, he had created two Shadow Clones right from the start. With their help, he held off the remaining three Chunin by himself.
"Die, brat!"
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
A young man grinned viciously as he rapidly formed Hand Seals. A massive wave of water surged toward Naraku.
His name was Kawakami. He was the most outstanding member of the younger generation in the Stone Ninja Village. Though barely in his twenties, he had already become a Chunin.
For someone from a small place like the Stone Ninja Village, that was an impressive achievement. He was even hailed as a genius in the village.
This was his first time taking part in a group mission like this, so he was excited.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Naraku's main body pushed off with both feet and leaped backward a few steps. He quickly formed Hand Seals, puffed out his cheeks, and unleashed a gale from his mouth.
The violent wind scattered the wave, stripping it of its force.
"How?" Kawakami froze. Water Shockwave was one of the more powerful techniques in his arsenal, yet it had been countered just like that.
But Naraku gave him no time to react. With a flick of his hand, he sent a Shuriken hurtling toward Kawakami, tearing through the air.
Whoosh!
The whistle of the projectile brought Kawakami back to his senses. Seeing that it was only one Shuriken, he let his guard down again and held a Kunai in front of his chest.
To a ninja, a Shuriken wasn't very lethal. Even a Genin could block one or two.
That was what Kawakami thought, but he might not have known there was a technique in this world called—
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!" Naraku suddenly shouted as he formed Hand Seals.
The rapidly spinning Shuriken multiplied: one became two, then two became four. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of Shuriken filled the air.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The air was filled with the sound of projectiles whistling past.
"Kawakami!"
A short distance away, another Chunin fighting one of Naraku's Shadow Clones saw what was happening and shouted. Blue light surged around his body as his chakra erupted, and he raced toward Kawakami.
Kawakami didn't need the warning. He had already reacted, retreating at high speed while rapidly swinging the Kunai in his hand.
Clang! Clang!
The clanging of metal rang out as the Kunai knocked away one Shuriken after another.
Splurt!
Suddenly, blood sprayed from Kawakami's leg. He had fought hard to block the attack, but there were simply too many Shuriken. One struck him in the thigh.
"Ugh." Kawakami gritted his teeth against the pain and kept defending himself, but his injury had slowed him down considerably.
Splurt! Splurt!
At the same time, two more Shuriken struck his body.
Seeing the bright red blood covering Kawakami, Naraku felt his composure waver. This was his first real battle against a ninja. It wasn't as troublesome as he had imagined, but he still felt a heavy pressure weighing on him.
A flicker of hesitation crossed Naraku's mind, but it lasted only an instant.
He understood better than anyone how cruel the Shinobi World was. It was survival of the fittest, a world where the strong preyed on the weak. If Naraku wasn't decisive, he would be the one devoured.
Kawakami was already at the end of his strength. More and more Shuriken pierced his body, and blood covered him from head to toe.