Collision in the Cave

"Don't worry, Captain." Sato smiled at Fugaku's words. "I won't let them kill me that easily."

Nozawa merely nodded without saying a word.

Fugaku nodded. The Rain shinobi chunin who had fought Sato today had not been particularly strong, yet their fight had been evenly matched. Aside from Sato's difficulty adapting to the Land of Rain, Fugaku had seen nothing remarkable about his abilities.

Perhaps Sato had deliberately hidden his strength, or had a technique unique to him. Or perhaps Fugaku had guessed wrong about his background.

Silence settled over the cave again. The three sat cross-legged, restoring their chakra.

On a battlefield like the Land of Rain, where several nations were fighting at once, the slightest carelessness could cost them their lives.

Once their chakra had fully recovered, Nozawa released his kikaichū to continue searching for shinobi from other nations.

The steady drizzle could dampen anyone's mood. Fugaku Uchiha, at least, found it hard to feel cheerful while carrying out missions in the rain.

Of the three in the squad, Aburame Nozawa was taciturn, and Satomaru was not much of a talker either. Most of the time, they said nothing.

Sometimes Fugaku liked that silence. It let him observe someone more objectively, and the less he said, the less information he gave away.

If Sato had come from ANBU, he would surely have his own views on how to analyze intelligence. Fugaku felt it was not yet time to reveal what he thought.

The kikaichū Nozawa had raised seemed increasingly suited to searching in the rain. But the three men's luck appeared to have run out. The entire day passed without their finding a squad they could reasonably kill.

Several times, they encountered six-person squads. With their current strength, killing six opponents would be difficult, and they might even lose one of their own.

It rained year-round in the Land of Rain, and darkness fell early. The three found a clean cave and lit a campfire.

"We didn't run into a single three-person squad," Sato said gravely. "Captain, we need to be careful."

Fugaku nodded and considered it for a moment. "The fighting in the Land of Rain seems to be escalating. Three-person squads are nearly extinct. Everyone's moving in groups made up of two or three squads. We were just lucky to encounter that four-person Rain shinobi squad earlier.

"Let's see what tomorrow brings. Once the Vanguard Force regroups, we need to report the situation in the Land of Rain to Captain Hatake."

Perhaps Konoha had not expected things in the Land of Rain to reach this point. Outnumbered like this, Konoha shinobi ordered to kill three shinobi from other nations would only be throwing their lives away.

Given Konoha's intelligence capabilities, though, it could not have been unaware of the situation. Nearly every squad had a scout. Perhaps the mission was meant not only to test their strength, but also to push them to join forces with other squads and strike at shinobi from other nations.

"Nozawa," Fugaku said, "tomorrow, focus on finding other Konoha squads. Preferably one with a member of the Aburame Clan."

Nozawa nodded. He seemed to understand what Fugaku meant.

"You want to work with another squad, Captain?" Sato asked.

Fugaku nodded. "Given Konoha's intelligence capabilities, they should know the situation here inside out. Sending us in three-person squads probably means they expect the squads to join forces."

Sato gave Fugaku Uchiha a surprised look. The Uchiha were renowned throughout the Shinobi World for their pride; some were arrogant rather than merely proud. He had not expected Fugaku to suggest joining forces with another squad.

Nozawa nodded. "Finding a squad with an Aburame Clan member won't be difficult. We have our own way of contacting one another. We can set out tomorrow morning."

Fugaku nodded. Several clans had their own ways of making contact, including the Uchiha. But he had searched all day without seeing an Uchiha signal.

The three discussed their next steps, and silence fell over the cave once more, broken only by the crackling of the campfire.

"Someone's coming," Nozawa said suddenly. "My kikaichū warned me. They're heading for the cave, and they aren't Konoha shinobi."

Sato extinguished the campfire. Fugaku found several stones and laid them over the ashes, setting an explosive trap beneath them.

If anyone moved those stones, the explosive tags underneath would detonate.

The three withdrew to the deepest part of the cave. Here, the Sharingan's abilities came fully into play.

Footsteps grew louder. The three held their breath. Six people entered: Stone shinobi. Every one of them was wounded, apparently fresh from a fight, and two were seriously injured.

One of them suddenly stopped the others from going deeper.

"Captain Daben, what is it? Hechuan's and Muchuan's wounds need bandaging right away."

Daben did not answer. His hands flew through signs. He had always been sensitive to temperature, and the moment he entered the cave, he had felt the lingering warmth of a campfire. Whoever was inside had detected them before they came in.

Two glints of steel appeared before Daben, disrupting his ninjutsu. A kunai appeared in each of his hands, and he knocked away both shuriken Fugaku had thrown.

Sparks flared, briefly revealing Daben's grim face.

"These Stone shinobi have just come out of a fight," Fugaku Uchiha said. "Draw this out as long as you can. They're already running on fumes."

The cave was pitch-black. Even shinobi could not see clearly inside it.

Crimson Sharingan eyes appeared abruptly in the darkness. Several kunai appeared in each of Fugaku's hands, and he hurled them all. In such darkness, Uchiha throwing weapons could be especially deadly.

The kunai struck one another midflight, changing course as they swept toward the four shinobi still able to move.

"Watch out for their weapons!" Daben warned his teammates. "Fall back! Get out of the cave. They're Konoha Uchiha. The Sharingan gives them too much of an advantage in the dark."

The three tomoe were unmistakable, especially in a cave this dark.

Daben's hands blurred through signs. An earthen wall rose from the ground, threatening to seal Fugaku Uchiha and the other two inside the cave.

Nozawa and Sato had rushed forward the instant Fugaku threw his kunai. They landed atop the wall one after the other, and countless kikaichū poured from Nozawa's body toward the Stone shinobi.

Steel flashed. Sato drew the long blade from his back and engaged one of the Stone shinobi.

Fugaku's kunai struck the Earth-Style Wall and fell harmlessly away.

Body Flicker Technique.

Fugaku appeared directly atop the Earth-Style Wall. Sato and Nozawa, who had charged out first, were already fighting. But the Stone shinobi had the numbers, and the two were being pushed back.

His fingers blurred through signs, and his chest swelled. Bursts of fire shot from Fugaku Uchiha's mouth toward the four Stone shinobi.

It was a ninjutsu the Uchiha were particularly skilled at: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.

By the light of the flames, the four Stone shinobi broke off the fight and retreated from the cave one after another.

Please send a few recommendation votes. The signed contract was mailed today, so feel free to bookmark the story.