Late Reinforcements

Under the protection of two teams of bodyguards from the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan, Jin and the other three headed up Hokage Rock. Having gained a certain level of strength, Kimimaro had already detected the two groups following and protecting them. Seeing that Jin knew people were trailing them yet said nothing, Kimimaro did not ask about it either. He understood Jin's strength very well. If Jin wanted to deal with the two teams behind them, it would be absurdly easy. So Kimimaro simply ignored the six people from the two groups and continued chatting with Jin about amusing things as they walked.

"White, Hinata, Kimimaro, you're my right-hand people. While training hard, you must also take care of your bodies. Get a full checkup every six months. We still have a long road ahead of us. You could say we grew up together, a group of little companions. Though I'm still young, I believe I'll accomplish something earth-shaking one day. I don't want my dream to come true only for me to find that I'm the only one left. I want to share that happiness with you." Taking the opportunity, Jin brought up the rule about regular physical examinations. All three of them felt Jin's concern. White and Kimimaro in particular had suffered drastic changes in their families. Their young hearts had been deeply scarred. The abandonment, contempt, and harm inflicted upon them by the world had forced them to mature far too early. Only Jin, an outsider, could truly understand the hardships in their hearts.

Kimimaro said nothing. He understood that Jin truly regarded him as a companion, a trustworthy companion. Since he now knew many of Jin's secrets, his expression was especially solemn. Looking at Jin, he said, "Jin, we'll be brothers from now on, right?"

"Of course! I've always treated you like a brother. But White and Hinata are a different matter. They can't be our brothers. They're my... hehehe, figure it out yourselves. We're almost at Hokage Rock!" Jin actually became embarrassed.

Watching Jin's retreating back, White shed a clear tear. Satisfied, she said, "Jin is truly wonderful! He is a gift from heaven. I must help Jin fulfill his dream."

Hinata's little face turned red as she thought, Jin is amazing! He has so many friends. But Father said we'll get married someday, so his friends will be my friends too. I won't be lonely anymore!

"Ah! The scenery here is really beautiful! Look, that's our house! Ah, I forgot to bring binoculars. Otherwise, we could see Aunt Lanhui Zi!" Standing atop Hokage Rock, Jin looked into the distance and spoke to the others.

"Jin, is that your house?" Hinata pointed toward a house.

"How did you know? You're so smart!" Jin praised her with a glance.

"Because I saw your training ground! We even played with ants there!" Hinata said with a happy smile.

Jin's heart skipped a beat. He immediately looked toward the training ground, but he could not see a thing. Confused, he asked, "Can you see what's inside the training ground?"

"I'll take another look!" Hinata said, then stared seriously into the distance.

Seeing Hinata like that, Jin nearly fell off Hokage Rock. Hinata was using her Byakugan to look at Jin's training ground. Though her penetrating, long-range Byakugan only lasted for a few seconds, those seconds were enough.

"Brother Itachi was there just now, but he left again. He even looked in our direction before leaving." Fine beads of sweat appeared on Hinata's forehead. Jin hurriedly wiped them away and smiled happily. "Our Hinata is amazing! What sharp eyes!" Hinata immediately grew embarrassed at his praise.

"Jin, the two groups following us are fighting another group of people!" Kimimaro said as he looked back.

"Not just that. We're in a bit of trouble." Jin took one look at the movements of the masked ninjas and immediately recognized them as Root operatives under Danzo.

"Brats, hand over that brat from the Uchiha Clan, and we'll let you go," said one of the six Root ninjas standing before Jin.

The four of them prepared for battle. Looking at the six chunin, Jin secretly laughed. Danzo really thinks too little of us. He only sent six chunin. The ones fighting those bodyguards are jonin! How can we take them down without exposing our strength? Hehe, genjutsu it is. It never fails.

"Jin, how about three each?" Kimimaro asked quietly.

"Th-that wouldn't be good."

"Then I'll take two and leave four for you."

"No, no."

"Is one not even okay? You're not going to leave me none at all, are you? I need some exercise too. I'm severely lacking in actual combat experience!" Kimimaro was beginning to lose it.

"What I mean is, we need to hide our strength. Didn't I tell you? The Third Hokage has a crystal ball. Whenever he has nothing better to do, he uses it to spy everywhere. It'll be bad if he sees us fighting. With that old man's personality, he'll definitely make us join the ANBU and work for him. Don't tell me you forgot all my reminders!"

"I didn't! When White and I train, we always do it in the forest. So what do we do now?" Kimimaro kicked the ball back to Jin.

"Have you made up your minds?" asked the Root chunin leader. At the same time, he thought, If I didn't want to hurt the Hyuga Clan child, I would've gone up and seized them already!

"Who are you? Why are you kidnapping someone from the Uchiha Clan?" The moment Jin saw their attire, he thought, That was close. I actually forgot about them! Now we won't have to make a move. That idiot Danzo always ignores the existence of the ANBU.

"Attack together! Deal with the ANBU first!" A trace of confusion flashed through the eyes of the chunin leading Root.

"Everyone, hold on! Our reinforcements will arrive soon!" said the ANBU captain.

"Watch carefully, everyone! This is a great learning opportunity! It'll definitely come in handy when you fight in the future!" Jin shouted loudly from the side, as though he was afraid no one would notice him.

The nine ninjas who were about to begin fighting froze upon hearing Jin's words, all nearly overwhelmed by the urge to fall over.

"Three-Body Technique!" "Shuriken Shadow Clone!" "Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!"...

The two groups of ninjas began fighting. When Jin fought on his own before, he had never felt that the scenes were particularly spectacular. But watching from the sidelines today, he was thoroughly entertained, constantly shouting and cheering. Thousands of shuriken danced through the air. Smoke and substitution logs burst from the ground from time to time. Then came balls of fire, flashes of lightning... all kinds of colors formed a dazzling picture.

"Wife, come out and watch the fireworks!" Jin shouted at the nine ninjas, holding one girl's hand in each of his.

"Kid, you're pretty calm! The ANBU aren't all trash after all!" "Their reinforcements are here! Hurry and seize the Uchiha Clan brat!"

"You have reinforcements! So do I!" Jin said to the ninjas.